I7 build FTW Needing Suggestions

[slong]

My recent searches have come up with the following items, just need help deciding on the marked items... please put comments on which i should go with! Thanks

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor [279.99]

EVGA GeForce GTX 275 Video Card - 896MB, PCI Express 2.0 x16, SLI Ready, (dual link) Dual DVI, HDTV, HDMI (w/ Adapter) [219.99]

Foxconn FlamingBlade GTI LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard [174.99]
Foxconn FlamingBlade LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard [209.99]
EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX X58 SLI LE Intel Motherboard [219.99 after rebate]
----Idk Which mobo is best for my build----(opinions welcome, But only between these 3 boards)

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive [74.99]

OCZ ModXStream Pro Power Supply - 700-Watt, Modular, Dual +12V Rails, SATA, 80Plus [64.99]
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V [119.99]
----Thought bout the cosair 750W for 119.99 but this should be fine?----(Will be going sli in future)

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel [74.99]

LITE-ON Black 22x combo Burner [28.99]

XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler [37.99]

Hd Widescreen 19-22 inch 2-5ms lcd [~200.00]

 

[wathman]

Personally, I'd go for the cheapest compatible motherboard that has no known issues. If there's any specific features you'll need like eSATA, various RAID options, etc. just make sure they have those. You will have to make sure the board has at least 2 16x PCI-e slots if you want to get the most out of your future SLI, some of the mid-range boards are really 16x, with 8x on the second long PCI-e connector. Since there really isn't much in the mid-range for X58 i7 boards, not sure if any of them will have this issue.

You might be cutting it close with your PSU once you put in a second card, check what the rated amps are on each of the +12v Rails, and see if it can supply that much current to each card. If it's within specs, the OCZ should be fine.

i7 boards are capable of triple channel memory, are there any 3GB or 6GB kits that will fit in your budget? You can always upgrade later when DDR3 prices start to come down even more.

As for CPU cooler, not familiar with Xigmatek. If you are not overclocking, the Stock cooler will serve fine. I tend to use Zalman or CoolerMaster for overclocked systems. I recently used an OCZ cooler that was cheap, and did ok.

For screen, I'd try to find that size at $150 unless you want quality that's well above what Dell currently offers.

 

[slong]

yea well since im spending the money i want the mobo to look great as well as perform well... the only ones i found even decent looking that matched everything else was the evga and the other two i posted above. ill look to see which has 2 16x pcie's... also i havent really decided on the ram but im starting out at 4 gb no matter what i get, i cant afford any more then that... also the psu above puts out 25amps per 12v rail which should be fine with the cards but ill double check that. and yea i want a low response rate and decent ratio with hd widescreen with minimum 19 inches but no more then 23

 

[hunter315]

You need a set of triple channel ram for an i7 or you will take a performance hit.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381

 

[slong]

lol i was actually looking at that ram earlier, but ima look for some cheaper triple channel... its looking impossible to get this build under 1000 might just have to jack some drives and other parts from old pc till can afford the new stuff haha

 

[slong]

G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit

there we go just over $100 bucks and looks good, good reviews also

 

[hunter315]

Yeah, its pretty much impossible to get an i7 build under 1k, if you can pull an optical drive and maybe a hard drive temporarily then it will be feasible, but with the monitor in there it is a challenge.

Timings on the ram are more important than the speed, you will get better results from a 1333MHz CL7 kit than a 1600MHz CL9 kit if you can find one that stays in budget.

 

[slong]

yea i was lookin at the latency as well, but im thinking about using an ati card but i cant find any motherboards that are for i7 and can go sli or crossfire.... well boards that look good... trying to make a mean lookin rig not something that was dipped in melted skittles lol... geez ima just hold off on building one till more mobos are produced just not enough choices yet for the new i7

 

[shortstuff_mt]

All three of the boards you listed above support crossfire. Do a Google search to verify if you don't want to take my word for it. I can't even think of an i7 motherboard that doesn't support crossfire.

 

[slong]

really? well that just makes me smile again haha anyone know much bout the foxconn boards? iv never really heard of the company but the mobos look sweet and have good reviews/specs so dont see anything really to be worried about but there is always a catch

 

[wathman]

tigerdirect.com has been running some i7 build packages for less than $900, the case and PSU tends to be crap from Ultra, but I thought they ran one recently that used an Antec 900 case. Not a bad deal if you can live with the case and PSU that they are basically paying you to buy. Just have to find something to do with the ugly case and generic PSU when you upgrade them.

Just did a quick check on tigerdirect.com.. the kit with the nicer Antec 900 case is priced over $1,000 now. they have a cheaper i7 kit going for $699, but not so hot on the specs. The Ultra case actually doesn't look that bad, other than the fact that it has "Ultra" written on it. If you live near a MicroCenter, you might be able to pick up an i7 920 cheap ($199.99 in store only).

 

[wathman]

really? well that just makes me smile again haha anyone know much bout the foxconn boards? iv never really heard of the company but the mobos look sweet and have good reviews/specs so dont see anything really to be worried about but there is always a catch

Foxconn is really big actually, they used to produce exclusively for Dell, and currently are responsible for building most of the internals for the iPhone. I'm surprised you haven't heard of Foxconn in regards to the recent investigation on one of their workers' suicide.

In the past couple years they started building boards to sell directly to builders, but they've always been a major supplier.

 

[Yoosty]

Out of the 3 Mobo's you posted the EVGA 132-BL-E758-A1 is the best of them, plus both of the Foxconn mobo's only have 3 ram slots. So if you ever wish to add another 6gn of ram, you can not.

Check out this Combo for Mobo/Graphic Card, it will save you $20.00.
1. EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR: $249.99
Free Shipping*

2. EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR: $239.99
Free Shipping*

Combo Discount: -$20.00
Combo Price: $469.98
$20.00 Mail-In Rebate
$20.00 Mail-In Rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.230278

Also check out the Ram/Cpu Combo, will savve you an additional $12.00.
1. OCZ Technology, Inc. OCZ3G1600LV6GK: $99.99
Free Shipping*

2. Intel BX80601920: $279.99
Free Shipping*

Combo Discount: -$12.00
Combo Price: $367.98
$10.00 Mail-In Rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.231558

See no Case mention. If you have one that already and it had the PSU mounted in the Bottom. I suggest you get this 8-pin Power Extension cable.

1ST PC CORP. 12" 8-pin EPS extension cable Model CB-8M-8F - Retail $8.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812706004

Also this Thermal Compound requires no curing time compared to the 48hrs that Arctic Silver requires before CPU temps stabalise and is easy to use.

Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Compound - Retail $9.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608008

Hope this helps you out some.

 

[slong]

Thx for the comments, ill look into those combos... also i found my case for about 70 bucks, its a mid case but its almost the size of a full in dimension aspects so it should be fine plus the reviews state that the gtx fits with an inch to spare so that works fine

 

[Yoosty]

Great, you might also want to take a look at this case unless you get free shipping with it.

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP $89.99 Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196

 

[slong]

yep i pretty much got my build layed out, just gotta get wait for the $ to come in then gonna be tearin up the games