Looking for Comments on I7 Build

[mattbu]

This will be my second build. I build my first a couple of months ago, this time my wife wants a new computer. I'm looking for comments and suggestions on what I've put together so far.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Sometime this week, possibly today.

SYSTEM USAGE: Gaming (mainly WoW), Internet surfing, some video and photo editing

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: I've already bought the processor ($200 @ Microcenter) and a Cooler Master Storm Sniper case ($140 @ Frys). I will not be buying a video card at the moment. I'm planning to use a 8800GT for a little bit and buy a new card later on, hopefully when DX11 cards come out. If not, I'll get a 4890 or GTX 275. I also do not need a monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse, etc.

PREFERRED WEBSITES: Newegg mainly, any reputable US site is fine though

PARTS PREFERENCE: As long as they're quality parts with a decent warranty I'm pretty flexible. I've already bought the I7, so AMD really isn't an option unless someone just finds a heck of a deal on the 955 with MSI 790FX mobo (I had just missed the special Newegg was running towards the end of the month, kicking myself a bit for that).

OVERCLOCKING & SLI/CROSSFIRE: I'm willing to overclock a little, I'm not looking to do anything to extreme though. I'd like to keep the option open for SLI/Crossfire (2 cards at most), but I won't be doing it at the moment.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Currently at 1280 x 1024, but I plan to buy a new monitor (1920 x 1080) later this year.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'm trying to keep the total to around $900 to $1,000 (lower if possible). I'm mainly looking for recommendations on motherboard and RAM.


MY BUILD:

Case:
Cooler Master Storm Sniper (Already purchased). $140

Processor:
I7 920 (Already purchased). $200

Motherboard:
This is probably the piece that I'm the most apprehensive about. I've read the Tom's review of cheap x58 motherboards and the ASRock x58 extreme sounds great and all. The problems I have with it is that it's hard to find in stock and I'm unsure of the longevity of the piece. I've heard it's warranty is lacking, but I've never been able to actually find how long of a warranty it has. I'm not very familiar with ASRock and would kind of prefer a more major company like Asus or maybe EVGA. So I'm considering any of these three:

ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard (currently out of stock) $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157163&Tpk=asrock%20x58%20extreme
Comments on this above.

EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX X58 SLI LE Intel Motherboard $230 ($210 w/ MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188049
I like the dummy overclocking feature on this board because I'm a dummy when it comes to that. Otherwise it has pretty good reviews on Newegg. I've heard that the first generation of EVGA x58 cards had some problems, I'm guessing it's fixed now?

ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard ($250)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131359
This is kind of my fall back option. Asus is a solid company so I expect this to be a quality board that will give me decent to good performance. I've also considered the SE addition but I'd kind of like to leave the option open for SLI since there isn't a major price difference. I've heard rumors about Asus boards not getting along with OCZ ram, is this still a problem?


RAM:
Another thing I'm unsure of. OCZ currently has the best deals on Newegg, but I'm unsure of the reliability and compatibility with Asus motherboards. I've also read some people are having problems getting them to run at the proper speed. I may just go with the more expensive Corsair.

OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381
Concerned about the compatibility issues

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145242
This is really more expensive that I was hoping to spend on memory, but just using it for an alternative.

POWER SUPPLY:
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
This is what I have in my computer, I'm very happy with it.

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
I have this in my computer, I'm happy with it.

DVD-Drive:
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW SATA CD/DVD Burner $25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289
A burner, pretty basic.

CPU Cooler:
Scythe MUGEN-2 SCMG-2000 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185093
I really don't have much of a preference. I've also looked at the Xigmatek Dark Knight and the V8. I have a Xigmatek in my computer and I don't have any complaints besides the sticker that was placed on the bottom of the heatsink. It was annoying to clean. Would I need to buy any additional mounting clips for any of these?

Video Card:
I do not plan to purchase at the moment. I'll be using 8800 GT for the time being; yes I know the system will be bottlenecked by this. For WoW it really won't matter though. Plan to get a DX11 card or something on the level of 4890s later on.

OS:
Will be using W7 RC until release.

Thanks for the help.

 

[hunter315]

Looks pretty good, i havent heard anything about the ASUS board not getting along with the OCZ ram, i would suggest the OCZ ram as it is significantly cheaper and they have the same timings. Lots of people who have asked for advice on this board have done a build with a p6t and OCZ ram it shouldnt be a problem.

The ASUS and ASrock board will give you 16/16/4 SLI or CF, the EVGA will give you 16/16/8 which will be more useful for 3 way SLI or CF but i doubt you will ever need it.

 

[mattbu]

Thanks for the reply. I heard the rumor from the guys at Microcenter when I was buying the processor.

It seems that I've overlooked a Gigabyte board that I found on another advice thread. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128374&Tpk=GIGABYTE%20GA-EX58-UD4P

 

[ecurb]

I just built a computer a few days ago with most of the same components you chose. I'm really happy with the way my build turned out, although I think it would be a bit of overkill for just playing WoW. Here are my components.

Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX
COOLER MASTER HAF 922
Scythe MUGEN-2
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
GIGABYTE GV-N275UD-896H GeForce GTX 275
SAMSUNG Black.. SATA 22X DVD Burner
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

This was my first build. The only tricky part of the build for me was installing the Scythe Mugen 2, the diagram that came with it was a little hard to understand. I hope that helps

 

[belial2k]

I've built a ton of systems using the Asus p6t deluxe v2 and the OCZ ram...no worries there. I would blame people not understanding how to set the ram manually for the complaints you've seen. Do yourself a favor and avoid EVGA. Best warranty and customer service on paper, but the worst in practice. I have NEVER had a successful RMA from EVGA on any of their products. So if it goes bad expect to just lose that money. If I were going for a budget i7 build I might try the Asrock, but I have no hands on experience with it. As long as they have the vdroop problem that plagued the x58 supercomputer under control it sounds like a good buy. Don't worry about overclocking. There is a sticky in the overclocking forum "for dummies" written by overshocked.