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EDIT March 11, 2009 - 9pm PST - Will Order Soon / Last Minute Changes?

So I decided on the following and will order tonight. Any last minute updates/suggestions?

i7 920 - $280 from Amazon

GIGABYTE EX58-UD5 - $300 shipped from Provantage

G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 - $105

Corsair 850W - $140 (-$15 coupon - $25 rebate)

640GB Western Digital Black - $80 from Amazon

Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound - $6.99

Thermalright LGA1366 Bolt-Thru-Kit - $15 shipped

TOTAL: $948 with tax and shipping

Last minute question: Will I need the 1366 bolt-thru kit to mount my TRUE-120 on the Gigabyte?
 
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Speaking from personal experience with the Gigabyte EX-58 UD4P I recently switched away from, stay the hell away from it. That thing was a huge piece. I had so many quirky issues with it I just couldn't tolerate it anymore and went to the evga x58, which once i found a good one of those (went through 3 boards at fry's before i got a good one), was awesome. Also I had no luck with the one Asus p6t Deluxe OC Palm I had, first week I had it, it cooked one of its memory banks and would no longer work when using 6 GB of trip chan ram. Just my experience. Many people seem to be having luck with the P6T's though and I have no personal problem with it, that was just my experience. I highly recommend the evga 3x sli board, granted you probably don't need tri sli but it's still a great board, and with the new bios release they just did they added XMP so that's a huge plus for getting stuff setup automatically with as little fuss as possible.
 
jimbean21, thanks for letting me know about the UD4P.

Any other thoughts on motherboards?
 
If you go for the P6T non deluxe you would save some money on the motherboard, and wouldn't need the bolt through kit for the HSF, saving a few more bucks for you. I have this board and it's been pretty good to me so far. Haven't tried overclocking yet, but people have been doing pretty good with it as far as I've heard.
 
largefarrva said:
If you go for the P6T non deluxe you would save some money on the motherboard, and wouldn't need the bolt through kit for the HSF, saving a few more bucks for you. I have this board and it's been pretty good to me so far. Haven't tried overclocking yet, but people have been doing pretty good with it as far as I've heard.
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Any advantages that I'll be losing by saving $50?

I'm still torn between these:

P6T Deluxe or Deluxe V2
Gigabyte EX58-UD5
Gigabyte EX58-UD3R
EVGA 132-BL-E758-TR
 
UPDATE: So it looks like I'm going to need a new power supply for the above build. Any suggestions/recommendations?

Right now I'm looking at the Corsair 750TX or 850TX.
 
So you recommend PC P&C 750W > Corsairs? I have no problem buying from any website, especially those that avoid CA tax.
 
PC_User said:
So you recommend PC P&C 750W > Corsairs? I have no problem buying from any website, especially those that avoid CA tax.
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Yes I would recommend PC P&C 750W over the Corsair 750TX to save $20 and avoid CA's sales tax. Then again the 750TX is available from Amazon.com as well.
 
Just a heads up - Newegg promo code for the 850TX will get you another $15 off: EMCLPML49

This brings it down to $125 w/FS (and possibly $100 after MIR).
 
Danny Bui said:
Yes I would recommend PC P&C 750W over the Corsair 750TX to save $20 and avoid CA's sales tax. Then again the 750TX is available from Amazon.com as well.
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Which is the better performing quality PSU? If it's a $15-20 difference, I'd rather get the better power supply. I've read reviews on both and they seem to perform well and are recommended by many places.

If ignoring price (at the moment) and focusing only on performance and quality, which of the following:

PC Power & Cooling 750W vs. Corsair 850TX vs Corsair 750TX

-----------

Also, will the HX620 perhaps provide enough room for future upgrades or will that be cutting it too close? I've heard amazing things about that unit...
 
S75CF is too loud for my taste. I can hear it despite being shoved in a corner between the wall + desk. My GF however cannot hear it, but I'd like to think she's a bit deaf instead of proclaiming I have a sensitive ear.

