New i7 build - need feedback and suggestions

[erebus14]

Hey everyone, I'm about to purchase a new i7 build and need your suggestions on this setup:

Case - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000V95YOC/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
CPU - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B001H5T7LK/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
Mobo - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B001KX8VES/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
PSU - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00154QAXQ/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
RAM - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B001L4A76G/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
GPU - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B001PLSCOY/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
Hard Drive - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B001C271MA/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
CPU Cooler - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B001KUV2KQ/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
Optical - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B001TOD5DA/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

Probably my biggest contemplation is with the graphics card. Should I stick with the single 285 or go with two 260 216 cores in SLI for only $50 more?

My budget was at $1,500, but I went a little overboard and it came out to $1,604.32. Primary use is for gaming (1920X1080 resolution), but the most important thing to me is that this thing is future proof (meaning I can add parts when I need to without swapping out everything) since it is a big investment for me.

Any suggestions or feedback would be very much appreciated.

 

[Proximon]

I see no reason to spend that much on the board with the budget you have.

Here's the way builds work these days:

You build a computer that's pretty nice. You use the same motherboard and CPU throughout the life of the build, about 4 years. You upgrade the video once during that time.

That's the way it goes.

So you should downgrade your board, and use SLI or crossfire as you like... GTX 260 core 216 or 4870 1GB, whichever is currently lowest. That might actually cover your full 4 years at that resolution.

Why are you using Amazon though?

You are paying too much for RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381

 

[Proximon]

Also, if you use two GTX 260s, you would be quite comfortable with a Corsair 850TX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009&Tpk=850TX
And that would save even more.

 

[nerrawg]

Do not get a single GTX 285 - very bad investment - either get a single GTX 275, or 2 GTX 260's - single GTX 285 is matched by 2 x 4770's in CF or an overclocked 4890 - both solutions are $100 cheaper. Unless you like the GTX 285 for it's cool factor and don't care about money - I wouldn't consider it. You know that you can by all the items you listed on newegg for less money and with better return and security features right?
http://www.newegg.com/
pretty good choices for you build otherwise - although if you want to save money I would go for this RAM - you won't notice a difference and it is very very good RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227375
Also I would go with a xigmatek cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

or a thermalright 120 ultra - they perform better than the V8 - even though the V8 is a good cooler

As for future proofing - here is a good article on it:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/264181-31-best-bang-buck-spend-system

 

[erebus14]

I'm using Amazon because the prices are fairly comparable, except I don't pay shipping and tax like I do at Newegg.

I actually picked the RAM out of recommendation and good reviews. It seems like those two are the same, so why is the Corsair one so much more expensive?

Thanks for the advice.

 

[nerrawg]

I see no reason to spend that much on the board with the budget you have.

Here's the way builds work these days:

You build a computer that's pretty nice. You use the same motherboard and CPU throughout the life of the build, about 4 years. You upgrade the video once during that time.

That's the way it goes.

So you should downgrade your board, and use SLI or crossfire as you like... GTX 260 core 216 or 4870 1GB, whichever is currently lowest. That might actually cover your full 4 years at that resolution.

Why are you using Amazon though?

You are paying too much for RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381

^ +1 - Proximon is the guru on this stuff - good advice

 

[erebus14]

Can you recommend a good board? From what I've seen, all the i7 boards seem to be around that range.

And can you guys recommend a good GTX 275 card? Or should I go with the two 260 216 cores and then perhaps add another sometime down the line?

And I have to agree, that is some good advice. I built my first and only comp over four years ago and have upgraded my vid card once like you said, though it was actually very recently.

 

[nerrawg]

Gigabyte and ASUS are generally good boards - ASUS P6T is very popular for SLI - but that EVGA board you chose is very very good too - lots of space for Video cards.
This should give you some good reading material, although remember the prices are a bit dated now:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/x58-motherboard-i7,2252.html
and
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/x58-motherboard-i7,2164.html

 

[erebus14]

I think I'll just stick to the EVGA board because it does support 3-way SLI. However, is it really effective at all right now? I remember in my first build I had two 7800GTs in SLI right around when SLI came out and the performance was very lackluster.

Do you also have a good, updated guide on building PCs with a lot of pictures? I've been away from it so long that I'll need a layman's guide.

Thanks again for the help, I very much appreciate it.

 

[Proximon]

I'm using Amazon because the prices are fairly comparable, except I don't pay shipping and tax like I do at Newegg.

I actually picked the RAM out of recommendation and good reviews. It seems like those two are the same, so why is the Corsair one so much more expensive?

Thanks for the advice.

After I wrote that I saw that your prices were pretty good and more free shipping with Amazon.

As to Corsair.... The primary specs may be the same, but it's quite possible the Corsair has a bigger margin built in. You might overclock that RAM further than the OCZ, and QC is generally higher. Still, given the price difference I would go with the OCZ. You probably aren't going to need anything beyond 1600.

 

[nerrawg]

Just so you know in case you didn't, both the ASUS and the EVGA have 3 way SLI.

Here is an update on SLI and CF performance:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3520

and here is currently the best bang-for-the-buck solution:
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2288.html

If you want to find good guides for building computers from scratch I would look at youtube or expertvillage.com , in particular on youtube there is 3Dgameman for good advice:
http://www.youtube.com/user/3DGAMEMAN

building a kickass rig:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQo1W_f_Do8

 

[erebus14]

Interesting stuff. Is this the video where he actually explains the step-by-step process of putting it all together? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQo1W_f_Do8&feature=channel_page

That guy has over a thousand videos...amazing.