I7 Gaming Rig ~$2000

[thehappysavage]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Mid-June BUDGET RANGE: ($2000)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (ArmA2 when it comes out), watching TV/Movies, surfing, school work

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Going to use Win 7 RC 64-Bit until it comes out.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com

PARTS PREFERENCES: i7, EVGA vid card

OVERCLOCKING: Yes SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Air-cooled

What would the benefits of getting one of EVGA's 2GB GTX285's instead of the usual 1GB?


Thanks,

 

[jpdykes]

As a start off see Why_me's build here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/264953-31-another-build-1000-1200-budget

You have more money to play with so look at faster hard disks (WD raptor or SSD) and more graphics power.

Look for a screen around 24", Samsung are doing some nice ones - a new range of LCD ones came out recently. Alternatively I think bit tech.net were recommending an HP one - see their most recent buyer's guide.

Jeremy

 

[fullmetall]

LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152

Cooler Master Haf 932
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160&Tpk=Cooler%20master%20Haf

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

EVGA 01G-P3-1281-AR GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit GDDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130442

CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029


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

ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365

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


Shipping $1490's without M-i-r's.

next, calls for a neat BenQ 24" monitor to tag along.

BenQ G2400WD Black 24"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824014173&Tpk=BenQ%2024%22


$1890's without M-i-r's .



Monitor is where you dont want to give up on and buy something cheap, get a good nice monitor

same with PSU, Quality over Price.

 

[aevm]

Do you already have a monitor, or does that have to be included in the $2000?

Let's see...

P6T Deluxe V2 $290
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365
i7 920 $280
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 $140
G.Skill 6 GB DDR3-1600 $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247
Xigmatek Dark Knight $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029
WD 1TB Caviar Black WD1001FALS $100

Total so far: $940

I will assume you don't have a monitor yet, and recommend the T260 ($400).

You are left with $660 for PSU and graphic card(s).

One possible solution:

Corsair 850TX ($140)
eVGA GTX 285 $320 (two of them)

That's $120 over budget, but I expect prices will drop a bit by mid-June.

If you want something even better, get a Corsair 1000HX ($200) and the two GTX 285 cards. That's $180 over budget, but again prices will drop a bit by the time you buy. The difference here is that with the 1000W PSU you can add a third GTX 285 card later. That's the fastest combination available these days - nothing beats the GTX 285 Tri-SLI. It's better even than two GTX 295 cards (Quad-SLI), from the benchmarks I've seen.

 

[aevm]

LOL, I hadn't seen FullMetall's post. Great minds think alike

I forgot the DVD...

The WD6401AALS is an excellent disk, but right now the 1TB version is better bang for the buck ($100 at newegg; the 640GB is $80)

 

[fullmetall]

Lol, I would call on that gtx 285 + corsair 1000hx aswell, once prices continously drop, they should fit in there hopefully. If not, you can get the corsair 1000hx now and 1 gtx 285, then get the other gtx 285 later once you have the money.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.190227

if this helps lowering anything

Combo.

 

[thehappysavage]

Monitor does need to be included in the $2000. I'm looking at the Samsung T240HD.

After looking at your suggestions, I've put together this list. Feel free to tear it apart if you see any glaring problems.

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-1000HX 1000W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Retail

CPU Heatsink: XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

Motherboard: ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Graphics Card: EVGA 02G-P3-1185-AR GeForce GTX 285 2GB 512-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Memory: OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Hard Drives: 2x Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM

Monitor: SAMSUNG ToC T240HD Rose-Black 24" 5ms HDMI Widescreen HDTV Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 10000:1 Built in DTV Tuner & Dolby Digital Surround Speakers - Retail

Total: $2070.30 without any combos or mail-in rebates, but with shipping costs.


Just a few questions:

What would be the advantage of having a 2GB GTX285 instead of a 1GB?

If I want to run those 1TB Caviar Black drives in RAID 0, should I get a hardware RAID card? Should I get a SSD for the OS drive?

What thermal compound should I get?

Does NewEgg only carry those D0-stepping i7's now?

 

[jpdykes]

I'd be very surprised if you get anywhere near needing a 1000W PSU. Corsair 850W would be enough power to run a second GPU if you wanted to.

Just RAID from the motherboard.

 

[theAnimal]

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-1000HX 1000W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

I would recommend the Enermax Revolution 850W instead.

What would be the advantage of having a 2GB GTX285 instead of a 1GB?

None. I would recommend this one. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150367

If I want to run those 1TB Caviar Black drives in RAID 0, should I get a hardware RAID card?

Mobo RAID is fine for RAID 0.

What thermal compound should I get?

Arctic Cooling MX-2 or OCZ Freeze.

 

[aevm]

I'd be very surprised if you get anywhere near needing a 1000W PSU. Corsair 850W would be enough power to run a second GPU if you wanted to.

Agreed. Get the 1000HX only if you intend to have 3 GTX 285 cards eventually. For two, the Corsair 850w will do just fine.

 

[fullmetall]

850tx should be fine but, i'd still recommend the 1000hx IMO.

don't think the 2gb will be needed, should stick with the 1gb since you can plan on getting another gpu later on.

Compound, Arctic silver 5