i7 Build suggestions

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jtvd78

Limp Gawd
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Jul 27, 2009
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I have a lot of money saved up, and my birthday is coming up in early April. I decided to build an i7 Computer with this. I need REALLY need suggestions, because this is my first computer that i am going to build. I will not be upgrading for a while. . I just need some people to check over and make sure that I have everything. Also, i need to be sure that i have all the small parts (Screws, CPU/Mobo power extension, fans, etc.) I don't want to be held up from building because of some small thing that I forgot. Also if you think that I should change any of my parts, i am open to suggestions.
Here is the parts that I have found already:

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=11695685( I am not sure if this link works. This is the first time I am using a shared newegg.com Wishlist)

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
This PC will be mainly for gaming, Web Browsing, DVD ripping, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
The budget is about $2000 after tax and shipping.
3) Where do you live?
Central NJ
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
I will be making this computer from scratch. Every single part is needed.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
1080p, 23" + 1050p 22"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Late March (2010)
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
I want almost everything, but i must have SATA III, USB 3.0, and 1366 socket. ( I want this to be future-proof)
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
I want Win 7 Home Premium 64bit
 
 
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fixed your wishlist link: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=11695685

Revisit this thread a week or two before you buy, since you plan on building this thing nearly 2 months from now, many parts may change.

For 1080p, you'll be better served by an HD5850 instead of the HD5770. Is the monitor included in your $2k budget?

1kw PSU is overkill for a single vidcard system. All you need is a good quality 550W-650W. Stick with Corsair or Antec non-basiq.
$65 - Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W Continuous 80+ Certified PSU (Promo: EMCYNZN47)
$100 - Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650W 80+ Certified PSU ($20 MIR)
or if you want semi-modular:
$110 - Antec TruePower New TP-650 650W Continuous 80+ Bronze ($20 MIR)

I doubt you'll need those extension cables.

The Mushkin RAM is way overpriced at $250 for 6GB DDR3-1600. Go for a cheaper kit instead:
$146 - Geil 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3-1600 GV36GB1600C9TC
$150 - G.Skill 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3-1600 F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ
$160 - Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3-1600 CMX6GX3M3A1600C9

What about the Asus board made you choose it? You could save a nice chunk of change with this Gigabyte board instead:
$210 - Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0

How high do you plan on OC'ing? If its only 4Ghz or so, all you need is a CM Hyper 212+:
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-GP 120mm HSF

You can probably get cheaper Yate Loon fans from jab-tech.com.
 
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For 1080p, you'll be better served by an HD5850 instead of the HD5770. Is the monitor included in your $2k budget?
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I already have both monitors. the 5850 is about $150 more than the 5770. I don't think that i have the $ for that.

1kw PSU is overkill for a single vidcard system
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I am not going to upgrade that often, so i thought that if i get a large PSU now, i wont need to get one later, when i might upgrade my GPU

I doubt you'll need those extension cables.
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thanks

The Mushkin RAM is way overpriced at $250 for 6GB DDR3-1600. Go for a cheaper kit instead.
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look at the timings- 6-7-6-18

What about the Asus board made you choose it? You could save a nice chunk of change with this Gigabyte board instead
Click to expand...

I dont like the PCIE layout of the GB boards that have SATA III and USB 3.0

How high do you plan on OC'ing? If its only 4Ghz or so, all you need is a CM Hyper 212+
Click to expand...

You are right about the 4Ghz, but i may want to go to 4+ later on. Also, I don't want the weight of a large cooler on my motherboard.


