I7 build for friend $1200 budget

[waynec121]

Hey guys,
My friend's old pc just recently bit the dust. He is planning on doing a new build with the i7 route. His budget is $1200 and I am already selling him my p180 case for $75. He does not need a keyboard, monitor, or mouse. Alls he needs is the tower.

So that leaves $1125 left over for the parts. Here is my suggestion for him:

Case: Antec p180 - $75
selling to him
CPU - i7 920 - $229 from local microcenter
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P - $207
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-EX58U4P
CPU Cooler: Sunbeam 120mm w/ TX2 compound - $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004
RAM: OCZ Platinum 6GB - $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381
PSU: Corsair 750tx - $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
GPU: HIS HD4890 - $199
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161276
HDD: WD Caviar Black 640gb - $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
DVD: LG 22x - $24
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152
OS: Windows 7 RC
Free

That comes to $1063 total w/out factoring in shipping and mail in rebates. What do you guys think? Pretty solid rig I think. This also gives him the option to CF later on too.

Also since he is under budget, maybe I can convince him to take the extra 24" monitor that I have off my hands.

 

[Why_Me]

Nice build. If you want to save some money you could change a few things....if you do a google search on "ewiz coupons" you can take a few more dollars off that mobo down below.

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-EX58U4P $222.99 | $207.99 after rebate | Free Ground Shipping
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P Core i7/ Intel X58/ DDR3/ CorssFireX & 3-Way SLI/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128374 <--- here's more pics and customer reviews on that board.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd353205.aspx?ITPID=mscomsc <--- Save yourself some money on an o/s until March 2010 and dl the 64 bit version of Windows 7

 

[computersss]

well it is a solid rig but i will get him windows 7 beta(can be downloaded from microsoft's website and it last him untill march 2010 and save the 100 bucks for the vista and get him a gtx 275

edit:+1 to Why_Me,although the asus P6t is better IMO but the 50$ difference is worth changing

 

[waynec121]

alrite i am liking both of these replies. thanks for the input. So for the budget here is what I will do. Switch to the Gigabyte mobo that Why_Me suggested and use Windows 7. Also upgrade the gpu to a 275. Sounds solid to me.

Look in the first post for the updates to your guys replies.

 

[computersss]

i would also change the thermal compound to

Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound - Retail

or

OCZ OCZTFRZTC Freeze Extreme Thermal Conductivity Compound - Retail

they are both slightly better than the arctic silver 5 and you will recognize a slight increase in performance by 2-5 degress

 

[gkay09]

^ Nice changes and very good build...
If you are not very specific about going with GTX 275, then here is a very good deal...
HIS HD 4890 for about $199
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161276

 

[waynec121]

thanks for the advice. then later on when he cf's another one that will be such a ridiculoussssss machine. in a good way too!

 

[gkay09]

Check out this CPU cooler...it is also as good as the Xig and comes with TX2...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004

 

[gkay09]

And the price of the corsair is now $109

 

[waynec121]

And the price of the corsair is now $109

awesome, he should be pleased. ill update the first post.

also gkay if you know how to do this how can i add a sig with my own rig specs below this in every post like some ppl? like they will have quotes and/or their rig specs.

edit: sweet my 200th post i am now an enthusiast!

 

[gkay09]

^ You have a sig now dont you ?

 

[waynec121]

yup i just noticed that too. it let me apply it right after i got my enthusiast rank. so maybe thats why but yea thanks for all the help haha!

 

[gkay09]

EDIT : I guess so...
If you forgot how you did that, then here it is...
There is a hyperlink on the right top corner of the page...would read - waynec121's profile. CLick on that and it would take you to the profile page...there in the left column, there is a link to Forum Options. Click on that and in the next page, you can find these settings...

 

[waynec121]

EDIT : I guess so...
If you forgot how you did that, then here it is...
There is a hyperlink on the right top corner of the page...would read - waynec121's profile. CLick on that and it would take you to the profile page...there in the left column, there is a link to Forum Options. Click on that and in the next page, you can find these settings...

yupp that is exactly what i did! thanks for the help though! i am going to catch some ZZZ's because i am exhausted but again thanks for all the help, my friend should be checking out the thread sometime tomorrow i think before he buys!!

 

[gkay09]

Change the graphics card to this one...same price but has $20 Mail-In-Rebate and has 3 years warranty compared to HIS's 2 Years...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125276

 

[computersss]

^the ati 4890 is excellent but the gtx 275 is more powerful anyway it will be his choice as both are excellent

 

[computersss]

Check out this CPU cooler...it is also as good as the Xig and comes with TX2...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004

it is also good but i would get the Xigmatek as IMO it is better(correct me if i am wrong)

 

[gkay09]

^ The Xig dark knight , the scythe mugen, the CCTF are all very good CPU coolers and up until 3.4 to 3.6 GHz, they perform very similar to one another...So any would do...

 

[waynec121]

^ The Xig dark knight , the scythe mugen, the CCTF are all very good CPU coolers and up until 3.4 to 3.6 GHz, they perform very similar to one another...So any would do...

thanks for the replies. the 4890 will definitely meet my friends needs and again later on if he crossfires another every game he would get could easily be maxed if not already only on 1 4890. And the sunbeam cpu is quite a steal with the tuniq tx-2 paste. saves him a few more dollars.