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i7 build suggestions

T

thebigmike1983

n00b
Joined
Mar 13, 2009
Messages
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Hi all, my buddy Eric pointed me to this forum for good advice on system builds. I am looking at going with an i7 build and spending around $1100 on it. If anyone has any suggestions on the parts I've found so far, or if there are any known compatability issues I would be most grateful if you pointed them out.
Anyways, here is the build in progress:
Newegg public wish list: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=6356049
(Note: the hard drives are there as a placeholder. Still looking around for them)
Main components:
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021
Chip: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375
Graphics card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130420
Power: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371010

I'm sticking with a 19" monitor for the time being due to money/space contraints for my desk setup, so I won't be going SLI for a good few years, in which case I would be upgrading the psu then. Staying with 32-bit, either XP Pro or Vista Enterprise since I have free copies of them.
Edit: As for overclocking, I will not be doing much of that for now. But if I do, what would be a good fan/heatsink to buy? Is the stock cooler even any good?
Thanks in advance for your advice!
 
For the PSU, I figure the extra $20 might be worth it for modular. Seeing as how the case has a clear side, I'd like to keep it cleaner looking than my current box.

As for the graphics card, I'm looking everywhere for advice. I've never seen people get to brash to each other than when discussing ATI vs Nvidia.

Thanks for pointing out that mobo.
 
Your build looks solid, but I'd go with the Corsair recommended in the second post just for quality considerations. As far as the video it should be fine for 1280x1024. Motherboard-wise, I personally went for an Asus P6T (non-deluxe, newer version) as it was on as an "open box" for $175 at the 'egg, and is a top-notch board. Even without that kind of discount, I'd recommend it over the Gigabyte UD3R as it has SLI and is an easy clocker by all accounts, as well as having the Socket 775 mounting holes if you have an existing high-end heatsink that fits those (it still has the 1366 ones additionally).
 
thebigmike1983 said:
Any thoughts on this psu?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152036

As for the P6T board, I had taken a look at it. Still deciding between that one and the new SLI version of the UD3R.
Click to expand...


Stay away from that Raidmax PSU by all means. The Corsair 650 watt someone else linked is definitely a good quality PSU. I ended up going with a Corsair 750 watt one on my recent i7 build and I love it.

As far as the P6T...it's a good board. It's what I got, and even though I'm not overclocking on it right now I know I will be able to do so if I decide to in the future. I believe the UD3R only has 4 RAM slots (haven't looked at the mobo in a few weeks so my memory is a bit foggy on it). So if you want to go over 6 gigs of RAM in the future, you'll have to wait for DDR3 4gig sticks to be able to do so. Just food for thought...
 
if you look a little closer, you will see that the motherboard you picked is actually a gigabyte!!. so you will be needing to rethink that, for starters. and if you check, you will see that not only is your ram pc3 1333 (you should have at least 1600 if you are going to overclock) it is corsair!! so check out some g.skill before you buy something that you will be sorry about. the case is good. and there are many fine psu's in the power and price range that you spec. silverstone, seasonic, seventeam, mushkin, xigmatek.
 
I use a Corsair 520HX myself and love it... gonna use it to power my i7 setup actually too:

Core i7 920
GTX 280 1GB
3x2GB (6GB) DDR3 1600
Asus P6T (normal)
Several 120mm case fans
3 hard drives
DVD burner
X-Fi XtremeGamer PCI

All overclocked heavily, of course :). It runs my Core 2 Quad setup perfectly right now... I believe the 620 can handle 280 SLI, while my 520 falls a little short of being able to do so. I run it with a Dell 3007WFP-HC @ 2560x1600... :D.

EDIT: To answer your OP edit, yes, the stock cooler can handle a minor amount of overclocking (~3-3.2ghz depending on luck and heat), while a nice cooler can handle ~3.9-4.0ghz or higher with a little luck. So, you don't need one right off if you're not going to be overclocking much at all... save the cash for the moment.
 
Ok, so I need an honest opinion:
XP Pro or Vista Enterprise? I get both of them free thru my company's licensing agreement, but I need to choose.
 
Thanks all for the PSU recommendation. Going with the 620HX.

I haven't decided between 32 or 64 bit yet. Looking for incompatability issues first.
 
thebigmike1983 said:
Thanks all for the PSU recommendation. Going with the 620HX.

I haven't decided between 32 or 64 bit yet. Looking for incompatability issues first.
Click to expand...

Good choice of PSU, Go Vista 64 if you can, it works great and there is no compatibility issues.
 
Vista 64 will support more than 3 gigs of ram... I agree with above. Also, keep in mind that the ram you pick has to be 1.65volts or below. The new x58 boards can't run any chips higher than that. Good luck!
 
caniba said:
Good choice of PSU, Go Vista 64 if you can, it works great and there is no compatibility issues.
Click to expand...

I also recommend Vista 64-bit with SP1.

paco16 said:
Vista 64 will support more than 3 gigs of ram... I agree with above. Also, keep in mind that the ram you pick has to be 1.65volts or below. The new x58 boards can't run any chips higher than that. Good luck!
Click to expand...

1.65v is the max but I'd recommend a lower voltage to take stress off of the CPU.
 
the ram - gskill 1600 and the evga gtx260 216, and the 620 is fine unless you want to sli, then go with the corsair 750 or 850.
 
looks great, I would suggest getting 2 of the 640 hard drives instead of 1 640 and 1 500. for 5 bucks it is worth it.
 
caniba said:
looks great, I would suggest getting 2 of the 640 hard drives instead of 1 640 and 1 500. for 5 bucks it is worth it.
Click to expand...

+1 to this suggestion. Very little reason to go with the WD 500GB drive when the 640GB drive is only $5 more.

Case wise, I highly recommend taking a look at the Coolermastre RC-690 and RC-590 cases. Their cooling capability and construction quality are equal to the Antec 900 but the CM cases are cheaper and have better cable management. So in other words, those CM cases are better choices for the money than the Antec 900.
 
/facepalms.
I had meant to switch out the 500 for the 640. Thanks for reminding me.

Anyways, I just placed the order. Ended up sticking with the 900, mostly because of a combo deal with the mobo that brought it down closer to the Coolermaster prices. And also it's a blue helicopter.

Thanks again for all your help!
 
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