New i7 build

vjcsmoke

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Dec 5, 2006
Messages
4,511
[New]
CPU: i7 920 D0 Stepping
Heatsink: Scythe Mugen 2 SCMG-2000 + X23 thermal grease
Motherboard: ASUS P6TD-Deluxe
Memory: 6GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600Mhz 7-7-7-20
Video Card: Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon 4890
Monitor: Dell SX2210

[Reusing]
PSU: PC Power and Cooling Silencer 750W Crossfire Edition
Case: Lian Li PC65B
HDDs: WD Raptor 150GB, 1TB WD Caviar Black, WD 500GB, Hitachi 250GBx2.
Optical Drives: 16x Sony DVD Burner/Reader, 12x Pioneer DVD Burner/Reader
Monitor 2: Samsung 215TW

So I think I am eventually going to replace the case to get more efficient cooling and better cable management. And probably another 6GB of DDR3. Intel SSD is down the road as well as a Bluray burner/player. Can't quite afford the extra upgrades right now. Most of my money was spent on the above. I could use a recommendation on what case to go with though. How's it look?
 
Please answer the stickied "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST" so that we can help you better.

Some case recommendations:
$40 - Cooler Master Elite 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$44 - Cooler Master Elite 331 RC-331-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$50 - Cooler Master Elite 332 RC-332-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$50 - Thermaltake WingRS 201 VJ60001N2Z ATX Case
$55 - Cooler Master Sileo 500 RC-500-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$60 - Antec 300 ATX Case
$60 - Cooler Master RC-590-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$70 - Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$86 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$86 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$105 - Thermaltake ElementS VK60001N2Z ATX Case
$140 - Antec P183 ATX Case
$150 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$200 - Cooler Master Cosmos S 1000 RC-1100-KSN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$200 - Cooler Master ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$200 - Lian Li PC-V1100A Plus II ATX Case
$220 - Silverstone FT01-B ATX Case
$250 - Lian Li PC-V1200B Plus II ATX Case
$240 - Lian Li PC-A71B ATX Case
$285 - Silverstone TJ09-B Full Tower ATX Case
$320 - Silverstone TJ10-B Full Tower ATX Case
$330 - Silverstone Temjin SST-TJ07B Full Tower ATX Case
Cases (ATX w/PSU):
 
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming, browsing, movies etc.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I spent about 1k already on new components. I'll probably have around $300 to spend for further upgrades like a new case or memory or whatnot.

3) Where do you live?
Continental United States

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.

Case and anything else that needs upgrading.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Listed.

6) Will you be overclocking?

Yes. To at least 4ghz 24/7 on air cooling.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?

2x 21.5 inch monitors. 1680x1050 + 1920x1080.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Very near future. Parts will be arrving soon.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.

Crossfire/SLI/RAID/etc.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?

Yup.
 
Is the Thermaltake Element S better than the Element G? Will it support oversized video cards in crossfire without running into the drive cage? Got 2.5 inch drive support? Any cool LEDs and/or cable management? Removable mobo tray? I kinda like that feature of the Lian li.
 
Swap out the Scythe HSF for this significantly better cooling HSF:
$40 - Thermalright Cogage TRUE Spirit HSF

I'd personally swap out the Sapphire GPU for the XFX version for the better support and lifetime warranty:
$195 - XFX HD-489A-ZDFC Radeon HD 4890 1GB PCI-E Video Card
 
Doesn't the Cogage have a pretty bad mounting system though? I heard some people had to spend an additional $10 just to get a good mounting bracket or something for i7.
Also, where can I get cheap 120mm fan clips? I'd like to mount two heatsink fans, but everywhere I look fan clips are expensive, and even more so when you add the shipping costs!
 
Doesn't the Cogage have a pretty bad mounting system though? I heard some people had to spend an additional $10 just to get a good mounting bracket or something for i7.

Haven't heard of any problem with the Cogage's mounting system.
 
Well Ewiz just called me and told me that the ASUS model motherboard they were about to ship me had been recalled by manufacturer! Apparently there was some defect with that batch of ASUS P6TD-Deluxe. Bullet dodged, money will be returned, but now I need a new motherboard to pick!

Also RMA'd the vapor-x 4890 because it had cold boot issues. So now I need to pick a new video card, 5870 perhaps? Damn the fan whine of the 6600GTs are driving me crazy.
 
The Asus P6T is a good mobo choice.

Wait for the 5XXX series if you wish. It's only 2-3 weeks away.
 
The Silverstone fortress looks promising. Classy look reminds me of lian li. 2x180mm fans and a 1x 120mm rear. Well it might be a bit quieter. Will the airflow be better than 4x92mm?
 
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