The 850TX and 750TX are also supposedly not as quiet as you'd hope. Just did a search on SilentPCReview after seeing the 850TX go on sale but the response is disappointing.

If noise isn't an issue then consider my points moot.
 
PC_User said:
If ignoring price (at the moment) and focusing only on performance and quality, which of the following:

PC Power & Cooling 750W vs. Corsair 850TX vs Corsair 750TX

-----------

Also, will the HX620 perhaps provide enough room for future upgrades or will that be cutting it too close? I've heard amazing things about that unit...
Click to expand...

Technically, the PC P&C is the better performing and slightly better quality PSU. In terms of customer support and warranty, both companies are the same. In terms of noise, the PC P&C Silencer 750 is one of those loud PSUs.

Now from a personal standpoint that may not have any bearing on you: I personally would go with Corsair, even with the extra $20 in mind, due to the fact that Corsair has a bigger presence on the two forums I visit the most: Hardforum and JonnyGuru.com. I see their reps in those forums quite often enough to figure that should I have any problems, it would be resolved quickly.

I would also go with Corsair due to the fact that they're not against modular or multiple rail PSUs as much as PC P&C. PC P&C still spreads the FUD that modular cables will cause the loss of power (FALSE) and multiple rails will cause "trapped" power (FALSE).

As the result of those two factors, I would go with Corsair. But do note that out of the 8 of the PSU myths PC P&C argues against, only two of those I actually disagree with (the two mentioned above or 3 and 8 respectively) and one I kind of disgree with (number 6)


The Corsair 620HX is an excellent quality PSU. But unless you have an absolute need for modular cables, I wouldn't recommend getting it. But it would have some headroom for future upgrades, depending one the upgrade.
 
Danny Bui said:
The Corsair 620HX is an excellent quality PSU. But unless you have an absolute need for modular cables, I wouldn't recommend getting it. But it would have some headroom for future upgrades, depending one the upgrade.
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Great response and very informative. Once again, thank you very much.

1. Any particular reason you wouldn't recommend the HX620? I know it's more expensive than the others but I've heard only great things about it. That being said, I don't necessarily need a modular PSU and would be content with a non-modular one.

2. Now I'm leaning towards the Corsair 850TX, which also happens to be on sale at Newegg. I would certainly prefer a quiet PSU, but I'm assuming the Corsair isn't too loud. I just hope its not louder than my current 700W OCZ. The OCZ has a 120mm fan and the Corsair has a 140mm fan, but it's thermally controlled. I have 6 x 120mm fans in my case and I can hear the humming of those fans. The PSU sits on the bottom of the case and certainly isn't silent, but it's something I can live with. I place build quality/performance over acoustics, in this case.

Thanks again for the advice and plethora of knowledge.
 
I know my OCZ GameXStream was fucking jet loud, the S75CF is definitely not as audible. 850TX I would assume is better than the S75CF's 80mm fan.

Situations Corsair wouldn't be recommended 1) It's overpriced, more expensive than many more feature-full and higher wattage/amp PSUs 2) The modular cables aren't sleeved 3) Only 2 PCIE 6 pins.
 
PC_User said:
Great response and very informative. Once again, thank you very much.

1. Any particular reason you wouldn't recommend the HX620? I know it's more expensive than the others but I've heard only great things about it. That being said, I don't necessarily need a modular PSU and would be content with a non-modular one.

2. Now I'm leaning towards the Corsair 850TX, which also happens to be on sale at Newegg. I would certainly prefer a quiet PSU, but I'm assuming the Corsair isn't too loud. I just hope its not louder than my current 700W OCZ. I have 6 x 120mm fans in my case and I can hear the humming of those fans. The PSU sits on the bottom of the case and certainly isn't silent, but it's something I can live with. I place build quality/performance over acoustics, in this case.

