I7 System, Looking for Help

Hi everyone, my computer crapped out on me and it's time to buy another. This will be the second machine I have built for myself, so I get the basics but I'm still a beginner.

I'm looking for a machine that can handle current heavies like Crysis, and any upcoming FPS's (and Starcraft 2! ) for the next 2 years or so at max settings and play it smoothly without needing upgrades. I'd like something smooth out of the box, something that will run without needing [too] much of an overclock for gaming over the next few years.

I just was confused a bit over some SLI and i7 issues that I listed below, if anyone could help that would be great. I'm not extremely familiar with either of the technologies, and the reading I've done on Tom's Hardware has left me confused.


APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: The sooner the better - within a week.

BUDGET RANGE: Up to ~$2,100

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, internet, photoshop

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Monitor, Speakers, Kb/Mouse. CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX12V v2.2 I would like to reuse if possible.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com

PARTS PREFERENCES: I'm fonder of Intel/nVidia, but open to others if the performance would match. I'd like to stay away from Asus as my experience with them has been bad, unless someone can convince me otherwise.

OVERCLOCKING: Perhaps a bit, not greatly. SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

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Motherboard: EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI Intel X58

Processor: Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 Nehalem 3.2GHz

Video Card: EVGA 01G-P3-1285-AR GeForce GTX 285 SC Edition 1GB

RAM: Corsair Dominator 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

Hard Drive: RAID of Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10000 RPM

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My Questions:

1) As far as video cards go, I was thinking of just grabbing the GTX 285 1 Gig initially which I figured would get me through the time being, and if needed a year down the line or whenever add another 285 for SLI. Could anyone reccomend the effectiveness of this versus perhaps 1 GTX 295, or 2 GTX 275 off the bat?

2) What are your guys thoughts on the i7 Extreme Edition 965 Nehalem 3.2GHz I've picked out versus the i7 940 Nehalem 2.93GHz? As I said this is really only for gaming, do you guys think there will be a very noticeable difference between the two that can justify spending $500 extra on the Extreme Edition?

3) Can I reuse my Corsair 620 Watt power supply (taking into consideration I might SLI) or should I be looking at something new?

4) Should there be any problems getting my RAM to run at 1600 speed? I know there was an issue on my ASUS mobo getting the RAM to run at the highest speed it could, and I want to make sure since this EVGA is rated as DDR3 1600/1333 it doesn't get pushed down to 1333.


Thanks a lot guys, I know I have a lot of questions I just want to make sure I get everything right

1. The GTX 285 is not very good bang for the buck. In fact, it's the very worst you can buy in a single card. I got into discussion about this last month, and ended up compiling 4 spreadsheets, reading half a dozen reviews, etc. GTX 285, GTX 280, and GTX 295 are, in that order, the poorest framerate-to-dollar ratio solutions.

So, save some money and grab two GTX 260 core 216s:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150361

Or GTX 275s:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150364
However, the GTX 260s are the better deal.

2. Neither. Get a 920 and overclock it. Why not? You said under overclocking "Perhaps a bit" so you seem to be a bit shy about overclocking... fine. Buy TWO 920s for the price of the one 940. If you manage to burn one up, VERY unlikely, you'll have a spare.

3. Given the SLI, you'll want a new PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] &Tpk=850TX
You don't quite need 850W, but the price is right and covers some future upgrades.

Or if you want modular:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.193730

4. It's your processor that controls your memory with an i7. 1600Mhz is overclocked. But no, there should be no problem.

QPI isn't a limiting factor. It's just available bandwidth, not really utilized.

Older processors, especially Athlons, were really poor overclockers.

Modern CPUs, whether Phenom II or Core 2 Quad or i7, are all going to get about 20% OC stable, some more like 33% on air. If they don't, it's usually the RAM or the board to blame, not the CPU.