$2500 Core i7 Build Feedback

[vasilli_65]

Hey everyone im pretty new to the forums and i was just wondering if i could get some feedback on my proposed system, i will be using it mainly for Gaming Movies and the Internet. I would like it to last a few years with maybe a new video card and power supply possibly even a new CPU.

My PC Budget $2500 – $2700 Australia Dollars. (USD $1700 - $1875)

Power Supply - OCZ 850W GameXStream Power Supply (NVIDIA SLI-Ready). $202.00

CPU- Intel Core i7 920 (2.66Ghz/ 8MB/ 4.8GT QPI/ Quad Core). $485.00

Ram - OCZ 3GB (1GB x3) DDR3 PC3-12800 Gold Low-Voltage Triple Channel, CL 8-8-8-24, 1.65v. $ 265.00

Hard Drive – Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 SATA 320GB Hard Drive. $ 85.00

Operating System - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium OEM DVD SP1 (64 – Bit)
$ 150.00

DVD Drive - LG SATA [GH20NL10] - Light Scribe 20xDVD+-R,12x DVD-RAM, Black, Retail. $40.00

Video Card – XFX GeForce GTX 260 Black Edition, 896MB GDDR3, 448-bit, 666/2300MHz GPU/Memory, HDTV, Dual-Link DVI, HDMI, Bonus Far Cry 2 Game (GX-260N-ADBF) $532.00

Monitor - Acer 22 X223WB Widescreen LCD, 1680 x 1050, 5ms Response Time, 300 nits, 2500:1 Contrast Ratio, DVI, VGA, HDCP, Black. $ 260.00

Motherboard - EVGA 132-BL-E758-A1 X58 SLI Motherboard LGA1366, X58, QPI 6.4GT/s, 6x DDR3-1333, 2x PCI-Ex16, 9x SATA-II, RAID, 2x GigLAN, 8Chl, Firewire, ATX. $ 530.00

Case - Cooler Master HAF RC-932, SECC, USB 2.0 x 4, IEEE1394a x1, eSATA x 1, Mic x 1, Audio x 1 (RC-932-KKN1). $212.00

Also i live in Australia if u havnt already realised so i cant use newegg or for that case any products only available in the US.

Please comment and post any recommendations. Thanks in Advance

 

[sharken]

Great Setup, may want to go 3x2GB ram, 64 bit vista can utilize it, plus if you buy just 3gb you have to buy all new sticks either way to replace them and use Triple channel... May want to get a 2ms Response time Monitor, up to you, otherwise very great looking machine, have similiar I just built, core i7, asus p6T deluxe, Corsair Dominator 1600mhz and Black edition 260, great card, Happy new year, Shark

 

[V3NOM]

yep, i recommend 3x2GB RAM too. seriously sharken the human eye can't see anything faster than 16ms or something. theres more to reaction time than the stated "5" or "2" ms happening... depending on the panel type, it can have up to 60ms (from memory, search anandtech lol) of internal lag from when the data gets there from the graphics card and when its represented on the screen. i think the monitor's fine, except my acer 19" widescreen has a lot of bleeding and glare...

as for buying from newegg, if you really want to you can get them to ship it to a international courier or a friend who can ship it on to you... but not really worth the price of all that. I recommend using shopbot.com.au to find good stores/good prices.

some good stores i like:
Pccasgear.com - good selection of parts, great customer service, AWESOME site layout, alright pricing.
umart.com.au - really crappy website tbh, but if you live in QLD its great.
www.bttech.com.au - great pricing, alright site layout..

you will notice a couple of those stores have exactly the same site layout (maybe different colours), same pricing, adn same products but under different names... i guess it just depends where they are... anyway just once you've decided on your products check out shopbot if you havent already.

 

[vasilli_65]

In regard to shopbot.com.au i frequently use this site and find it wonderful. It is an excellent resource fo great prices. As for the Ram 3Gb x 2 is about $100 more expensive and i am already slighty over budget so if anything im trying to cutdown but thanks for the advice, and its easy for me to later on buy another 3Gb of Ram, as for the monitor im still not sure what to get but ive found the Acer and it seems really good. Thanks heaps guys.

