Please Review ~$1,800+ i7920 Build

[Tampa_Gamer]

First, the template-

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Over next 2 weeks as parts are available so I can build over some holiday time off.

BUDGET RANGE: ~$1,800 but price is less a concern than reliable/compatible parts since I only upgrade every 2-3 years now (with 3 little kids + wife, free time is scarcity).

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, internet, some photo editing - no movies, so blue ray not an issue

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: As indicated in list below

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, but open to other suggestions if from reliable company

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Florida/U.S.A.

PARTS PREFERENCES: i7 920 build, ASUS/EVGA/Gigabyte MB (based on prior positive experiences)

OVERCLOCKING: Yes, but not much luck last time around with ASAS Striker - so wary

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes in future, but going with single card to start

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1600x1200 - Viewsonic P22f CRT

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Gaming primarily consists of RPGs (Fallout 3, Oblivion, etc.), pausable RTS (Company of Heroes, Supreme Commander, etc.) and 4x space epics (Sword of the Stars, etc.).

Existing system is an Antec P182/ASUS Striker Extreme/Q6600/2GB/2x8800GTS512 SLI which is being handed down intact to my 8 year old daughter.

Having surfed the last week through various build guides and a ton of recommendations on this forum, here is what I have put together so far (** indicates questions I have)-

[OS] plan to buy Windows 7 Home Premium (~$105)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754
**Question - I do play a number of older games is it worth extra $20 for this so called "XP" compatibility mode that is only in the Professional version?

[MONITOR] already own 2004 Viewsonic 22” P225F @ 1600x1200 (~$0)
**Question - this is still good monitor so I prefer to keep it, but would I see much visual improvement by switching to similar size LCD to make it worthwhile investment?

[CASE] already bought via holiday special Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower (~$60 after MiR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&cm_re=antec_nine_hundred-_-11-129-021-_-Product

[CASE COOLING] already own several spare fans for air cooling

[PSU] already bought via holiday special CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W (~$88 after MiR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

[MB] plan to buy ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX (~$289)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365&cm_re=asus_p6t_deluxe-_-13-131-365-_-Product
**Question - please suggest alternate if more reliable EVGA/Gigabyte MB available

[CPU] plan to buy Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield (~$279)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

[CPU COOLING] plan to buy COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 (~$30)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&Tpk=coolermaster%20hyper%20212
**Question - please suggest alternate if not compatible size with case or MB configuration.

[MEMORY] already bought via holiday special (2) G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) (~$140)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231275
**Question - it was too good to pass up so I bought 2 packs for a total of 8GB, however I now realize I was thinking old school dual channel, not triple channel. Hopefully, I can still use all 4 of these sticks.

[GPU] plan to buy SAPPHIRE 100282SR Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 (~$310)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102857&cm_re=5850-_-14-102-857-_-Product
**Question - if not available in next 2-3 weeks, may consider alternative if little to lose based on my 1600x1200 resolution so please suggest next best in-stock alternative.

[AUDIO] on board or use Creative SB X-Fi from old build (~$0)

[SPEAKERS] already own 5.1 Cyber Accoustic A5640 (~$0)

[STORAGE A] plan to buy Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G201 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (SSD) - [Note Generation 2, not generation 1] (~$289)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167018&Tpk=Intel%20X25-M%20Mainstream%20SSDSA2M080G201
**Question - is 80GB enough? seems difficult to locate, please suggest a reliable alternative.

[STORAGE B] plan to buy Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives -Bare (~$110)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284&Tpk=wd1001fals

[OPTICAL] plan to buy LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 24X DVD-R SATA Black 24X DVD Writer (with Nero) (~$32)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106334
**Question - open to alternatives on this one, but plan to add to existing burner for total of 2 and I like to get at least one with some up to date retail burning software

[CARD READER] already own SIIG USB 2.0 7-1 (~$0)

[KEYBOARD] already bought Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard (~$44)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126009

[MOUSE] plan to buy Logitech MX518 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical 1800 dpi (~$40)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104178&Tpk=mx518

Total Estimated Price (~$1,800)

Thank you in advance for any assistance you can give me.

 

[dndhatcher]

RAM: You should only use 3 sticks, using the 4th will take you out of triple channel and slow you down. Its possible the motherboard will do two dual channel pairs like a p55 motherboard would. Have to read the motherboard manual to find that out.

The Samsung F3 1TB should be cheaper and faster than the Caviar Black 1TB HDD.

Since you are in the US you should strongly consider getting an XFX graphics card due to the double lifetime warranty. Sapphires warranty is only 2 years. Right now the 5850 is the best deal and very hard to find. The only real alternates are to buy a 5870 or a pair of 5770s which in crossfire perform comparable to a 5870. ATI keeps promising more GPUs are on the way, but they have not caught up with demand yet.

 

[Tampa_Gamer]

Appreciate the feedback dndhatcher

Any idea on the monitor Q? I seem to be the only one still using a CRT from the look of the boards.

 

[dndhatcher]

For $150 you can get a 21-22inch 1680x1050 LCD. For $150-200 you can get a 1920x1080 22-24 inch LCD. Get 5ms or lower response time. If you want to be pickier than that you will need to do some research.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

CPU a bit big for just one GFX card.....

I'd exchange for triple channel kit

I'd get the pro OS (OEM)

Suggest Prolimatech Megahalams HS w/ PWM fan (1200 rpm)

Suggest a 500 GB per platter drive (WD only has in 2 TB model) ...Spinpoint F3 or Seagate 7200.12.

 

[foulkesy]

Hi

Just wondering if you managed to get your Viewsonic P225F working with Windows 7?? If you did, can you let me know how as I'm having a really bad time trying to get it going! Problem is I need the refresh rate to be 100+Hz (for work purposes - this is min we can aford), and the generic driver on windows 7 is stuck at a rather slow 85Hz! Any advice would be gratefully received

 

[Tampa_Gamer]

Hi

Just wondering if you managed to get your Viewsonic P225F working with Windows 7?? If you did, can you let me know how as I'm having a really bad time trying to get it going! Problem is I need the refresh rate to be 100+Hz (for work purposes - this is min we can aford), and the generic driver on windows 7 is stuck at a rather slow 85Hz! Any advice would be gratefully received

I love this monitor, have had it for awhile (as well as several other CRTs in the house that are still working after 7-10 years). It's working fine with Win7 (I just use DVI-VGA converter plug) but I run it at 1600x1200x85hz. Have not tried 100hz.