Core I7 suggestions

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Spiffyguy

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I am putting together an I7 system within the next month. For the most part I am fairly confident in my parts except for my motherboard and maybe the brand of vid card. I was hoping for some opinions and suggestions on the total build. System is mainly for gaming and general computer use.



Coolermaster Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119194

ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157163

XFX HD-587A-ZNF9 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150443

Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055

OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

I already bought the power supply since it was on sale.
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

I think it is a pretty solid build. My only concern would be whether there is a better mobo or issues with that one. I would like to be able to overclock the cpu, I hear these I7s can go to 3.2 easy and higher, especially with that V8 cooler. Also The 5870 is going to be an awesome card, I went with the XFX because of the warranty but is there a better option? or all they all pretty much the same? Thanks a bunch.
 
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jbakerlent

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The V8 is ok, but I would go for this cheaper HSF instead
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-GP 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

Yes the 5870 is pretty amazing and XFX is a good company to go with given the double lifetime warranty.

As for the mobo, that one is solid, and will overclock decently, but not quite as well as a more expensive Asus one would.
 
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Spiffyguy

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No fry's near by for me. Figured I would get everything off of newegg. Only local stores would be best buy. Which model asus are you referring to? I don't mind spending a few more bucks if it is going to be a better board. My current computer is 5 years behind so I usually buy to last me a few years before I have to upgrade. I will look into that other cooler. The V8 looks pretty cool though lol. I have heard the gigabyte boards overclock pretty well and are stable, I just don't know which model is good and such. Don't have the mad tech skillz lol, but I can put the thing together.

Thanks again.
 
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kufan64

kufan64

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jbakerlent was probably referring to the P6T line of ASUS boards. I recommend the P6T SE for you:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131386&T
It doesn't have the improved heatsinks of the Deluxe editions, but it also doesn't support SLI which saves you $$$ since you're interested in ATI graphics instead of Nvidia.

As for the aftermarket cooler discussion, have a look at this thread I started a little while ago:
Best LGA 1366 Compatible CPU Cooler?

The V8 is a fine cooler, but it's more of a "looker" than a "doer". It'll handle low-to-mid overclocks fine, but you'll probably want something better if you want to push it past 3.6GHz or so. It's not a great value for the money, but it certainly looks awesome. :)
 
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kufan64

kufan64

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I don't think you should have a problem fitting most cooler's into that case. The Noctua SE1366 was the one I was going to go with until I discovered that the thing wouldn't fit in my case. Your case is a whole 2" wider than mine which should eliminate that problem, though.

The Prolimatech Megahalems (same thing, different color as the one darksupreme linked to) is arguably the single best cooler for LGA 1366 on the market. It doesn't come with any fans, though so you should really add another $20 to it's already steep $70-90 pricetag.
 
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Spiffyguy

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Seems a bit pricey for me, but looks like it does a good job.

Back to the mobo. That asus one looks promising. I did notice quite a few people complaining about the PCIe slots not fitting 2 vid cards. I don't plan to double up the graphics but it may be nice down the road to extend the life of the computer. Also a few people talk about the heating issues. Does anyone have any experience in that. I know sometimes reviews are really just rants. Is it better to spend a few more bucks for the deluxe?
 
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kufan64

kufan64

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Take the reviews on newegg with a grain of salt. Most of the people honestly have absolutely no idea what they're doing.

I own the P6T Deluxe which is the exact same board with three changes:
1) The heatsinks are designed for better cooling during heavier overclocking
2) It has support for SLI
3) It has two SAS ports

The PCIe slots are spaced apart enough to accomodate up to three high-end GPU's. Most high-end cards (including the HD 5870 you selected) take up one PCIe x16 port, but they also cover up the slot beneath the slot it's plugged into because they're so big.

If you look at the pictures of the motherboard on newegg, you will see that it is designed to give the PCIe x16 slots enough room to accomodate the "double" GPU's. A card in the first slot will cover up the PCIe x1 slot. A card in the second or third slot will each cover up a PCI slot.

As far as overheating goes, I can't say for sure because my board has the "improved heatsinks." I can't imagine it having a problem with heat unless you are doing some heavy overclocking and/or you have terrible airflow through your case. The deluxe edition will run you around $100 extra, and you don't need the SLI support which is the majority of that price increase.
 
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Spiffyguy

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ok cool. And in your opinion the P6T is a better board than the ASRocks. Also since you have a similar board, do you think there will be any issues mounting the Noctua on that board, like getting int he way of memory slots?
 
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kufan64

kufan64

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Personally, I'd recommend ASUS over ASRock, but I've never bought an ASRock board. I've never had a bad experience with ASUS though, and I've bought several boards from them. I like the utilities that ASUS provides like Express Gate and TurboV especially.

Short story time:

I bought an "Open Box" P6T Deluxe from Microcenter which turned out to have bent CPU pins and I had to return it. Fool me once... I got another open box P6T and told the guy that I wanted to visually inspect it this time to make sure it at least looked functional. I noticed the CMOS battery was missing and he gave me the one from the board I had just returned. I took it home, and it worked, but to my dismay, I noticed they had forgotten to include an I/O shield :cry:. One day a few months after it had been working flawlessly, it refused to POST or give me any beep codes or anything and I had to RMA it to ASUS. Fool me twice...

None of this was ASUS's fault obviously, and I even find it hard to blame Microcenter. (at least for the 2nd board... they should have noticed the bent pins on the 1st) I mostly blame myself for buying an open box item to try and save $50...

Anyway, I don't forsee any mounting issues for the Noctua. Like I said, I was ready to buy it until my case prevented me from using it. You can take some measurements to be sure, though.
 
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Spiffyguy

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I got my parts, so far it all looks good. I have not overclocked yet, still waiting on the vid card to be available. I did get the V8, only because it went 20 bucks off. For $40 I felt it was worth it. So far no heat issues at all, very cold. I have not stressed it though. With the sniper case I don't think I will have too many heat issues. I did get the PT6se board. Thanks all for the advice. Not to OC the sucker.
 
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Spiffyguy

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it is quite massive but it does fit in the sniper case without issues. The cooling is very impressive. the cpu never goes about 53c even with the case fans set at low. The only complaint, and not really a complaint, is it comes with a speed control that sort of dangles. Not a big deal but kinda of a pain. But all in all it is great. I have a visiontek 5870 in there, finally managed to get one. The win7 drivers are a bit of an issue so far for both an ati and nvidia. But it is all working out. I am very happy with it.
 
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Spiffyguy

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yeah for the most parts I think the parts are good. I am having issues getting the video to work though, not sure if it is mobo, windows or the video card. There is always problems though. just need to try to fix them and get everything to play nice.
 
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