$1700 i7 rig - help make it better!

[daidalas]

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BUDGET: $1700 USD

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 3 weeks

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: music media center, gaming, photoshop cs3, browsing internet, watching movies, paying bills =(

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, OS (Will use windows 7 rc)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg

PARTS PREFERENCES: i7 920, asus xonar essence stx sound card

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Not now, possibly later if needed, but will likely get 1x new card for dx11 later and that will be it

OVERCLOCKING: Yes, 3.33ghz w/turbo

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050 samsungT220 AND 1440x900 hannsg 19"

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: want comp to have a classy appearance (no bling) and be as quiet as possible with this level of components

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Thermaltake ElementS VK60001N2Z Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133077

ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365

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
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433

OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030

ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface 124 dB SNR / Headphone AMP Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132010

ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020

XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

Audioengine A5 Stereo 2.0 Speakers - Retail
http://www.amazon.com/Audioengine-multimedia-speakers-total-2-way/dp/B000OABTPQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1242001628&sr=8-1


SUBTOTAL: $1,743.89 AFTER REBATES: 1,658.89

 

[xthekidx]

This GTX 260 is faster and cheaper and has a better cooling design so it will overclock higher if you are into that:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127426

I would get this case instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196&Tpk=storm%20scout
or cheaper:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

You are spending a lot of money on that AMP card and speakers...I think that would be a place I would cut back to make it more affordable.

 

[daidalas]

This GTX 260 is faster and cheaper and has a better cooling design so it will overclock higher if you are into that:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127426

I would get this case instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196&Tpk=storm%20scout
or cheaper:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

You are spending a lot of money on that AMP card and speakers...I think that would be a place I would cut back to make it more affordable.

Thank you for the tips, def going to change to the msi gtx 260, that cooler looks ridiculous, and i bet if i add some mx-2 it will be a killer.

on the case i looked at the storm scout, and like everything about it except the side window design and slots for the fans, looks like it will up the internal dust too much for my taste.

also ya $525 on audio stuff is a ton of dough, but i really enjoy hifi music like FLAC thanks to lovely what.cd so i want a system that will really shine musically. i also already have Sennhauser HD650's so the xonar essence stx audiocard is perfect for my needs.