$2000 gaming i7 rig

[dugan]

I plan on building this computer in 1 month. but i have a couple questions about it. Firstly though, here are the components.

cpu- core i7 920
mobo- x58 msi platinum
case- antec twelve hundred
gpu- radeon hd4870 1 gb
hdd- velociraptor 150gb
psu- corsiar 650wat
keyboard-g15
mouse- g9
monitor-acer 24" 2ms response p243waid
disk drive- lite on dvd burner
wifi card- rosewill rnx g300lx
ram- g.skill 3x2gb 1333 ddr3 pc3 10666
(already have vista 64)
heatsink????

questions...
1)is this ram good enough for the system/ does it go well with the mobo and cpu

2) what would be a good heatsink for this system, i would like to have the best but it doesnt seem like there are many, if any heatsinks out for the socket

3) Is the mobo good enough for the system, or should i get a better one.

4) The monitor is around 340, is there anything cheaper and or better for the same price. I would like to have a 24" screen with a 2ms response time,and this was really the only choice.

 

[iflyems]

Way..way...way..overkill right now. It will be 12 to 18 months before any games will need anything close to that kind of horsepower.

You could save yourself some money buy going with a dual or quad chip.

As far as your question goes, have you looked at Dell's Outlet store?? They have open box specials, you probably could find a good monitor there. Not sure why you need 2ms response time. I have a Dell 24" LCD monitor that is 5 years old, and still going strong. I play a lot of FPS, and have never noticed any ghosting, or anything bad with the monitor.

 

[rambo117]

i disagree poster above me. you can never have ENOUGH horsepower

BUT, if your getting a core i7. dont even think about running a single card configuration. it will bottleneck the he11 out of it. at least get a 4870x2, or 2 4850s.

 

[dugan]

well, i hope it is overkill, i dont want to have to purchase or upgrade the computer for 3 or 4 years, but i figure that if i go i7 then i wouldnt have to upgrade the mobo, and i could always add ram.

Im not sure if i would want to get an open box monitor, i would be afraid of dead pixels and what not.

 

[oicwutudidthar]

nice riggage

right now there arnt any great i7 coolers btw dont listen to the other guy if you have the money for i7 now get it and save yourself the pain of the upgrade later. there no point of buying old tech if u can afford new tech. i would also reccomend you get a 20-22 inch monitor for that vid card.

 

[oicwutudidthar]

also i would reccomend ditching the 4870 1gb and get a 4850x2 card.

 

[dugan]

i disagree poster above me. you can never have ENOUGH horsepower

BUT, if your getting a core i7. dont even think about running a single card configuration. it will bottleneck the he11 out of it. at least get a 4870x2, or 2 4850s.

I plan on getting a second 4870 in the future, but right now i wouldnt be able to afford it, i know that is a good idea though.

 

[oicwutudidthar]

get a 4850x2

 

[rambo117]

well as long as u plan on adding another in the future, your going to be playing games for quite awhile my friend

im very jealous of your rig. that thing is going to be a beast

 

[dagger]

I plan on building this computer in 1 month. but i have a couple questions about it. Firstly though, here are the components.

cpu- core i7 920
mobo- x58 msi platinum
case- antec twelve hundred
gpu- radeon hd4870 1 gb
hdd- velociraptor 150gb
psu- corsiar 650wat
keyboard-g15
mouse- g9
monitor-acer 24" 2ms response p243waid
disk drive- lite on dvd burner
wifi card- rosewill rnx g300lx
ram- g.skill 3x2gb 1333 ddr3 pc3 10666
(already have vista 64)
heatsink????

questions...
1)is this ram good enough for the system/ does it go well with the mobo and cpu

2) what would be a good heatsink for this system, i would like to have the best but it doesnt seem like there are many, if any heatsinks out for the socket

3) Is the mobo good enough for the system, or should i get a better one.

4) The monitor is around 340, is there anything cheaper and or better for the same price. I would like to have a 24" screen with a 2ms response time,and this was really the only choice.

1)
Ram is good enough. Ram speed has little real world impact. As long as there is enough of it to avoid using page file off hdd, you're good. 6gb is enough.
2)
There are retention brackets/bolt through kits that adapts existing lga 775 coolers to lga1366. Current native lga1366 coolers out so far are crap, don't get them.
http://i4memory.com/wp/article/309
http://www.coolcomputing.com/article.php?sid=2402
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm
3)
Motherboard is good enough. X58 are very expensive right now. It's the only one below $300. I've never used it, of course, but specs look solid.
4)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824112011

Single 4870 is seriously weak for a $2k gaming rig. Get 4870x2, or at least 9800gx2.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=13
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=14
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=15
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=16
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=17
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=18
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=19
Graphics card is the single most important determinant of gaming performance. Sacrifice anything and everything else in the system to keep it strong. That includes the motherboard and cpu. Frankly, with your single gpu setup, i7 don't handle well compared to current quads anyway.

http://techgage.com/article/intel_core_i7_performance_preview/11
If you don't run multiple gpu, you're not getting the benefit of i7 in gaming.

Another thing is psu. 650w is small for a $2k system. Get a beefier one. It's a pain to change out later. With x58 able to run both cf and sli, you want to keep dual/quad gpu upgrading options open by using a psu that can keep up.

 

[dugan]

i plan on getting a second video card in the future, like another 4870 1 gb, but would a 4850x2 or 9800gx2 be better than a 4870 1gb?

 

[dagger]

i plan on getting a second video card in the future, like another 4870 1 gb, but would a 4850x2 or 9800gx2 be better than a 4870 1gb?

Yes, by a lot. See benchmarks. If you have the cash, get 4870x2. At the very least, get 9800gx2. It's $275 on Newegg, so there is no excuse getting that 4870 and letting a $2k system go to waste.

 

[dugan]

Ok, i think my new plans are to get 2 4850s that are oced and then to get a 750 corsiar psu

 

[dzeric]

For the heat sink, I'd go with the "Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme 1366 RT" if you want to stick with air cooling. They should be releasing soon. The heat sink is out now, but the combo with the retention bracket for 1366, and the fan mount is not yet available to my knowledge.

 

[dugan]

would a 750w power supply be enough for two 4850s and all that other jazz?

 

[dagger]

would a 750w power supply be enough for two 4850s and all that other jazz?

Yes. Although you might want to consider getting an x2 card instead of 2 cards to leave room for quad cf/sli later.

 

[eklipz330]

wow last year i spent $2500 on complete and utter garbage compared to this, kudos to you

 

[dugan]

yeah, but i could get 2 4850s for around 280, and they would both be oced already, i think it would cost around 380, and if i ever did crossfire 2 4850x2s then im sure i would have to get a bigger psu than 750