Proposed Config

[BugginOuT]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Most Gaming, some multimedia tasks

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
>1500.00 US Dollars

3) Where do you live?
New Jersey

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, RAM, and Mobo

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
OCZ 1000w, 2x 150GB VelociRaptors for OS in RAID 1, Thermalright Ultra-120, Just ordered 2 Asus GTX460 1GB version

6) Will you be overclocking?
Mildly

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Dell 24in

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
in the next couple of weeks

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

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Windows 7 Pro, already have a license

Proposed hardware:

Intel Core i7-930 2.8Ghz
MSI Big Bang-Xpower
OCZ DDR3 PC3-16000
Thermalright LGA1366 Bolt-Thru Board Mounting Kit

Total: 772.43 + 420.00 for the GPU = 1192.43

Thoughts?

 

[Markyip1]

If you're in northern NJ, head over to the Microcenter in Paterson to pick up the i7 930 for a cool $200. If you've never been there, it's actually a fantastic store -- in fact I'd go as far to say that it's the best B&M computer store I've seen in recent times. Their depth of product selection is very impressive, and they'll often pricematch online retailers.

 

[BugginOuT]

Nice, it's only about 10 minutes away from me.

Good saving of $50, I'll pick up the rest from Amazon.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Dangman]

Which OCZ 1000W PSU do you have? Some of OCZ's 1000W PSUs were pieces of shit while some were good.

Motherboard wise, for what you've described so far, the MSI Big Bang X-Power is complete overkill. I mean, what features does it have that'll justify the extra money or so for it over these motherboards?:
$210 - Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Intel X58 ATX Motherboard
$240 - Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58 ATX Motherboard

 

[BugginOuT]

I don't remember which OCZ unit it was, have to go home and check the model number for you.

The MSI board had me at Hello.

 

[Markyip1]

I'll admit the MSI board is a good value in it's narrow comparative range -- it's the first 7 x16 PCI-E slot X58 motherboard that's under $300 list price as far as I know.

Still, unless you absolutely need such a setup (think multi-GPU systems focused on folding/crunching in addition to gaming,) a 7 x16 PCI-E setup may be a liability. There are still lots of useful PCI cards out there, from cheap RAID cards to very high-end sound cards. (For whatever reason, the best Creative and Asus cards are still PCI -- even cards released in the past year.)

Also keep in mind that the GTX 460 only scales to two cards, so you'll never really be able to take advantage of the MSI's board unique layout unless you completely replace your video card setup. By the time you'll likely want to do that, it may very well be time to move on to a new CPU, socket, and motherboard anyway.

 

[BugginOuT]

Duly noted.

Should I stick with the OCZ or go for the G.Skill RipJaws? It's about a $20 difference.

 

[Dangman]

Which OCZ RAM are you talking about?
Also, which OCZ PSU do you have?

 

[BugginOuT]

OCZ RAM: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026RDJ44/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=A2YLYLTN75J8LR

OCZ PS: If memory serves me correctly, it was the PowerStream 1000w

 

[Dangman]

Double check the PSU. The Powerstream was a pretty decent if not very quiet PSU.

I doubt that RAM is worth the extra cash over a G.Skill or Corsair DDR3 1600 RAM