First computer build: $1200, i7, Radeon 4850: please advise

[xrdar]

Raidmax Smilodon Extreme black ATX

or

NZXT tempest

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R 1366 Intel x58 ATX intel motherboard

HIS Hightech H485QT512 Radeon HD 4850 512 Mb 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported IceQ4 Turbo Video Card

SILVERSTONE ST70F 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1333C9

2 x Western Digital Caviar Green WD6400AACS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive in raid 1

Acer X223Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor


I plan on maybe overclocking in the future and also crossfire, but nothing now
Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated

 

[adrianmk2]

to be honest idk if DDR3 and i7 setup is worth it just yet too expensive i would wait untill prices get better casue i think its just too much money for a i7 setup

when i bought the E6600 when it frist came out i forked over like 320 dollars for just the CPU if i had waited i could of got a E6320 for much lower price and OCed it past E6600 and paid less for more proformace..... i dont know but it's your money and you would be good for atleast 2 years then upgrade GPU then another 2-3 years for a whole new build maby a CPU upgrade in inbetween as well but it's too expensive for me... that's just me tho

 

[xrdar]

Ya I know what you mean. I'm planning on waiting at least a month or two before my build to see what happens by then, these are initial ideas. I'm actually hoping that the am3 will have good solid cheaper motherboards by then so I can go amd phenom II

 

[batuchka]

Actually you can just buy an AM2+ mobo and run an AM3 socket Phenom 2 on cheapo DDR2 because there is only up to 3-5% gain going from DDR2-DDR3 so it's not worth the premium IMO. That said a suggested config for a Phenom 2 build:

 

[xrdar]

I just worry about where I can go with that in the future. I feel like if I go with an am2 mobo and ddr2, I will be building a comp that is behind before I even get it and i won't be able to easily upgrade it in the future. Also, how long will this config be good for? I'm hoping to get something to last for 3 years without much upgrading thanks so much for the help

 

[shoultzenager]

The ddr2 to ddr3 comparison in a non-triple channel architecture doesn't accurately describe the ddr3 performance with the new naheilem processor chipsets. I think you'll be suprised at the difference between an older mobo described earlier to the newest intel architecture.

To comment on how long the configuration would be good for would be pretty tough depending on where computers are going. If the development of computer technology stays consistent with the trend of computer technology development, then it would be about 5 to 10 years before you'd want to upgrade.

A comment on the power supply though. If you plan on running a crossfire setup on this board later, you might want to bump your power supply up to something like 850w.

 

[EQPlayer]

If you have to settle for a 4850 to meet your budget with an i7 build, you shouldn't be going i7, in my opinion.

 

[sefit]

+1 EQPlayer it´s like combination of porsche chassis and some budget ford engine...try to purchase decent bmw convertible

for gaming rig you need 24inch monitor and at least one 4870 1GB...

 

[xthekidx]

For gaming, you get no benefit building an i7 vs a core 2 or Phenom II. Games cannot use all those extra threads. The only Games that use quads are FSX and GTA4 at this point. If you are into video editing or programming, or things like that, then you will see a benefit from going with the i7. Otherwise I would go for a E8500 or Phenom II x3 720/AM2+ build and put the $200 you save on the core parts towards a 4870x2. That will give you much better gaming results. Going with last years technology is going to give you much more for your money.

 

[theAnimal]

I'm planning on waiting at least a month or two before my build to see what happens by then, these are initial ideas.

Ask again when you're ready to buy. More info is helpful; click the link in my sig.

 

[Siggy19]

Personally, I would (and intend to) go with the i7... yes, it is not great for games at the moment, but I doubt that many new games are going to be released that do not support multiple cores so next year's games WILL benefit.

You should be able to afford the 4870 with 1GB now, which is a good gaming card and provides the options of crossfire in the future for a nice performance boost.

G.Skill RAM is probably cheaper than Corsair and should be perfectly adequate for your needs.

You will get better performance from the Caviar Black hard drives than the Green ones and I am not sure why you want to RAID 1 them... no performance gain and, while you do get redundancy, I don't know if that is worth the extra money to you. For a little more, you could get a 150GB Velociraptor for the OS and Programs and use the 640GB Black for your data (or just get a 300GB velociraptor for everything). Use an online backup service to provide offsite storage, which is way safer then RAID 1.

 

[xrdar]

Ask again when you're ready to buy. More info is helpful; click the link in my sig.

Ok so Now i'm ready to buy,

Please comment on this build.

Price: 1000-1200
Buying in at most 2 weeks

Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3: 74.99
Phenom II 940 Black edition: 200
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120 mm CPU Cooler: 29.99
Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 1GB: 189.99
Corsair CMPSU: 750W (maybe 850W): 119.99
OCZ Reaper HPC 4 GB DDR2 1066: 65.99
Cooler Master Mystique Mid Tower: 69.99
WD Caviar Black 1 TB: 119.99
Acer X223Wbd 22" LCD: 169.99

Total $1047

I will be using this computer for gaming as wells as a lot of photo/ video editing, and 3D software.

Thanks a lot!

 

[xrdar]

Oh, and I plan on overclocking as well as crossfire in the future
Thanks

 

[sassan]

Check out the Geforce 260 with 216 cores. It should be faster than the 4870.

 

[xrdar]

I'll take a look. Also, I updated somethings:

Combo deal at newegg:
phenom II 940 and AsusM4A79 Deluxe 790FX Motherboard