New i7 Build 2.0 [suggestions and opinions please]

[kooper]

Hi guys, I've been playing around with this idea for a while and now I'm having more incentive to give it a shot. I have a buddy of mine who is willing to buy my dual core system I'm currently running on for $600 which I feel is a fair reflection of the components I have it in. With that money, along with about $600 I have in savings I have about a $1200-$1300 budget to build a brand new i7 machine for myself.

The main focus of the machine for would be:
Gaming
Graphic Design (Photoshop, ect)
Video Editing (HD video content)

Below I have what I've been working on, but of course I am very new to i7 and the tech that works with it so I'd very much like to hear the opinion of the community to see if I'm not making any mistakes or overlooking anything.

Case: Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043

I really want a full tower case this time as I've gotten really frustrated in the past trying to make room in my old mid tower, especially trying to make room with two vid cards and HDDs at the same time. Hoping to avoid space issues with a bigger case, plus this thing just looks awesome.


Motherboard: ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131359

I was comparing this to the ASUS P6T Deluxe V2, and for $50~ less it doesn't seem to have any less features. I noticed that there is only one mode for triple SLI, but to be honest I really only plan to have 2 cards in my pc at max.


CPU: Intel Core i7-920
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

Seems to be the best affordable i7 solution.


HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148337

Currently I'm on a 500gb drive that I just fill up way to rapidly with my video recording. Looking to get something much larger and this seemed like it would do nicely for me.


Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

The main reason I am attracted to this PSU is both the Corsair name and the modular cabling. If there is one major issue I had in the past it was cable management and my laziness. Hoping to lessen the burden of management with modular.


RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145220

I'll be honest, looking for RAM is probably the most confusing part for me so if this RAM doesn't seem right to you for some reason let me know, seemed ok to me, I don't know much.


CPU Cooler: CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181010

Ok I'm going to be honest, I totally want this because it looks awesome. Look at that thing, doesn't it just scream "look how awesome I am?" I'm curious to see how this water cooling system works, seems to be the cheapest water-based way out to cool the i7. But to be fair, again, I'm clueless so maybe there is a much better option (hey that's why I'm asking, right?)


DVD burner: PLEXTOR Black 24X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827249054

It's a DVD burner, I dunno... Has lightscribe, that's cool.

As for a video card I already own a GeForce GTX 260, so I plan to use that, maybe get a second one in the future.

So that's what I'm looking at right now. If you have any suggestions of alternatives or what I should do to improve on the quality of this build please let me know.

I appreciate it, thanks!

 

[Niklas_13]

I would make a few changes




CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail
Item #: N82E16817139006
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)

-$70.00 Instant
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$179.99
$109.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

If you OC and add that 2nd GPU this will be a better PSU



Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound - Retail
Item #: N82E16835154003
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$2.00 Instant $6.99
$4.99



OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820227381
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$173.99
$163.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381

Lower CL ram
1
OCZ Diesel 4GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive Model OCZUSBDSL4G - Retail
Item #: N82E16820227331
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
-$13.99 Saving $13.99
$0.00



XIGMATEK Intel Core i7 compatible Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835233029
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)

$44.96 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

This HSF will do better then that cheep water cooler, and cost less
1
Nippon Labs Premium 1M (3.28 ft.) SATA Cable with 2 right Angle Connectors for SATA I and SATA II Hard Drive Model SATA-1RR - Retail
Item #: N82E16812816033
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$6.49 Saving $6.49
$0.00
Subtotal: $323.93

Also i would get this HDD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

 

[dbs47]

I recently built a system similar to your spec. and am very happy with it.

The i7 920 and ASUS P6T board were my choices. If you're willing to pay the premium a modular PS is nice, but 620W may be borderline for a second graphics card.

I suggest a good air cooler and a 3.6-3.8GZ overclock. It's plenty fast, trust me. I went with 3.6 for long life and stability.

As for the DVD writer, get the fastest R/W for the bucks. Liton, LG, Sony...

If you're doing video editing may I suggest two drives for better performance. This WD Caviar Black has a 5 year warantee and approaches the Raptors speedwise.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

Watch for memory deals, if you can get 1600 CAS 8 or 7 in your price range, why not?

A final note, watch Neweggs prices, they are all over the ballpark. One day up, next day down. Memory I paid $155 for a month or so ago is over $225 as I write this. Take your time and when you see a deal jump on it. Zipzoomfly is a good place to check too.

 

[kooper]

Hmm, ok, if you both suggest air cooling I'd go with the Dark Knight probably, I've already used it before in the past and liked it.

 

[sonic-boom]

Get a barracuda 7200.12 not .11 they have problems.

 

[kooper]

What if I went with two Western Digital Caviar Black 640GBs and went raid instead of one big TB drive? Think I'd notice a substantial difference with what I'm trying to do with the system?

 

[kooper]

Anyone? :lol:

 

[sonic-boom]

RAID isn't what it used to be since the new singer platter drives came out, for just simply a gaming machine RAID can only do so much for it.

 

[kooper]

RAID isn't what it used to be since the new singer platter drives came out, for just simply a gaming machine RAID can only do so much for it.

I meant for the video recording/editing/compression process, would it make a difference there?

 

[kooper]

Maybe? :lol:

 

[kooper]

Oh wow the sales at newegg right now are sadly not in my favor Wish I could get some deals on my parts.

They do have 10% off OCZ memory, and I can get that 650GB HDD for $25 off! Very tempting to buy them now and not have to worry about them later.

 

[kooper]

I'd like to bump this before I buy this probably next week

 

[notty22]

How are you justifying 600 dollars for your old c2d ? Thought the buyer was a friend. lol
Does it have a new video card ?
Good luck with your build.

 

[kooper]

How are you justifying 600 dollars for your old c2d ? Thought the buyer was a friend. lol
Does it have a new video card ?
Good luck with your build.

Yeah it has a GTX in it.

I figured the price out by adding up what it cost to build brand new via newegg, and took off about $100 since it's used.

 

[kooper]

Not a soul huh...