- Nov 2, 2008
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Hopefully, this can be used to help those that really want an i7 system that have no clue what it really cost to put one together. The i7 platform is more expensive and more powerful than most gamers need and therefore should carefully consider buying one. But, look at this as base line system that would under perform an AMD quad system in gaming if you spent the same amount.
I'm going to start with a waterfall chart of cost then get into the actual parts, so look at what you need and then see just how much an entry level system will cost you. Prices current as of 8-6-09 (maybe updated)
CPU/Mobo/Ram/HSF/GPU - $705
+ PSU/Case - $870
+ HDD/Optical - $975
+ OS - $1070
+ Monitor w/built in speakers - $1220
+ Keyboard/Mouse - $1285
So if you have nothing, expect to spend around $1300 for a weak i7 system. Now for the parts I've chosen, why, and what you're sacrificing just to get that i7 in there. I'll also suggest minimum upgrades I think are required and spec out an AMD system for both prices too (that will have to be an update later, won't have time tonight.)
CPU $279
i7 920 - This one is a no brainer
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
Upgrade: None
HSF $45
Xigmatek Dark Knight 1283 This is combo'd with the CPU for a $10 discount right now.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029
Upgrade: None
Motherboard $190-$15mir
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R. This is an interesting board and even more interesting with my ram choice. There are 4 X DDR3 ram slots on this board. 3 will operate in triple channel. But if you add a 4th dimm to the odd colored slot, the ram will run in dual channel mode. This makes upgrading ram difficult, because to get more capacity, you sacrifice performance.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375
Upgrade: Any board with 6x ram slots. Looking for quality, expect to spend $225-rebates=$195 for Asus P6T SE right now.
RAM $49
Cruicial 3gb 3x1gb DDR3 1066 ram kit.
This immediately will draw 2 questions.
1) Why 3 gigs? Price to start. This is the minimum to get an i7 system built. Spending another $50 on a 6 gig kit didn't fit with the goal of this article. My belief is that 3 gigs is enough for gaming though. While windows vista has a memory footprint of 1.5 gigs or so, that still leaves 1.5 for programs to run. The most demanding game I've been able to find on system resources is the poorly optimized GTA IV. Unconfirmed, but reported it had a 1.5 gig memory footprint. That's enough. Especially when Windows 7 will have a smaller footprint more like XP does. Not quite that low, but it will still free up space for other stuff. Until windows 7 hits, you'd just have to manage your programs if playing GTA IV. For reference, Fallout 3 only ate 500megs on my system when checked.
2) Why 1066? That answer can be found here. This ram is Cas 7, which is more important than speed.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/memory-scaling-i7,2325.html
Upgrade: 6 gig kit Just to be safe. Cas 7 DDR 1600 = $115. This can be downclocked and timings tightened.
Case $75
I didn't pick one out specifically. Cases are a very personal choice and once you get to this price point, most have adequate airflow and quality of construction.
Upgrade: $100 case?
Power Supply $120 - $20mir = $100
Corsair 750TX Combo with mobo saves another $10
This will be the minimum to do a multi GPU setup later. I could spec out a much less expensive power PSU, but the GPU will already be the bottleneck. Leaving the option for multi card solutions later is part of why people want the i7 system. Because of the combo discount, the 750w is only $10 more than the 650w and will power dual cards for both the 4890 or GTX275. Unlike the ram, this extra cost can be justified.
Upgrade: While the 750w is enough for 4890s in CF, I'd want a little more room for GTX275 SLI. A good 850w PSU runs $120 amir.
Optical $30
Pick one
Upgrades: None
HDD $75
WD Caviar Black 640. Great HDD for the cost. Anything less would really effect performance.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
Upgrades: None unless you want to get into SSDs, but if you think you're getting a $200+ drive, then you're not reading this anyway.
OS $110
Windows Vista Home Premium with Win 7 upgrade. This can be combo'd with a number of items for another $15 off.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116677
Upgrade: None
Keyboard/Mouse $65
Pick a set, gaming mouse, entry level keyboard
Mouse $40
Keyboard $25
Upgrade: None, you can spend as much as you want here.
Monitor $160-$10mir = $150
ASUS VH226H Black 21.5" 1920x1080 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236051
This was the same price as any good 1680x1050 monitor I found and really can't justify spending this much for that small of a monitor.
Upgrade: $50 for speakers
For the monitor, none. For the price, this is a solid monitor. 1900x1200 would be nice, but hard to justify the extra $150+.
GPU $197-$30mir=$167
HD 4890
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127427
This was a toss up between the GTX 275 for $195amir ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133268 ) and the 4890. The 4890 being cheaper and performing similarly edged out the GTX for this.
Upgrade: The GTX275 is my first choice, but in SLI would be rocking.
Cost of base system: $1395-75mir-35combo discounts = $1285 plus shipping
Cost with upgrades: $1445 for single GPU. This is the minimum system I'd consider balanced. So if the parts you have can't bring the price down to match your budget from this, you'll have to look for something else or wait for different sales.
