Core i7 Gaming Rig

[xnknown]

I'm going to build a gaming rig sometime in about 2 months and I wanted to choose my parts earlier to see what everyone thought of it. Of course if something new or better comes out I will replace the parts. My biggest concern with the build at the moment is if the cosmos will give me sufficient cooling. Do I need to add any additional 120mm fans to help with the cooling? Also is the corsair 850tx enough if I wanted to quad sli later on? Please let me know what you guys think.

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

Motherboard - ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Case - COOLER MASTER COSMOS S RC-1100-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

Video Card - BFG Tech BFGEGTX2951792E GeForce GTX 295 1792MB 896 (448 x 2)-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Power Supply - CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

Ram - OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK - Retail

Harddrive - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Monitor - BenQ G2400WD Black 24" 5ms, 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail

DVD R - LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM

Heatsink - XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

Thermal Compound - ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

 

[aevm]

Very nice build.

Nvidia has certified only 1200W PSUs so far for GTX 295 SLI.
http://www.slizone.com/object/slizo...com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

 

[xnknown]

im really just basing my cosmos choice on the look, can't stand most full tower designs lol

 

[ericvas]

why dont you go with ddr3 1600 atleast on your RAM the cost difference is minimal

 

[geofelt]

im really just basing my cosmos choice on the look, can't stand most full tower designs lol

Sort the newegg reviews with the worst first. If the cosmos still suits you, fine.

For the price, there are a lot of good looking cases out there so you have choices.

 

[Lolic]

If you ever plan to SLI take the GTX 285 over the 295, due to it's greater stability. I also heard that GTX 285s in Tri-SLI is faster and costs cheaper in many cases, than the GTX 295s in quad.

 

[xnknown]

yea dont know why i went with the ddr3 1333 must have read it wrong, switched it to the 1600

 

[boulard83]

There is the "performance" chart

3 GTX285 (3SLI)
2 GTX295 (quad)
2 GTX285 (SLI)
1 GTX295

2 GTX285 paired with am OCed I7 is really worth the buying if you have the money. Or a futur GTX285 SLI.

I agree that your case is .... well ... your choice. (Antec 900(1200) or CM-RC690 ?)

Have fun !

 

[xnknown]

i doubt ill get another two vid cards, i know the cosmos s doesn't cool as well as the other full tower cases, maybe I'll get one or two extra 120mm fans to help move air

 

[aevm]

If you ever plan to SLI take the GTX 285 over the 295, due to it's greater stability. I also heard that GTX 285s in Tri-SLI is faster and costs cheaper in many cases, than the GTX 295s in quad.

It's true about the speed, based on the benchmarks I've seen so far. Probably true about the price too, depending on where you live and what's on sale. The problem with the GTX 295 in quad is that games aren't optimized for 4 GPUs yet.

 

[xnknown]

true, but ill only get another gtx 295 when i can't really play the games i want on high settings, which is probably at least a years wait, anyone have any recommendations on some good 120mm fans?

 

[aevm]

I'd go with some Scythe model. Personally I use SFF21E because they give decent airflow with only 20dB. There are models like SFF21F and SFF21G that deliver more airflow but also more noise. There's also a whole bunch of other models that get good reviews. Read this for example:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article832-page1.html

 

[xnknown]

i took a look around newegg and I think my best bet is Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D, 800RPM, 33.5 CFM, and is extremely quiet at 8.7 dBA

 

[aevm]

That's a really good fan for HTPCs, where silence is #1 and cooling #2. You on the other hand will have a GTX 295 there, maybe two, and I'm assuming you will overclock that quad CPU too. Tell you what - try without any extra fans first and see what kind of temperatures you get. Download nTune from nVidia's site and use it to see GPU temps. If they're not too bad then you may not need any extra fans, or you'll be able to get by with SFF21D. If they're bad then you'll want the SFF21E or even the SFF21F.

 

[xnknown]

I'm actually considering both the cosmos 1000 and the cosmos s, If i did choose the cosmos 1000 I would defin have to replace all the fans in the case and add a few more, plus it seems that the dark knight will not fit inside the cosmos s so I would have to remove the 200mm side fan

 

[xnknown]

anyone know if theres news of anything better then the gtx 295 coming out in the coming months? I don't really follow tech news that closely

 

[JaredAudiophileGamer]

lol not to sure man but you can probably bet on a remake/rebrand of the old 8800gts next the New Nvidia GTX 240 !!!