I7 gaming build | basics made | need suggestions on what to change

overall looks good. considering getting a decent air cooler if you plan to overclock. even spending $40 on the sunbeam core contact would help a lot. that cooler is great for the price

With fan costing about that much, what can I expect to clock it to? The most I would need/want is like 3.4-3.6... would I be able to do that on stock or should I get that fan?

I'd get a aftermarket heat sink for a 3.6 overclock. The Dark Knight is pretty good and pretty cheap. I might not get the OCZ ram, I've had bad experiences with the gold series.

I really like what you have, but be aware you are paying a premium for the i7 and for the sweet case. You could have nearly as good gaming performance with an i5 and less expensive case option. If you want other ideas ask.

The case is like 100 dollars and it comes with windows 7 in a combo, that I'm set with and would like to keep.

If I downgrade to a i5, what would I be able to buy instead? Better graphics card?

Also, I got another question.

What about wi-fi? Does this computer have a way to connect with one of its peices so far or do I gotta buy something separate?

What do you mean about wifi? If you are gaming you want to connect your computer directly to the router--wifi internet isnt reliable enough for gaming. If you are talking about other wireless components windows 7 ought to be able to find them through the router.


From Tom's review:
Past the Point of Reason:

With rapidly-increasing prices over $200 offering smaller and smaller performance boosts in games, we have a hard time recommending anything more expensive than the Core i5-750. This is especially the case since the Core i5-750 can be overclocked to great effect if more performance is desired, easily surpassing the stock clock rate of the $1,000 Core i7-975 Extreme.

Perhaps the only performance-based justification we can think of for moving up from a Core i5-750 is that LGA 1156 processors have an inherent limit of 16 PCIe lanes for graphics use. This is an architectural detail that the LGA 1156-based Core i5 and Core i7 processors share, so if a gamer plans to use more than two graphics cards in CrossFire or SLI, the LGA 1366 Core i7-900-series processors are the way to go.

To summarize, while we recommend against purchasing any CPU that retails for more than $200 from a value point of view, there are those of you for whom money might not be much of an object and who require the best possible performance money can buy.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu,252...

I was just wondering if I had the required hardware to be able to connect to my router.

Alright, so update;



Basically just downgraded to an i5.

Also:


"I was just wondering if I had the required hardware to be able to connect to my router. "

I think you'll need a different Mobo for the i5, it will need a p55 (1156 socket).

(Edit: you might also only need 4MB of RAM with the i5 since it's dual channel)

I'm a noob looking at a similar build, trying to decide between the i5 750 and i7 920. The x16 (or x8 + x8) PCIe limitations of the i5 kind of bother me as I wonder if future SLI/Crossfire GPU implementations will take full advantage of 2 lanes of x16.

^He's right, you'll need a different motherboard of the 1156 socket and the p55 chipset.

-You'll also be able to get 4GB of dual channel memory for it.

Hmm.

So should I stuck with the i7 build or i5? :T

For your budget, if you are a hardcore gamer, you can save some money buy getting an i5 build and use it to get a better GPU like a 5870 which will better suit your gaming needs.

I'm having the same dilemma. With the original mobo you picked, I've figured that the i7 920 and additional memory results in about $150 increase in price over the i5 750 (or $110 if you live near a Microcenter, where you can can get the i7 920 for $230).

Some argue that the 1366 socket of the i7 920 is more "future proof" since it may be more likely to get intel's next-gen 6 core processers in the future and can handle two lanes of x16 PCIe graphics for better bandwidth on future SLI/Crossfire setups.

If you get the i5 you get a cheaper and more efficient chip now, but it might not be as future proof.

I think I'll stick with the i7, seems like a good idea.

Any answer to my internet connection?

If you're asking if it has an ethernet port to connect to your LAN, then I believe that is on the mobo and you should be able to connect that to your router.