I7 920 would like final review!

beg5670

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Jul 14, 2009
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hey guys, I just want to get a final opinion before I order the parts for this new computer...

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: (sometime this week, would prefer either today or tomorrow though)

BUDGET RANGE: (US$1,000 - $1,600)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: (gaming, web browsing, software development, opengl coding, image analysis using matlab, etc...need a pretty fast machine)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: (keyboard, mouse, speakers, OS)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: (no real preference, anywhere that is cheap and reliable...as of now I am sticking with newegg.com)


OVERCLOCKING: Yes
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: (1920x1200)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
1. CASE: Is the ATX Mid big enough or should I go with an ATX Full?
2. PSU: Is 750 watts enough even if I add an additional video card or should I be safe and go with 800 watts?
3. VIDEO CARD: I am not sure if I should go with dual GTX 260 core 16 SLI, GTX 280, or GTX 285...I went with the 280 because I plan on OCing the video card and I believe that an OCd GTX 280 is on par with the GTX 285...correct?
4. MOBO: Should I stick with the EVGA or go with the ASUS P6T. I will be OCing.
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LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106291

Thermaltake Armor+MX VH8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133062

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W 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=N82E16817139006

ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020

COOLER MASTER V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055

EVGA 01G-P3-1280-TR GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130492

OCZ XMP Ready Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227388

EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX X58 SLI LE Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188049

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Chttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202ache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor

 
For your GPU i would get a ATi 4890 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161276), basically the same as the GTX 280 only cheaper and easily OC'd. Also for your case, a half tower would be awesome, i would reccomend going with the Antec 300 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042), awesome for OCing and not too terribly expensive.

My build is similar to yours, hope you enjoy it.
 
Thanks for the quick reply DrGrass. I found a combo on newegg a few hours ago for the GTX 280 and OCZ XMP. With MIR it comes to about $303.00 opposed to getting the 4890 and the OCZ XMP, which comes to about $283.00. Do you still think I should go with the 4890 (I heard there were a lot of problems w/ the 4890 drivers)?
 

I personally prefer Nvidia, so imho yes. I think the GTX 280 OC can outdue the 4890 OC about 60% of the time, so for most games. Good luck, looks like a great rig.
 


Well it's not a lie than nVidia has better driver services; but seeing as how there are benchmark tests done that compare the ATi 4890 to the GTX 285; where the 4890 looses by about 2-3fps; and you're trying to get the GTX 280 for even more than the 4890... seems like a no brainer. You can easily OC the 4890 to outperform a GTX 285 and save yourself about 150 bucks. Basically what it comes down to is if you perfer the polished feel of nVidia with tech support and want to shell out some extra dollars for it by all means. But if it's Price/Performance you're after, then the 4890 is the better pick in my opinion.

Just my 2c :)
 
I would recommend the ATI 4890 or GTX275 over the GTX280. I would stick with your case since you like it, which is the bottom line when it comes down to it. I would look at the Xigmatek Dark Knight S1283V Heatsink over the V8. It has similar or better cooling in most cases for less money.
 
Yeah, definately get the Dark Knight. It has great cooling (an OC i7 get's about idle-40's, and load- 60's Celsius). Pretty damn good for 40$.
 
Thanks for the responses. I switched my cooling to the Dark Knight. I'm still up in the air about the video cards, its a difference of $35 (4890 cheaper)...I'll let everyone know what my final build looks like. Thanks again.
 
I would take the HD 4890 over the GTX 280 for sure. The GTX 280 is older, outdated, power hungry, and super hot tech, which is why you see what, maybe four of them on newegg? The 4890 will OC pretty far and beat the GTX 280 in most cases, and the GTX 280 will not keep up in OC'ing. Plus the 4890 is cheaper, and the ATI driver issues are 95% user error.