Core i7 Build

[jack982]

I'm thinking of making a core i7 system that will last me for the years to come. I'm thinking of getting the i7 920 and just ocing it.
Here's a list of parts i'm most likely going to get.

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Antec Performance One P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory

EVGA 896-P3-1260-AR GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

or EVGA 01G-P3-1280-AR GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner

Vigor Monsoon III LT Dual 120mm Fan CPU Cooler Socket 1366 Ready

Though I can't decide on on power supply. Could somewhat give me a rough estimate as to how much power i'm gonna need to power this beast. Also could someone rate my build and help me possibly improve it.
I'm probably going to get another better board but I'm trying to keep this within a budget of 1500$ if anyone could point me in the direction on a good board that's not like over 500$ that would be great.

 

[mi1ez]

Around 600W should do you fine. Corsair PSUs always seem to have a MIR.

 

[dragonsprayer]

600w psu is way too small

you want at least a 650-750 -- some 650 are very high end like antec. many 600w are low end

my rules:

1) i use 750 850 and 1000w psu

2) 850 is use for high end dual cards like 260's or oc 4830's or 4870's in pairs or if you might add one == if you might add a second card go 850. if you probably won't go 750

3) i use 1000w for 4870x2 or gx2 or 295 when you might add a second card

i rarely use over 1000w, i do use 1200w on high end water only, i always use a 750w psu even on my $1800 cheapy systems with 1 gpu.

i have never had one failure - no cpu, no psu no system has failed in 5 years

yes stuff breaks - actually almost never since i use high end parts

 

[dragonsprayer]

the 180 is best served by a long wired psu -- you need to bring the mobo 12v atx around the back and its a long run with the 180b
see below

 

[dragonsprayer]

oops wrong photo

i get the right one

 

[dragonsprayer]

dam - why is spoky in that photo? spoky go lay down!

here we go - this might be when we had to cut the holes for the atx 12v cable

old stuff

this is back in the good old days of high house prices

ok i cheated i through this in since we built with the 180b - its cooler master mobo tray

maybe some of the photos might help - its 5am my time i stayed too late!

this is all scewed up and the wrong photos i got to ge tto bedzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[merlinbadman]

My 650W PSU is more than enough to run my i7 920, 280GTX, 6GB 1333 ram.

You dont need an uber PSU for I7's with single graphics cards.

 

[mi1ez]

Exactly. Obviously go for a known brand PSU and check the amps but 600W should be fine.

 

[jack982]

I'm still not to keen on the motherboard. Could someone recommend me another board or is this motherboard fine for now?

 

[V3NOM]

yes i personally do not like the gigabyte X58's. purely because they look fugly

i recommend the Asus P6T, the MSI X58 Eclipse, or the EVGA X58 whatever it's called.

IMO get a 4870, since it will allow you to crossfire it with a higher end card such as a 4870X2 down the road, whereas a GTX 280 will only allow you to SLI it with another GTX 280.

i also recommend the WD 640GB AAKS or AALS over the 500.

and finally, the coolermaster 690 over the antec P180, but that's a matter of personal preference.

 

[oztrodamus]

Exactly. Obviously go for a known brand PSU and check the amps but 600W should be fine.

A quick and dirty way to determine the correct PSU wattage for your PC is to sum the total number of amps for each device and multiply by the voltage.

Keep in mind that power supplies have something called "rails" and even though you may have enough wattage you can still under power your PC, because you exceed the supplied amperage on the (most likely) +12v rail. The +12v rail(s) supplies power to components, such as your graphics cards, CPU, HDD's, and water coolers.

The Cool Master Extreme 600W for example has two +12v 18amp rails. This means that most likely the CPU, HDD, and DVD-RW drives are all sharing the same rail. This could make a PC very unstable when under load. Where as the Seasonic 600W equivalent has 4 +12v 18amp rails. Difference in price between the two PSU's is about $50.

Also you want to make sure that the power requirement for your graphics card does not exceed the available amperage per rail. An EVGA 260 requires 36amps, but only a 500 PSU. This means it will need a minimum of 2 PCI-E 6pin connectors which clearly the the Cool Master wouldn't have. Another example would be an EVGA 8600GTS Superclocked which requires 22-24amps on a single rail. Again the Cool Master would not meet the requirements, but in terms of pure wattage it appears it would as it only needs a 450W PSU.

 

[jack982]

I'm thinking of getting a antec 900 case rather than the p180. Would that be a better choice? Also thanks for recommended motherboards

 

[V3NOM]

take a look at the recently released 902 as well.

imo either the CM 690 or the 902.

 

[oztrodamus]

I have an antec P180 and it's a beautiful case both inside and out. Only problem is the larger size graphics cards won't fit unless you remove the addtional drive carriage. Maximum size card that will fit with additional drive carriage is 9" (228mm). The newer cards are 10.5" (266mm).

I read that this problem was resolved with the P182 design, but I would make certain before purchasing any of the Antec cases. I would check even more so with the 900 series, because the drive bays are not removable.

 

[one-shot]

I recently replaced my aging Cooler Master Centurion 5 with an Antec P182 I got off of the Egg for $100 Shipped. The case is nice, roomy, not too roomy tho, and looks professional. I'm not into the bright LED's and 20K blinding case fans, although my case has many fans. It's a great case that is built solidly. It should last you for years if you decide to go with the P180, but I would recommend the P182 instead.