Thanks again for the advice and plethora of knowledge.
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1) Well I'm a cheapskate (or frugal in nicer terms) so that's my main reason why I wouldn't recommend the Corsair 620HX: it's price. I have no problems with the Corsair 620HX's quality at all. In fact, if you check my post history back to 2007/early 2008 (if you're that bored :)), I recommended the Corsair 620HX quite often over the PC P&C 750. However times have changed and the Corsair 620HX is a somewhat expensive PSU. Outside of a need for modular cables, I personally don't think the higher quality of the 620HX over the PC PC&C 750, 750TX, and 850TX is worth the extra cash or lesser amperage/wattage. If modular cables was a major requirement, I'd definitely recommend the Corsair 620HX over most other modular PSUs any day.

2) Can't vouch for the noise levels of the 850TX
 
lowteckh said:
Situations Corsair wouldn't be recommended 1) It's overpriced, more expensive than many more feature-full and higher wattage/amp PSUs 2) The modular cables aren't sleeved 3) Only 2 PCIE 6 pins.
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1) Isn't it a matter of quality?
2) The 850TX isn't modular as far as I can deduce.
3) So one cannot triple-SLI or triple-CF?
 
1) There are many companies that compare to Corsair's quality, which is really a Seasonic
2) I'm pointing out that the 620HX isn't sleeved - the modular cables are all black rubber/plastic
3) Unless you use the molex connectors....
 
lowteckh said:
1) There are many companies that compare to Corsair's quality, which is really a Seasonic
2) I'm pointing out that the 620HX isn't sleeved - the modular cables are all black rubber/plastic
3) Unless you use the molex connectors....
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Don't be hatin' on the Corsairs ;)
 
What? How is that hating? I'm pointing things out, didn't even give an opinion.
 
Well law of the interwebz - humor is always failface.

internet-is-serious-business.jpg
 
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Looks good to me. But is there a Microcenter nearby? If so, you can get the i7 920 for about $230 from there.
 
Danny Bui said:
Looks good to me. But is there a Microcenter nearby? If so, you can get the i7 920 for about $230 from there.
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I wish. Nearest MC is about a 45 minute drive (each way). With taxes comes out to $250, so I would be saving $30. I also don't have any time to go there until next week at the earliest.

I just spent the last 2 hours reading reviews about motherboards and comparing the EX58-UD5 to the ASUS P6T Deluxe. They seem to be neck and neck but something pushes me towards the Gigabyte. Do you think it's a good choice?
 
PC_User said:
I just spent the last 2 hours reading reviews about motherboards and comparing the EX58-UD5 to the ASUS P6T Deluxe. They seem to be neck and neck but something pushes me towards the Gigabyte. Do you think it's a good choice?
Click to expand...

Kind of. I'm a bit biased towards Gigabyte mobos in general so I tend to recommend them often. With that said, do you honestly need all of the features that the UD5 and P6T Deluxe offer over the P6T and UD4P?
 
Danny Bui said:
Kind of. I'm a bit biased towards Gigabyte mobos in general so I tend to recommend them often. With that said, do you honestly need all of the features that the UD5 and P6T Deluxe offer over the P6T and UD4P?
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Probably not, but... I'm mainly concerned with overclocking potential and from what I've read, the UD5 and P6T Deluxe are OC'ing champions. That being said, the price difference is about $50. If it were any more, I'd probably go with the P6T. I'm more worried about cutting corners and then regretting it later. That's exactly what happened when I purchased by current ABIT IP35-E and saved about $30 instead of getting a better motherboard such as the IP35 Pro or Asus P5Q Pro.
 
PC_User said:
Probably not, but... I'm mainly concerned with overclocking potential and from what I've read, the UD5 and P6T Deluxe are OC'ing champions. That being said, the price difference is about $50. If it were any more, I'd probably go with the P6T. I'm more worried about cutting corners and then regretting it later. That's exactly what happened when I purchased by current ABIT IP35-E and saved about $30 instead of getting a better motherboard such as the IP35 Pro or Asus P5Q Pro.
Click to expand...

Well since you've tried that end of the spectrum, go ahead and spend the extra cash if you wish and see if the extra cash was worth it later on.
 
Not like you're gonna be hitting overclocking limits before temperature limits kick in.
 
Thanks for all the advice, suggestions, and help! It is much appreciated.
 
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