 

[sharken]

The point was, even if you buy another 3gb, it will fill other slots and you will not be running it Triple channel... As for cutting cost, i dont see much you would want too, but if your not going to SLI or anything, you could get away with a 650W PSU half the price.. .

 

[XAKEP]

XFX GeForce GTX 260 Black Edition - $532, I just got ASUS 4870X2 for $512 a better card/Less money

 

[vasilli_65]

XAKEP are you retarded, read my post, i live in Australia its like $800 Australian and the GtX 260 is $532 which is $300 dollars cheaper.

 

[sharken]

LOL ANYWAY

 

[vasilli_65]

I am considering a getting a second gtx 260 black edition video card and i am wondering if SLI will work with this power supply i am considering.

PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (8800GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply. $ 190.00 (AUD)

It would be great if u could just give me a hand with my decision as im not sure if 750 watts is enough.

THanks in advance.

 

[xthekidx]

Go with a higher wattage psu (notice that it says 8800 gtx and below). I was looking at building a similar setup and most of the online psu calculators indicated that for sli gtx 260's you will want over 800 watts, and I bet ur oc'd gtx 260's will suck much more power than the stock clocked card. Plus, your psu is not something you want to be taking a chance with, I would want some breathing room so get a psu that gives you like a 50 watt margin, otherwise you are risking shorting out many components of your rig.

I went with the Coolermaster Real Power Pro 850w psu. Coolermaster psu's got a bad rep for cheap products they sold with their cases which would crap out early, but the Real Power Pro series is much better and comes with 5 year warranty, plus they cost less than comparable psu due to their bad rep they got from their cheaper products.

 

[xthekidx]

I just found a Tom's article that somewhat contradicts what I said above. Check it out:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-comparison,2007-8.html

so that 750w psu might be good enough for you.

 

[vasilli_65]

Okay well after reading the article i ahd read something earlier that was along the same lines but i jsut wanted to check and make sure, but i might go the the CoolerMaster Anyway as i might upgrade later on. Thanks

 

[vasilli_65]

Okay this here is my updated list of parts i expect to have the money in about 2 Months and i expect prices to come down and change which is what im hoping on.


Case - Cooler Master HAF RC-932, SECC, USB 2.0 x 4, IEEE1394a x1, eSATA x 1, Mic x 1, Audio x 1 (RC-932-KKN1). $212.00

Power Supply - PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply. $ 190.00

Video Card - XFX GeForce GTX 260 Black Edition, 896MB GDDR3, 448-bit, 666/2300MHz GPU/Memory, HDTV, Dual-Link DVI, HDMI, Bonus Far Cry 2 Game (GX-260N-ADBF) $525.00

Monitor - Acer 22 X223WB Widescreen LCD, 1680 x 1050, 5ms Response Time, 300 nits, 2500:1 Contrast Ratio, DVI, VGA, HDCP, Black. $ 280.00

Motherboard - EVGA 132-BL-E758-A1 X58 SLI Motherboard LGA1366, X58, QPI 6.4GT/s, 6x DDR3-1333, 2x PCI-Ex16, 9x SATA-II, RAID, 2x GigLAN, 8Chl, Firewire, ATX. $ 530.00

CPU - Intel Core i7 920 (2.66Ghz/ 8MB/ 4.8GT QPI/ Quad Core). $460.00

Ram OCZ Platinum Tri-Channel 1333MHz PC3-10666 (3x2GB) 6GB Kit C7, 1.65v. $ 330.00

Hard Drive – Western Digital 3.5" Caviar Black 640GB Hard Disk, 7200rpm, SATAII, 16MB Cache (WD6400AACS). $130.00

Operating System - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium OEM DVD SP1 (64 – Bit)
$ 150.00

DVD Drive - LG SATA [GH20NL10] - Light Scribe 20xDVD+-R,12x DVD-RAM, Black, Retail. $40.00



TOTAL : $ 2847.00

Im wondering if the power supply will be able to handle a second GPU. I was also looking at an OCZ GameXtream Power supply which is 850 watts will that be able to handle two gtx 260's if the 750w cant?