Advice on new core i7 build $1700 max

Get a somewhat cheaper motherboard (like the Asus P6T SE I have), and wait for the 5870 instead of buying a 275.
If that brings you over your budget than save on the keyboard and DVD-RW

No offense...but that case you chose is a bad choice for the fact it is too narrow for a decent h/s and too cramped for a dual vid card set up...sans the reason you don't see any reviews on it on newegg. My advice is to start looking for a larger case. This 750w psu down below is a good one, and will easily run a dual card set up like a pair of gtx 275's and leave you juice to spare. Anyways...this build cuts down on the cost yet does't cut down on the quality and performance.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?Product... $99.99 Free Shipping
PC Power and Cooling SILENCER 750W QUAD S75CF Power Supply Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $169.99
ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... Combo Discount: -$20.00 Combo Price: $399.98 $10.00 Mail-In Rebate Card Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $389.98 Free Shipping*
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8 G - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... Combo Discount: -$4.00 Combo Price: $39.98
Scythe MUGEN-2 SCMG-2000 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... Combo Discount: -$10.00 Combo Price: $194.98 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives - Retail
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM | Includes free Windows 7 upgrade coupon

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $27.99
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner - OEM

Total: $922.91 | $912.91 w/mail in rebate

ASRock X58 Extreme Reviews

http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/motherboards/1923_1...

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cheap-x58-motherboa...

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/asr...

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3593

Three cases well known for their cooling - a good match for the i920 and a future SLI/xfire build, well known for their heating   Ranked from "worst" to best cooling:

COOLER MASTER Storm Sniper SGC-6000-KKN1-GP Black ABS Bezel, SECC Body ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail $150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Thermaltake Spedo Advance Package VI90001W2Z Black 0.8 mm SECC Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail $165 after MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Here's another good case down below. It's a wide case, and large enough for a large h/s and set up to run 3 large vid cards in tri SLI.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $109.99
COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/landing/haf922/ <--- more pics, professional reviews, and specs here

ah thanks for all the replies.

i was wondering why the ASrock mobo instead of the p6t? price alone?

also which of the 2 gpu's would serve me better?

i was thinking of getting the coolermaster HAF 932 case instead

since im buying sooner than i expected, next week, how woould you rate the build overall? switching the lexa s case with the HAF 932?

asus makes asrock

ASrock vs p6t: There's certainly nothing wrong with the p6t. Just a question of whether you need/use any of the things you'd pay more for.

GPU: Actually, neither lol. If I were spending that much money on a gpu, I'd take a long hard look at HD 5850. Should be $260/$270, faster than the 275, supports DX11 (may be virtually meaningless like DX10, may not lol).

This review shows lots of 5850 data - look carefully vs the 275:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/Radeon_HD_5870_C...

The build looks very solid. Can't go wrong with the HAF932 cooling and space-wise, as long as you like the styling.

the thing of getting an ati card is that to my understanding, crossfire still has compatibility issues with gaming and that nvidia was the way to go. also that there is no reason to go with a dx11 card because for a while, nothing is really going to use it, whereas some games do use the CUDA/Physcs

and after reading the reviews, the card didnt really exceed a stock gtx 275 anyway, and both of the cards i chose are overclocked. though i will admit on many games the difference was 30 fps. maybe i should wait for the gtx300 series or awit a bit and get a price reduced gtx 285....


this is my first time ever building a computer so i honestly dont know firsthand if what i said above was true. correct me if i was wrong somehwere, i got all my info from a friend and multiple reviews.

oh and what would be a difference between the ASrock board and the p6t?

If you like nVidia I am not here to dissuade you. Personally, my experience with their cards and drivers has been better than with ATI.

Again as a personal matter, I consider DX11 support sort of a tie-breaker. If I were buying a card today it would make more sense to me to purchase one that supports it. The 5850 does show significantly stronger than the 275 . . . AND supports DX11.

ATI drivers have historically been slower to reach maturity than nVidia - but there will be plenty of time for that between now and when nVidia launches 300 series lol. There are as many games that are good for nVidia as for ATI - and you aren't going crossfire anyhow - that's the beauty of the 5850.

When people say "Cuda", PhysX", "DX11" . . . I usually ask them to "name 5". Haven't gotten a signifiacnt answer yet lol, ie, all are marginal factors IMHO.

Spec wise, the Asrock only has headers for 4 USB plugs on the front panel of your case, the Asus has headers for 6 lol. The Asrock has eSATA power, the Asus does not. The Asrock slot layou looks better than the Asus . . . but you should look at the slots for your use.

IOW, the Asrock appears to have better specs than the Asus and is $120 cheaper. That's why Why_me linked you the reviews of the Asrock - it seems like quite a bargain. If there's a compromise somewhere, it might not appear until you use liquid nitrogen to OC lol.

hmm i'll have to look at the slot layouts of the board a littlemore i guess, and what do you mean by

"If there's a compromise somewhere, it might not appear until you use liquid nitrogen to OC lol. "

people told me to stay away from any board not made by asus or gigabyte, i dont know how right that is though.
as for crossfire, if i get an ati card, ill be crossfiring, if i get an nvidia, i'll do sli so it is something to keep in mind on how the preform in crossfire

oh and ill also need to put in a wireless network card, my house has only wireless and i have no option to get internet with a cable.

how exactly will that affect gaming? greatly?

i just realized something, after reading quite a lot on the p6t deluxe v2, i had a question, is there enough room to run 2 dual slot video cards?

so far i have everything chosen save the mobo and the vid card. if anyone has any solid suggestions would be welcome

It is not unusual to be advised to stick with Asus or Gigabyte. That's the same reason we often recommend just a few PSU brands/lines.

This Asrock is something we feel comfortable recommending, not because "my friend has one and its awesome", but because it has *several* good reviews by quality organizations. And if you go through the threads here, you will find several problems with the Gigabyte and Asus alternatives. Nothing is 100% problem free.

The Asus will effectively put the two vid cards side by side, while the Asrock will give you an extra slot for air flow in between.

Take the money you save on the mobo, and add it to what you would have spent on the 275 . . . and buy a 5870. You will have no need to upgrade anything for quite some time.

thanks for that, after looking at the 5870 reviews i realized that we still only hav a beta driver or those new vid cards so i think ill be going with that option and crossfire it.

as for the asrock or p6t, can i put a wireless network card on them as well as the two vid cards?

Look at the motherboard pictures on Newegg, and see what slots are left open when two double-slot graphics cards are installed. ATX boards have 7 slots - on most there will be three slots left open.

Then figure out which network card you are going to install, and what slot it needs. Or look for one that uses a slot you have open.

When you get done with all that, you'll probably buy a USB wireless network adapter lol.