My New Main PC!

[soul555top]

Whats up all, thanking in advance as I know the help offered here is top notch. So, I just sold my M11x as it turned into basically a desktop at my home and I found that I don't have much use for a laptop. I got an iPad, hope to get a decent Android tablet when it comes out, and I absolutely love the form factor, and is perfect for what I want on the go. That being said, I decided to sell my M11x (got $850 cash from CL) and use that money to purchase parts for a new desktop PC to replace my current one. I will be keeping my current one as a seconday PC for my room. I usually have friends over and having two pc's is awesome, and the M11x experience via HDMI to the TV was nice, but it will be much better with a real PC.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming, Photoshop/Vegas, Browsing, Music, FLStudio, Office etc.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1500 including tax/shipping. Would like to be closer to 1-1200, but can go higher.

3) Where do you live?
Seattle, WA - Close to Fry's

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, MOBO, RAM, GPU, PSU, CASE, SSD/HDD, Sound Card

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Will be using my monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, headphones, receiver. I have double of some stuff, but basically with all the peripherals, I will be getting new or secondary stuff as I see necessary, I will not be considering these things in my requested price listed above.

6) Will you be overclocking?
I have always OC'd my CPU a bit, but nothing extreme. E6550, E8400, Q9550 have all been successfully oc'd and running great, don't see why I wouldn't want to do that with my i7.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
27" 1920x1200. Still not sure what I want to do with monitors...but no matter what, it will be @ 1920x1200, and 27" or larger.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
As I am down to one PC, I am ready to purchase asap, however I am going to utilize the FS board, CL, Frys, and Newegg to get the best deals possible.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
I would like to be able to go dual-sli without the second slot running at half speed. I am not sure if I would like to go with one 480 or dual 460's (or something around there). Other than that, nothing special, newer sata/usb would be cool. No need for firewire or crossfire. No need for onboard Audio.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Not right now, but will be getting Win 7 Pro or Ultimate 64 via student discount (or UW bookstore).



A few extra notes....It seems that the i7 930 is a solid choice, hoping to find one used in the $200ish range. Would there be any benefit of going with 2 460's (or 465s) over a single 480? I enjoy pretty much every type of game out there, currently playing BC2, SC2, WoW, ME2, etc... @ 1920x1200. Also, whether I go single or dual-sli, I would like to get a mobo tailored for that. I am not sure if they even make boards that don't do SLI anymore... I would like to get EVGA mobo and gpus, I have great success with their products and would like to stick with them. I understand the importance of PSU also, and would like to stick with Antec or Corsair for case/psu. I currently have 8GB of DDR2 which is overkill...will I be good with 6GB of RAM? I want SSD for boot drive only, and really only need the bare minimum in terms of size.

Think that's it for now. Really looking for help directing me to the exact models I need so I can begin price hunting. I have a decent idea in my head but could use all the help I can get. I am ready to purchase now!

 

[lt_shiro]

COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN3 CM690 II Basic Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $70

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $60

2x GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $460

OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD2-2AGTE60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $158

XFX Black Edition P1-750B-CAG9 750W ATX12V v2.2 / ESP12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular ...and G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ Combo $235


Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80601930 and GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard Combo $484

Total before S&H $1467

 

[soul555top]

So I got offered an EVGA e760 classified mobo and 480GTX both used, but in good condition (I know this person irl) and 2 months old from Newegg. He wants $600 but I think I can get it down to the $500-550 range...

If I grab those, I will just go with one 480 for now, with the intention of adding another at a later time. Am I correct in thinking this board will allow for full x16 sli for two cards?

Dang wish I swooped on one of the two 930's offerered here last week, guess I just have to be ready for the next one.

I have read that GSkill RAM doesnt play nice with the classified mobo, anyone know of this? Also, I am looking into Intel and OCZ SSD's, is this correct or should I be looking at other brands as well?

 

[soul555top]

Okay, so for my GPU...

I can buy a 480 OR 2 460 SC 768MB for $350. Any thoughts on which way to go? I would never do more than 2xSLI, and I don't know if/when I would ever get a second 480. Is this a no brainer to go with the 460s?

(all cards are EVGA, slightly used but in perfect condition)

 

[Dangman]

The 768MB of VRAM becomes a major limitation at 1920x1080. However the GTX 480 is not worth it either since it does not have a warranty. So I wouldn't get either cards unless you can get the 768MB SLI for $275.

We don't recommend that eVGA motherboard that often (Costs way too much) so can't say about the G.Skill incompatibility.

I think you're better off with lt_shiro's build

 

[vengence]

The 768MB of VRAM becomes a major limitation at 1920x1080. However the GTX 480 is not worth it either since it does not have a warranty. So I wouldn't get either cards unless you can get the 768MB SLI for $275.

We don't recommend that eVGA motherboard that often (Costs way too much) so can't say about the G.Skill incompatibility.

I think you're better off with lt_shiro's build

768MB of VRAM isn't currently nearly the limitation some people think it is. Bring the AA to a sane level and you'll be fine. Trust me I know, I'm still running 1920x1200 on a pair of 8800 GTS 512s on one machien. However, there's no question if I bought a set of 460s I'd grab the 1GBs unless I got a steal of a deal on the 768s.

The 760 motherboard is a hell of a mobo and although it does have it's quirks it makes up for them in overclocking power. If you plan to do high end overclocking it's a great choice.

I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of warranty on the 480, especially if you know the guy IRL and he can help you RMA them (assuming he registered the card and or mobo). If you could talk him into 500$ for the pair, I'd say jump on it. You'd be spending 400$ for a pair of 460s to get 110-120% the preformance of a 480 which gives you a classy for 100$.

 

[soul555top]

Thanks for the input guys. Danny I understand the reasoning behind not recommending EVGA mobos and other big name brand items, since you generally pay more for the name brand and looks. However, since I am building this one for myself, I am trying to keep to some brands that I like, and also want it to look nice. Kinda cheesy, but oh well. That is why the build linked above, while great, is not what I am looking for. (I do appreciate it though!)

I think I will pass on the 768MB 460's. Since you can't add a 3rd (could be wrong here) I would hate to "feel" limited by that in the future. By buying the 480 (yes I will be able to use the warranty, I believe it is only 3 years though...) I have every intention to turn that into dual SLI in the future.

Between Corsair or Antec PSU's, what would you recommend to power this rig: i7, 480, classy, 6gb RAM, ssd, 1 hdd, bluray drive? Possible future upgrades, another 480 and bumping up to 12GB RAM.

 

[E4g1e]

Between Corsair or Antec PSU's, what would you recommend to power this rig: i7, 480, classy, 6gb RAM, ssd, 1 hdd, bluray drive? Possible future upgrades, another 480 and bumping up to 12GB RAM.

For that build I would recommend a 750W 80+ Bronze or higher-certified PSU from Corsair, Antec (True Power New) or XFX unless you're going to run two GTX 480s (in which case 850W is the absolute minimum, but 1000W is recommended).