Proposed i920 Build

[Caldrick]

I am building my first Intel system and would like feedback on this proposed system. I am keeping my old modded case and my monitor (Samsung SyncMaster 226BW@1680 x 1050).

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - $279.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

Open Box: ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - $167.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131359R

SAPPHIRE 100258-1GHDMI Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported - $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102837

OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - $91.00 ($20 mail in)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262

ENERMAX INFINITI EIN720AWT 720W ATX12V/ EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - 179.99 ($60.00 mail in)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194021

Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO CPU Cooler - $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608007

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - $8.99

Total cost = $972.93 ($892.93 after mail in)

I know the motherboard is an open box, but newegg has good enough service that I trust them. What I am concerned with is the power supply as Enermax is a great company but I've seen some bad reviews. Also, I've noticed on other pages here where power supplies have been recommended for this motherboard (24 pin) but the main pin on those others were 20+4. Is 24 main pin the same as 20+4 main pin?

 

[todd5854]

Everything is looking pretty good. For power supplies, I would suggest cooler master. I am telling you from my own experience you will not be disappointed. I got a 500W solid, heavy, reliable power supply. Or Antec, they are good too. Also Thermaltake seems to be popular, although I have bad experience with Thermaltake.

Also, a 20+4 and a 24 pin connector are NOT the same thing. A 20+4 connector means you have a 20 pin connector for motherboards with only 20 pins, and another 4 if its a 24 pin motherboard, so they are backwards compatible. a 24 pin connector MUST connect to a 24 pin board, because the extra 4 do not detach. So if you're not sure if the motherboard is 20 or 24 pin, get a 20+4 pin power supply, so there's no way you can mess up, and also for future compatibility.

 

[Caldrick]

Everything is looking pretty good. For power supplies, I would suggest cooler master. I am telling you from my own experience you will not be disappointed. I got a 500W solid, heavy, reliable power supply. Or Antec, they are good too. Also Thermaltake seems to be popular, although I have bad experience with Thermaltake.

Also, a 20+4 and a 24 pin connector are NOT the same thing. A 20+4 connector means you have a 20 pin connector for motherboards with only 20 pins, and another 4 if its a 24 pin motherboard, so they are backwards compatible. a 24 pin connector MUST connect to a 24 pin board, because the extra 4 do not detach. So if you're not sure if the motherboard is 20 or 24 pin, get a 20+4 pin power supply, so there's no way you can mess up, and also for future compatibility.

Thanks for the info. I know the ASUS board has a 24 main pin, but you're saying I can use a power supply that has a 20 +4 pin connector?

 

[Proximon]

These open box things are a risk. As long as you don't have to have the build running a week after you order it, I suppose.

While Enermax is a good PSU company, you can do far better than that one for the price.

Yes, the pins are the same. I doubt you will find an ATX PSU for sale anywhere that is not fully compatible with the 24 pin socket.

Did you want modular?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151031
This Seasonic is one of the best

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702013
This BFG has good reviews and should be a good unit.

If you upgrade to a 4870 and need enough power for future crossfire:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000320058%2050009830%20113142558&name=PC%20Power%20%26%20Cooling




This is all the PSU that you actually need. Quiet too:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005&Tpk=650TX

Now that I've saved you a bit, get a better, faster, more reliable hard drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320

Are you gaming? Upgrade to a 4870 and do a very small downgrade to this cooler:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029
Maybe not as quiet as the Noctua and maybe 1C hotter under full load. 40 bucks less.

 

[Caldrick]

Thanks for the great advice. I'll check it out.

 

[Caldrick]

Well after some research and a good nights sleep, I have this proposed build:


ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - $209.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131386

SAPPHIRE 100258-1GHDMI Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported - $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102837

PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) - $119.99 ($30 mail in)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703009

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - $279.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - $91.00 ($20 mail in)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320

XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - $41.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - $8.99

Total cost - $940.92 9 ($890.92 w/ mail ins)

I kept the Radeon 4850 to keep the price down, but I can upgrade in the future. This build is cheaper and better than my original and I get a new motherboard and better power supply.

Thanks Proximon!!

 

[Helloworld_98]

that PSU could power three of those cards, and those 4850's will probably be discontinued soon when ATi transition to 40nm.

 

[Proximon]

Yep but then there's no reason to skimp with that price & quality.

 

[bigbro541]

Hey Buddy, I don't know where your located but I just bought that CPU at Micro Center for $199.00 Boxed. They are going for $229.00 today. Check it out at microcenter.com. They are the C0 though.

 

[Why_Me]

Check this build out. Better vid card, bigger and faster HD,better RAM IMO...not to mention this mobo is a steal at this price.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10005611 $99.99 | $69.99 after MIR Free Shipping
PC Power and Cooling S75QB Silencer 750W Quad Power Supply (Black) Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-EX58U4P $219.99 | -$20 w/promo code = $199.99 | $184.99. after rebate Free Ground Shipping
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P Core i7/ Intel X58/ DDR3/ CorssFireX & 3-Way SLI/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard
Use Code: MEMORIAL20 to get an extra $20 off

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=I7-920 $264.99 Free Ground Shipping
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 $41.99 Free Shipping*
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003 $4.99
Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127430 174.99 ($154.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
MSI N260GTX-T2D896-OCv4 GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247 $89.99 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 $74.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

Total: $951.92 | $886.92 w/mail in rebates

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd353205.aspx?ITPID=mscomsc <---Save yourself some money on an o/s and dl the 64 bit version of Windows 7

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128374 <--- more pics, specs, and customer reviews of the mobo used in this build.

 

[sassan]

Btw spend 20 dollars more and get the Noctua, it's silent and overclocks great. Come with its own thermal paste. If you have any questions about it let me know. I have it installed on my i7 920 and the installation was so easy and their customer support was great.

 

[Caldrick]

Hey all, glad to see the great feedback and though I was ready to order my revised build, I double checked my case dimensions and realized I should have a better one to fit all my components.

So its back to the drawing board so to speak as I try to pick a case, and now of course all the Memorial weekend specials are over so I dropped some components. Also, I am not a big into overclocking, but do not want to rule it out either. I am now looking at this build:

XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - $41.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - $279.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

ASUS EAH4870 DK TOP/HTDI/512MD5 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video - 169.99 ($30.00 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121288

OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - $99.99 ($20.00 rebate)

PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) - $119.99 ($30 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703009

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - $8.99

Total = $975.92

I am currently stuck on deciding which is the best motherboard for $200-$230 price range, ideally less than $200.00, given the components I listed above.

Now for the case. I want something can is first and foremost going to keep out dust and still keep my system cool. I would also like a case with good cable management, and a switch to turn off LEDs or better yet, no fancy lights at all. I am not into side windows, but won't keep that from letting me buy a good case.

So there it is, and after much searching I am seriously considering getting the
Antec P183 Black Aluminum / Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $159.99 free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129061

So I am open to suggestions, but really want to know if the P183 will keep my system cool enough.

Thanks all,

 

[sassan]

Overall it's great,

Change the power supply to this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&Tpk=750%20corsair

So you could save some money.

Get this motherboard, it's $200's performs great and you can update the bios to do SLI. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375

Get this hard drive instead, more space, faster and same price.
WD 640 GB Black 32 mb cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

Try to use bundles to save more
Best of luck