You can probably get cheaper Yate Loon fans from jab-tech.com.
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I'll go take a look at that.
 
jtvd78 said:
I am not going to upgrade that often, so i thought that if i get a large PSU now, i wont need to get one later, when i might upgrade my GPU
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The current trend among ATI cards is lower and lower power usage. Assuming that trend continues, Enginurd is right: a good quality 650W PSU would be enough. However as a sort of middle ground, you can go with the Corsair 750TX or the Antec Truepower New TP-750 PSUs.

jtvd78 said:
look at the timings- 6-7-6-18
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Can you tell the difference between one car driving 65MPH and another at 65.1MPH? That's how minuscule the performance difference between the Mushkin RAM and any of the RAM sets Enginurd recommended. So not worth the extra $100 or so for a .1MPH increase.
 
jtvd78 said:
I already have both monitors. the 5850 is about $150 more than the 5770. I don't think that i have the $ for that.
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You don't want to s pend an extra $150 on a much better video card but your going to drop $300 on a case? That don't make no sense! Buy a $150 case and then get the 5850, problem solved.
 
Shadowssong said:
You don't want to s pend an extra $150 on a much better video card but your going to drop $300 on a case? That don't make no sense! Buy a $150 case and then get the 5850, problem solved.
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but that uber case will enhance the gaming performance!!!11!!!!111... lol. BOOOM HEADSHOT~!!!~!@!`!11!!~! :D

@OP: if you want performance, your spending money on the wrong things. if you want to waste money, thats you're prerogative. we're just letting you know, so you can make an informed decision. i really don't care if you want to spend $100 more on RAM that will only show noticeable performance improvement when you run memory benchmarks; nor do i care if you want that 800D no matter its price. ;) You can read the reviews of the games you play at the resolutions you play at and determine if the HD5770 will give you the performance you're looking for or not. Power requirements change over time. PSUs don't last forever. I would not be using a 5yr old PSU in a high end gaming rig even if it was 80+ certified 5yrs ago and way overkill for the system I built back then... it just isn't worth it, since the performance won't be nearly as good as a newer unit; besides, none of the PSUs 5yrs ago have 8-pin PCI-E connectors... as I said, power specs change over time, so no point in trying to buy a future proof PSU if the future you're planning for is more than 4yrs from now.
 
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If I replaced my old memory with a new six GB kit that costs ~$100 less, and I replace my old PSU with a new PSU that is ~$50 less than the previous, I should have saved enough money to get the 5850. I also found out that Extremely fast ram really doesn't do much for gaming. What do you thinks about this plan?
 
The plan is sound in theory but poor in execution due to one part: The PSU. Can't find a single proper review showing that PSU being capable of providing its rated wattage/amperage cleanly and reliably. A second red flag is its low price. A third red flag is that it only has 75A on the +12V rail which is a tad low for a 1000W PSU considering that the Corsair 950TX and Corsair 1000HX have 78A and 80A on the +12V rail respectively.

So in other words, don't buy an unknown quality PSU. If you really want modular and a known good quality PSU, then pick up the Corsair 750HX for $150:
$150 - Corsair 750HX 750W Modular PSU
 
Danny Bui said:
The plan is sound in theory but poor in execution due to one part: The PSU. Can't find a single proper review showing that PSU being capable of providing its rated wattage/amperage cleanly and reliably. A second red flag is its low price. A third red flag is that it only has 75A on the +12V rail which is a tad low for a 1000W PSU considering that the Corsair 950TX and Corsair 1000HX have 78A and 80A on the +12V rail respectively.

So in other words, don't buy an unknown quality PSU. If you really want modular and a known good quality PSU, then pick up the Corsair 750HX for $150:
$150 - Corsair 750HX 750W Modular PSU
Click to expand...

Thanks. That PSU is in my Wishlist now.
 
Dropping down to the mobo that Enginurd suggested earlier would allow you get the HD 5870.

Another option would be dropping down to the Gigabyte mobo AND the case down to this case while keeping the HD 5850 already:
$80 - Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case

That would allow you to get a second HD 5850 for HD 5850 Crossfire. Yes HD 5850 Crossfire outperforms the HD 5870.
 
Danny Bui said:
Dropping down to the mobo that Enginurd suggested earlier would allow you get the HD 5870.

