Repost (Sorry) Critique This Build/A Few Questions

[xtwosmokesx]

Sorry about the repost to those who are reading this twice, i accidentally deleted the thread while trying to edit it (idiot), again my apologies and thanks again to all those who replied earlier (especially astrodudepsu)!

Hello All,

After much reading on the web and this great site, I am considering taking the plunge into building my own system. After much digging on newegg, reading, building systems on random sites, and yet more reading came up with the following setup. My budget is $1300 and this build will be used exclusively for heavy gaming and some online poker. Im pretty set on an i7 build. Figure if set on buying an i7 system, i might as well learn to mildly OC it, so pointers there would help.


Case:
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case -$79.00 (free shipping)-compsource

PSU:
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - $119.99 (free shipping, $20 mail-in not included)-newegg

Mobo/CPU Combo
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-$492.99 (combo, shipped)

Cooler
[strike]Stock Intel, have read this cooler will handle OC's up to 3.2ghz safely in a well ventilated case, anyone who can confirm this? or if above case meets criteria for "well ventilated"?, i believe it does.[/strike]
Have now decided to go with XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - 46.99(shipped)-newegg- Thanks to Why_me for the suggestion.

Memory
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C9 - $109.99 (free shipping)-newegg

Video
PNY VCGGTX275XPB GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card -$199.99 (shipped)-newegg- Thanks to Why_me for the suggestion.

Hardrive
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives $99.99(free shipping)-newegg

O Drive
SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223F -30.98 (24.99+5.99 shipping)-newegg

OS
Grab Windows 7 or have someone get me a student copy of Vista 64, any recommendations either way?

Misc
Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 B2L-00047 Black USB Ergonomics Keyboard and Mouse -29.58 (21.99+7.59 shipping)-newegg

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound-8.95 (free shipping)-newegg

So my grand total for everything comes in at around:
$1220-40(mail in rebates, if they truly exist)=$1180.

That leaves me with some wiggle room for suggestions.

My secondary question is: Being of a moderate tech level (built a couple systems 10 years ago) what are the odds of me successfully completing this build without major incident? I ask because i'm not at all familiar with the newer mid/upper-end stuff, and overclocking in general, aside from what i've read recently and any studying up in the future, of course.

Anyway thanks for taking to time to read all this junk and any suggestions/pointers you could supply would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

John (Smokes)

ps: This will replace a Dell Dimension 3000 P4 2.8ghz, 2gigs ram, 128 integrated vid, so yeah, "Hope you brought your wood screws Dell, cuz im gonna blow your doors clean off....!!"
pps: Sorry about the earlier, poorly prepared post about a CyberPower build.

 

[Why_Me]

As someone asked in your other thread on here...what is your monitors resolution ? Before anyone can really help you much, we need to know that.

 

[xtwosmokesx]

As someone asked in your other thread on here...what is your monitors resolution ? Before anyone can really help you much, we need to know that.

Thanks for the reply. Sorry i addressed that in a later reply to astrodudepsu (one of the many i deleted). Currently have a low end 32" LCD TV (480/720p? maybe) that doesnt seem to support above 1024xyada,yada and crap Dell 19" Flatpanel. Have every intention of upgrading to a 1080p 47" LCD that'll run 1920x1080 within the next month (pray to the poker gods) so i can at least use some of the capabilities of this system.

As always any help is appreciated.

John (Smokes)

 

[Why_Me]

The gtx 280 is based on older architecture, it runs hot and it's a power hog...sans the reason it's being phased out of the Nvidea line. You can remove one of these gtx 275's for now, and add another one later on for SLI when you get your new monitor....or just get them both now and get it out of the way.

As far as h/s goes, that Zalman 9500 is over priced, and doesn't even come close to this Xigmatek DK as far as cooling goes. Google "frostytech" for reviews. Over clocking one of these i7's is a piece of cake imo. Just don't shoot for the moon if you do decide to over clock. A nice over clock of anywhere from 3.4 - 3.6 will do you just fine.

i7 w/dual gtx 275's in SLI.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137 $79.99
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006382 $109.99 ($79.99 after MIR) Free Shipping
PC Power and Cooling SILENCER 750W QUAD S75CF Power Supply 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.199034 Combo Discount: -$7.00 Combo Price: $162.98 $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 SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - 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

Total: $1,315.90 | $1,265.91 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.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-sli,2298.html <--- gtx 275's in SLI > gtx 295

 

[xaira]

why_me's build is a good idea, but stick with the corsair psu

 

[Why_Me]

why_me's build is a good idea, but stick with the corsair psu

Your maybe the first person that I have seen recommend against a PC Power & Cooling psu. They are every bit as good as a Corsair. Read some professional reviews on them.

 

[xtwosmokesx]

Your maybe the first person that I have seen recommend against a PC Power & Cooling psu. They are every bit as good as a Corsair. Read some professional reviews on them.

Yet again thank you for the info! I picked the Zalman based on price but i may have to go back to looking at the Xigmatec per your recommendations and some reading. Think the single 275 will be the better choice for now, while still leaving me an upgrade path.

Any comments on the Corsair ram i chose Vs. the OCZ? Ive read mostly good things about the OCZ sticks but have never seen a bad thing about Corsair (aside from some DOA's).

Will do some more reading about the PSU's and try to make an informed decision.

As always appreciate all the help!

Thanks,

John (Smokes)

 

[Why_Me]

Yet again thank you for the info! I picked the Zalman based on price but i may have to go back to looking at the Xigmatec per your recommendations and some reading. Think the single 275 will be the better choice for now, while still leaving me an upgrade path.

Any comments on the Corsair ram i chose Vs. the OCZ? Ive read mostly good things about the OCZ sticks but have never seen a bad thing about Corsair (aside from some DOA's).

Will do some more reading about the PSU's and try to make an informed decision.

As always appreciate all the help!

Thanks,

John (Smokes)

Both the Corsiar, OCZ, and G.SKILL are great choices. A lot of times it comes down to personal preference and/or price, free shipping, combo deals, etc... with those sets of RAM.

 

[DataCabbitKSW]

Go ahead and use Windows 7 for your OS. You can get the free license for the Release Candidate and the .ISO to burn to a DVD-R over at TechNet here: http://tinyurl.com/832nco . It will be available to get until August 15th, so don't wait too long. The final version will be released to stores on October 22nd. However you can't upgrade from the beta/RC/Pre-RTM builds to the final. So be careful there. However, you will have months before you need to switch out. The RC starts doing self-restarts on March 1st of 2010.
So using the Windows 7 RC will save you some money up front, but you will eventually have to buy a copy of the final.