I7 Rig for 3D/Gaming

[mdale13]

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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Mid-July BUDGET RANGE: $1400-1600

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: 3D Work, Gaming, TV/Movies

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Mouse, Speakers, OS (I'll use Win7RC and my current copy of XP)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, amazon.com

PARTS PREFERENCES: ASUS/EVGA/INTEL/NVIDIA

OVERCLOCKING: Yes Maybe SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Eventually

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: My first build

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So I am in the process of building a new workstation/gaming PC. I have never built a PC before, but have been following this site for some time now, and have learned a lot. I have been shopping around, and this is what I have so far:

CPU:
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache (DUH ) $270
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

Mobo:
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard $290
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365

RAM:
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

^^newegg is offering a package deal with those 3 items, totaling $620
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.201647

GPU:
EVGA 896-P3-1262-AR GeForce GTX 260 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130372

^plan on eventually getting another in SLI, but not until the end of the summer most likely

PSU:
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009

Case:
Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043

HDD:
Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s $180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136296

Monitor:
SAMSUNG ToC T240HD Rose-Black 24" 5ms HDMI Widescreen HDTV Monitor $310
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001280

^I will be getting a matching one at the end of the summer for my birthday. Ill be running an old HP 17" in addition to the 24" until then

Drive:
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 $24
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171

Misc:
AS-5 Thermal Paste $9
Logitech Standard Keyboard $9

$1633 total

$1553 after rebates

Other thoughts:

I am sort of open to monitor/PSU suggestions (and obviously anything major you guys have to contribute). I could save quite a bit of $ going for an Asus 24", and use that to get a good CPU cooler/media card reader/extra usb ports, which I think I'd use more in the long run. Also, do you think I should get 12GB DDR3 instead of 6? I do a lot of heavy Photoshop/Maya/Max/Zbrush/Unreal Editor work, and often times have many of those running at the same time.


Thanks for all your help!

 

[Proximon]

The Antec CP-850 is every bit a match for the 850TX, only modular and somewhat proprietary to the case. It's a great deal in combo:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.195790

What video card are you using now? Are you using an Nvidia gaming card for Maya? I would like to hear how that works out.

That's a lot of money for a HD that is only a bit faster than the much larger Caviar Black:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
Save $100, or add a second for RAID 0 if it's really that important.

 

[Why_Me]

Here's an i7 build that includes dual gtx 275's in SLI w/monitor. If you skip the over priced Raptor and wait a few months for the prices of SSD's to drop I believe you will be a lot happier...especially seeing how the Raptors are a bit of a hose job with the prices compared to what the SSD's are going to be in a few months from now. Anyways here's a build to check out.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.195790 Combo Discount: -$40.00 Combo Price: $259.98
Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Antec CP-850 850W Continuous Power CPX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC "compatible with ... - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-EX58U4P Combo Price: $492.99 Free Shipping
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P Core i7/ Intel X58/ DDR3/ CorssFireX & 3-Way SLI/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 $39.99
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003 $4.99
Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133268 $199.99 Free Shipping*
PNY VCGGTX275XPB 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=N82E16814133268 $199.99 Free Shipping*
PNY VCGGTX275XPB GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.199035 Combo Discount: -$7.00 Combo Price: $192.98 $20.00 Mail-In Rebate
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Retail
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171 $24.99
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=N82E16824001280 $309.99 Free Shipping*
SAMSUNG ToC T240HD Rose-Black 24" 5ms HDMI Widescreen HDTV Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 10000:1 Built in DTV Tuner & Dolby Digital Surround Speakers - Retail

Total: $1,725.89 | $1,685.89 w/mail in rebates

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 RC 7

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

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-sli,2298.html <--- gtx 275's in SLI > gtx 295

 

[mdale13]

hm, awesome responses guys. a few things:

-i am agreeing with what you guys are saying about the Raptor. good idea. but i have a phobia of storing data on the same drive as my OS. i have had 2 bad experiences with this, and refuse to do it. i almost wish WD made a smaller version of the caviar black ill have to look into more configurations. i am not interested in RAID 0, but maybe ill just get 2 500GB's.

