$1000 i7 gaming build

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madwand1

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From a similar thread:
Why_Me 04-05-2009 at 11:27:43 AM

Nvidea cards work better for 3dmax, etc...compared to the ATI cards so I put a Nvidea card in this build seeing how it suits your needs. The psu and case will allow you to run SLI later on if you so choose. The case has plenty of room/cooling/ventilation for SLI and over clocking. These cases down below are cases that get sent back for simple fixes such as a loose wire, untapped screw hole, etc... They are virtually new cases in every sense.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119137 <===Better pics and reviews of the case I put in this build.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/g [...] ,7463.html <===Enable SLI for this mobo.

http://www.gigabyte.us/Products/Mo [...] uctID=2991 <===get the new bios here.

http://cmstore.coolermaster-usa.co [...] cts_id=109 $45.99
CM 690 Black SECC/ATX Mid Tower, W/O window, W/O PSU - Refurbished

http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-75 [...] 78325.html $119.99 Price After Rebate(s): $99.99 Shipping: FREE
Corsair TX CMPSU-750TX ATX12V & EPS12V Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128375 $199.99 ($184.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate)
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=I7-920 $265.99 Free Ground Shipping
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233029 $39.99
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186020 $6.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231247 $94.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136319 $79.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827136152 $24.99 Free Shipping*
LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814143155 $178.99 Free Shipping*
BFG Tech BFGEGTX260MC896OCE GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Total: $977.91 *(not including shipping and rebates) $942.91 w/rebates
Click to expand...

This is pretty much what I need for general purpose computing, photoshopping, video editing, gaming, etc. But I will be keeping WinXP and will not be making use of 6G RAM. Is that going to be a problem with the processor/mobo/GPU combo? If it's OK, what's recommended for RAM? I assume the 1600 stuff? Thanks.

Josef
 
Why_Me

Why_Me

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There haven't been any issues with Nvidea cards and X58 boards that I have heard of. In that article Nvidea was just stating that gpu (vid card) had much more of an affect on gaming than did the cpu (i7). Anyways this build below is set up so that you can run SLI later on by purchasing another gtx 260. Pretty much everything in this build is "free shipping". Now to bring the price down, you could go with a Antec 300, a OCZ 550w modular, and that would bring it down by about $40 - $50. It wouldn't allow you to run a second of these cards in SLI, but to be honest not everyone is into SLI. One vid card seems to be enough for a lot of folks, and when that cards gets out dated in a few years they just ebay it and pick up whatever's good at the present time. So that's something to consider also.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137 $74.99 Free Shipping*
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-750w-tx-series-80-plus-certified-power-supply-corsair-tx-cmpsu/q/loc/101/206178325.html $105.74 Price After Rebate(s): $95.74 Shipping: FREE
Corsair TX CMPSU-750TX ATX12V & EPS12V Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375 $199.99
($184.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=I7-920 $265.99 Free Ground Shipping
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185093 $36.99 Free Shipping*
Scythe MUGEN-2 SCMG-2000 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003 $4.99
Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133270 $167.99 Free Shipping*
PNY VCGGTX260CXPB GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145223 $59.99 Free Shipping*
CORSAIR XMS3 3GB (3 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 $74.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152 $24.99 Free Shipping*
LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

$1,016.95 | $1,001.95 w/rebates

*Single card set up. Same build as above but with a different case and psu.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042 $59.95 Free Shipping*
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022 $74.99 ($49.99 after $25.00 Mail-In Rebate)
OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Free 4GB flash drive w/ purchase, limited offer
 
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madwand1

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Are you saying if I don't intend to go dual GPU, I can go with the 550 PSU and lesser case? I do like the CM 690 anyway.

On a related topic, I had planned on keeping my XP disk from the Dell I will be scrapping, and going with the 3G RAM, but should I be considering the Vista 64 to take advantage of 4G RAM? Are there any other benefits? I love my XP and have heard bad things about Vista in general and would rather not switch if not necessary. But am I weakening this nice powerful machine by staying with 32 XP?

If Vista 64 is a better option, will this work for what I am doing?
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=MS66G02141&c=pw
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit w/ SP1 (1-Pack), OEM $97.01
 
Why_Me

Why_Me

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I wanted to say something so bad in that post of mine about how you should change over to Vista 64 but I didn't. I have Vista 64 Home Premium on two laptops and a desktop and i love it. Great for gaming, and easy to use. DX10, updates, SP1, u name it i like it.

One change I would make with that build...ok two changes.. Vista 64 ...like the one you have up above, and I would get this memory down below....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247 $89.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
 
photonboy

photonboy

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Keeping Windows XP?

Do you have a FULL version with a license to transfer? Otherwise you can't.

Why don't you get Windows 7 64bit RC from Microsoft for free on May 5th? It'll last probably at least six months to overlap with the release of it.

RAM:
So I say go with Windows 7 64bit and buy the 6GB of RAM. Quality/Dependibility is much more important than which speed you get. I'd treat 1066, 1333 and 1600 as equal and get the best value.

