Do i have your blessings? i7 build.

[abp667]

OK so about six months ago I was very close to building a quad core system but i decided to hold off until this year and be patient. Well I've done a bunch of research and started to get the itch to get this thing built sooner rather than later. It will be primarily for gaming but i will be doing some HD video editing as well as some Photoshop work. The games i'm really interested in are Dawn of War II, Sins of a Solar Empire, Diablo III, Starcraft II, Dragon Age: Origins.

So here is what i've come up with

Intel Core i7 920
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202]

ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131359]

PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011]

SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801]

OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381]

COOLER MASTER V8
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055]

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319]

COOLER MASTER HAF 932
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160]

LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152]

Saitek PZ30AU Black USB Wired Standard Eclipse
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823175103]

Logitech MX518
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104178]

Initially i'm going to be using a 22" LCD but plan on upgrading to the Samsun T240HD down the road so my target gaming resolution is 1920x1200. I've considered switching the GPU to the GTX285. I've also considered downsizing the HAF. I'm not sure I want a tower that BIG but i want to make sure i don't have any space issues with the CPU cooler or video cards. I was thinking of switching to the Antec 300 or CM690. I don't need all the crazy LED's or anything. If i'm saving money on the case then maybe i'll go with a better card.

These forums are a great resource. I'm definitely one of those people that needs to research and plan like crazy before i make these types of purchases and this place has been great.

Oh and the current total is about $1,625 after shipping. I'd like to keep the budget close to where it is now.

 

[xthekidx]

That is a very good build. If you want your gaming res to be 19x12, then I would say go with the GTX 285. Will you SLI or xfire in the future? if you think you will SLI GTX 285's then you need to go with an Corsair 850tx for the PSU. If you will only use one card, then the 650tx would be enough, or you can keep that 750w, its a good one.

If you want to downsize the case, the CM 690 is big enough to fit everything. I have it, as well as the V8 which fits fine and you can fit your large GPUs in there too.

 

[abp667]

I'd like to keep my options open for SLI/Xfire. I had read that ATI cards where better with games like Diablo III (havok engine) and Nvidia seemed to be more FPS games. I have no brand loyalty when it comes to this stuff and the difference may not even be noticeable. I also read that the side panel fan would have to be removed to fit the V8. Is that true? I'm not even sure if it's that important.

Thanks again.

 

[xthekidx]

It would depend on the motherboard layout, but with the P6T its not an issue, the fan and V8 will fit fine together.

Yes some games like ATI or Nvidia better, it depends on the types of games you play. However its not a huge difference. If you want to SLI or xfire, I would suggest getting the P6T Deluxe V2, its layout of the PCIEx16 slots is much better and allows for more airflow to get to the cards. The P6T's PCIEx16 slots are placed very close together and there is almost no room between the two video cards for airflow to the first card. The P6T would work for dual cards, but I think the V2 is better.

Since you aren't getting a new monitor until later, you could put off SLI/xfire until then. The 4870 is cheaper and it will work fine on your 22" right now, the only problem will be when you have a bigger resolution. You could get another 4870 when you want to get the new monitor and xfire then, and you won't have a problem in games with two 4870's at 19x12 res.

 

[aevm]

Excellent build.

Save your $70 and use the stock cooler instead of buying the CoolerMaster V8. You only need an aftermarket cooler if you overclock, and you shouldn't overclock if you use the PC for other things than gaming.

Buy two hard drives. Video editing works a lot better if you manage to keep the source and target files on different physical disks.

If you need to cut costs change the case to CM 690. It doesn't have wheels but still, it's a very good case.

Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 will use Havok for physics, which means they prefer an ATI card. I couldn't find what the other three games you mentioned prefer. They probably don't care.

None of those games are shooters so I strongly doubt you'd need Crossfire or SLI, even at 1920x1200. Try with a single card for now and add the second one only if necessary.

You could save about $200 by getting a Q9550, a P45 motherboard and 8 GB of DDR2-800 instead of the i7/x58/6GB of ddr3.

It would be better in some games,
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2008/11/03/intel-core-i7-920-945-965-review/5

or extremely close in others.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2008/11/03/intel-core-i7-920-945-965-review/4
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2008/11/03/intel-core-i7-920-945-965-review/6

It would be 10% slower at encoding HD video, unless your videos are huge and the extra 2GB of RAM make the Q9550 setup faster. Pretty hard to predict that one.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2008/11/03/intel-core-i7-920-945-965-review/7

 

[abp667]

Thanks for all the advice. I was planning on trying my hand at overclocking. Nothing huge but a nice bump. I'm not going to do a ton of video editing. Mostly just home movie stuff. And I'll probably do most of my photoshop on my G5 mac.

I'll probably switch the case to the 690
I think i'd prefer to stick with i7
To save a bit of money should i switch the cooler to the Xigmatec 1283 with the retention bracket? Or just stick with the v8
Should i just get a second WD 640?

 

[aevm]

All right, if you want to overclock then it's worth buying a cooler.