-i am also going to go for that PC P+C PSU, great deal.

-http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-OCZ3P1600LV6GK-PC3-12800-1600MHz-Platinum/dp/B001NFZ5PQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1245483548&sr=8-1
this seems like a great deal for that RAM. am i correct? i have a amazon prime acount, so i get free 2-day shipping as well.

-i was looking into the coolmaster case quite heavily, but i thought it may let in too much dust. lots of holes, no filters. would this be true?

-what do you guys think of the coolmaster V8 over the dark knight. i wont lie, a lot of my desire for that cooler is because it looks sick, but i have read a lot, and it seems to get the job done very well.

 

[Why_Me]

hm, awesome responses guys. a few things:

-i am agreeing with what you guys are saying about the Raptor. good idea. but i have a phobia of storing data on the same drive as my OS. i have had 2 bad experiences with this, and refuse to do it. i almost wish WD made a smaller version of the caviar black ill have to look into more configurations. i am not interested in RAID 0, but maybe ill just get 2 500GB's.

-i am also going to go for that PC P+C PSU, great deal.

-http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-OCZ3P1600LV6GK-PC3-12800-1600MHz-Platinum/dp/B001NFZ5PQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1245483548&sr=8-1
this seems like a great deal for that RAM. am i correct? i have a amazon prime acount, so i get free 2-day shipping as well.

-i was looking into the coolmaster case quite heavily, but i thought it may let in too much dust. lots of holes, no filters. would this be true?

-what do you guys think of the coolmaster V8 over the dark knight. i wont lie, a lot of my desire for that cooler is because it looks sick, but i have read a lot, and it seems to get the job done very well.

That combo deal on that antec 1200 and antec psu is a killer deal atm not to mention the free shipping. If your on a budget you could drop one of those gtx 275's and add a WD 640 Black to the build, then later on add another gtx 275.

As far as the V8 goes...it doesn't seem like it's worth the extra money in a lot of peoples opinions on here....including mine. Not to mention who want's a h/s the size of a small house hanging off their mobo ? That Xigmatek DK has a cool fan anyways...it kind of glows if you have LED's in your case.

 

[mdale13]

what do you think of the EVGA 260 GTX SC vs the PNY 275 GTX?

 

[Why_Me]

what do you think of the EVGA 260 GTX SC vs the PNY 275 GTX?

Both are good cards. It's nothing to over clock those $200 gtx 275's to where they run close to the gtx 285's. It all depends on the budget, games played, resolution etc...

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-275,2266.html <--- gtx 275, 260, etc... benchmarks on that link

 

[Proximon]

There is no PC P&C PSU that scores this high on tests:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=142

For what amounts to 90 bucks you get a $200 PSU with the CP-850. The only PSUs that can match it are like this SG850:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371018&Tpk=SG850

or this 850HX:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011&Tpk=850HX

And both of those are actually great deals themselves. You would have paid 300 bucks for the Antec Signature a little while ago.

 

[Why_Me]

There is no PC P&C PSU that scores this high on tests:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=142

For what amounts to 90 bucks you get a $200 PSU with the CP-850. The only PSUs that can match it are like this SG850:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371018&Tpk=SG850

or this 850HX:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011&Tpk=850HX

And both of those are actually great deals themselves. You would have paid 300 bucks for the Antec Signature a little while ago.

That combo deal w/the 1200 you posted up above seemed to be the deal of the day. I put that in that build I posted up above and it actually dropped the price by $10.

 

[Yoosty]

The only thing I see missing if you will be doing any OC'ing is a good Aftermarket HSF CPU cooler. I would suggest you get one of these 2 below.

