Build advice requested on i7 gaming machine

[jhansen1]

Looking for some semi-professional advice on building an i7 gaming machine.

Things to keep in mind,
- This machine will likely never be overclocked except where factory components come pre-o/c'ed
- The build does not have to happen tomorrow. Feel free to recomend waiting if you know of an important upcoming product.

With that preamble out of the way, heres what I have tentatively

- Silverstone Olympia OP1000-Evolution 1000W Power Supply
- Intel Core™ i7 Processor 920 2.66GHz w/ 8MB Cache
- Gigabyte GA-EX58-DS4 w/ TripleDDR3 2100, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, 1394, PCI-E, CrossFireX
- Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB GDDR3 PCI-E w/ Quad DVI, HDTV-Out
- Corsair 6GB XMS3-1600 PC3-12800 Core™ i7 Triple Channel DDR3 Kit (3 x 2GB) w/ Intel XMP
- Samsung 1TB SpinPoint F1 7200rpm SATA II w/ 32MB Cache (x3 in RAID 5)
- LG Super Multi Security DVD Writer 20x20x12x, SATA w/ Lightscribe, Black (OEM)

Most specificly, I need advice on motherboards, as I have no idea on what is a good x58 MoBo that works with Crossfire (I liked the new one from EVGA but i think it doesn't do crossfire)

I have not picked an enclosure yet either and would like opinions on a sharp looking case, with good cooling that WILL fit my components with room for a second video card later on.

Also looking for advice on an SSD for my O/S. oh... and ram, I don't know good ram from a hole in the ground.

Sorry, I guess I really do need a lot of help here, any and all advice is welcomed.

Justin

 

[dirtmountain]

The power supply is way overkill, any good quality 650w power supply (Corsair, Antec EA, Seasonic) would be plenty for a non overclocked i7 and the HD4850x2. If you are considering crossfiring 2 - HD4850x2 in crossfire then the Corsair 850watt PSU should be good. All X58 motherboards are Crossfire capable, only some of the lower cost ones are not SLI capable. For cases look at some of the full tower or large mid tower ones.
Antec 1200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043
Coolermaster HAF 932
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160
NZXT Tempest
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146047

SSD you need to do research, it seems every day i see a review about a new one coming out.
http://www.tweaktown.com/cat/storage/
http://www.guru3d.com/article/gskill-ssd-solid-state-disk-64-gb-review/
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=804

2x3 GB of DDR3 1600 Here's an interesting article worth your time to read.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/corsair-dominator-6gb-1866-mhz-ddr3-review/

 

[jhansen1]

Thanks for the reply.

That was a great article on the ram although a lot of it went over my head... was the final verdict that the ram was awesome but 6g was overkill and 3g was plenty?

Going to swich up the power supply to a "ANTEC TruePower Quattro 850W Power Supply" based on what you said... had no idea I was that far in the overkill range on my power.

Now to completely re-evaluate my Motherboard choices.... =)
(EDIT) That Asus Rampage II Extreme is looking like the board of choice... however more and more it looks like the components i'm picking are going to have to be special ordered =(

 

[xthekidx]

Unless there is something on the Rampage II Extreme that you really want, its not worth $150 more. Look at this board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131359
or this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128374
if you want to keep your price down. Both will allow you to OC to 3.8 or higher depending on your cooling solution.

Look at the CM 690 midtower, its big and has good airflow. I have one and there is lots of room for everything, including a TRUE CPU cooler (currently best on the market and I suggest you get it, although Newegg doesn't carry it unfortunately). Those full towers that dirtmountain suggested are great too, but more expensive.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

Go with this PSU, it cheaper and just as good, probably better than that Antec
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009&Tpk=850W

 

[dirtmountain]

If you're looking to knock about $50 or more off a start up i7 system then going with 3x1 GB of DDR3 1600 or 1333 RAM seems to be a good option, you can always pop more RAM into it at a later date. The benchmarks between 3GB and 6GB of RAM were showing not much of a real world difference in most applications and games.