Parts compatibility, performance, and enhancements?

TurboCoder3000

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Feb 20, 2010
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18,510
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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Friday (3/5/2010)
Budget Range: $1300ish

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT:
Surfing the internet, playing some games, graphic/web design (Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver), maybe some video

editing

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: No sound card for now - going with the on board sound until I get a sound card.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES:
I would like to use an Intel CPU + motherboard w/24" LCD (may wait until a bit after building the computer because my current monitor is just fine) and mid and/or full tower case

OVERCLOCKING: No
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Maximum

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
I am interested in making sure that there are no compatibility issues with the parts before purchase. Any additional comments on how things can be improved (especially suggestions for different parts for speed/reliability) are most welcome!!

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Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115214
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$279.99

Intel BOXDH55HC LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121396
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$99.99

Corsair XMS3 8GB RAM
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145262&cm_re=Corsair_XMS3-_-20-145-262-_-Product
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$234.99

SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858
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$169.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284&cm_re=Western_Digital_Caviar_Black-_-22-136-284-_-Product
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$99.99

Samsung Black SH-S223L DVD Burner
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151192
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$19.99

Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V Power Supply
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145262&cm_re=Corsair_XMS3-_-20-145-262-_-Product
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$119.99

NZXT LEXA S LEXS - 001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146060
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$79.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116758
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$139.99

Microsoft IntelliMouse Optical Mouse - OEM
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105148
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$21.99

Logitech Classic Black 104 Normal Keys USB Standard Keyboard 200 - Retail
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126023
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$12.99

Logitech X-140 5 watts 2.0 Speakers - Retail
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121002
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$26.99


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$1306.88
 

blackjellognomes

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Feb 17, 2009
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18,810
First thing, why do you want an Intel mobo? Gigabyte and Asus consistently offer more reliable mobos with greater features.
Second, get 2 sets of 2x2GB RAM. Quad-channel RAM like the one you listed is overpriced, and the money you save by getting 2 sets of dual-channel RAM could be put towards other areas of your build (e.g., a better mobo :whistle: or faster RAM)
Third, a single 5770 will not suffice for non-casual gaming on a 24" (I'm assuming that by "gaming", you mean gaming). You did mention you intend to CF, but you only included the price of one 5770 in your build. Get a 5850, add another 5770, or forget about gaming.
Last, get this 1TB HDD instead of the WD. Because it uses 500GB platters (meaning 2 platters total), it's faster and runs cooler and more efficiently. In comparison, the WD1001FALS uses three 334GB platters.
 

TurboCoder3000

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Feb 20, 2010
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18,510
Thank you for the feedback blackjellognomes! Much appreciated. I may also end up starting to buy parts this weekend and finalize buying the rest of the parts on 3/5. w00t I can't WAIT. :D

I'll end up adding another 5770 once I get paid again in a few weeks. I have also revised the build. I like your suggestion on the Samsung drive so I have removed the WD HD from the build. And good point about the mobo - I wasn't 100% sure on what to get for that but you helped me solidify my decision. I know Gigabyte was pretty good when I performed my current build about 6 years ago, so I wasn't sure if they changed or not. I guess I'll still be getting another Gigabyte board - awesome. Also, I found another case I absolutely love- the Azza Solano. Here are my latest specs. Hopefully there aren't any compatibility issues with the new parts! :)


--------- REVISED BUILD ------------

Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115214
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$279.99

GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4P LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard w/ USB 3.0 & SATA 6Gb/s - Retail
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128409
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$184.99

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3

-12800CL9D-4GBNQ - Retail
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193
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$209.98 (for 2 sets equalling 8 GB RAM)

SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX

Support Video Card - Retail
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858
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$169.99

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&cm_re=f3_samsung-_-22-152-185-_-Product
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$89.99

Samsung Black SH-S223L DVD Burner
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151192
---------
$19.99

Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V Power Supply
----------
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145262&cm_re=Corsair_XMS3-_-20-145-262-_-

Product
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$119.99

AZZA Solano 1000 Black/Black Japanese SECC Steel/Metal mesh in front ATX Full Tower Computer Case -

Retail
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517004
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$109.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
----------
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116758
----------
$139.99

Microsoft IntelliMouse Optical Mouse - OEM
-----------
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105148
-----------
$21.99

Logitech Classic Black 104 Normal Keys USB Standard Keyboard 200 - Retail
-----------
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126023
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$12.99

Logitech X-140 5 watts 2.0 Speakers - Retail
-----------
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121002
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$26.99

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$1266.88

 

blackjellognomes

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Feb 17, 2009
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Looks great.

A few minor comments:
- There's a newer model of that RAM; it shares the same specs and price but sports a redesigned and arguably better heat spreader.
- The Azza Solano is a bit narrow and lacks a mobo tray cutout, which can hinder and possibly prevent you from using many third-party HSFs. However, since you don't intend to overclock, this should be a non-issue. Besides that, it doesn't come with fan filters, so you might want to pick some up. Otherwise, it's perfect. For a non-OC build, it's likely the best case for the price.
 
MoBo - Gigabyte Mobos have thgeir USB 3 / SATA III capabilities crippled when you add a 2nd GFX card (which you're doing next payday).

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-3.0-performance,2490-2.html

RAM - CAS 9 ($105) ? Why not take CAS 7 for the same price

CAS 6 $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226120

CAS 7 $1045
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226103

CAS 8 $92
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227483

For $14 more, you could have this. Full tower case w/ top notch 850 W PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.335367

Hard Drives - Check out the performance charts and pick whatever 500 GB per platter drive performs best under your usage patterns. The WD Black 2 TB is a good choice but at smaller capacities, you are limited to the Seagate 7200.12 or the Spinpoint F3. The 7200.12 excels in gaming, multimedia and pictures whereas the F3 wins at music and movie maker. See the comparisons here (copy past link in manually, link won't work in forum):

(http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-3.5-desktop-hard-drive-charts/compare,1006.html?prod[2371]=on&prod[2770]=on)
 

TurboCoder3000

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Feb 20, 2010
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blackjellognomes - The only fan filters I can find are the 120mm. The 140mm and 230mm fans do not bring up any filter results on NewEgg when searching for those specific filters (140mm fan filter, 230mm fan filter respectively). Do I have to go elsewhere to get filters for these fans?

JackNaylorPE - Thank you for the links! Although, the link for the Gigabyte board states... "Neither of these sacrifices is huge or even noticeable on most of today’s hardware, yet anyone trying to future-proof their system could be left cold." Not trying to future proof my system, but it is a good idea and something to keep an eye on. In light of that, I may be thinking about getting a 3.06 GHz CPU + 1366 Mobo instead of what I originally thought about. Namely...

[snip]

EDIT: Nevermind. I'm gonna stick with my original build in this thread. That way, I can buy half now and have the rest of everything on Friday. :)

 


Yes, today there is little USB 3 / SATA III hardware....that will change starting in March. But the point is, why buy a SATA III / USB 3 if you don't plan on using it ? Save some money and buy a MoBo w/o those features if you don't plan on using them.
 

TurboCoder3000

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Feb 20, 2010
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Well the final parts from the above build are almost here!!!!! Within the next couple days I'm receiving my final parts.

I'll post pictures of the build for everyone!!! I can't wait!!! My Azza Solano Case looks DEEEELISH...

Also, if anyone can still answer my question about the fan filters for the Solano case that would be awesome...

The only fan filters I can find on NewEgg are the 120mm. The 140mm and 230mm Solano fan filter searches do not bring up any filter results on NewEgg when searching for those specific filters (140mm fan filter, 230mm fan filter respectively). Do I have to go elsewhere to get filters for these fans or do I only need filters for the 120mm fans?