The Xigmatek cooler for i7 is this one:
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029
You don't need to buy a separate retention bracket for this one. That was necessary for the HDT-S1283 cooler on LGA775 platforms (i.e. on a Q9550 or E8500 or similar),

Yeah, I'd just get a second WD6401AALS.

 

[grieve]

I have a general rule…
If you don’t crossfire sli on build day, you likely won’t ever. By the time you buy a second card you will b better off buying a single better card.

I like your setup as is, 4870 can play 19x12, and you don’t need more. As aevm mentioned XIGMATEK is a great heastsink, I love my LGA775. Save yourself some cash and snag it instead of the V8.

 

[xthekidx]

+1 Xig

 

[abp667]

So what do yall think? Is the 285 worth the extra moola?
EVGA 01G-P3-1285-AR GeForce GTX 285 SC Edition 1GB
or
SAPPHIRE 100243-1GTXSR Radeon HD 4870 1GB (this one has a slightly higher clock speed 780Mhz than the SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB = 750Mhz) and it's cheaper. These are good things right?

 

[abp667]

thoughts?

 

[xthekidx]

My vote is get one Saphire HD 4870 1gb toxic now and add a second one when you upgrade your monitor. You will probably end up spending less because prices on the 4870 will drop more (because ATI is soon going to be releasing their next round of cards) and you will end up with better performance because you will basically have a superclocked 4870x2 with better cooling, vs GTX 285.

 

[aevm]

+1

AFAIK the new round of cards from both ATI and nVidia is expected this summer.

 

[abp667]

I'm planning on getting the 24" monitor sooner rather than later. I've found a great deal for $100 less than newegg or any of the other sites i usually go to.

I'd rather stick with a single card solution until i really need to sli/crossfire.
That being said do yall think i should stick with the 4870?

 

[xthekidx]

If sooner means nowish, then go with the GTX 285, as I'm sure that deal you found won't last.

 

[abp667]

Is there a particular thermal compound i should go with for the CPU cooler?

 

[christop]

I would change your hard drive to 2 raptor 300 and a tera drive. Raid 0 for raptors and tera for back up.. I would also go for a better graphics card. Nividia 295 or ati 4870x2..

 

[abp667]

Thanks for the advice but I'm pushing the limits of my budget as it is now. I think the 285 will work fine and i can SLI down the road when needed.

 

[grieve]

Is there a particular thermal compound i should go with for the CPU cooler?

Most thermal compounds are reasonably close in performance however if you are buying some get the good stuff, MX-2. Many people like AS5 as well.

 

[aevm]

The main difference is that MX-2 does not conduct electricity. That's useful if you spill.

 

[abp667]

Thanks. Since this is my first rodeo i'm going to go ahead with the MX-2

 

[abp667]

I think i'm going to upgrade some of the fans in the 690 right off the bat.
Add a couple 120mm to the top and a 140 to the bottom while removing the side fan. I was looking at adding this fan controller to the system and wanted to get some of your thoughts.
Sunbeam RHK-EX-BA Rheobus-Extreme
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811995016]

Oh and i also upgraded the motherboard to the Asus P6t Deluxe V2 so i'll have a bit more space for SLI as well as the added ram bonus.

Thanks again for all the help

 

[abp667]

ARRHGHGHGHG
Sorry. So i received all my parts yesterday and started the assembly. I wound up taking a half day today and left work at noon to finish the build. I finished all my cable management then went to go turn it on. I got power but it wouldn't post... hmmm ok. Shut down Reseated the cpu/heatsink and all 3 sticks of ram. Plugged it back on and turned on the power supply...... Nothing. No power at all. I can't even get the power supply fan on. PLEAAASSEE help.

 

[Jack64]

Sounds like the MB isn't correctly mounted to the standoffs. A direct short will kill the power from the PSU before it even causes the fan on the PSU to quiver. Make sure you have all standoffs in the correct places and snug. Other than that I can't think of anything that would kill the system that quick. However, I do not know all there is to know about this kind of stuff. Also make sure ALL plugs are seated good and make sure all plugs are in place, 2 for MB 24 pin and 8 pin, also the GPU plugs. thats what will kick the PSU off but usually not as quick as you are saying, usually if one plug isn't seated it will emit a beep or series of them. Someone on here will have abetter idea I'm sure, but try what I said in the mean time and see if it Works, also I do not know how your cable management was done, but make sure there isn't something sharp cutting into one of you cables causing a direct short, but something like that usually involves smoke...and you didn't mention any. CPU and Ram are the two things and you have already checked them, so I'm not tottaly sure.

 

[Jack64]

Also, does your PSU have a selector on it for 120/240?? I know it is silly, but make sure it is selected to the correct voltage, just to cover that base. And I know this is obvious, but make sure you haven't tripped a breaker....it could happen. it has to me. or you haven't poped you surge protector. mine has a reset on it, although I have nevr popped it, I have popped the breaker...to much stuff plugged into the outlets and overloaded a 15 amp breaker.