new i7 quad build

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motox2121

n00b
Joined
Mar 3, 2005
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Hey guys, just wanted to get some opinions before I started ordering any parts.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming/light photoshop/ web browsing/ e-mail/ MSoffice
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
around $1000-1200
3) Where do you live?
Florida
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything but case/dvd-drive
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Case/Dvd-drive
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes, moderate/safe oc'ing
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
20.1" 1680x1050
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Next week or so
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
RAID support preferably, SLI doesn't really matter to me right now
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Planning to buy Windows vista 64bit OEM~$99

This is what i've been looking at:


MSI X58 Pro LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130221 200

XFX GX260NADFF GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150329 210

RAIDMAX QUANTUM RX-700 700W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC SLI Power Supply - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152033 100

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product /Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202 290

OCZ Solid Series OCZSSD2-1SLD60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227373 160


OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381 110

ASUS Xonar D1 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132007 90

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488 99

PLANTRONICS .Audio 650 USB Circumaural Multimedia Stereo Headset http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826265044 35

Total ~ 1294 a lil over my budget

I was considering an alternate build with a q6600, 4gb ddr2-1066, and a cheaper motherboard.

Also considering 2x160gb WD HD's in RAID 0 over the SSD

Any thoughts on better/cheaper components?

Appreciate any input,

Thanks
 
I have to give an "oh HELL NO!" to the following components:

Raidmax power supply -- Raidmax isn't known for quality power supplies. Go with a better known brand like Enermax or Corsair. Better yet, take advantage of this deal on the PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W PSU. PC P&C is among the best when it comes to making quality power supplies.

OCZ SSD -- this is more of a price issue than anything else. Stick with one of the Western Digital Caviar (Blue or Black) 640GB hard drives, which offer the best compromise of speed, performance, and price. The long story short is that the 640GB drives are only about 10% slower than the VelociRaptors, and they offer much more storage capacity than the VelociRaptors or the SSDs.

OCZ RAM -- if you're planning on overclocking, you should get RAM that runs at a lower voltage level. Many OCZ sets of DDR3 RAM run at 1.65V, which is the maximum amount of voltage that an Intel Core i7 processor could safely handle. Go with this G.Skill set, which doesn't require a MIR for a lower cost and is more generous on the voltage. (Tight timings matter little when it comes to overclocking... the G.Skill set would perform, at worst, as well as the OCZ kit, and at stock speeds, they'd perform the same.)

I recommend holding off on the sound card for two reasons. First, onboard sound no longer sucks, so try it out first. Second, for overclocking, your money would be better spent on a good aftermarket CPU cooler. NewEgg has the Noctua NH-U12P SE 1366, the Xigmatek HDT-S1283V Dark Knight, and the Cooler Master V8 available.
 
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I agree wholeheartedly with tiraides about the PSU and not getting a sound card!!! Also, I agree with not getting the SSD. If money IS an issue my recommendation would be to get like a 1TB drive and get an SSD maybe a year from now when they will be cheaper and larger. That way you can save specifically for that and still get the joy of a new computer now...60gb is simply not enough storage these days, even if it is REALLY FAST. Unless you can afford a storage drive like in a month, then getting an SSD will prevent you from reinstalling vista again or transplanting it using trueimage or something. Everything else looks good though!

Oh yeah, also, you'll save money if you do rebates. Right now that motherboard is 180 after rebate!
 
Unless the 160GB WD drives for the RAID0 array are single sided 320GB platters, then the 1TB Caviar black will still beat them. You'll be better off with a single 640GB or 1TB Caviar instead of a RAID0 of slower drives. OCZ Vertex drives are great, but with that low of a budget, you might want to hold off and go with the Caviars instead. I was underwhelmed by a single Vertex 30GB. Though, from all the forum posts, it looks like two Vertex SSDs in RAID0 are wicked fast. I'll wait a year, still. I decided not to keep the Vertex -- I just still don't trust it for my main system. Oh, and I agree with tiraides.
 
alright thanks guys, I have been out of the loop for the past few years with what brands were well known nowadays. Thanks for comments, will take into consideration.
 
I agree 100% with tiraides. Would be an extremely good idea to heed his advice, especially on the PSU.
 
Ok guys, I think going w/ onboard sound would be a nice compromise, but still have thoughts about my drive. I forgot to say I already have a storage drive, and I just need a boot drive for windows/etc. Would getting one of the 640's still be the best choice? or is there a smaller capacity faster solution?

Thanks
 
motox2121 said:
Ok guys, I think going w/ onboard sound would be a nice compromise, but still have thoughts about my drive. I forgot to say I already have a storage drive, and I just need a boot drive for windows/etc. Would getting one of the 640's still be the best choice? or is there a smaller capacity faster solution?

Thanks
Click to expand...

The 640GB is the best choice in terms of price to performance or value. There are faster and smaller capacity drives but they have pretty high costs. Enginurd already listed the faster solutions (OCZ Vertex RAID 0) and then there's the W.D Velociraptor 150GB and 300GB drives. However, like I said, their performance increase does not justify their higher costs and less storage capability
 
The "smaller capacity faster solution" would either be a 150GB VelociRaptor or a <320GB SSD, but to cut costs, one of the 640GB HDDs would be a cheaper option. Price-wise, the 640GB HDD would be the best choice.

The Data Storage Systems forum here would have some more benchmarks and opinions that could help you finalize your decision on an OS drive.

Or, you could listen to enginurd and Danny Bui.
 
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