Online Poker/Gaming Build - Review and answers needed!

[StevenLS]

I am just about to purchase a semi-budget build I put together for gaming and online poker (8-10 tables at one time). I'd really appreciate some feedback or suggestions on it.

Budget: $1000 - $1500
Purchase date: Early to mid November
Overclock: Yes. But it will be safe/conservative OCing... probably
Crossfire: Possibly in the future
OS: Windows XP and probably Windows 7 eventually
Monitors: Two 1680x1050 Samsung monitors already in use

BUILD

Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 5850 725MHZ 1GB GDDR5 4.0GHZ

CPU: Intel Core i7 920

Motherboard: Gigabyte EX58-UD3R

Memory: OCZ Platinum 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1600 PC3-12800 CL 7-7-7-24

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200RPM

Power Supply: Bfg GS-550 550W Power Supply Atx V2.2 EPS12V

Case: Thermaltake M9 Black Mid ATX Tower

CPU Heatsink: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus

Approx. cost: $1400 (Canadian which is about par to $U.S.now)

Some specific questions I have are:

1. Is my power supply and its wattage sufficient for the build and possible future upgrades (e.g. Crossfire, more ram, additional hard drives)

2. Should the mother board and tower case have enough space for possible upgrade to two Radeon 5850s for Crossfire?

3. Is the memory compatible with the build? I read a thread about issues with that memory and a similar build so are there any issues the memory may present?

Appreciate all kinds of feedback, cheers

 

[gkay09]

For your needs, you can even consider the i7 860 and P55 mobos...
They also offer very good performance and the Intel Turbo boost on these chips are better than the 920's...So you wouldn't even need to overclock them...
And one more main reason is the heat...
The i7 860 are 95W TDP CPUs compared to the 130W of the 920, hence less heat and uses less power...
CPU + Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.276272

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231276

PSU - Definitely change it...It is not of high quality and never skimp on the PSU...

For a single card, go with atleast 500W PSU from Corsair/ Antec EA/ PCP&S/ Seasonic/ Silverstone...
For Crossfire, get the Corsair 750TX...

For your questions :

1. ^ Given above...

2. If the mobo supports crossfire, then it will have enough space...and as for the case, that M9 can accommodate the HD 5850 but just check that they dont have any issues with the power cable to the graphics card and the HDD cage...

3. Yes that memory is compatible with that board.

 

[StevenLS]

For your needs, you can even consider the i7 860 and P55 mobos...
They also offer very good performance and the Intel Turbo boost on these chips are better than the 920's...So you wouldn't even need to overclock them...
And one more main reason is the heat...
The i7 860 are 95W TDP CPUs compared to the 130W of the 920, hence less heat and uses less power...
CPU + Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.276272

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231276

PSU - Definitely change it...It is not of high quality and never skimp on the PSU...

For a single card, go with atleast 500W PSU from Corsair/ Antec EA/ PCP&S/ Seasonic/ Silverstone...
For Crossfire, get the Corsair 750TX...

For your questions :

1. ^ Given above...

2. If the mobo supports crossfire, then it will have enough space...and as for the case, that M9 can accommodate the HD 5850 but just check that they dont have any issues with the power cable to the graphics card and the HDD cage...

3. Yes that memory is compatible with that board.

Solid advice and answers. Going for a P55 + i7 860 combo definitely has some compelling benefits but I'd rather not invest in a board that is a generation behind or cant overclock as well as zipzoomflyhigh stated. Thanks zipzoomflyhigh for the info. Also the cost savings wouldn't be significantly less.

Regarding the original power supply, you're absolutely right... it has got to go. I looked into the PSU further because of your post and found out the 550W is its peak output as opposed to continuous output. Not sure if labeling a PSU by its peak output is standard but to me it seems a little misleading.

Also I just found out that the Radeon 5850/5870 requires two PCI-E connectors, i had no idea Lol So if I intend to Crossfire, I would require 4 PCI-E connectors... which not many low-mid range PSUs provide. Actually the only one that I can see is the Corsair 750TX which you suggested so I'll def pick one of those up instead.

***Lesson of the day*** If you want to Crossfire 5850/5870 make sure your power supply has 4 PCIE connectors!

thanks for the feedback

 

[gkay09]

The P55 boards are good for overclocking...Just check these threads -
http://forums.tweaktown.com/f19/overclocking-gigabyte-ga-p55-ud3r-excellent-34835/
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=4002548
Even though that guy has gone extreme, for a normal overclock(Easy 3.6-3.8GHz with good air cooling), it offers enough features...

 

[gkay09]

^ Could you post some valid reasons... Its just easy to say things are not good...
But if you have a valid reason and could post it here, then it would do the community good and people can stay away from those...