*** Complete I7-920 $825*** Check Stats & Advise

[Jmaci7]

Hey guys, this is my first build. Please feel free to adjust & and leave your opinion. My psu selection is sort of weak, but its seem to be a good buy. I checked with Neweggs psu calculater, and was 548w WITH Duel Hd 5770's. Id'e like to save money and not waste wattage if possible. Thanks guys..........

Primary goal- Gaming ( COD4.5.6 , WOW, Dirt) I plan to shift from ps3 to pc.
- online gaming while streaming music.
- Downloading movies, music, streaming video
- simple video editing
- multitasking

I have purchased my case, HD, an CDROM. I plan to xfire when I get the rebates back, abit I know how that can go .


COMBO..... 1 $232.98 after rebates
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.312896


MSI R5750-PM2D1G Radeon HD 5750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.312896

$154.99 after rebate
ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157163


$ 49.99 after rebate.
OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC ... - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017


$ 94 at Tiger direct
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

$129. at Tiger direct
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail


$26.99 @ NE
Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM

$ 229 I7-920 ..........................at Microcenter

 

[lunyone]

* I like the mobo selection, it's cheap and has been well reviewed!!
* The RAM selected runs at the maximum voltage (1.65v) for DDR3, so you'll have to adjust the voltage in the BIOS to run at said speeds. I prefer to run at stock voltage (1.5v) when selecting RAM sets.
* The PSU should work fine, but it's not what I favor. I like Antec/Seasonic/PCP&C/Corsair PSU's for reliability, warranties, and quality.

I didn't see the CPU??
What parts do you need??

 

[tecmo34]

You are just missing your OS and HSF for overclocking. I would go Win7 Home 64-bit OEM and Cooler Master Hyper 212+ for those parts.

What happen to the days of the i7 920 being $200 at Microcenter? I guess they are still cheaper and that reminds me to visit my Cincy store to see what they got going on.

 

[Jmaci7]

Thanks lunone, for the advice.
I am using the i7-920. I post it last

 

[Jmaci7]

Tecmo< i will get that heatsink added to my list. Im not familiar with OCing yet, but it's gonna happen sooner or later. Also window 7 premium is on my list to buy.

 

[Jmaci7]

Yea, id'e like to see the price come back too...Ram is a little pricey nowdays too.

 

[belial2k]

If this is meant to be mainly a gaming system it is not very well balanced. You have a very high end cpu and a fairly weak video card that will not be able to take advantage of it. For gaming you need to look a video card first, and cpu second. A lot depends on your resolution, but if you are using 19x12 you need to be thinking about at least a 4890 or above. 4850x2 will probably give you the best bang for your buck. You might consider switching to a i5-750 and a P55 MB with a stronger video card to stay at about the same price point but increase your gaming performance.

 

[Mr_E]

$ 94 at Tiger direct
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
I'd go http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 for the HDD

$129. at Tiger direct
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
I've always like this case, almost bought it but at the last minute went with Antec 1200.

$ 229 I7-920 at microcenter
Damn nice price on the chip

$ 49.99 after rebate.
OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC ... - Retail
Reviews seem to rate it high, interesting though it says SLI/CF ready. I would think if you had to video cards you'd need more wattage.

 

[Jmaci7]

My only concern is with the 1156 chipset. I can upgrade video cards, and possibly xfire. My issue with most 1156 boards are pci X16 X8 OR x8 x8, with my i7 1356 build I get the x16 x16 x4. Im not 100 persent sold on the 5770's as much as i am sold on the 1356 for future proofing and the xfire options. I like the way your thinking, Im open to suggestions. Ive considerd even getting the 5850, but its kinda pricey.How would 2 5770's compare? Thanks guys

 

[Jmaci7]

Mr E, It is very close... But thats exactly what Im wanting. No extra watts, just enough. But if anyone thinks I need to bump it up a notch, ide take a look at it for sure, just give me an option, maybe a link too.

