$1300 i7 gaming build

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: within 1 week

BUDGET RANGE: ~$1300

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, Surfing, Movies

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com

PARTS PREFERENCES: Aluminum case, i7

OVERCLOCKING: Yes

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes , CrossFire in the future

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

MB choice seems to be the biggest deal
Lian-Li look for case is nice, good simple design aluminum preferred

Link to wishlist for planned computer

just a few comments,

HDD: The WD Caviar Black 1TB drive should be a bit faster than the seagate.

HSF: Save some money and go with the Xigmatek S1283 or Scythe Mugen 2

MOBO: with the savings upgrade to the V2 or the gigabyte x58-ud4p, although the vanilla p6t is just fine for most users.

PSU: It's overkill for 1 4890 (really overkill actually). I assume you plan to add another 4890 in the future, and even if that is the case a 750W PSU will suffice. say, PC Power and Cooling, Corsair, Enermax take your pick.

GO for the sapphire vapor-x edition.

Zalman HSF is crap... OK, not crap, but certainly not the best choice. TRUE or Noctua. Silverstone fortress is a better case for cooling, but will require a bit of work to get there. Not enough room behind right-side panel, MB tray is not removable.

Noctua dropped my i7 temps from 100c (crashed in minutes) to 61c (max temp of all cores over about 6 hours) in Prime 95 Torture Test. But I never tried the zalman.

<<<Recently bought the below system parts for a build for a friend. Doesn't completely match, especially with my buying over the past few months, but shouldn't be that far off current pricing. And, without the OS, falls in your price range.>>>

Finished the purchasing today, and I always update:

Case: Antec 300 (Bought months ago w/ free shipping for $48)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042

OS Hard Drive: WD Caviar Black 1 TB ($90 last week)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136284

Storage Hard Drive: Hitachi 1 TB ($75 last week)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822145233

PSU: Corsair 750w ($120 w/ $20 MIR)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139006

CPU: Intel i7 920 ($280)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115202

MB: MSI X58 Pro LGA 1366 ($190 w/ $20 MIR)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813130221

Ram: Patriot 6GB DDR3 1333 ($95 w/ $20 MIR)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820220367

CPU Cooler: ZALMAN CNPS9700 ($49 w/ free LGA 1366 retention bracket)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835118019

Case Fans: Scythe 120mm x4 ($7.50 x 4 = $30)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835185057

DVD Burner 1 (Retail): HP Black 22X ($25)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827140040

DVD Burner 2 (OEM): SAMSUNG 22X ($28)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151173

GFX, "Top" Slot: SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 4870 1GB ($150 w/ $10 MIR)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102825

GFX, "Bottom" Slot: ASUS Radeon HD 4870 1GB ($160 w/ $20 MIR)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814121291

OS: Win Vista Home Premium with Win 7 Upgrade, OEM ($110)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116677

Total Price: $1,450, w/ MIR $1360

Reasonings on parts selection:

1. Lots of disk space needed.
2. It seems LGA1366 MB reviews show that all of them have more issues than LGA 775 MBs did. Further, the major issue with the MSI board I selected was the Northbridge heatsink temperature. Easy fix: Replace the thermal grease myself.
3. Chose the Patriot ram due to the low timings at DDR3 1333 speeds.
4. With the MB, Case (Antec 300), and Case fan replacements, the open design of the Zalman will allow the case fans to pull air past the Zalman heatsink very easily. (And, space will be tight.)
5. Replacing the 120mm tri-cool fan and putting fans in all other available 120mm slots with low noise decent throughput fans. Thus, the Scythe fans.
6. Duel DVD burners, as always for systems I build. (With two of the same kind never going in the same machine.) Further, avoided the adware one from LG.
7. Crossfire 4870 1 GB graphics solution, 3 total games included for free. The side panel 120mm fan on the Antec 300 will be set for exhaust to pull hot air directly away from the Asus card in the bottom of the case.
8. Free upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium for the user, no complete reinstallation required.