Finishing up my i7 Rig for under a $1000

[amoghthegamer]

OK so I posted a listing earlier for a rig under $1000 but the best one was a AMD X4 Phenom so I decided to build my own little bundle but it turned out harder than I thought but I have the basics down. Here are my reqs and then below those I those a bunch of parts I organized by what they are such as GPU, CPU, RAM, and so ON. Please pick the best combo and leave a comment.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: End of March of 2010

BUDGET RANGE: $1000 After Rebates, might be able to go as high as $1050

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Surfing the Web, Gaming, HD Movies, Music

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, OS, Monitor, HDD

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, tigerdirect.com, and any other reliable sites will be considered
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: None here, but I did have Graphics Card that picked out. It is a XFX 5770 XXX Edition

I'd also like a MOBO that has A LOT OF USB ports. I have currently 6 USB Ports and all are used and I need more.

OVERCLOCKING: YES, if it is Easy, never overclocked but not scared too.


SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe if I have enough money might buy a second 5770 XXX edition

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680 X 1050 on a 22" Westinghouse Monitor, but I would like to setup 2 monitors or 3 monitors.

Monitor #1: A Westinghouse 32" LCD HDTV, hook it up via a HDMI-DVI adapter

Monitor #2: A Westinghouse 22" LCD Monitor, hook it up via DVI Cable

Monitor #3: IF I CAN HOOK UP A 3RD, I'll replace the 2nd monitor with a 20" Acer and my 3rd monitor would be also the same


ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

OKAY so now I'll list the type of Part in Bold and Underlined and my picks under them. If you have a better suggestion please leave a comment. Thank you!

CPU

i7-930
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225&cm_re=i7-_-19-115-225-_-Product

OR

i7-920
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202


Motherboard

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375

OR

ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365&cm_re=Asus_P6T_Deluxe-_-13-131-365-_-Product

RAM

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224


CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1333C7 G - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145250

OR

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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

PSU & Case

Antec Nine Hundred + EA650 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 650W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129064&cm_re=Antec_900-_-11-129-064-_-Product


Case ONLY

Antec 1200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043&cm_re=Antec_1200-_-11-129-043-_-Product

PSU ONLY

OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341019

GPU

XFX HD-577A-ZNEC Radeon HD 5770 XTreme Edition 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150463&cm_re=5770-_-14-150-463-_-Product

OR

EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434&cm_re=GTX_260-_-14-130-434-_-Product


So yeah that is all I have so far. You might see that there is a part missing. The HDD. I have my own HDD, a 750GB Barracuda running at 7200RPM and a 2TB External USB HDD. The Optical Drive will be a Samsung DL DVD Writer I have. I will also throw in a 19-in-1 Card Reader I have too. I also have a bunch of DDR2 Ram about 8GB worth in 6 sticks so if the board supports DDR2, I'll just use the random ram I have to run the PC. THe ram is Cosair, Memorex and a bunch of other random brands. I have

(2)- 2GB Sticks(1 is a Cosair and the other is a Memorex)
(2)- 1GB Sticks(random company)
(4)- .5GB Sticks(random company)

SO that is it. If you can come up with a list of parts I would appreciate it. I'd also like to keep everything under $1000 preferably. It'll be a tight squeeze but I can fit it since I ONLY NEED:

-CPU
-GPU
-PSU
-Case
-RAM
-MOBO

I HAVE

-HDD
-Monitor
-Keyboards
-Mice
-Optical Drive
-Some Ram

So yeah guyz I appreciate it and are looking forward to see what setups you come up with!

 

[MadAdmiral]

I'll just come out and say it. For what you're willing to spend, an i7 gaming build is not reasonable. The 5770 will handle gaming at 1600x resolutions, but cannot handle anything above that. It would suck once you add the other monitors. A much more reasonable build for Eyefinity would be:

CPU/Mobo: X4 955 and Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 $265 after rebate
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $115
GPU: HD 5870 $380
PSU: Corsair 750W 80+ $100 after rebate
Case: HAF 922 $90
HSF (if you decide to overclock): Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus $29

Total: $979. I would also suggest that you consider getting a new HDD, as the new drives are much, much faster than old ones. Also, if the HDD you have is a Seagate 7200.11, that line suffered from firmware updates that turned them into bricks. If interested, get either the Seagate 7200.12 500 GB or 1 TB or a Samsung Spinpoint F3 in those sizes.

Even this build is not ideal for Eyefinity. To get great gaming performance out of multiple monitors, you really want the 5970, but it's $700. Which would mean that your budget is basically gone.

 

[amoghthegamer]

I'll just come out and say it. For what you're willing to spend, an i7 gaming build is not reasonable. The 5770 will handle gaming at 1600x resolutions, but cannot handle anything above that. It would suck once you add the other monitors. A much more reasonable build for Eyefinity would be:

CPU/Mobo: X4 955 and Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 $265 after rebate
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $115
GPU: HD 5870 $380
PSU: Corsair 750W 80+ $100 after rebate
Case: HAF 922 $90
HSF (if you decide to overclock): Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus $29

Total: $979. I would also suggest that you consider getting a new HDD, as the new drives are much, much faster than old ones. Also, if the HDD you have is a Seagate 7200.11, that line suffered from firmware updates that turned them into bricks. If interested, get either the Seagate 7200.12 500 GB or 1 TB or a Samsung Spinpoint F3 in those sizes.

Even this build is not ideal for Eyefinity. To get great gaming performance out of multiple monitors, you really want the 5970, but it's $700. Which would mean that your budget is basically gone.

Well In that case I'd want only 2 monitors. Iam running Intel E2200 with a 8800GTX and its fine with the 32" TV and a 22" Monitor. I just want a simple GPU but the i7 is a must. I can skimp on the Ram and just get 4GB, but I need an i7. Its doable. I can upgrade later down the line next year once I get some more money.

 

[banthracis]

What exactly do you need an i7 for? Unless you're a graphics professional or a few other esoteric professions, there no major benefit of an i7 over a much cheaper quad core Phenom II or i5 line.

 

[MadAdmiral]

Why is the i7 a must? Nothing you listed in your usage suggest you need the processing power of an i7.

The i7 is only really good for massive calculators. If you're worried about having an upgrade path, AMD is much better about keeping their older sockets around. In fact, their new six core CPUs will be on this socket, as will everything they make for the next few years. Intel will likely ditch the LGA1366 after the first six core CPU.

You might want to lay out your uses better. From what you said in the original post, the most intensive use is gaming, which you need a bigger GPU for. Nothing up there suggests you even need the X4 955...

 

[banthracis]

Also you CAN'T only get 4 GB of RAM for a x58 system. It's tri channel memory, meaning either 3 1gb kits, or 3 2gb kits.

Also monitor size is not important. You can have one of those 50 foot billboards in Time Square running at 800x600 fine with an integrated GPU.

Problem is that computer monitors will have much higher resolutions, usually 1920x1080 for 22" monitors. Running even 2 of those smoothly on a 5770 while gaming is not possible.