$1300 i7 gaming build

Hello all! It's finally time for me to purchase my new system in a couple days so I figured I'd come in here for advice. I should note I already have ordered a hd5850 video card for 260ish, so that 1300 dollar range up there does NOT need a video card included.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Most likely this friday. This is going to be built for windows 7 next weekend. All parts need to be at my house and ready to build by friday, so I wanna order on friday to be on the safe side.

BUDGET RANGE: $1300 can give or take a few if needed

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, general usage (movies, tv, internet, etc), and I am probably going to start messing with video/photo editing at some point in the next few months.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, OS, Possibly PSU? I will probably be getting a new one, but my current is an antec earthwatts 650w model ea-650

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg all the way

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: Gigabyte/asus mobo. Ram probably corsair or gskill. im fairly open to any suggestions though.

OVERCLOCKING: I will probably be doing some OC'ing, but nothing too major. Enough to get a nice boost though.

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Not right now, but considering getting a 2nd 5850 sometime down the road.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: I have a 19" 1280x1024, would like to get either a 1680x1050, or 1920x1080 for my main monitor.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I will be picking up a SSD in a couple months most likely. Just waiting a little bit more for it to mature and for prices to hopefully drop down a little more. I am currently trying to decide which is best for my needs, an i7 860 or 920. I have been running the pros and cons to each in my head nonstop the last couple weeks, so some input there would be awesome. Onto my current parts list!



Case-
LIAN LI Lancool PC-K62 Black 0.8 mm SECC, Plastic + Mesh ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811112239

HDD-
Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136283

Optical Drive-
LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray Reader & 16X LightScribe DVD±R DVD Burner - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827136162

PSU- (If I dont stay with my current one)
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 ... - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139005

These will probably remain the same regardless of which cpu i get. total here is $430

Ok, now heres where I'm unsure. If I get the 860 it looks like this.

Mobo-
GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD4P LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128400
w/i7 860 cpu combo is 20 bucks off.
combo price = $440

Memory-
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231189 -$85

So total for i7 860 is approximately $975 not including a monitor. If possible, anything under 1300 is good for me since that can go towards the ssd without dipping into my savings account. I'm probably going to have to anyways, but every bit helps.

That's what I have so far. I need suggestions for monitor, and suggestions for the i7 920 since i have not done as much research there and am not really sure which parts to get. Thanks in advance for the help! I will check back tomorrow as often as i can

I do want to stick strictly to western digital for my hard drives. I should probably have added that in my parts preference spot there. Also, I'm not concerned about "futureproofing" sockets. When I upgrade I generally always buy new everything. So the actual socket matters little to me. This will last me easily 3-4 years with maybe a couple upgrades here and there along the way. I'm still using my opty 165 i built like 4 years ago as my current system

EDIT: and yea, i also have been checking out slickdeals and techbargains when i remember to. if i can find something up there I will try to snag it, but if not id like a fallback option too.

Ok say I do build up a 920 system. Any suggestions for mobo and ram for it? I've done lots of research into the pros and cons of each, but i was pretty sure I was getting the 860 up until a week ago. I don't want to spend all that 1300 if possible as I'd like some of that to go to an ssd down the road. It works out to be around 100-150 higher for the 920 chipset right?

Btw, I'm waiting on purchasing a SSD too :]. If you want go check out my post under new builds. Very similar to yours, mine may be a bit pricy overall but the discussions in there have been very good.

get the 640gb wester digital hd. it's faster than the 750.

Platter size is a main determinant of HDD performance and the Spinpoint F3s have 500gb platters, whereas the 750GB WD has 250GB platters. So, the WDs (yesterday's tech) will be significantly slower.

ill probably just stick with the WD 640 then. Im gonna end up having well over a terabyte with that, my current OS drive and a future ssd anyways. for mobo's id like to stick to gigabyte or asus.. ive heard some good stuff on that asrock board, but idk if im buying an expensive cpu, i dont want to just throw it in a budget board. any board suggestions for around 200 or so?

So yeah... idk, I've been doing more reading into everything and I'm just not sold that the 920 is for me. Like I said, I don't particularly care about future proofing for the socket. I'll have this long enough that more than likely, they will be beyond even the 6/8 core cpu for lga1366 and onto something else. The two x16 bandwidth advantage of 920 doesn't mean much to me, as the actual performance difference between sli/crossfire really isnt that much between 2x16 or 2x8. And I probably won't crossfire the 5850 for a while, if I even do.

It's more expensive overall too, and I'm still trying to fit in a new monitor and have some cash left over for a ssd in a couple months. I just don't think the 920 advantages are really worth the extra cost for me, even if it is only 100 bucks. Gah... it's so hard for me to make up my mind on this, and i need to order tomorrow lol

Both your current PSU and the Corsair one would work fine if the old Antec is not too old. Very nice case.

Ok, I think I'm pretty close to finalizing my purchase here. I just need to find a good cpu fan for the 1156. There doesn't seem to be very many out there at all... any suggestions?

not case fan, cpu fan/cooler

Hah, I was just reading a review on that one. i just wasnt too sure on the whole installation thing... looks like its kind of a pain in the ass. all the cpu coolers ive had up till now have been pretty simple to put in. but i havent used anything too crazy at the same time either.

allright, i guess i will grab that cooler. hopefully its not too annoying to install... although my case has the cpu backplate opening so that should help a bunch

Use coupon code EMCHDD10C for newegg.com on the hd, it will take %10 off.

If you have a micro center near you, I would definitely go there to buy the i7 920 as it is only $199 + tax. That is, if you were still thinking of buying the 920.

looked around a bit, and im not sure that the cpu cooler is gonna fit in my fan. watched a video on youtube where it barely fits into an antec 902 which is about .43" wider than the case im getting... so im not too sure if i should be getting that cooler now =x

how does this look for a monitor? asus 24" 1080p 2ms

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824236049

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