I7 920 build need advice

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: this week
BUDGET RANGE: 1500-2k
SYSTEM USAGE: Gaming and Civil3d2008 // AutoCad


Case: Antec 1200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129043

Motherboard: ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131365

Processor: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115202

Cooling - Scythe Mugen 2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 0mugen%202

Memory: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145224

Video card: eVGA GeForce GTX 295

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130504

Power supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139006

Hard drive: WD Caviar Black 640 gig x 2 (Raid 0)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136319


Subtotal: $1724.91



I am looking for any advice if I am spending to much or too little for the types of applications I will be running. Am I over spending on the video card? I am going to eventually overclock the cpu to 3.6-3.8 ghz so I need to make sure I have the right cooling components and case for this. I have been reading this forum for quite some time now to get an idea how to put this system together, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

here before making a choice.

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/hard-drives,3.html

My son has a similar build here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] oney-spend

Only thing I'd advise against is the HD...Suggest you look at the charts here on the forum (inc. noise and thermal)

He's also leaning toward the 295 tho he's getting a lot of static about his choice from people who feel that the new 5870's is the only "sane" choice. Personally, I don't like "Revision A" hardware and like to let things settle in a bit. With manufacturers rushing to hit the XMas sales, quite often things are not quite right so I like to shop at mid to end of winter. It really is a bad time to choose a video card with nVidia's offering coming in November and the 58xx just hitting the streets.

To my mind, twin 5850s is the best buy if your main focus is frame rates and your budget is $500ish.
If you want a single card solution then it comes down to 5 choices:

a) The 295 GTX
b) The 4870x2 (but it's no real competition to the 295 especially in the heat department)
c) The 5870x2 (when it comes out .... expected around thanksgiving)
d) The successor to the 295 (expected XMas or later)
e) The 5870 gets within 5-10% on average to the 295 GTX and saves you about $120 (still hard to find in stock ... if you see it, better order fast)

Of course expectations on release dates are often dashed

if it helps at all, I have the WD640gb black edition as well as the 1tb black edition... I haven't noticed any noise from them so far :] I think those are a good choice. If you're going for budget, get the blue edition 640's, but a for a little more money you're also getting the 5yr warranty with the black editions.

~mrcrybaby

Well I just received all my components today from Newegg, fast as always.

I just checked my i7 920 and the box says S-Spec SLBEJ, so pretty sure I got lucky with one with DO. The only thing that didn`t arrive yet was my PSU.

Thanks again everyone for the great ideas here in this thread and in PMs. This forum has helped me a great deal with buy decisions.

I ended up with corsair simply because I have been using their product for a while now and have not had any problems with it http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145224

Motherboard I kept the same also Asus p6t deluxe v2. I forgot to mention I switched Power supplys to corsair 750w modular for cable management reasons.