1066, 1333 and 1600 are equal?
No game is going to require more than 1066. You don't start to max out the memory bandwidth until your maxing out all 8 threads by transcoding or compressing plus I think you'd even need to be overclocking as well although it is a little confusing on this issue.

If the prices are similar go with a higher frequency, but don't pay a premium for higher available bandwidth you won't utilize.
 
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madwand1

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photonboy:
You're referring to my XP I was planning on keeping? Maybe I'm not supposed to, I don't know. It's on the disk I paid extra for when I bought the system I am replacing. Am I only entitled to that license as long as it's in a certain case? As moronic as that sounds, I'm guessing yes.

I haven't heard anything good about 7 + it's new. I don't buy anything new. If I'd bought Vista new, I'd be kicking myself in my pants now. + new is overpriced.

Why_Me:
I may do that, I am hearing Vista 64's got it's stuff together now. $97.01 for a full copy's not bad + I get the extra RAM. As much as I hate change...Is there any downside to me buying the OEM version? I don't use support anyway.
 
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madwand1

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Ok, you didn't say anything there, so I guess you're telling me that I can MAKE the mobo do SLI...but what I said was the reviews are saying that it is physically impossible to jam two SLI cards in that board. That's what I was asking about. It's only $20 difference.

Can you address the couple of other things I asked above? I really appreciate your help...the selection of stuff to choose from was mind boggling.

Also, I have a nice lightscribe DL DVD burner already, but it is IDE. Do I need to replace that with SATA? If I don't am I defeating the purpose of this nice system?

Thanks.
 
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tommylikewingy

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I would definitely go with Windows 7 RC1 when it comes out. I have Windows 7 x64 Beta on my PC right now, and I love it. I haven't done any gaming with it yet, but from what I have read, you shouldn't have any problems. The driver support is very good for ATI, not sure about Nvidia. It is free and you can always go back to Windows XP if you don't like it. You should give it a try and I bet you'll want to install the final release of Windows 7 when it comes out.
 
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madwand1

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So how does that work? How many programs do I have to buy before I actually get an OS that operates as marketed?

From what I understand, Vista 64 is solid. I can buy it now and install it and be done.

Whats better about 7 that should make me wanna go through alll that? Or should I say worse about Vista 64?
 
Why_Me

Why_Me

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Sorry about being so late to answer your questions. The mobo should do just fine for dual 260's. May get a tad warm, but nothing to worry about I wouldn't think with the cooling you have with that case. The memory (gskill), will work just fine with that board not to mention they will allow you to over clock if you so choose.

As far as Vista 64 goes...you can't beat it for gaming, especially for these newer games. Do a google an check out the benchmarks for Vista 64 SP1 for games.

Also Windows 7 is due to come out sometime in 2010, and after the game makers start supporting it (drivers, etc..), I would def. move up to that. Here's some news in regards to Windows 7 that you might like seeing how your used to XP. :)

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9132119&source=rss_news

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/04/26/windows_7_release_candidate/
 
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madwand1

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That kind of sucks. Vista 64's good, but 7 is better, but it's not available now, so I gotta buy both.

Any idea how many of my tons of programs I am going to have trouble with after switching to Vista 64 from XP? I hear it doesn't like unsigned programs, I have lots of those. Other troubles I'm gonna face? I HATE changing OSes.
 
Why_Me

Why_Me

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If that's the case, I would just skip Vista for now and wait for Windows 7.
 
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madwand1

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I looked at a site with some benchmarks and while they both beat XP, I saw little difference between Vista and 7. I saw higher framerates for 7, but again, this sounds like the difference between the different GPUs for specific games. In the end, they all do the job very well, some do specific things better. I don't see the difference myself and no one has aswered why 7 is better enough to wait a year to purchase it. In the meantime, I wouldn't have an OS, unless I am able to use my scrapped Dell's XP disk.

I need to purchase this stuff tonight, so I am going with the Vista 634 Home Basic and not worry about it any more.
 
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tommylikewingy

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If you want to try Windows 7, you don't have to wait a year. RC1 is being released on May 5th, so check here.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/

If you can't wait that long, you can get it now on a bittorent site. You will still need to request a product key from the link above.

If you don't want to worry about installing a different OS when the Windows 7 beta expires, just go with Windows Vista.
 
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madwand1

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I still would like to know WHY it's so much better than Vista 64, but so far I haven't seen anyone anywhere say why. The main thing a buyer should want to know, IMO is, does 7 prevent you from using unsigned programs?

I bought all my parts except the OS, so I do have some time now.
 
mansalim

mansalim

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windows 7 mantain full compatibility with windows vista, and can run XP too.
anything that can run on vista, also good for windows 7.
 
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madwand1

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Yeah, I went ahead and got 7rc. It seems ok, cant really test it like I'd like to as it's temp running off my 42" TV and I can't get past the Gigabyte X58 NIC error. Can't ge the NIC running for anything. Can't transfer over all my old PC till I have internet working right.

So far, can't find anyone who has a REAL solution on how to get the NIC working on this board. My guess is that if you unplug cable from a working PC and plug it into the new one, and it doesn't work, then it is NOT the cable or the IP or any of that other garbage they are suggesting that is the problem. It has to be the NEW pc, specifically the drivers.
 
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