Pimp my PC!

[Cheese-kun]

Pimp my build! Please&Thanks.
Purpose: Gaming, image rendering, light video editing, video convertion and lots of multitasking.
Budget: 1200-1500 USD
i7920 (Am 100% sure on this)
Asus P6T Deluxe V2 (Not entirely sure...)
EVGA GTX260 SC (Might SLI in the future, Brand might differ depending on availability)
ADATA 3GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066/1333MHz
LG DVD/CD Combo R/W/RW Lightscribe
NZXT Tempest (Am 100% sure on this)
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB
Xigmatek Dark Knight S1283v
Some 850W power supply... Suggest something.

I do NOT live in USA, therefore prices might differ and there are somethings I might not be able to find, but 1200-1500USD is the conversion from XE.
I already have Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit so I am guessing I'll be waiting for Windows 7 before going to 64-bit and 6 Gigs of ram.
Try to keep it around 1300USD if possible, 1500 is the MAXIMUM.
And can anyone give me a lesson on RAID?

 

[Cheese-kun]

Budget not including monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, printer or whatever you guys can come up with.

 

[fullmetall]

Hmm, going to suck for you not being able to run the full 6gb.. once you get the windows 7 you will need to get a new 6x2gb kit.

corsair 850 or you could drop down actually since its gtx 260, 750tx or the 750w power cooling red casing.

 

[xthekidx]

PSU: Corsair 750tx or PC Power & Cooling 750w
Mobo: I would go with P6T non-deluxe version unless you want a super overclock, in which case you would also need a better cooler.

What size of screen are you going to play on? That has a large effect on the GPU you need.

If you pay for shipping, Microsoft will send you a free upgrade to 64bit vista, which I highly recommend you do and then get a 6gb kit of ram with timings 8-8-8-24 or better at less than 1.65v.

 

[Cheese-kun]

Okay so looks like you guys are in favor of the Corsair? As for my mobo, I think I'll stick to the V2... But you mentioned the Xigmatek not being a good cooler? If you guys could like post a short list of good coolers that will fit in the NZXT Tempest, I would really appreaciate it!

As for the 64-bit vista, I think I'll wait for Windows 7 64 bit version. Anyone recommend me a good RAM to use then?

 

[fullmetall]

OCZ Platinum 3x2gb.

As thekid said, "if you pay for shipping, Microsoft will send you a free upgrade to 64bit vista", you will only be able to see half of the memory used if you stick with 32bit. 64bit vista compared to 32bit is a +10. So, Getting 3x1gb, then getting windows 7, you will need to upgrade to 3x2gb later on which will just waiste your money in the first place.

 

[Cheese-kun]

Okay guys, sorry for my nubness, but is there anyway to get 4 gb of ram instead of 6 or 3? Decided on the Corsair TX750/TX850. I think 850W would be better, giving me more headroom. I actually want to get 4 GIGS of ram first and then upgrade later on, after Windows 7 is considered "stable" and safe to switch. It would be wonderful if anybody give me RAM with the correct timings (i have no clue about the timings and which ever one of them is the optimal/right one I would just get it). I would really prefer to get 4 GB of RAM, if that is possible. If not, 3 would be just fine for now.

 

[xthekidx]

You will get much more ram for your money if you just get a 6gb kit, even if you don't use a 64bit OS I would still do it so you don't have to hunt for a matching single stick later on...but if you really only want 4gb then go for this :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231189

 

[Cheese-kun]

Thanks! I might actually get that but first, is it worth it? compared to getting 3 gigs of ram.
And if i actually go 6 gigs, would you mind recommending something cheap yet good? And I am really unclear on the vista 64 bit. I heard lots of bad things about it such as driver issues and not being to run certain applications/games. Whats your input on this?

 

[fullmetall]

x58 boards as i thought was a requirement to get triple channel ram in the first place.

 

[Cheese-kun]

A quick look at G-skill and it seems they sell a variety of 2/4 GB sets of ram.

http://newgskill.web-bi.net/bbs/view.php?id=g_ddr3&page=1&sn1=&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=52

Would that be optimal to my system?

 

[fullmetall]

Im not sure but, As to what i've seen, x58 boards are triple channel ram kits.

you'll need to just look into ddr3 1600 ocz platinums or something lower in price. there not bad, there nice tight timing set.

 

[fruees]

What are you talking about Fullmetal?

@ Cheese-kun:

1. Most 6 gig kits are quite cheap - 6gb OCZ 1333mhz is £70
This is the slowest kind, but it will probably overclock easily behond that as long as you have good cooling

2. If you want to use more than 3gb of memory then you need a 64bit OS. There are barely any compatability issues with vista 64bit appart from the fact it cant address 16bit code from the early '90s which doesn't matter.

3.You could just download the prerelease of windows 7 free and buy it when it comes out. Its much better than Vista

 

[Cheese-kun]

Okay, so i should just get 6 gigs of ram and just go vista 64-bit?
Would the Xigmatek Dark Knight be sufficient for a mild overclock? Lets say 3.2 ghz then later maybe even 3.6ghz or 3.8?

 

[fruees]

I would suggest go free windows 7 then buy it when its released in the summer.

The Dark knight would be sufficient for a mild overclock, yes

 

[fruees]

and yes get 6 gigs

 

[fullmetall]

The 1600 ddr3 3x2gb ocz platinums are just as cheap as that set, well depending on where he lives.

 

[Cheese-kun]

the i7920 costs about USD289 after conversion around here, does that say anything about prices?

 

[xthekidx]

Get this kit of ram, its cheap and good, overclocks well:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247