Thanks guys

 

[blackjellognomes]

Just a note, OCZ's RAM can be rather picky with motherboards. On the other hand, I have to disagree with previous comments about their power supplies; personally I would put their newer (post-2007) PSUs at the same level as Antec/Seasonic/PCP&C/Corsair PSU's.
Also, if you want to maximize gaming performance without changing your budget, I would suggest getting i5-750 or i7-860 in place of the i7 920 and the HD 5850 in place of the 5750 (although this would require you to pick a 1156 mobo instead of a 1366).

 

[belial2k]

My only concern is with the 1156 chipset. I can upgrade video cards, and possibly xfire. My issue with most 1156 boards are pci X16 X8 OR x8 x8, with my i7 1356 build I get the x16 x16 x4. Im not 100 persent sold on the 5770's as much as i am sold on the 1356 for future proofing and the xfire options. I like the way your thinking, Im open to suggestions. Ive considerd even getting the 5850, but its kinda pricey.How would 2 5770's compare? Thanks guys

two 5770s will beat a 5850...it is about the same as a 5870. Two 4850s will perform on par with a 5850 and only cost about $200. There are 1156 MBs that support Xfire at x8, x8, which really won't affect the performance much on anything but the very top cards like the 5970. You are correct avoiding the x4 slots, they will affect performance noticeably....Toms just did an article on this subject recently which shows the performance hit you can expect from going x16, x8, and x4.

 

[a4mula]

^ +1.

For a pure gaming rig you could even drop to an i3 530 @ 4ghz on a p55. CF'd 4850's are by far the best bang for buck in gpus right now. If you don't care about tessellation (pfft, big deal), and have no plans to run an Eyefinity setup it's the way to go. You limit your upgrade paths this way however. You might give ATI another week or so and take a look at the 200$ cypress-based 5830. Doubtful that'll it'll match 2x 4850's but it'll come close and you'll still have the ability to cf a 2nd down the road.

Whichever path you choose, make sure to get proper cooling, overclocking is free performance and with today's chips it's silly to pass it up.

 

[mindless728]

@a4mula, no reason to get anything less than an i5-750, the i3 is a dual core which are getting phased out, also in that kind of price range (i3 range) i think it would be better to go AMD Athlon II X4

OP, i would switch to the i5-750 as you probably will not need the extra logical threads from HT that the i7 gives you

2 x 5770's would beat the 5850, though having 1 5850 means you can crossfire another easily down the road, take the savings from going i7->i5 and you can get a decent 750w PSU

 

[Jmaci7]

@a4mula, no reason to get anything less than an i5-750, the i3 is a dual core which are getting phased out, also in that kind of price range (i3 range) i think it would be better to go AMD Athlon II X4

OP, i would switch to the i5-750 as you probably will not need the extra logical threads from HT that the i7 gives you

2 x 5770's would beat the 5850, though having 1 5850 means you can crossfire another easily down the road, take the savings from going i7->i5 and you can get a decent 750w PSU

Awsome.
I will take your advice on the PSU, and getting a second 5770 in 6 weeks or so. As for the I7, it's only $30 diffence, and yea, I prolly don't need it. But sometimes my core 2 due lags when multi-tasking, and I dont wanna see that in the near future. I just don't see a real big savings going with an I5, many of the 1156 motherboards are actually priced similiar as the 1356, with the 1356 have a little more to offer feature wise. I can't predict the future, but it looks as if the 1356 might be the board Id'e wished I had went for 2 years from now. we'll guys i do thank you for your help.

I found an Antec PSU, it's 850watts... modular........Nice ratings.................... $109 Can I gett an opinion?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371024

 

[ubernoobie]

If you get that psu, you'll need a much more expensive case, antec 1200/p193/p183. try to get a i5 at microcenter, it's cheaper than newegg's price

 

[tecmo34]

If you get that psu, you'll need a much more expensive case, antec 1200/p193/p183. try to get a i5 at microcenter, it's cheaper than newegg's price

You are correct... the Antec CP-850 PSU will only fit into the Antec 1200, P193 or P183, unless you are up to a case mod to get it to fit.

