i7 Gaming & Video Editing Build

[jeffrosproto]

Hi all,

I am planning to do a Gaming/Video Editing build by the end of this month. I was going to go for a Sandy Bridge i7-2600k, but I think I'm going to go for the i7-950 (because it can be had for $200 at Micro Center, and because of the Sandy Bridge problems - I need this build by the beginning of March).


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming/Video Editing

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around $600 for the parts I need.

3) Where do you live?
Michigan (I have amazon prime shipping, so I can take advantage of that - but I'm open to other stores, too.)

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc.
CPU, RAM (shooting for 12gb), Motherboard, CPU Cooler

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
HDD, Corsair 750TX, Cooler Master 690II Advance, 2x GTX460 1GB (MSI Hawk) in SLI

6) Will you be overclocking?
Most likely.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
22" 1680x1050, possibly going to something bigger (1080p).

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
End of February/Early March

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
I would like USB3, Sata 6Gb/s (2 ports or more, each), and SLI Support.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes. Win 7 Ultimate 64bit.


I was thinking of getting the X58 sabertooth or ASUS P6X58D motherboard, are there any better suggestions? Also, would it be worth the wait to get a Sandy Bridge motherboard over the X58?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Dangman]

I was thinking of getting the X58 sabertooth or ASUS P6X58D motherboard, are there any better suggestions?

I recommend this mobo:
$220 - Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58 ATX Motherboard

I recommend this HSF:
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156

As for RAM, I recommend this RAM combination if you want 12GB of RAM:
$105 - G.Skill Ripjaw Series F3-12800CL9S-8GBRL 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$55 - G.Skill Ripjaw Series F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM
---
Total: $160 shipped

Also, would it be worth the wait to get a Sandy Bridge motherboard over the X58?

Do note that the socket LGA 1155 P67 and H67 chipsets (i.e Sandy Bridge based motherboards) are completely incompatible with socket LGA 1366 CPUs (i.e the Core i7 950. So even if you wait for the Sandy Bridge motherboard, you still need a Sandy Bridge CPU.

Anyway, IMO, yes a Sandy Bridge setup is worth waiting for over a Core i7 950 based setup. Especially since you plan on overclocking. However if you ABSOLUTELY must have the PC by early March, then no, a Sandy Bridge setup may not be possible.

 

[E4g1e]

The reason why the i7-950 is now priced so low:

Intel is phasing out that particular CPU over the next month or so. The i7-960, which until recently had been priced in the $500-ish range, will be taking over the $250~$300 price point for the LGA 1366 CPUs. The $500 range will then be taken over by the hexa-core i7-970 (previously priced in the vicinity of $900). All this is due to the introduction of what is expected to be the last of the i7-9xx series CPUs, the i7-990X, at the $1000-ish price point. So in other words, for the remainder of the production life of the LGA 1366/X58 platform, Intel wants its consumer LGA 1366 CPUs to be priced at three points: $300, $500 and $1000.

And though the Sabertooth X58 is a fine board, it does not overclock as well as the P6X58D-E. Plus, the P6X58D-E has a slightly better Marvell NIC onboard (versus the Realtek NIC on the Sabertooth). Both mobos have onboard SATA 6.0 Gbps and USB 3.0 controllers.