It's been awhile

[styxbb]

I'm gonna jump back into my first system build in about 6 years. Really fallen behind on the tech. Looking at buying the following components within a week. Divided up between Microcenter, Zipzoomfly, and Newegg the current price on this build is $ 700. For my purposes: HTPC, surfing, streaming video, and a little gaming, this is overkill.

Intel i7 860 or 920. Priced the same, is the the 920 better?
Asus P7P55M http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0323773 (other recommendations?)
G.Skill RipJaws 4gb(2x2) cl7
Samsung spinpoint F3 1 tb 7200 rpm 32 mb
OCZ StealthXtream 600W
Antec Three Hundred (two hundred out of stock)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

I don't need keyboard, mouse, monitor(yet) but will be adding dual monitor shortly. Am considering the following: not sure if I want to add blu-ray or just a dvd burner. TV card a possibility. Am I overlooking anything besides the video card? As far as video, I am open to suggestions. My current monitor 21 inch lcd only has vga input. Do I want to go dx 11 now or what is a good video card? Probably not over $ 150.

Any input would be appreciated.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The build looks good except for the CPU. For your use, I would go with the i5 750. The money saved could be better spent on a graphics card upgrade. You will want at least a 5770, but I would really try to squeeze in a 5850.

HIS H577FM1GD Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card $159.99 - $10 MIR

VisionTek 900297 Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity $289

 

[coldsleep]

Generally speaking, the major differentiator between the 860 and the 920 is the motherboard (and the future of the related socket) and going with dual-channel or triple-channel RAM. Going with the 920 (socket 1366) tends to add about $150-200 to the build, and usually isn't advisable for builds under $1500.

 

[styxbb]

The build looks good except for the CPU. For your use, I would go with the i5 750. The money saved could be better spent on a graphics card upgrade. You will want at least a 5770, but I would really try to squeeze in a 5850.

HIS H577FM1GD Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card $159.99 - $10 MIR

VisionTek 900297 Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity $289

The i5 was what I was originally looking at, but at Microcenter the i7 is only $ 20 more. For that little of a difference, shouldn't I take the leap?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

For a $20 difference, yes it's worth getting the i7 860. Sorry, the difference is usually about $80. I'm not familiar with what Microcenter has in stock since I don't have any near me. Doesn't Microcenter also have the i5 750?

 

[styxbb]

$ 200 for the 860 and 920, $ 180 for the i5 750.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

In that case then I agree with going with the i7 860.

 

[styxbb]

I know everyone is pushing the 5850 card right now. But, if I "settled" for the time being, would I be happy with the 9800 GT. I can pick one of those up for $ 88. 1GB