I've been reading these forums on and off for the last month or two, preparing for my own system build. Here's what I came up with:
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 1-2 weeks
BUDGET RANGE: $1800-2000
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, Graphic Design (Photoshop), Programming, Music/Movies
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg
PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel CPU
OVERCLOCKING: Possibly some light overclocking
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Possibly, depending on what the graphics card market looks like in the coming months. The idea is to get 1 5870 now, and maybe another later
MONITOR RESOLUTION: I plan to use 2x 24" 1920x1200, where 1 would be running a game and the other have a web browser and other apps open.
The Parts List:
CASE: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Blue RC-932-KKN3-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail - $150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119213
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-850HX 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail - $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011
CPU: Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Retail - $290
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - $310
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614
COOLING: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail - $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8T-6GBRM - Retail - $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231304
GPU: XFX HD-587A-ZNF9 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity - Retail - $410
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150443
DVD: Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD/CD Rewritable Drive - OEM - $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Bare Drive - $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - $175
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116762
Total: $1815
So a couple of questions:
1) First of all, does everything look ok? Are there any recommendations as far as parts go? I can go a little higher as far as budget goes if there is performance to be gained.
2) Regarding RAM: I intend to get 6gb now, and 6 more later for a total of 12 (I do a good amount of Photoshop and graphics work at high resolutions, and often have many things open at once). My question is, is adding more RAM simply a matter of buying another 3 sticks and plugging them in? Is there anything I have to consider? I plan to use the same timings and probably even the same manufacturer, but was wondering if there was anything else to worry about.
3) I remember reading at some point that the full tower cases like the 932 need extension cables of some kind (I'm guessing power supply) since provided cables sometimes aren't long enough to reach some of the components. Is this a realistic problem, and if so, what specific cables should I be looking for?
4) Regarding cooling: Is there anything I need other than the items listed (except of course thermal compound)? Should I get additional case fans? What about when/if I do some light overclocking and get a second 5870 GPU?
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 1-2 weeks
BUDGET RANGE: $1800-2000
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, Graphic Design (Photoshop), Programming, Music/Movies
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg
PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel CPU
OVERCLOCKING: Possibly some light overclocking
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Possibly, depending on what the graphics card market looks like in the coming months. The idea is to get 1 5870 now, and maybe another later
MONITOR RESOLUTION: I plan to use 2x 24" 1920x1200, where 1 would be running a game and the other have a web browser and other apps open.
The Parts List:
CASE: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Blue RC-932-KKN3-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail - $150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119213
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-850HX 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail - $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011
CPU: Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Retail - $290
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - $310
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614
COOLING: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail - $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8T-6GBRM - Retail - $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231304
GPU: XFX HD-587A-ZNF9 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity - Retail - $410
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150443
DVD: Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD/CD Rewritable Drive - OEM - $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Bare Drive - $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - $175
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116762
Total: $1815
So a couple of questions:
1) First of all, does everything look ok? Are there any recommendations as far as parts go? I can go a little higher as far as budget goes if there is performance to be gained.
2) Regarding RAM: I intend to get 6gb now, and 6 more later for a total of 12 (I do a good amount of Photoshop and graphics work at high resolutions, and often have many things open at once). My question is, is adding more RAM simply a matter of buying another 3 sticks and plugging them in? Is there anything I have to consider? I plan to use the same timings and probably even the same manufacturer, but was wondering if there was anything else to worry about.
3) I remember reading at some point that the full tower cases like the 932 need extension cables of some kind (I'm guessing power supply) since provided cables sometimes aren't long enough to reach some of the components. Is this a realistic problem, and if so, what specific cables should I be looking for?
4) Regarding cooling: Is there anything I need other than the items listed (except of course thermal compound)? Should I get additional case fans? What about when/if I do some light overclocking and get a second 5870 GPU?