First Build Core i7 920

[aliasx]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within a month

BUDGET RANGE: Id like to stay within 1200-1500

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, Photoshop, Movies, Surfing

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, Possibly sound card.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Doesnt matter

PARTS PREFERENCES: Nope

OVERCLOCKING: Yes /

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Ive never built a computer before, but i've always wanted to. Also I have never overclocked before, and I want to as well. I didn't pickout a video card on purpose cause im really not sure how to choose one (I am open to suggestions) but if it helps the games I do want to play will be Starcraft 2 & Diablo 3

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

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

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128374

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

Im open to cooling options as I don't know what is good

Im also looking into this monitor

Hanns·G HG-281DPB Black 27.5" 3ms Widescreen LCD HDMI Monitor 500 cd/m2 800:1 Built in Speakers
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254026

The monitor price should not be factored into this build since it would be purchased a few weeks later and not by me.

Also I am wanting to hook up my xbox to the same monitor as my computer and am questioning 32" LCD TV's as well. would playing games on a 1080p 32"lcd by the computer look bad? would using a 32" look bad period as a monitor?

 

[Helloworld_98]

that monitor's fine, but there is a slightly better 27" monitor out there by Dell or Samsung which might work for you.

for a graphics card, get a single 4890 now, then in Q3/Q4 get one of the ATi DX11 cards.

 

[kufan64]

First off, DON'T use a TV for a monitor if you want your games to look good. I experimented with it briefly, and it just doesn't work. It usually looked fuzzy and had problems with the resolution. You can get a HDMI cable and hook your 360 into your computer monitor though. (assuming you've got an HDMI port on your monitor) That would probably work nicely.

Everything looks nice, but I might recommend the 750 or 850TX instead of the 650. I only say so because if you want to overclock AND have the option of SLI/XFire, the extra wattage will come in handy so you don't have to worry about insufficient power requirements.

I also recommend the GTX 275 video card. It'll give you the best bang for the buck IMO. (on the NVidia side at least)

 

[aliasx]

Hows my ram?
Would I benefit from a RAM with higher speeds? Is there a better brand that peforms better than OCZ?

 

[Why_Me]

650w isn't enough to push two decent cards, and I didn't put that Antec 900 in this build for the fact it isn't a case I wouldn't recommend for a dual card.

Do a google on "ewiz coupons" or "ewiz promo codes" and save another $5 - $15 off that mobo/cpu combo. It's all in the shopping. That psu will easily push two of those cards in SLI. No need for a sound card imo, onboard sound just keeps getting better and better these days.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006382 $109.99 ($79.99 after MIR) Free Shipping
PC Power and Cooling SILENCER 750W QUAD S75CF Power Supply Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-EX58U4P Combo Price: $492.99 Free Shipping
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P Core i7/ Intel X58/ DDR3/ CorssFireX & 3-Way SLI/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 $39.99
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003 $4.99
Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133268 $199.99 Free Shipping*
PNY VCGGTX275XPB GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.199045 Combo Discount: -$7.00 Combo Price: $212.98 $20.00 Mail-In Rebate *Free Shipping
OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK - Retail
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives - OEM


Total: $1,060.93 | $1,010.93 w/mail in rebates

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd353205.aspx?ITPID=mscomsc <--- Save yourself some money on an o/s until March 2010 and dl the 64 bit version of Windows RC 7

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128374 <--- more pics, specs, and customer reviews of the Gigabyte UD4P mobo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011 <--- more pics, specs, and customer reviews of that psu

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-275,2266.html <--- gtzx 275 review and benchmarks

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-sli,2298.html <--- gtx 275's in SLI > gtx 295