Custom i7 PC - First time

[Darksol2k4]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within a Month.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, amazon.com, tigerdirect.com, buy.com

OVERCLOCKING: YES CROSSFIRE OR SLI: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I am open to any ideas or opinions! Please advise.

MoBo - ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131386

Proc - Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

Cooling - 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

RAM - 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&cm_re=OCZ_Gold_6GB_%283_x_2GB%29_240-Pin_DDR3_SDRAM_DDR3_160-_-20-227-365-_-Product

Case - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&cm_re=anetc_900-_-11-129-021-_-Product

Supply - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&cm_re=750w_corsiar-_-17-139-006-_-Product

Drives - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

GPU - Diamond ATI Radeon HD5870 PCIE 1024 MB GDDR5 Video Card 5870PE51G
http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Radeon-HD5870-GDDR5-5870PE51G/dp/B002Q6Z8TE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1256615930&sr=1-3

Disk Drive- Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118032&cm_re=Sony_Optiarc_Black_24X_DVD%2bR_8X_DVD%2bRW_12X_DVD%2bR_D-_-27-118-032-_-Product

Monitor - ASUS VW266H Black 25.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 20000:1) Built in Speakers w/ component connector

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236047

Keyboard - Saitek PZ30AUR Red 104 Normal Keys 4 Function Keys USB Wired Slim Eclipse Keyboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823175104&Tpk=Saitek%20PZ30AUR%20Red%20104%20Normal%20Keys%204%20Function%20Keys

Mouse - RAZER DeathAdder RZ01-00150100-R3M1 Black 5 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Optical 1800 dpi High Precision Gaming Mouse
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153007&Tpk=RAZER%20DeathAdder%20RZ01-00150100-R3M1%20Black%205%20Button

OS - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754&cm_re=windows_7_home_64-bit_oem-_-32-116-754-_-Product

 

[belial2k]

good choices...I wouldn't spend that much on a mouse, and I'm not too fond of antec cases, but those are both personal decisions.

 

[Darksol2k4]

I was originally looking towards getting the Lian Li lancool case. I was told that this case has better cooling and air circulation. For the mouse, I personally like the style of that mouse.

 

[blackhawk1928]

Whats your budget?

 

[Darksol2k4]

Whats your budget?

Sorry, that line was cut off... Budget: $2000

 

[dndhatcher]

I love my Antec 900. It has tremendous airflow even with the case fans on low. I also like the looks, but thats subjective.

 

[blackhawk1928]

Hmm...I'd tweak the a little bit.
-First, switch up that ram for OCZ Platinum 6GB Triple Channel Memory
-Also your case is mid tower? Are you sure?...you might have poor airflow with clumped hardware resulting in overheating and I doubt you will space for extra things in there. Might want to consider with a full.

 

[andrewbb923]

I have a rather similar system, except a bit on the down end coz' my budget was around $1600.
I built my system recently using Antec 902, and am very happy with it. I heard it has better cable management than the 900, but can't say for sure coz' never owned a 900.
+1 for switching to OCZ Platinum. However I'm using OCZ Gold myself and they are so far so good. Passed Memtest and running at 1600 mHz and CAS 8-8-8-24 with no problem.
I really find modular power supply much easier to deal with, especially I like cleanly wired system myself. If you have a budget of $2000, you may want to look into the modular PSU. I love Corsair, btw.
Throw in something more for the motherboard. ASUS is fantastic in reputation and operation. Easy BIOS to work with, and you will probably have a great time using crossfire on that. If you are happy with the 2 x16 PCI-E slots, SE should be fine. I have read about the onboard sound issues, which you might want to look into since you are building a gaming rig.

$2000 does give you a lot of room to change your parts. I will see what other advice I may offer when it comes to my mind.

 

[Darksol2k4]

I have a rather similar system, except a bit on the down end coz' my budget was around $1600.
I built my system recently using Antec 902, and am very happy with it. I heard it has better cable management than the 900, but can't say for sure coz' never owned a 900.
+1 for switching to OCZ Platinum. However I'm using OCZ Gold myself and they are so far so good. Passed Memtest and running at 1600 mHz and CAS 8-8-8-24 with no problem.
I really find modular power supply much easier to deal with, especially I like cleanly wired system myself. If you have a budget of $2000, you may want to look into the modular PSU. I love Corsair, btw.
Throw in something more for the motherboard. ASUS is fantastic in reputation and operation. Easy BIOS to work with, and you will probably have a great time using crossfire on that. If you are happy with the 2 x16 PCI-E slots, SE should be fine. I have read about the onboard sound issues, which you might want to look into since you are building a gaming rig.

$2000 does give you a lot of room to change your parts. I will see what other advice I may offer when it comes to my mind.

Is there a huge difference in upgrading to the OCZ Platinum? I will look into the power supply. What mobo should I change to?

 

[Darksol2k4]

I am looking for a good surge protector? Hopefully one that can handle this machine without exploding. Does anyone have suggestions? Also, I am looking for a wireless router. Advice on that would be good as well.. Thanks!

 

[blackhawk1928]

Well switching to OCZ platinum "should" give you better performance. It has the same transfer as OCZ Gold 1600mhz but has a Cas Latency of 7 instead of 8 that OCZ gold uses. Tighter timings means better performance. However don't think your FPS will be doubled or anything from this, it will just give a small performance boost.

 

[Darksol2k4]

Well switching to OCZ platinum "should" give you better performance. It has the same transfer as OCZ Gold 1600mhz but has a Cas Latency of 7 instead of 8 that OCZ gold uses. Tighter timings means better performance. However don't think your FPS will be doubled or anything from this, it will just give a small performance boost.

Yeah, I figured the timing difference was the main change. I just wanted to know if it is really worth an extra 30 bucks.

 

[blackhawk1928]

Thats your personal choice, however just know that timings play almost an equally determining role in ram performane as the transfer rate. Some even say timings affect even more then frequency/transfer rate so just know that. Newegg is a very popular website, people who buy from them are usually buying for homebuilt systems and usually are people who have expirience with computers. Therefore if timings wouldn't be worth the extra 30 bucks, people wouldn't buy it and new egg would not sell it and just let people buy the OCZ Obsidian which is very cheap ram with CL 9 which is slow. Thats just something to consider...since lots of people buy then it does probably make a difference.
-However if I were in your shoes I would spend that extra thirty into a full tower case, the timings won't give you a massive jump, its another luxury item, your choice though.