2010 selection for CPU, MB, and Video Card

itgl72

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Dec 2, 2002
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With a case (922 HAF), and power supply (850HX) now in the shopping cart it's time for me to get down to the fun stuff.

Next I'll work on selecting the CPU, MB, and Video Card.

VIDEO CARD: I already know I want an ATI Radeon HD 5870. Down the line I may crossfire with another but definitly will try a 3 screen eyefinity setup too. I wish ATI had a BFG for nvidia version of a company that offered that great warranty. I've been reading reviews on newegg and tiger and pretty much anything can work. Has anyone any recommendations for ATI manufacturers? I've mainly done nvidia my last two PC builds. I've read some negative things on gigabytes customer service I know that.

CPU: Aye, the Core i7-860, -870, -920, -930, -940, -950 selections. After reading up on toms, and reviews on tiger and newegg I'm bouncing around two of these. the i7 930 and i7 950. Anything above the 950 is way over what I want to spend on a cpu. Even the 950 is pricey. How much of the performance difference per price point is it really worth though to go 950 or the 930? It we'll over $250 different for .26 GHZ difference?! Unless I am over simplifying it. I rarely over clock and am not really into it right now. What do you guys think?

MOTHERBOARD: I'm open to anything here. Something you can recommend I can add to my reviews to look over. Has to be able to run crossfire obviously.

I'll be running Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit - but it seems a bit off from where I can finally pop in that DVD for install.
 

cmcghee358

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XFX, Sapphire, HIS, ASUS are the tops for ATI Cards imo. I personally own a HIS 4890 works flawlessly, and Ive always heard good things about the other Manufacturers.

I've only worked with AMD so I cant speak for CPU/Motherboard compositions by Intel.
 

coldsleep

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Dec 18, 2009
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I believe XFX is the manufacturer you're looking for. Double lifetime warranty (transferrable).

The difference between the i7-930 and the i7-950 isn't worth the cost, even if you're not going to overclock.

For any more detailed help, see banthracis' post.