I7 920 new build sanity check

[SnowCrash]

I appreciate any comments / suggestions the eggxperts might have on what I have spec'd. After I gte this up and running at stock specs I will then be attemptiong a moderate OC of CPU and Mem and want to make sure I have componenets that will handle OC.

Case: LIAN LI PC-P80 Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
MOBO: ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366
MEM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
Video: ASUS ENGTX260/HTDP/896M GeForce GTX 260
HD: Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V
Fan: ZALMAN CNPS9900LED 120mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit

would I be better off with XP 64?

TIA, Steve

 

[sassan]

The case is super expensive. Feels overkill. If you are going to spend that much on that case just go get the Geforce 295 instead of the 260

 

[SnowCrash]

The case is part of a combo deal @ newegg with the 920.
So is $275 for the case too much for what I am building in general?

 

[effel]

I'm worried about some of the choices you're going for. The case, nothing wrong with it, it's great for everything you need. However, you could still get a great Lian-Li case, without breaking the bank. Honestly, you could easily downgrade the case, to make upgrades to some other parts.

The Asus motherboard is fine. But do you really need to the extra PCIe slot? You could save yourself $50 by going with something like this>
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375

The CPU, fine.

The Memory, also a good choice.

The graphics card is where I cringe. You're willing to pay nearly $400 on a case, and $250 on your motherboard, and this is the what GPU you're going to stick in your system? The graphics card is one of the most, if not the most, important part of a gaming computer. I'd suggest you look at the 4850X2>
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102809
It seems within your price range, and it offers really good value/$. In a lot of benches, it stays right with the 4870X2 in terms of performance until you reach the 2560x1600 resolution.

Also, just out of the sheer frustration. Why Asus for the video card? You know you get better warranties with EVGA or XFX.

The 750w Corsair powersupply would be plenty for the 4850X2, and could probably handle GTX260 Sli just fine, if you wanted to go that route.

On the Heatsink for the CPU, that Zalman is definitely not the best. The Xigmatek Dark Knight with the 1366 bracket would be a better option. You could look at the TRUE, or the Core Contact Freezer with the proper retention bracket. The Zalman is insanely expensive for the cooling performance it offers. The others I mentioned offer better cooling capabilities, at a cheaper price tag.

Vista 64bit is much better than XP 64bit. XP 64 suffers from a lot of compatibility issues, and Vista is much more matured. I just hate to tell you to get Vista though, since Win.7 isn't that far away.

EDIT: I seemed to skip the HDD. You're going to want to go with the Caviar Black 1TB, it performs much better than the Green, which reduces spindle speed to use less power and operate more quitely. However, the Black, is still very quiet, and serves as a better drive for you computer's uses.

 

[kg4icg]

forget xp64, either vista 64 or win 7 64 if you got a copy, xp64 has no drivers for i7 and cyberpower has some pretty good prices on i7 920 systems
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/landingpages/intel/i7/

 

[xthekidx]

Don't go to cyberpowerpc or ibuypower for computers, its not worth it. Just do it yourself.

Good suggestions by effel, although I would keep the P6T mobo for the extra memory slots, and overclocking headroom.
review: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2340773,00.asp

I'd get this memory, its a better value:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381

 

[SnowCrash]

Thanks for taking your time to help me ...
By trading down on the case and HSF, and then upping the *budget* by $150 here is were I am ... with hopefully the final Q ... this PC wil be under load most of the time (grid computing) and I am wondering if I should step up the PSU ?

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932
Mobo: ASUS P6T LGA 1366
CPU: Intel Core i7 920
Mem: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
Video: EVGA 017-P3-1291-AR GeForce GTX 295 1792MB 896
HD: Western Digital Caviar Black
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V
HSF: XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm
OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit

 

[xthekidx]

So are you using this PC for Gaming? You haven't said that you are...If this won't be used for gaming, you can go a lot cheaper on that GPU, and get a cheaper PSU too.

 

[SnowCrash]

Correct ... not for gaming but the nvidia core support CUDA which, while not common, is an up and coming parallel processing standard for some grid computing projects... so I do want to keep the 295 ... just wondering if the PSU should be beefier?

 

[xthekidx]

No the PSU is fine. But I bet you would be fine with a GTX 260 or GTS 250 (rebranded 9800GTX+) which all support CUDA. Up to you though, if you can afford it then I guess you might as well. I'm not too knowledgable about grid computing so I don't know how much of a benefit you will get out of that GTX 295 vs a GTX 260.

 

[jjbtexas]

if u wanna save a little u could just go with 64 bit vista home premium, its like $70 cheaper. this is unless u need something in the ultimate version