New Gaming PC for XMas: Help me build please

[vel]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
LOL no catch. Buy one. I did, twice
MC i7 920 = 215$ after tax
Asrock X58 Extreme = 159$ shipped - great board!
Muskin DDR3 6Gb 1333 139$ shipped - that is my ram kit you see in my sig rig 2 and that is my review of it doing CL6 at 1.6v :thumbsup:

That is 513$ so far.

this

EDIT: just make sure it is SLBEJ = D0

EDIT 2: Anand DDR3 review - a must read

I know. I looked at that board and the RAM. I am wondering about the reviews that it got. Will it be a nightmare experience or a great one like what I had w/ DFI. I may actually end up getting the setup you suggested w/ Mobo and Mushkin RAM.

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: vel
Based on your inputs, I have decided to go i7 route...
Here's what I got so far. Need to trim fat (seriously!) to make for goodies like heatsink etc. Don't know if my Zalman on 939 socket will be compatible w/ i7.

PSU: PCP&C Turbo-Cool 860 Watt ATX Power Supply (Microcenter) @300

CPU: Core i7 920 Processor (Microcenter) @200 (D0 Stepping (SLBEJ)???)

MOBO: EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX (newegg) @265

RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel (newegg) @204

GPU: XFX HD-587A-ZNF9 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity (newegg) @390

Total ~ $1400. Is this a wise choice? Need to shave off $400. How? Suggestions please.

Thanks!

Get a OCZ 700 watt (does 2 cards easy), and its ~100, so 200 down. Maybe get a $200 video card, then 2 more later when needed.

 

[marsspirit123]

The memory and psu are way op .Also what is the benefit of $265 motherboard vs $159 ?Will that give 65 % better score in anything ?
What is your goal? PC for $1000 for best performance in games now or just best CPU for a $1000 pc ?

For a $1000 I would go with :
amd 955 $180 at newegg
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO for $117
memory for $95 Text
Video card is the same as yours for $390
psu is CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W for $119 after MIR .
so that is $901 and you still have $99 for whatever you wish.

I don't know how to make this work with I7 920 for $215 +$265 motherboard.That would be like $1110 .

Originally posted by: vel
Based on your inputs, I have decided to go i7 route...
Here's what I got so far. Need to trim fat (seriously!) to make for goodies like heatsink etc. Don't know if my Zalman on 939 socket will be compatible w/ i7.

PSU: PCP&C Turbo-Cool 860 Watt ATX Power Supply (Microcenter) @300

CPU: Core i7 920 Processor (Microcenter) @200 (D0 Stepping???)

MOBO: EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX (newegg) @265

RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel (newegg) @204

GPU: XFX HD-587A-ZNF9 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity (newegg) @390

Total ~ $1400. Is this a wise choice? Need to shave off $400. How? Suggestions please.

Thanks!

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: vel

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
LOL no catch. Buy one. I did, twice
MC i7 920 = 215$ after tax
Asrock X58 Extreme = 159$ shipped - great board!
Muskin DDR3 6Gb 1333 139$ shipped - that is my ram kit you see in my sig rig 2 and that is my review of it doing CL6 at 1.6v :thumbsup:

That is 513$ so far.

this

EDIT: just make sure it is SLBEJ = D0

EDIT 2: Anand DDR3 review - a must read

I know. I looked at that board and the RAM. I am wondering about the reviews that it got. Will it be a nightmare experience or a great one like what I had w/ DFI. I may actually end up getting the setup you suggested w/ Mobo and Mushkin RAM.

It's a solid setup - I love it.

 

[vel]

Get a OCZ 700 watt (does 2 cards easy), and its ~100, so 200 down. Maybe get a $200 video card, then 2 more later when needed.

Is this it?

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7

If not, which one?

OCZ 700W PSU List (newegg)

 

[aigomorla]

asrock has 8 phase...

it looks to be fairly good as long as ur not pushing extreme oc's.

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: vel

Get a OCZ 700 watt (does 2 cards easy), and its ~100, so 200 down. Maybe get a $200 video card, then 2 more later when needed.

Is this it?

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7

If not, which one?

OCZ 700W PSU List (newegg)

I think so. Note the 86% efficiency !!!! And $70 after rebate !

 

[vel]

Originally posted by: aigomorla
asrock has 8 phase...

it looks to be fairly good as long as ur not pushing extreme oc's.

Isn't 8 phase more than enough as long as quality of those phases are good? Sorry, have little knowledge about that.

I am not gonna OC it hard. My Sandy was OC'd at 5% -10% most times. Only time I took it to 20% was when I built it.

I have a Coolermaster 830 case. I have 4x 120mm side fans (Panasonic ones that look like 747 propellers) blowing air on the mobo. I have an old Zalman heatsink, Will that suffice for i7 or should I get a new one? If so, which one?

Thanks.

 

[aigomorla]

Your gonna need a new sink.

The more phases the board has the harder you can push it.

Also less of a loss at load, and also greater durability.
(if you can afford to wait, gigabyte is coming out with a new line of X58's that should be around 200ish)

But as i said ur not intending on pushing your cpu hard... as long as u keep it @ 4 and not go higher, i dont see how it would stress the board out.