Thermalright Ultra120 eXtreme-1366 RT Premium Heatpipe Cooler for Intel LGA1366 $74.95
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=450&products_id=24727

Prolimatech Megahalems $64.95
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8807/cpu-pro-01/Prolimatech_Megahalems_Intel_CPU_Heatsink_LGA_775_1366_AM2_AM2_AM3.html?tl=g40c14s757

These are 2 of the Best out there, even according to Tom's HSF Cooler review a couple of weeks ago. Also both Peformance-PCS and FrozenCPU can also ship by Priority Express (USPS) mail.

 

[mdale13]

thanks yoosty, i will look into those.

yeah i think i am going to go with that PSU combo for the antec 1200.

the removal of the raptor and a cheaper LCD gives me more room to work with the GPU options.l

 

[mdale13]

system update!

okay, this is what i have now:

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P Core i7/ Intel X58/ DDR3/ CorssFireX & 3-Way SLI/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard
+
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-EX58U4P
$492.99

OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz 6GB Platinum 3x2GB
http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-OCZ3P1600LV6GK-PC3-12800-1600MHz-Platinum/dp/B001NFZ5PQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1245483548&sr=8-1
$88.34

ASUS 23.6-Inch Wide 16:9 5 ms Response Time 20000:1
http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-VH242H-23-6-Inch-Wide-16/dp/B001LYPIIS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1245522008&sr=1-1
$188.99

Western Digital Caviar Green 1 TB (as storage)
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Caviar-Green-WD10EADS/dp/B001IEZX3G/ref=pd_cp_e_1
$84.99

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB (for OS/programs/games)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
$74.99

EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130372
$169.99 ($149.99 after rebate)

XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029
$39.99

Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
+
Antec CP-850 850W Continuous Power CPX SLI Certified 80PLUS Modular
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.195790
$259.98

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R (Blah, Blah, Blah) 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171
$24.99

Logitech 967740-0403 Black 104 Normal Keys
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126012
$9.25

Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003
$4.99

______

Total: $1439.40
1419.40 after rebates

I think I (with the help of you guys) have made a damn good machine for a great price!

So all the savings gives me about $200 to work with (well probably more since some of those will come down in price by the time I buy). I am basically torn between
A) Another one of those monitors
B) Another EVGA 260 GTX SC
C) A single, much better GTX card, and then getting another for SLI once the price drops on it in a few months.

I am also looking at that combo deal with the Coolmaster HAF. Thoughts?

Thanks so much guys, you are really helping out.

 

[Proximon]

You mean the 750TX and the HAF?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.201930

That's enough PSU for your current planned setup and two GTX 260s, with good margin. I'm just nervous about your future usage, I wouldn't want you to replace a PSU that should be good for 6 years after two because it got too small.

The HAF is the better case from an engineering standpoint. It has better cable management. They are both very nice cases of course. The Antec probably looks better in person.

Why don't you look over the case roundup that Chris did last year? He compares the two cases in good detail:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/full-tower-case,2105.html

 

[mdale13]

would dust be a concern with the HAF?

and what about this combo?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.197236

COOLER MASTER UCP RS900-AAAAA3 900W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Power Supply
+
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower
$279.99

$20 more than the antec combo, but if its more future proof, then it would be worth it for sure

 

[Proximon]

Cooler Master doesn't sell many good PSUs, and I avoid them on principle. But let me look it up.


It's only adequate. All the voltage regulation is in spec, but not anywhere near the type of performance we've been talking about. It's not a PSU that inspires confidence, and I would only buy it in a 3rd world country because CM sells their PSUs in places no one else will

 

[mdale13]

yeah i read some reviews about it, not too nice. i think i am going to stick with the antec combo anyway.

 

[mdale13]

what are the odds of getting a D0 i7 920 from newegg these days? i dont plan to order until mid-july, and most people seem to think that they will only have those in stock by then

 

[Proximon]

No idea, sorry.

 

[mdale13]

no worries

oh, and you address your previous question, i currently use maya/max on a laptop running a quadro 1500 M, but at work i use max on a machine with a 8800 GTX and its fine. i dont do much rendering or heavy poly scene, i make mostly game assets/characters/environments, and a lot of texture painting (sometimes 4k textures).

