I7 rig - 1000-1400 budget

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nimchip

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Hi guys, i've been following the boards and the site for a while but lately I haven't been on to check what's hot and what's new.

I'm running on an old p4 2.8 GHz PC that needs to be upgraded fast to something that could last me a as long as it did. So I decided I wanted an i7, however I'm not entirely sure of the components I could add.

I need: Motherboard, CPU (probably Nehalem 920), ram, 1 Hard Disk, PSU, and of course a Video Card (i'm not too interested in SLI or Crossfire - just 1 will do).

My budget is 1000 to 1400 dollars, but of course the cheaper the better.

This is the current build I have thanks to this thread:

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI
Video Card: EVGA 896-P3-1260-TR GeForce GTX 260
Ram: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA
total: $937.94


Please help me out, I will start reading up on what is best after my classes are over (college comp engineering major almost about to graduate) but I think your help will be very valuable seeing as there are a lot of people that know quite a bit about the i7 and so forth here.

Thank you!
 
N

nimchip

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One board I've been looking at is this one:
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
If anyone could comment on it I will appreciate it.
 
shortstuff_mt

shortstuff_mt

Glorious
Apr 1, 2008
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I posted this in anther thread just a few minutes ago, but it applies to you as well:

Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202 $279.99

ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365 $289.99

G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247 $94.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319&Tpk=wd6401aals $79.99

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009

Case & PSU combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.176939 $179.98 - $20.00 MIR

EVGA 01G-P3-1281-AR GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130442

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

ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020 $6.99

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488 $99.99

Total - $1,426.90 - $50 MIR's
 
radiowars

radiowars

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Feb 15, 2009
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You forgot to add the GTX 285. The real price is ~1610.91.
Whoops!
 
shortstuff_mt

shortstuff_mt

Glorious
Apr 1, 2008
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You're right. I was wondering how that came out so cheap! :lol:

I updated my post above. You could swap these if you need to shave the price down a little:

EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434 $199.99 - $20 MIR

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128386 $209.99
 
Why_Me

Why_Me

Titan
Jan 17, 2008
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:bounce:

This mobo down below is set up to run either Crossfire or SLI. It comes with a gtx 285 which is a low power and low heat card. It has the option to add another for SLI.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.176939 Combo Discount: -$30.00 Combo Price: $179.98 $20.00 Mail-In Rebate
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128386 $209.99
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=I7-920 $265.99 Free Ground Shipping
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, OEM

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

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=FAN-MX2 $6.49
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125255 $339.99 ($309.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate)
GIGABYTE GV-N285-1GH-B GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247 $94.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 $79.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152 $22.99 Free Shipping*
LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488 $99.99 Free Shipping*
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM

Total: $1340.40 *(not including shipping and rebates)

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2009/01/16/nvidia-zotac-geforce-gtx-285-1gb/1 <--- Reviews and charts for the gtx 285
 
Why_Me

Why_Me

Titan
Jan 17, 2008
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Almost identical. I got a small advantage by using a more inexpensive board, and using that super biz site for an OEM cpu to cut the price down.
 
N

nimchip

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Apr 22, 2006
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I don't really need a case or cooling systems. Isn't the stock fan good enough? Or is it like Northwoods that throttle down. God I hated that.

Also: raptor or SSD?

edit: I don't want to Overclock at all.
 
xthekidx

xthekidx

Splendid
Dec 24, 2008
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If you won't OC then you can just use the stock cooler, the i7 won't throttle down until you get to about 85C or so I think...you can also disable the speedstep in the bios which will stop it from throttling down. You do need a cooler if you OC though.

Raptors and SSD's don't offer much performance boost for the price premium. WD6401AALS is the best option IMO.
 
N

nimchip

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Hmm, well I read otherwise, but I can take your word for it. Thanks for the example I will look it up.

And yea sorry, i meant to say i didn't want to oc. Edited it in the original message.
 
N

nimchip

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Apr 22, 2006
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ok a couple of questions:

1) gtx 260 or 285? I don't play a lot of "high end" games so is the 285 worth it?
2) Are G.Skills reliable?
3) Still not sure on the SSD/Raptor thing. I'm taking into consideration the WD6401AALS like xthekidx said.
4) PSU? What kind of PSU for a 285 and what kind of PSU for a 260?
 
gkay09

gkay09

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Jul 28, 2008
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1) GTX285
Reason - Still within your budget and is more future proof
2) Yes they are the most recommended brand here in this forum
3) +1 for the WD Black 640
4) Dont change the PSU(Corsair 850+ Case combo) You can always reuse the PSU, and the power requirements are sure to go up and not the other way...So the 850 is more futureproof
 
xthekidx

xthekidx

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Dec 24, 2008
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4. I would be so sure. Maybe a little, but this day in age is becoming increasingly eco-conscious, and advances in manufacturing processes keep reducing energy reqirements while increasing performance. Yes, consumption will probably go up, but not by a large amount. I doubt any single GPU will ever require an 850w PSU. That being said, I too think you should go with the 850tx combo, can't beat a deal like that.
 
N

nimchip

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Apr 22, 2006
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Yea I actually didn't post those components, it was a recommendation. I'm not actually buying a case, i have one ready - so I'm looking to upgrading my PSU. Corsair 850+ are pretty good? I've used Antecs (I currently have 420W) before and they're pretty solid.
 
N

nimchip

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Weight is an issue so I can't really order Cases online. But I have one ready, I just need the PSU like i said earlier.
 
xthekidx

xthekidx

Splendid
Dec 24, 2008
3,871
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That case, look at these options (look for combo deals for the best deals):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.177196
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.177168
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.177170

The PC P&C 750w, 650tx, 750tx, and 850tx should all be taken into consideration too. The PSU you chose depends on whether you will ever SLI or not and which GPU you go with. If you go with the GTX 285 for example, then either get the 650tx for 850tx, the 750w options are in an awkward spot.
 
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