Please submit feedback as and point out what you see. As always, just keep it respectful. I will try in the next day or two to build an AMD system with the same budgets.
I'm going to start with a waterfall chart of cost then get into the actual parts, so look at what you need and then see just how much an entry level system will cost you. Prices current as of 8-6-09 (maybe updated)
CPU/Mobo/Ram/HSF/GPU - $705
+ PSU/Case - $870
+ HDD/Optical - $975
+ OS - $1070
+ Monitor w/built in speakers - $1220
+ Keyboard/Mouse - $1285
So if you have nothing, expect to spend around $1300 for a weak i7 system. Now for the parts I've chosen, why, and what you're sacrificing just to get that i7 in there. I'll also suggest minimum upgrades I think are required and spec out an AMD system for both prices too (that will have to be an update later, won't have time tonight.)
CPU $279
i7 920 - This one is a no brainer
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
Upgrade: None
HSF $45
Xigmatek Dark Knight 1283 This is combo'd with the CPU for a $10 discount right now.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029
Upgrade: None
Motherboard $190-$15mir
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R. This is an interesting board and even more interesting with my ram choice. There are 4 X DDR3 ram slots on this board. 3 will operate in triple channel. But if you add a 4th dimm to the odd colored slot, the ram will run in dual channel mode. This makes upgrading ram difficult, because to get more capacity, you sacrifice performance.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375
Upgrade: Any board with 6x ram slots. Looking for quality, expect to spend $225-rebates=$195 for Asus P6T SE right now.
RAM $49
Cruicial 3gb 3x1gb DDR3 1066 ram kit.
This immediately will draw 2 questions.
1) Why 3 gigs? Price to start. This is the minimum to get an i7 system built. Spending another $50 on a 6 gig kit didn't fit with the goal of this article. My belief is that 3 gigs is enough for gaming though. While windows vista has a memory footprint of 1.5 gigs or so, that still leaves 1.5 for programs to run. The most demanding game I've been able to find on system resources is the poorly optimized GTA IV. Unconfirmed, but reported it had a 1.5 gig memory footprint. That's enough. Especially when Windows 7 will have a smaller footprint more like XP does. Not quite that low, but it will still free up space for other stuff. Until windows 7 hits, you'd just have to manage your programs if playing GTA IV. For reference, Fallout 3 only ate 500megs on my system when checked.
2) Why 1066? That answer can be found here. This ram is Cas 7, which is more important than speed.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/memory-scaling-i7,2325.html
Upgrade: 6 gig kit Just to be safe. Cas 7 DDR 1600 = $115. This can be downclocked and timings tightened.
Case $75
I didn't pick one out specifically. Cases are a very personal choice and once you get to this price point, most have adequate airflow and quality of construction.
Upgrade: $100 case?
Power Supply $120 - $20mir = $100
Corsair 750TX Combo with mobo saves another $10
This will be the minimum to do a multi GPU setup later. I could spec out a much less expensive power PSU, but the GPU will already be the bottleneck. Leaving the option for multi card solutions later is part of why people want the i7 system. Because of the combo discount, the 750w is only $10 more than the 650w and will power dual cards for both the 4890 or GTX275. Unlike the ram, this extra cost can be justified.
Upgrade: While the 750w is enough for 4890s in CF, I'd want a little more room for GTX275 SLI. A good 850w PSU runs $120 amir.
Optical $30
Pick one
Upgrades: None
HDD $75
WD Caviar Black 640. Great HDD for the cost. Anything less would really effect performance.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
Upgrades: None unless you want to get into SSDs, but if you think you're getting a $200+ drive, then you're not reading this anyway.
OS $110
Windows Vista Home Premium with Win 7 upgrade. This can be combo'd with a number of items for another $15 off.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116677
Upgrade: None
Keyboard/Mouse $65
Pick a set, gaming mouse, entry level keyboard
Mouse $40
Keyboard $25
Upgrade: None, you can spend as much as you want here.
Monitor $160-$10mir = $150
ASUS VH226H Black 21.5" 1920x1080 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236051
This was the same price as any good 1680x1050 monitor I found and really can't justify spending this much for that small of a monitor.
Upgrade: $50 for speakers
For the monitor, none. For the price, this is a solid monitor. 1900x1200 would be nice, but hard to justify the extra $150+.
GPU $197-$30mir=$167
HD 4890
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127427
This was a toss up between the GTX 275 for $195amir ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133268 ) and the 4890. The 4890 being cheaper and performing similarly edged out the GTX for this.
Upgrade: The GTX275 is my first choice, but in SLI would be rocking.
Cost of base system: $1395-75mir-35combo discounts = $1285 plus shipping
Cost with upgrades: $1445 for single GPU. This is the minimum system I'd consider balanced. So if the parts you have can't bring the price down to match your budget from this, you'll have to look for something else or wait for different sales.
Please submit feedback as and point out what you see. As always, just keep it respectful. I will try in the next day or two to build an AMD system with the same budgets.
The only fanboy I am is value.
I like where we both are going with our threads... [:thegreatgrapeape]
You would have the OP so lost they won't know which way is up or down. 
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