 

[Jmaci7]

You are correct... the Antec CP-850 PSU will only fit into the Antec 1200, P193 or P183, unless you are up to a case mod to get it to fit.

WHUT !
Is this a joke. The HAF 932 is pretty darn big. I guess I need to measure the case.... It came today.. I still have hit the send button on my componets thank god, but was going to do so tonight. Anything else I should know

 

[tecmo34]

WHUT !
Is this a joke. The HAF 932 is pretty darn big. I guess I need to measure the case.... It came today.. I still have hit the send button on my componets thank god, but was going to do so tonight. Anything else I should know

No joking

Here is a review from jonnyGURU, which gives good insist to the CP-850. ( http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=142 ) The size of the PSU unit isn't standard and will only line up with the pre-aligned holes for the PSU. The PSU will fit into the HAF but won't line up with the holes.

If you post the rest of your build, we can review for any other potential issues.

 

[Jmaci7]

No joking

Here is a review from jonnyGURU, which gives good insist to the CP-850. ( http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=142 ) The size of the PSU unit isn't standard and will only line up with the pre-aligned holes for the PSU. The PSU will fit into the HAF but won't line up with the holes.

If you post the rest of your build, we can review for any other potential issues.

well...... back to the drawing board... NewEgg updated their pricing last night.

 

[a4mula]

@a4mula, no reason to get anything less than an i5-750, the i3 is a dual core which are getting phased out, also in that kind of price range (i3 range) i think it would be better to go AMD Athlon II X4

http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3704&p=12

It handles the amds pretty easily in gaming. These are also at stock speeds. People are already pushing these to 4.5 on air. Multi-thread applications, sure I'll concede that 2+2HT isn't going to compete against a quadcore. But as a true gaming rig, it's pretty obvious amd falls behind.

I'd also venture to guess that a 540 @ 4.5 will destroy a 750 @ 4ghz for gaming. We've yet to see these benchies yet though.

 

[mindless728]

http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3704&p=12

It handles the amds pretty easily in gaming. These are also at stock speeds. People are already pushing these to 4.5 on air. Multi-thread applications, sure I'll concede that 2+2HT isn't going to compete against a quadcore. But as a true gaming rig, it's pretty obvious amd falls behind.

I'd also venture to guess that a 540 @ 4.5 will destroy a 750 @ 4ghz for gaming. We've yet to see these benchies yet though.

and keep in mind games are slowly (i think too slowly) moving towards multi core usage, especially since we PC gamers are starting to get the end of the shaft with bad console ports (GTA IV pretty much requires a quad)

and for a single card the athlon x4, even oc'ed to a mere 3.2 would be fine, i keep my PII 810 at 2.6GHz and don't see a difference in framerate at all when OC'ed to 3.2-3.2 GHz

 

[a4mula]

Fair enough, and I do agree with everything said. I just don't think we've heard the last of these little i3's. I can't help but think back to the core family. Everyone was in love with the c2q's and multi core processing was just around the bend. Meanwhile the e7200 and e8400 steadily outpaced, outperformed, and sold for a fraction of the price.

Is i3 the 920 or 860 killer? No, probably not. That being said, it instantly killed the core architecture (both c2d and c2q) at stock speeds, which should have sounded alarms. Don't be surprised if it ends up overtaking the i5 750 as well.

Time will tell.

 

[king421]

Don't get the ocz 6gb gold with asrock x58 extreme. Been there, done that, and it's no good. They aren't really compatible.

 

[thebluebus]

Don't get the ocz 6gb gold with asrock x58 extreme. Been there, done that, and it's no good. They aren't really compatible.

I was considering that combination myself. What makes them incompatibale?