21x191 ~ 4ghz.. so your not even @ the 200bclk barrier where things get harder.

Ummm... oh boy... your gonna get a lot more then 5%-10%... 2.66 is stock.. i told ya they all do at least 3.8ghz(unless your incredibly unlucky)... thats roughly a 42% overclock.

You should grab a better sink tho.

http://www.jab-tech.com/Prolim...156-Rev-B-pr-4557.html

Is highly recommended.

 

[deimos3428]

Total ~ $1400. Is this a wise choice? Need to shave off $400. How? Suggestions please.

Ok, let's see. I might not be a hardware guru, but saving money is something I can do.

PSU: Maybe I'm missing what's special about that PSU, but it seems you could get something comparable for a lot less than $299. Like a Corsair 750/850/950TX ($119 to $179 at newegg, free shipping right now), or the Seasonic X-750 ($199) if you're all about modularity/efficiency. Both just received rather awesome reviews on JonnyGURU.com. So that's $100 to $180 off right there.

Mobo: There's a lot special about that motherboard, but ask yourself if you need one quite that special. Here's a similar one from the same manufacturer for $50 less.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813188049

GPU: That is currrently the world's fastest single card -- and it just came out. You can probably save a ton of money by waiting a little while for the price to get a bit more sensible. Ask yourself if you can justify one of these. Depending on your monitor setup and the games you play, it might be overkill as well. (Besides, the non-reference cards will be out soon.) You might save $100 and go for the XFX 5850.

RAM: You can save maybe $50-70 by buying different ram with the same specs from various vendors -- OCZ, G.Skill, Patriot, even other Corsair RAM. I can't really make a specific recommendation on which brand is the best.

CPU: Shop around, but that's not bad.

So that's $300 to $400 less depending on options.

 

[vel]

Originally posted by: deimos3428

Total ~ $1400. Is this a wise choice? Need to shave off $400. How? Suggestions please.

Ok, let's see. I might not be a hardware guru, but saving money is something I can do.

PSU: Maybe I'm missing what's special about that PSU, but it seems you could get something comparable for a lot less than $299. Like a Corsair 750/850/950TX ($119 to $179 at newegg, free shipping right now), or the Seasonic X-750 ($199) if you're all about modularity/efficiency. Both just received rather awesome reviews on JonnyGURU.com. So that's $100 to $180 off right there.

Mobo: There's a lot special about that motherboard, but ask yourself if you need one quite that special. Here's a similar one from the same manufacturer for $50 less.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813188049

GPU: That is currrently the world's fastest single card -- and it just came out. You can probably save a ton of money by waiting a little while for the price to get a bit more sensible. Ask yourself if you can justify one of these. Depending on your monitor setup and the games you play, it might be overkill as well. (Besides, the non-reference cards will be out soon.) You might save $100 and go for the XFX 5850.

RAM: You can save maybe $50-70 by buying different ram with the same specs from various vendors -- OCZ, G.Skill, Patriot, even other Corsair RAM. I can't really make a specific recommendation on which brand is the best.

CPU: Shop around, but that's not bad.

So that's $300 to $400 less depending on options.

Great Suggestions. I already updated the rig components based on the suggestions of folks. PSU is now OCZ @70 bucks. Mobo and RAM are changed as well. As far as GPU goes, I will be buying around XMas. I hope to see a price drop. I am not buying at 390 bucks for sho. But, I like to get good GPUs.

 

[Markfw]

OK, list the current parts so we can all see.mobo is important, so might want think more on that one.

BTW, I have that PSU running 3 9800 GTX cards@100% load, with a quad 24/7, and no problems. Also 2x 260GTX cards @ 100% 24/7 and a quad. These are running F@H, thats why I know its a good PSU. I burned out a 600 watt good PSU doing the same.

 

[Gikaseixas]

a 720BE is not inferior tech like Aigo said, it's just a slower cpu but it's also a cheaper one so it's a good buy. I wouldn't call a E7200 a inferior cpu just because it is slower. Also a 720BE will still great in a years time. It's still a great gaming cpu.


Anyway by going i7 you choosed wisely because it's faster in games specially in multi gpu scenarios.

Good luck

 

[vel]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
OK, list the current parts so we can all see.mobo is important, so might want think more on that one.

BTW, I have that PSU running 3 9800 GTX cards@100% load, with a quad 24/7, and no problems. Also 2x 260GTX cards @ 100% 24/7 and a quad. These are running F@H, thats why I know its a good PSU. I burned out a 600 watt good PSU doing the same.

I updated my Opening Post w/ the system config based on everyone's suggestion. I will keep updating the OP from now on.

Which mobo and PSU are you referring to? Asrock and OCZ or EVGA and PCP&C?

Thanks!

 

[vel]

For OS, shall I get Windows 7? I have XP now. If so, shall I get the OEM version of it or Retail?

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: vel

Originally posted by: Markfw900
OK, list the current parts so we can all see.mobo is important, so might want think more on that one.

