I7 Gaming Build ~1500-1800 Need Advice/Opinions

telos

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Case: Azza Solano 1000 Full-Tower Advance Cooling Case
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750TX
Motherboard: Gigabyte x58 GA-EX58-UD3R
CPU Intel i7-920
Memory: 6 GB (2GBx3) DDR3/1600MHz Corsair Dominators
Video Card: Two ATI Radeon HD 4870 in crossfirex configuration
HDD: Raid-0 (500GBx2) Sata-II 16mb cache 7200 RPM drives
blah blah...

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Tomorrow

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming/Photoshop to web browsing

PARTS PREFERENCES: Conflicted at the moment.

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe - SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: The rest is irrelevant. I am looking for advice on my new rig. I am currently hovering at around $1500 and I am looking on advice for my new rig. I am heavily conflicted on what to get since I haven't been looking at hardware in 5 years... I used to be an AMD/Nvidia loyalist but it looks like I am breaking at least one of those alliances. The only preference I have is to maintain an i7 cpu with ddr3 ram, other than that I am flexible on almost anything.

The number 1 conflict I am facing is what to do with my graphics card solution. I like how inexpensive the new ATI cards are versus performance, but I am not sure I am getting the best comparable value versus say just a single higher end Nvidia. Since I have been out of the game for so long I am unsure of how well crossfirex configurations stack up against particular nvidia gtx 200 series cards.

Also, does my PSU check out well for the system? I want to make sure everything will run smoothly before I commit to a purchase and get this thing planned accordingly. I am looking for it to be maximize the best gaming experience for the money spent while also ensuring the longest system longevity. Any thoughts?
 

foolycooly

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The PSU is a good choice and will perform well.

IMO, The corsair dominators are a waste of money. They are of great quality but are not a great value. I would suggest this OCZ set --

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381

For your HDDs, I would switch out to WD caviar black 640gbs...they have denser platters are absolutely wicked in a raid configuration, sporting twice the cache of the ones you have listed --

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

 

telos

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May 25, 2009
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Thank you. I will definitely look into the 32mb cache hard drives and the ram, I currently use OCZ's and am pretty happy with them.

Glad to hear that the PSU checks out, my main concern was the consumption of two 4870 cards in crossfire configuration. I figured it would be alright, but felt I needed a second opinion.

Also, what do you think of the choice with two 4870's? I know that is the raging debate now, whether to waste time with crossfire/sli and nvidia vs AT etc etc... Does dual 4870's stand up well or should I be considering other options that may perform better?
 

telos

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Also, what do you think of the motherboard? Do you think it serves its purpose or should I be looking to upgrade/switch that to that to an Asus P6T SE or Deluxe?
 

telos

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Also, I was actually thinking about the HDD solution and had another question. What would be the performance difference between Raid-0 (500gbx2) Sata-II 16mb cache drives and one single 1.5 TB 32mb cache drive? Would it be all that noticeable?
 



Is this Canadian dollars?
 
D0 stepping i7 build

Forget the UD3P. With the instant $20 off with the promo code, the mail in rebate, and free shipping this UD4P in this build come out to $185 which is a bloody steal at that price. I put the promo code under the board details in this build. I didn't put a case in this build...leave that up to you. But both of these builds will blow away 4870's in Crossfire.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10005611 $99.99 | $69.99 after MIR Free Shipping
PC Power and Cooling S75QB Silencer 750W Quad Power Supply (Black) Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-EX58U4P $219.99 | $204.99 after rebate Free Ground Shipping
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P Core i7/ Intel X58/ DDR3/ CorssFireX & 3-Way SLI/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard
Use Code: MEMORIAL20 to get an extra $20 off

https://www.antaresdigital.com/customer/product.php?productid=16135&cat=282&page=1" $ 278.00
Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz LGA 1366 Socket 8MB Cache CPU D0 Stepping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 $41.99 Free Shipping*
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020 $8.99 Free Shipping*
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143183 $234.99 Free Shipping*
BFG Tech BFGEGTX275896OCE GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Free Call of Duty: World at War w/ purchase, limited offer

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143183 $234.99 Free Shipping*
BFG Tech BFGEGTX275896OCE GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Free Call of Duty: World at War w/ purchase, limited offer

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

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171 $24.99 Free Shipping*
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X 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 Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284 $99.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives - OEM

Total: $1,313.91 | $1,268.91 w/mail in rebates

* Same build as above but with gtx 285's in SLI and 850w Corsair psu.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009 $134.49 ($114.49 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
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=N82E16814130480 $329.99 ($299.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
EVGA 01G-P3-1180-AR GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Free Cryostasis game w/ registration at manufacturer website

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130480 $329.99 ($299.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
EVGA 01G-P3-1180-AR GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Free Cryostasis game w/ registration at manufacturer website

Total: $1,538.41 | $1,443.41 w/mail in rebates

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd353205.aspx?ITPID=mscomsc <---Save yourself some money on an o/s and dl the 64 bit version of Windows 7

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-275,2266.html <--- gtx 275, 285 reviews and charts

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128374 <--- more pics, specs, and customer reviews of the mobo used in this build.
 

telos

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May 25, 2009
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Thank you for the information. I have decided to use your build, your second build to be exact. I used my Azza Solano case. Only made a couple of changes. Since yours saved me a little cash I went for a 300gb raptor, I changed the thermal compound because the one you recommended was back-ordered so I got Tim Consultants T-C Grease, and I kept the dominators (even though they are a waste of money I really like their timings and flexibility). My total cost was ~$1700 and I am happy with that number. The SLI GTX 285's will be interesting and I look forward to taking them for a test drive. Anyway, your time has been much appreciated. Thanks.
 


285's in SLI...well if you don't play Crysis you might as well start now. :pt1cable: