Advise on €1400 Core i7 system

[Denizz]

Hello all, I have configured the following system and I am going to order it tomorrow. I am using today to peek around if I should make any changes before I pay. This is the system:

CPU: Intel Core i7 920

CPU cooler: Sycthe Mugen 2
http://www.alternate.nl/html/product/CPUs_Koelers/Scythe/Mugen_2_SCMG-2000/-1075223/?

Motherboard: MSI X58 Pro-E
http://www.alternate.nl/html/product/Moederborden_Socket_1366/MSI/X58_Pro-E/-1078320/?tn=HARDWARE&l1=Moederborden&l2=Intel&l3=Socket+1366

Videocard: Sapphire HD5870

RAM: 6gb Kingston HyperX @ 1333mhz
http://www.alternate.nl/html/product/Geheugen_DDR3-1333/Kingston_HyperX/6_GB_DDR3-1333_Tri-Kit/-1080609/?tn=HARDWARE&l1=Geheugen&l2=DDR3&l3=DDR3-1333

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
http://www.alternate.nl/html/product/Harddisks_3,5_inch_SATA/Samsung/HD103SJ/-1080138/?tn=HARDWARE&l1=Harddisks+%2F+SSD&l2=Serial-ATA

Case: Scythe Fenriswolf ATX
http://www.alternate.nl/html/product/Behuizingen_Midi_Tower/Scythe/FenrisWolf/-1078391/?tn=HARDWARE&l1=Behuizingen&l2=Midi+Tower

Powerbox: CooMas RealPower M 620W
The shop doesnt seem to list it on their website itself.

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

Price: €1.387,28 including 19% VAT.

I am going to use it in order of importance with:
1. Gaming
2. Video encoding (both are actually equally important for me)
3. Audio encoding
4. Video editting before encoding
5. The common 'tasks' like surfing the web.

I got the following questions:

1. Is the current PSU powerful enough to hold a second HD5870 in the future?
2. Is the Fenriswolf case (a quite one so cooling performance will probably be hurt) not hinder in the cooling of the CPU? Since the 920 is going to be overclocked (can make a huge difference in x264 encoding).

3. Please tell me if I have a conflicting part or a part which should be replaced with a better suited one.

Thank you,
Dennis

 

[dndhatcher]

I cant find a Coolermaster Real Power M 620. Neither the Silent Power M 600 nor the Real Power 650 will handle more than one graphics card. It needs 4 six-pin PCIE cables to handle two of those GPUs. Not many below 750W PSUs will have that. The Corsair 650HX and Antec TP 650 are a couple that will.

If you are overclocking the i7 920 to over 3.8GHz, the power consumption will go way up so a good quality 750-850W PSU would be recommended anyway. When comparing Corsair to Coolermaster PSUs, add about 100W to the Corsair rating to make it a fair comparison.

 

[Just a nickname]

1.What is your resolution?
2.Could you add link with the item list?
3.What is your maximum budget?

First suggestions:
I'd upgrade the ram from 1333Mhz to 1600 or 2000 if you have the budget.
For the PSU, I suggest you to get one of 700-750W.

 

[build]

I cant find a Coolermaster Real Power M 620.

Here you go http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=350472 I have that exact same PSU which I bought from that website .

@ OP: It's a great PSU, but dnd is right in saying it won't be able to handle two graphics cards.

I personally would get a better case for a rig like this, particularly the HAF 922/Antec 900 or even the CM 690.

Your missing a DVD drive.

 

[Denizz]

Sorry I should have red the 'read me first' message first so I could be more specific.

To answer question one and three:
1. 1920x1200
3. This is my maximum.

I will start adding the links, but they are in Dutch though.

 

[Denizz]

I somehow cant edit the post above so I have to double-post...

Build, I just forgot to mention the DVD drive. Its a €15 Samsung one, cant be much wrong with DVD drives these days?

I have it with 1333mhz because the salesman on the telephone said the core i7 920 doesnt make use of higher speeds. I thought that if you overclock the 920, the memory automatically clocks up as well with it. Is this true or do I understand this wrong and should indeed put the 1600mhz memory in it?

The salesman advised me this because of the better timings of the 1333mhz memory compared to their 1600 and 2000mhz brothers.

 

[dndhatcher]

As long as its a SATA DVD, not IDE.

A 5870 will handle any monitor resolution. Right now its the best you can buy.

 

[build]

Intel® Core™ i7 920
https://www.alternate.nl/html/product/CPUs_Socket_1366/Intel%28R%29/Core_en_trade_i7_920/-1073994/?

GigaByte EX58-UD3R
https://www.alternate.nl/html/product/Moederborden_Socket_1366/GigaByte/EX58-UD3R/-1075141/?

Corsair 6GB DDR3-1333 <-- Same speed + timings and cheaper
https://www.alternate.nl/html/product/Geheugen_DDR3-1333/Corsair/6GB_DDR3-1333_Tri-Kit/-1078682/?

XFX HD5870
https://www.alternate.nl/html/product/Grafische_kaarten_ATI_Radeon_HD5000/XFX/HD5870/-1081009/?

Samsung HD103SJ 1TB
https://www.alternate.nl/html/product/Harddisks_3,5_inch_SATA/Samsung/HD103SJ/-1080138/?

Cooler Master HAF 922
https://www.alternate.nl/html/product/Behuizingen_Midi_Tower/Cooler_Master/HAF_922/-1078074/?

Corsair CMPSU-750TX
https://www.alternate.nl/html/product/Voedingen_meer_dan_600_Watt/Corsair/CMPSU-750TX/-1066203/?

LG GH-22NS30 SATA
https://www.alternate.nl/html/product/DVD-reWriters_Serial-ATA/LG/GH-22NS30/-1074024/?

Total = €1.196,50

 

[Just a nickname]

As long as its a SATA DVD, not IDE.

A 5870 will handle any monitor resolution. Right now its the best you can buy.

Yeap. However, you don't always need a 5870. A 5850 is more than enough for the majority of us so why pay for something you don't need?
He was also talking about a second 5870... can I say that I don't know any game requiring that setup to run at max 1920x1200?
Personally, I find that a Crossfire 5850 system is a bit more realist and price/performance efficient.

 

[Denizz]

Hey Build,

Thanks for your suggestions. I would like to know why you go for a gigabyte mainbord instead of MSI. MSI comes out quite good out of the benchmark here at Tomshardware (thats how I found this forum).

Is the HAF 922 (I see there is a 932 too) reasonably quiet? I ofcourse cant expect good cooling AND quietness, but I do not want to hear it too much. Ofcourse the 920 is going to be overclocked so a good airflow is required as well.

I would like to have an answer to my memory question above dndhatcher his post though . If 1600mhz/2000mhz indeed has no extra value, then I take over your suggestion Build.

Nickname, that second card is for somewhere in the future, no need for that second one now . I think the system can handle 1920x1200 easily indeed.

 

[build]

Gigabyte/Asus is generally more reliable and the one I picked is also cheaper. The main reason that MSI board is more expensive is because it has 3 PCI-E x16 slots, but you're only gonna need 2.

The HAF 922 has superb cooling and is also quiet, that's why it's always recommended for high end rigs

1333mhz RAM is fine, lower timings are more important in this case.

 

[Denizz]

Yes to make absolutly sure, it makes no sense for a core i7 920 to have higher speed ram, even when I am going to overclock it?

Not that I wont take your suggestion, but just to make sure .

Though I like the looks better of the Scythe case, I think it is better that I indeed should go for the HAF then. My previous self-built system is a Thermaltake Xaser III from 2002 and I dont like it because it is quite noisy. I mainly picked it for the looks. I am afraid to make that mistake again .

 

[build]

Yes that RAM will be fine even if you plan to overclock. Here's a tutorial from tweaktown in which they overclocked the i7 920 to 4ghz using a gigabyte motherboard (different model from the one I posted though) and 6GB of Corsair 1333mhz CL9 RAM http://images.tweaktown.com/imagebank/Core%20i7%20920%20oc%204G%202008.12.12_%28ENG%29.pdf