Need advice on a core i7 build

zerobdr

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Jul 21, 2009
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Hey all,

I'm pretty new to the forums and I'm looking for some advice on a computer that i'm building. My dad needs a new computer and thinks that building one would be the best option and he says he definitely wants a Core I7. I need some advice since it will be the first computer I have ever built. We're looking to order the parts sometime within the next 2-3 weeks and spend roughly around $1,200 (I know, may be difficult to build an I7 system for around this). I'm going to mostly use it for gaming (using it about 40% of the time) and my dad will use it for multimedia type things like editing pictures, watching movies, surfing the internet, word processing, etc. We will strictly only need the computer, no speakers, no monitor (currently have a HP w1907 1440x900), mouse, keyboard, and we plan on using the stock optical drives on our present computer to save some money. I've been looking on newegg.com and was hoping to buy the parts I need from there or tigerdirect.com. I will most likely not overclock on this system but there will be the possibility of doing this in the future and i'm looking to have only one video card in the system for now and just use the integrated audio on the mobo instead of buying a sound card (i know the sound may be crappy this way). I listed below the parts I have picked out (i'm sure i missed something) on newegg if anyone could provide any insight/comments as to if these are good choices and will work together or not it would be greatly appreciated. I'm not looking for a system with all the bells and whistles just one thats quiet, can play games fairly well and can take care of everyday tasks. Thanks for all the help in advance and sorry for the lengthy post.

EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail **(newegg says there are only 2 fans on this case but there are actually 3 fans, 2x 140mm, 1x120mm)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail **(Not sure if this is too much watts or not)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Xtreme Phase w/ SLI and CrossfireX, TurboV
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365
OR
ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail **(Heard this one had problems with getting hot)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131359

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
 
The ASUS P6T is a very good option...Stick with it...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.216037

But even this mobo is a very good option...
Reason - Though it is mATX board, but is as good or better than the P6T...And comes with Premium onboard sound...So no worries in the sound department...
As for RAM, the OCZ Gold is very good, but this is better as it has XMP profiles, that helps you set the speed and CAS without going into the BIOS...
A combo on the mobo and RAM...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.209924

And as for the graphics card, get this one...Comes with 2 Free games and is an equally good brand...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150329

And as you may overclock, better off buy an aftermarket CPU cooler now itself...
Scythe Mugen 2...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185093&Tpk=scythe%20mugen%202