 

[Proximon]

Ah good, thanks. That question comes up way more than you would expect.

 

[mdale13]

hah yeah i know i have been reading about it myself. i WAS going to go with a quadro FX card, but after reading, they type of work i do wouldnt really make it worthwhile. in my experience, a geforce can handle 3D a lot better than a quadro can game.


also, do you think i should go with the GTX 260 SC SLI, or one better card and upgrade in the future to SLI with that card? id probably get a GTX 285 1GB

 

[chronicbucks]

i dont know about the availability of the d0 stepping processor, but to not take the risk you can get it here...for 285 including the shipping..
https://www.antaresdigital.com/customer/product.php?productid=16135&cat=0&page=1

as for the CPU cooler, i have been doing a fair bit of research on this myself, as I am trying to decide whether its worth it to spend an extra 200$ on the Swiftech H20-200 Apex water cooling kit. This study showed that the Scythe Mugen 2, for just 36.99 cools better than the Prolimatech and within 2 degrees of the leading one:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/core-i7-coolers-roundup_18.html

 

[Yoosty]

what are the odds of getting a D0 i7 920 from newegg these days? i dont plan to order until mid-july, and most people seem to think that they will only have those in stock by then

Not sure on NewEgg, but if you go to TankGuys they have them.

Intel Core i7 920 - D0 Stepping $304.99
http://www.tankguys.com/intel-core-i7-920-d0.html

 

[Proximon]

....
also, do you think i should go with the GTX 260 SC SLI, or one better card and upgrade in the future to SLI with that card? id probably get a GTX 285 1GB

The GTX 285 has been considered very poor bang for the buck for some time.... and probably still is outside the US. I just now reviewed newegg prices again though, let me crunch the numbers. ( I have a spreadsheet set up with framerates.... I know )

Looks like the GTX 275 for 200 bucks:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133268

Is a real nice deal.

In Far Cry 2, on a 24" monitor 19x12:

GTX 285 40FPS 7.5 dollars per frame
GTX 275 38FPS 5.26 ""
GTX 260 33FPS 5.15 ""
(The 4870 1GB remains devastating at 4.17 dollars per frame)

Other games get other scores of course, but the RELATIVE position of the cards rarely changes. When you look at everything, GTx 285 and 280 tend to have a big gap under them, before you get to the rest of the cards that kind of clump up a bit more. They just seem to be priced unreasonably.


Things have changed. I recall when I got my moderately performing 7900GT for 300 bucks years ago, and was happy to get that. Now it seems 300 is just too much to spend on a single GPU

I would vote for the GTX 275, but I don't think the GTX 285 is completely unreasonable.

 

[Why_Me]

The GTX 285 has been considered very poor bang for the buck for some time.... and probably still is outside the US. I just now reviewed newegg prices again though, let me crunch the numbers. ( I have a spreadsheet set up with framerates.... I know )

Looks like the GTX 275 for 200 bucks:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133268

Is a real nice deal.

In Far Cry 2, on a 24" monitor 19x12:

GTX 285 40FPS 7.5 dollars per frame
GTX 275 38FPS 5.26 ""
GTX 260 33FPS 5.15 ""
(The 4870 1GB remains devastating at 4.17 dollars per frame)

Other games get other scores of course, but the RELATIVE position of the cards rarely changes. When you look at everything, GTx 285 and 280 tend to have a big gap under them, before you get to the rest of the cards that kind of clump up a bit more. They just seem to be priced unreasonably.


Things have changed. I recall when I got my moderately performing 7900GT for 300 bucks years ago, and was happy to get that. Now it seems 300 is just too much to spend on a single GPU

I would vote for the GTX 275, but I don't think the GTX 285 is completely unreasonable.

I would like to know how the 4870 comes in so cheap seeing how it is usually a few more dollars than the gtx 260 and it runs even with that card. If the gtx 260 is $1 more per frame than the 4870 as you have posted then up is down, and down is up.....