BTW, I have that PSU running 3 9800 GTX cards@100% load, with a quad 24/7, and no problems. Also 2x 260GTX cards @ 100% 24/7 and a quad. These are running F@H, thats why I know its a good PSU. I burned out a 600 watt good PSU doing the same.

I updated my Opening Post w/ the system config based on everyone's suggestion. I will keep updating the OP from now on.

Which mobo and PSU are you referring to? Asrock and OCZ or EVGA and PCP&C?

Thanks!

The power supply is the OCZ that I recommended, that you will be getting. I was asking which motherboard you had chosen, but now I see its the AsRock.

 

[GaiaHunter]

Originally posted by: vel
For OS, shall I get Windows 7? I have XP now. If so, shall I get the OEM version of it or Retail?

I would get Windows 7 64 bits.

Sincerely I prefer to be able to reformat whenever I want.

Up to you and your wallet or other considerations that might be less legit...

 

[zipflint]

I know this thread is kinda old but since I'm after info that I know MUST have been posted on here somewhere before, I didn't want to gum up the works further by starting yet another thread.

Anyway I'm building a system very close to what the original poster sounds like he's ended up with.
--ASRock X58 Extreme
--Core i7 920 D0 stepping
--6GB Corsair DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145236
--Sunbeam Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835207004
--NVidia GTX260 (not doing SLI but I plan on it in the near future)
--4 hard drives from various manufacturers
--2 optical drives (one CD/DVD burner and one LG blu-ray burner)
--750watt PSU

What I'd really like is a detailed rundown of exactly what settings I should be using on my mobo to wring the most Hz out of my system while maintaining stability. From what I'm reading I should be able to hit 4Ghz easily. But I would really like to have a very straightforward guide; I'll be doing this through a haze of chemo and many other medications so I really would appreciate all the help I can get. Screenshots of mobo settings would be fantastic. I need pretty much everything; multiplier settings, vcore settings, memory settings especially.

Treat me like the idiot that I must be coming off as.
I did do a search and a lot of reading and I've been keeping a .txt file to print, but I'm aware of what my meds do to me and it would be foolish not to double check with you excellent folks before I fry something.

 

[Markfw]

I only got to 3.9. Is that 750 watt a really good, efficient one ? I burned up my 700, but it could have been due to a sata cable that had an exposed wire. However, after replacing it with a 1010 watt (>85% efficiently also), it now boots the first time, instead of power-up/down then back up before it posts. Also, it would only do 3.8 on the 700, now I have 3.9 stable. 4.0 will reboot in 10 minutes, alsomost no matter the vcore.

And that HSF may not keep things cool @ 4.0, I was not thrilled with mine on an E8200@3.2

 

[zipflint]

Thanks for the input. I'll take that under consideration. I'm using an Antec PSU, btw. It's a few years old. So if I have trouble POST-ing I'll have to consider a new PSU I guess.

 

[zipflint]

Using the exact parts I described above, I'm having some boot issues, just like Markfw900 seemed to think I would. I can cold boot just fine, usually. But when overclocked to 3.6Ghz I have to try several times to get the system up and running. System POSTS but won't even try to load Windows. I get no errors or post-code beeps. The drives and fans spin up but nothing happens. After holding the power button to shut everything down, and then hitting it again, I can usually get into Windows 7. After maybe three tries usually. Once I'm there, everything is hunky dory. All temps are fine, no weird errors when gaming or benchmarking, etc.

So I'm thinking this is either some kind of CMOS issue or my Thermaltake 750watt just can't give it the beans at startup all the time. That doesn't really make any sense to me but it's all I can come up with. I have absolutely zero problems at stock clock speeds.
Any suggestions? Time for a new PSU?

 

[Markfw]

Based on your latest posts, I would think that your OC settings may not be good. I also don't know how good that PSU is, the rating, etc.. Even a decent 750 should have been OK. Only a crap one would be suspect.

 

[zipflint]

What really has me baffled is that everything is fine once I'm in Windows. It's just getting there that's an issue. I'm using the following settings on my ASRock X58 Extreme:

EZ OC Setting at 3.6Ghz (this makes the following changes)
BCLK 180 MHz
PCIE 100 MHz
DRAM 540 MHz (this makes DDR3 @ 1080 MHz)
uncore 2160
CPU voltage (VCore) 1.25V
DRAM voltage 1.639
VTT uncore 1.34V
PLL 1.88V

I don't recall what my temps were exactly but idle was around 35C and load was maybe 55C.

Thanks again for any help that you or anyone else can provide. The PSU is a few years old, from my E6600 build. That's kind of why I'm suspecting it.

 

[Markfw]

Well, I still have issues. Keeps locking up on me, eve at 3.4 !!!! This time I took my vcore down, not up. I think it may be a PSU issue

Rails (according to OCCT) are:
3.3 = 3.22
5.0 = 4.92
12.0 = 12.35

Its a 1010 watt OCZ >85% efficiency !!!! I am down to 1.2 vcore and 3.4 ghz.

Any other ideas guys ? mine was stable @ 3.9 for the longest time. Just had problems the last 3 days all of a sudden. Temps are NOT an issue.(55c now full load, was 68@3.9)