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~$1800 Gaming Build Core i7

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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: One month from now.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: High-end gaming primarily, running multiple programs, net surfing, watching movies

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, and speakers.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg, unless there is better

PARTS PREFERENCES: This will be a Core i7 build, and I *prefer* Nvidia GPUs. If someone can suggest something from the other camp, I'd be willing to hear it if they can explain why it's better. No shady manufacturers just because they offer cheaper components. I want quality.

OVERCLOCKING: Yes, but I am not experienced.

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1980x1080.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: With regards to the noise level, somewhere in between a pin dropping and a hairdryer would be preferred. I think I've got that worked out, though.


Again, I plan on running the latest and greatest. I'm not really concerned with what's out now, because I know I'll be able to run it flawlessly. I'm more concerned with purchasing a system that will last for a good while without upgrades. The question is, could I drop a GPU or tone-down the PSU without sacrificing 1080p performance? Could I save more money with a Crossfire setup over an SLI setup *and* achieve better performance? I know those are pretty general questions...but here it is.

CASE: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

MOBO: EVGA E758-TR 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GPU: EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI ... - Retail x2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

RAM: OCZ 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

MONITOR/DISPLAY: LG W2353V-PF Black 23" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Full HD 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CD/DVD: Sony Optiarc Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1675S - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CPU COOLER: COOLER MASTER V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...




Basically, there should be no wasted dollars. I'm not exactly the most hardcore enthusiast.

It comes out to $1,736.89 USD with savings, and $1,902.01 with shipping and tax--a bit much in my opinion, but I don't know exactly where to cut knowing what I want to get out of it. If this is the best build for this budget, great, but if you have any suggestions as to how to get the final price down (knowing my needs), let me know how much I can save, and how precisely that will effect the system as a whole. That would be great, too.

Any opinions or comments would be appreciated. Thanks. :sol: 








More about : 1800 gaming build core

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As you can probably tell from the lack of replies - you have a very good build there.

If you wanted to save a bit of money without losing performance you could take these suggestions into consideration:

CPU Cooler - better performer than the V8:
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GPU's
2 x MSI N260GTX-T2D896-OCv4 GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Not too sure about this because it hasn't been tested by the community yet - but judging by the quality of the older models it should be good - saves you a bit of dosh as well.
I
If you don't think you need the performance of 2 x 260's (and the frame buffer they offer - the best budget offer is to go with 2 x 4770's - but you will lose some performance - so it just depends on how much you think you need right now.
If you want to go that route - or 2 x 4870 1GB - then I suggest this board:
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
This combo (CPU + GPU):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
And another of these GPU's:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Performance will be a very little bit lower than the 2 x 260 GTX's - however you will lose some of the cool enthusiast options on the EVGA board as well as the opportunity to run SLI - board only supports ATI based CF. Your choice, will save you a bit, but you lose some options as well.

I might also spend a few buck more to get this DVD burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
its tried and tested - generally very reliable.

Otherwise I can't see there being any changes that would make this build cheaper, without losing performance and build quality - it is an excellent build.

NerrawG

Thanks, mate. I'll check it out.

It also seems like I could save a bit of cash on the PSU by downgrading to Corsair's popular 750 tx. Would this still be a viable option with SLI config?

I've run the wattage tests on various sites and regardless of overclocking the outcome was always below 650 watts. I'm not sure what the extra mileage gets me, or the benefits of exceeding this minimum by 200+ watts.
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One question, are you looking to be able to boost the performance in the future or have the best performance now ?

The reason I ask is that getting a single high power GPU now provides the option of doubling the graphics power in the future, while you may get a little more power on day one by getting a dual card setup but there is less scope for improvement in the future.

Since you are going for 1920x1080, you should not need maximum GPU power anyway... any GPU should be a little faster than the testing at 1920x1200 shows.

The 750TX should be sufficient for dual 4870s which use more power than the GeForce options so you should be okay without the 850. Don't get the 650TX because it is too close to the power ceiling you need and it does not have as many PCI-E power connectors as the 750 and above have.

The V8 cooler sounds overpriced from all the reviews I have seen. The Xiggy Dark Knight has uniformly great reviews and is something like half the price. Just remember to install it with the fan on the RAM side of the CPU rather than the other way around... it can be swapped without removing the motherboard entirely, but it is not easy. I'll let you guess how I know this !

As for the Motherboard... I got the standard Asus P6T and it installed and works great. Some of the Gigabyte boards only have 4 memory slots, which I think is a mistake, but they have a good reputation even so. For most builders, any reliable motherboard from Asus, EVGA or Gigabyte will do... if you are a hardcore tweaker, you may have more specific needs, but otherwise they really are all pretty comparable in quality.

Not that you probably care, but if you do intend to install the windows 7 rc, I gather that there are some people with problems using nVidia cards. I'm sure this is temporary but do some research if you care about this. I have a 1GB 4870, but only because it was the sweet spot when I bought, not because I much care about the whole nVidia/ATI rivalry (my laptop has a 6800Go and it's a great system).

Oh, as for the case, I got the Cooler Master RC-690 and it's very nice... only gripes are; no case speaker (and the Asus P6T does NOT have a POST code LED so if it fails to POST you have no help at all) and the side fan is rather noisy.

Quote:
One question, are you looking to be able to boost the performance in the future or have the best performance now ?


That's a good question.

I can always upgrade the components in my system. Let's not assume that this is supposed to last me for years. But let's assume that I want to get the best performance and quality for my dollar while not restricting my upgrade-ability for the future.

What, then, is the best single-gpu option without going over-budget?
I feel that the gtx 280 and 285 are overpriced when it comes to price/performance.

Thanks.

i7 build that includes two gtx 275's running in SLI

You want to make sure you flash to the latest bios with that board, and then afterwards download the latest drivers for it.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/gigabyte-nvidia-sli-mo... <--- Gigabyte: Enable SLI On X58 Boards

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $149.99
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Special deal with promo code Maysaving, ends 5/14

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $119.99 ($99.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-EX58U3R $185.99 | $170.99 after rebate Free Ground Shipping
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R Core i7/ Intel X58/ DDR3/ CrossFireX/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard

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=N82E168... $39.99 Free Shipping*
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $4.99
Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $249.99 ($229.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $249.99 ($229.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $94.99 ($74.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
Free OCZ 8GB flash drive w/ purchase, while supplies last

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $25.99 Free Shipping*
Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD/CD Rewritable Drive - OEM | New 24X burner from Sony Optiarc

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... Combo Discount: -$20.00 Combo Price: $154.98
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $229.99 Free Shipping*
LG W2353V-PF Black 23" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Full HD 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 50000:1 w/ Smart Package - Retail

Total: $1,772.88 | $1,697.88 w/mail in rebates

That looks like a decent improvement to my original build, Why_Me. I wasn't aware that there were DDR3 1600 sticks out there with those timings.

I'll weigh this against the single GPU option.

Thanks for all the help guys.

fishpaste said:
That looks like a decent improvement to my original build, Why_Me. I wasn't aware that there were DDR3 1600 sticks out there with those timings.

I'll weigh this against the single GPU option.

Thanks for all the help guys.


I would go with one gtx 275 for now, and later on if you ever feel the need just add another one for SLI.
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