Need advice on some parts for my i7 system

[mrfun1981]

Hi

I know a bit about some parts for PC's, il list everything i plan on putting the my system in two sections the parts that i think are ok & the parts that im not 100% sure on.

I want the computer for game playing & for encoding avi's/ etc

Plus im interested on over clocking the CPU, iv never over clocked before so need to find some good reviews to read how to do this

parts in sure on.

CPU

i7 920 oem £250
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?IL-I7920O

CPU cooling Thermalright Ultra-120-1366RT eXtreme - £50
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?THE-UL13EX

hard drive - Western Digital Caviar AV Green Power 1TB £77
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?WD-10EAVS

graphics card - ATI Radeon HD4850 512MB £115
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NOV-4850

memory Corsair XMS3 6GB £110
http://www.tekshop247.com/tr3x6g1333c9-nbsp-corsair-xms3-3x20484mb-ddr3-memory-1333mhz-240pin-dimms-99924-p-79825.html?osCsid=9a279b43fcc48d144352e968b246971f

Parts im not 100% sure on

Case Casecom LG-3360 Black Mid-Tower £22.50 will buy extra fans for the case. if this case is no good can anyone recommend a budget case for me please?
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/128052

PSU OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w £74
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?OCZ-M600

Mother board
Il be honest i have no idea which one to go for, willing to spend between £170-£220 for one. So can anyone tell me what would be most reliable & best for my money please?

Thanks for anyone willing to reply & put me in the right direction

Cheers

 

[aevm]

LOL, this is a gaming box and you spend a ton on everything except the graphics card. Your priorities are messed up big time. What you should do is start with a GTX 295 or at least HD 4870 X2, and then get the best CPU the budget still allows. You probably did it the opposite way, starting with the i7 and ending up with whatever junk graphics card still fit in the budget.

Try something like this:
HD 4870 X2/Q9550/GA-EP45-UD3R/Corsair 750W/DDR2-800 2x2GB.

Don't even bother buying an aftermarket cooler.

I guarantee you that (HD 4870 X2+ Q9550 at stock) will beat (HD 4850 + i7 920 even overclocked to 5GHz) in most games. Probable exceptions FSX and GTA4, but that's about it.

 

[mrfun1981]

Thanks for your reply,


I went with the i7 as i wont have money to upgrade again for a while, an if i ever need to upgrade again it would be cheaper as i would already have most of the parts.

As im at most of my budget right now i do have some room for moving things around. iv got 3 hard drives in my old system 2x 160Gb SATA & 80GB IDE i could still use them for now + forget about getting a aftermarket cooler & maybe put a HD 4850X2 1GB in there instead. Surely that would improve things abit more?

But then the graphics card would be over killer at the mo cos iv only got a 15in monitor i was hoping to get maybe a 20in in about 2/3 months when iv got some more money.

...................................

Can anyone tell me if the PSU i picked is a OK make or not?

Also what motherboard would be best for the budget iv got please?

 

[mrfun1981]

Bump,

Anyone got any more advice on these parts, its mainly the PSU im worries about dont want to get something that wont run my system

 

[xthekidx]

The PSU is ok, Antec, Corsair or PC Power&Cooling PSU's are better, see if you can find one of those for a good price.

If you are dead set on an i7, then look at the Asus P6T or Gigabyte X58 UD4P for motherboards

See if you can find an Antec 300 case for a good price, they are the best budget cases. I have the CoolerMaster 690 which is great and will fit any CPU cooler you want to get.

That CPU Cooler is big, and so it may not fit in many midtower cases, I don't think it will fit in the Antec 300. Look at the Scythe Mugen 2, it cools well, and one of the cheaper coolers for LGA 1366. I don't think you will fit the TRUE in that case you have picked out right now.

 

[mrfun1981]

Many thanks for your reply,

IV found a Corsair PSU 650w for £10 more which i could get

Corsair TX 650W ATX2.2 SLi Compliant PSU
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-008-CS&utm_source=froogle

Im willing to stretch my budget for a new case to around £60 - £80/$88 - $118, if it will help with keeping everything cool & i can get a good CPU cooler in there. I did look at the Antec 900 but i dont really like the look of it. Is there any nice looking case's out there, that are big enough + help with the air flow?

The Gigabyte X58 UD4P would be the cheaper option for me, is there much difference in performance of either board & can both of them overclock the same ok?

Cheers

 

[aevm]

That's a very good PSU. It can even handle a second HD 4850 if you ever need it.

How about the CoolerMaster CM-690. do you like that one? http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-145-CM

 

[xthekidx]

+1 I would recommend the 690 to anyone, its very spacious and offers excellent cooling.

 

[mrfun1981]

Thanks for the replies,

Iv looked at the 690, i looks alright & big enough it could be a possibility.

Whats people's views on water cooling? iv never used it myself before how often do you need to refill it?

iv seen a case i really like & it comes with water cooling built in. if its better then a aftermarket cooler i can juggle parts a little bit to get it

ThermalTake Khandalf With Liquid Cooling System Silver Case

Link to the case http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/s...html?TT-KANDSL

coolermaster 690 £75
after market cooler £60
6GB DDR3 £110

Total £245

ThermalTake Khandalf £175 (review of the case, it stays really cool http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/tt_kandalf/
3GB DDR3 £65
socket 1366 clip £15

total £255

I can always get the extra memory at a later date, if i think at the time a really need 6GB

Also if i went for water cooling would i need a better PSU than Corsair PSU 650w?

Chees

 

[aevm]

You can get an idea about the Kandalf from the user reviews here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16811133024
(the model at Newegg is VD4000BWS, not VD4000SWA, but they are very close)

Your link is broken. Here's the right one:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?TT-KANDSL

You can play with this calculator, if you want.
http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine
It shows that the liquid cooling doesn't consume that much. The 650TX should still be OK for a HD 4850 and liquid cooling.

 

[mrfun1981]

@aevm

Thanks for posting link with them reviews, iv looked throw them all 90% of them are good ones & the only bad thing people say about the case is about the weight it. Which don't bother me as i wont be moving it around once its in place. There were one or two that had problems with graphics cards doing SLI, not enough room because of the pump being there but i don't think il have sli

Had a look at that calculator & with leaving the CPU & system loads as they are it coming in at 836w that before i OC, i know that is when the PC is at peak loads so am i right in thinking the 650TX will struggle to run the system or will it be ok?

 

[aevm]

The 650TX will NOT run a system that needs 836W. It can deliver 52A*12V if pushed, but it's not healthy to do that. The good news is, your system doesn't need anwhere near 836W. I got 654W in the calculator, specifying TWO HD 4850 cards and 3 hard drives and 6 fans and some random things in the liquid cooling area. Did you select Quad Sockets by any chance? If you did, it counted the CPU four times, i.e. 16 cores.

 

[xthekidx]

Yeah your comp shouldn't need anywhere near that much power. The 650tx should handle it fine, if you want more of a margin then look at the PC P&C or Corsiar 750w PSU's.

 

[mrfun1981]

@aevm

I feel silly now lol, i did select quad sockets. i had another go & got it to 577w

@ thekid

Thanks for the input, i may think about seeing if i can get a corsiar 750w for a good price cos if im right in thinking il need the bigger margin if im going to OC the CPU.

I see you got your i7 running at 3.5ghz, can i ask what PSU you have in your system at the mo please?

 

[aevm]

LOL, don't feel silly, it's not your fault. Whoever designed that page needs a kick. I did the same the first time I went there