Another option would be dropping down to the Gigabyte mobo AND the case down to this case while keeping the HD 5850 already:
$80 - Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case

That would allow you to get a second HD 5850 for HD 5850 Crossfire. Yes HD 5850 Crossfire outperforms the HD 5870.
Click to expand...

The new Gigabyte mobos seem be very bad. they are getting horrible Newegg reviews. And I really want that case. I now that the case would be a waste of money, but I really want the case
 
jtvd78 said:
The new Gigabyte mobos seem be very bad. they are getting horrible Newegg reviews. And I really want that case. I now that the case would be a waste of money, but I really want the case
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Dude, out of the 13 newegg user reviews of the Gigabyte mobo that Enginurd recommended, only 2, TWO, reviews were poor. Think about that.

In addition, with most user reviews, those that have troubles tends to post reviews more than the ones with good experiences.
 
there is an open box version of the p6x58 d premium. what does open box mean?
 
jtvd78 said:
there is an open box version of the p6x58 d premium. what does open box mean?
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Open box basically means someone opened it, used it, and returned it back to Newegg. Basically used.
 
Open box means that the item has been returned to NewEgg, but NewEgg (and/or the manufacturer) found nothing wrong with it. An open box item comes with no accessories (cables, screws, CD, etc.) or user manuals and has a comparatively shorter warranty.

The term caveat emptor applies here.
 
tiraides said:
Open box means that the item has been returned to NewEgg, but NewEgg (and/or the manufacturer) found nothing wrong with it. An open box item comes with no accessories (cables, screws, CD, etc.) or user manuals and has a comparatively shorter warranty.

The term caveat emptor applies here.
Click to expand...

Don't want that.
 
The main issue with open box items isn't reliability in most cases, but the lack of accessories.

That said, I don't recommend an open box motherboard, especially for a new system that is to be built from scratch.
 
Danny Bui said:
Dude, out of the 13 newegg user reviews of the Gigabyte mobo that Enginurd recommended, only 2, TWO, reviews were poor. Think about that.

In addition, with most user reviews, those that have troubles tends to post reviews more than the ones with good experiences.
Click to expand...

The UD5 and the UD3 seem very similar. the UD5 has many problems(according to newegg reviews). could it be possible that the UD3 has this problem too?
 
tiraides said:
The main issue with open box items isn't reliability in most cases, but the lack of accessories.

That said, I don't recommend an open box motherboard, especially for a new system that is to be built from scratch.
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That is the main reason that i don't want it, now
 
Disregard NewEgg reviews, for the most part; check out more in-depth reviews from hardware sites and forums.

That said, no motherboard in the market has a perfect reliability record, but Gigabyte is one of the better brands in terms of customer service.
 
jtvd78 said:
could it be possible that the UD3 has this problem too?
Click to expand...

Not really. Like I said earlier, those who have issues will review more than those who don't.

Oh and I concur with tiraides as well.
 
tiraides said:
Disregard NewEgg reviews, for the most part; check out more in-depth reviews from hardware sites and forums.

That said, no motherboard in the market has a perfect reliability record, but Gigabyte is one of the better brands in terms of customer service.
Click to expand...

I couldn't find any reviews on the UD3.

Could the UD3 OC to 4Ghz, or is the power for the CPU just not good enough.
 
You could overclock the processor, using the UD3, to around 4GHz, but YMMV. IIRC, the UD5 has some more OC friendly options... but I can't think of them off the top of my head.
 
I decided to change my case because $300 is way too much. How is the Antec 1200?

Although the motherboard had sata III and USB 3.0, there were only two of each ports. I decided that if i go with a cheap MoBo now, I could upgrade to a better one when the ICH11R SB comes out. this way, the motherboard will support these ports nativity. How is the MSI X58 Pro-E ? Here is a thread about if I should do this with the motherboard.
 
Antec's make decent cases, but you really can't go wrong with Lian-Li. Have a look at those cases.
 
jtvd78 said:
I decided to change my case because $300 is way too much. How is the Antec 1200?

