Hi, Long time reader, but first time posting. Was wondering if you guys could rate this build before I purchase it. This is meant primarily for gaming, but will also be using it for school and some photoshop projects. Lots of multi-tasking. I plan on using Windows 7 Profession since I got two free copies from my university back in August.
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within a month
BUDGET RANGE: below 1400 Before Rebates
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Heavy Gaming, photoshop, programming, movies, surfing, homework, etc
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, Window 7 Professional PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Amazon, Newegg
PARTS PREFERENCES: No preference
OVERCLOCKING: Yes
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'm want to do most of the ordering from Amazon because there's no tax and everything but the heat sink has free shipping. Most of the prices listed are from amazon, not newegg. Only thing I plan on buying off of newegg as of right now is the harddrive. If you guys see any ways of cutting costs I would be glad to hear it but I'm pretty set on these parts. Oh and quiet would be nice. =P
Check out this great deal on a case and HD... CM 690 is a wonderful case with more room for long cards. Spend the extra money on fans to supplement the three already included if you like.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.273732
The thing is, price wise that combo deal is pretty much the same as the i920 route. I also wanted to go the x58 route for future proofing. I only put maybe because I don't see myself doing crossfire until like 1-2 years from now, but when that time comes I'm almost 100% sure I'll be getting another 5850. Guess I should change it to Yes haha. As for the case, I just like it for the aesthetics, since I'll be looking at it everyday lol.
The OCZ RAM should be fine, OCZ is a favorite around here and this pair looks to be no different. Although that 650W PSU has enough juice to power two GPUs, it doesn't have enough connectors (4 required) so upgrade to a 750W one.
Intel core i7 920 @2.66Ghz DO batch A steeping
AsRock x58 Extreme motherboard
3x2Gb OCZ Gold DDR3 SDRAM 1600Mhz Cas 8 Timings: 8-8-8-24 @1.65v
Sapphire Radeon HD 5870
Corsair HX850 PSU
Xigmatech Dark Knight CPU Cooler
2x WD Caviar Black 640Gb HDD
Samsung CD/DVD burner
Antec 902 case
Samsung 2333 1920x1080 23” 5ns LCD
for $1590 minus the monitor. I am a first time builder and learned a great deal from the fine folks on these very forums. I agree the OZC RAM should be fine. People are going to have problems with any component sometimes. I have had no trouble with my three sticks so far. I also agree with the idea of going for an 850 watt power supply, better to have more than you need than stressing out an underpowered unit. If you can swing it the 5870 might be a better idea so that in 1-2 years when you do add the second card at least you will have gotten the best that was out when you built the system and maybe it won't be quite so outdated. That's my plan anyway. As for the motherboard, I opted for the AsRock to save a few bucks. It has gotten good reviews and I have had no trouble with it at all. Hope this helps.