Although the motherboard had sata III and USB 3.0, there were only two of each ports. I decided that if i go with a cheap MoBo now, I could upgrade to a better one when the ICH11R SB comes out. this way, the motherboard will support these ports nativity. How is the MSI X58 Pro-E ? Here is a thread about if I should do this with the motherboard.
Click to expand...

You're putting too much thought into the motherboard selection. Choose a board with the features that you need -- unless I'm wrong, you basically want a decent OC-friendly board that supports CF/SLI -- see which boards fit your needs, and check out reviews and feedback from other sources to narrow down your selection. I personally don't know anything about the X58 Pro-E's capabilities, but I've heard several stories of people being able to overclock with an Asus or a Gigabyte board, and people love EVGA when it comes to X58 and overclocking. You could have easily seen other "stories" with a simple search through the forums here, or via Google, Bing, or your favorite search engine.

And don't wait for a new chipset design to decide upon whether or not you want USB 3.0 or SATA III; you could just as easily buy an add-on card with those ports later.
 
How high do you plan on OC'ing? You can't really go much higher than 4.0Ghz with the H50. :rolleyes: Any of the boards mentioned so far should get that chip to 4Ghz just fine. The differences you won't see via newegg's compare tool are minor things, such as chipset/mosfet cooling, onboard power/reset switches, diagnostic LED/LCD, expansion slot placements, cpu power delivery, etc (many of which just require visual inspection or simple googling).
 
tiraides said:
You're putting too much thought into the motherboard selection. Choose a board with the features that you need -- unless I'm wrong, you basically want a decent OC-friendly board that supports CF/SLI -- see which boards fit your needs, and check out reviews and feedback from other sources to narrow down your selection. I personally don't know anything about the X58 Pro-E's capabilities, but I've heard several stories of people being able to overclock with an Asus or a Gigabyte board, and people love EVGA when it comes to X58 and overclocking. You could have easily seen other "stories" with a simple search through the forums here, or via Google, Bing, or your favorite search engine.

And don't wait for a new chipset design to decide upon whether or not you want USB 3.0 or SATA III; you could just as easily buy an add-on card with those ports later.
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I DO want USB 3.0 and SATA III. Its just that current boards don't support it nativly. thus, leaving me with only 2 of each ports.
 
The only thing I can think of that currently takes advantage of SATA600 would be an SSD RAID array -- but I don't think they have RAID support on the current mobos on the sata600 ports. As for USB3.0, there are still not enough products out there for me to consider picking up an expansion card.
 
enginurd said:
The only thing I can think of that currently takes advantage of SATA600 would be an SSD RAID array -- but I don't think they have RAID support on the current mobos on the sata600 ports. As for USB3.0, there are still not enough products out there for me to consider picking up an expansion card.
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I just this build tot be future-proof
 
jtvd78 said:
I just this build tot be future-proof
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Future proof? LOL! Never gonna happen. You could spend $5000 on a PC and it still wouldn't be future proof.

It's a bit insane to just swap out mobos completely just for ICH11R, USB 3.0, and SATA 6GB/s. It'll would just be more cost-effective and simpler to just get add-on cards when you actually need more than two of each new port type.
 
USB 3.0 and SATA III have just recently been released. By the time that you need more than two ports from each "device," there will be some add-on cards that you could buy. And yes, there will be some USB 3.0 cards with ports and/or headers.

Again, get what you need for right now.
 
Its cool, you can go on your journey for future proofing a PC; and you'll either learn the hard way, or you may never agree with us. Either way, its your money, so its your choice. We're just trying to pass on our experiences so you can learn from them. Whether you take our advice or not, we couldn't care less... its just money out of your pocket (not ours). ;)

jtvd78 said:
add on cards, last time i checked, dont have USB headers
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You must have checked about 5 yrs ago, because I have a USB2.0 card from 2005 that does have headers, lol.
 
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