I7 x-plane/gaming build; need mobo/case/cooler combo and GPU advice

[andyyo]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within the next week to two weeks; trying to take advantage of some Memorial Day sales in the US if possible.

BUDGET RANGE: $1400-1600

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Flight simulator (x-plane) (which I understand from other postings to be more CPU than GPU intensive), some gaming, ripping DVDs, some photo editing, basic office work and web surfing. Don’t want this thing to be a complete energy hog.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, speakers,

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com or amazon.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States

PARTS PREFERENCES: i7 920 CPU (I have already purchased this chip)

OVERCLOCKING: Not at first, but likely some light to moderate overclocking later

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Not yet, but maybe later.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080 (would like to be able to run three monitors on x-plane side-by-side on a single video card at 5760x1080)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: My 10 year old son and I are going to build this machine. Neither of us has ever done a build before. The genesis for this machine is that he wants to play X-plane, which his friends have and we need a new computer for him to do homework on. I want to use it for ripping DVDs and storing media. We probably won’t do much overclocking at first, but want a build that we could upgrade somewhat if he gets into gaming. The real areas where we need help are: (1) to find a motherboard, case and CPU cooler combination that fits together well; (2) to find a good intro graphics card that will support flight simulation and some gaming.

Here is the list that I've selected so far, please comment on it

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: Intel Core i7-920 (Already purchased)

Motherboard: Gigabyte X58A-UD3R

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423
(was looking at ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366) but saw a lot of negative reviews.

Case: Very open to ideas; just want something that fits mobo and CPU cooler easily and has decent cooling; don’t need anything too radical. Looking at Antec Three Hundred

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066&cm_re=antec_three_hundred-_-11-129-066-_-Product

RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMP6GX3M3A1600C8

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145295

CPU Cooler: Don’t know. Just want something that will fit with the Mobo and Case and that will allow moderate overclocking. Looking at:
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact"

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

GPU: Trying to decide between ATI Radeon 5770

http://www.jr.com/xfx/pe/XFX_HD577AZNFC/ (because of three monitor) ability;

and GeForce GPX 260

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433&cm_re=evga_gtx_260-_-14-130-433-_-Product

DVD: LG Black 10X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Disc Combo Model UH10LS20 LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136183

HDD: (1) For OS and apps: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533;

HDD (2) for Data: Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARS 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136490

PSU: CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

Monitor: SCEPTRE E246W-1080P Black 23.6" 2ms Widescreen LED Backlight LCD monitor 250 cd/m2 DC 5,000,000 (1000:1) Built-in Speakers
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824112020

Thank you very much for your help

 

[xurwin]

go for the ati 5770.
change ram. get a gskill 6gb. corsair dominators are overpriced. you pay more for the DOMINATOR.
and case? maybe a coolmaster haff 922?
and for your hdd 2 why is it at 5400 rpm? get a seagate 7200.12 1tb.

 

[Silvune]

You will definitely need an ATI 5000 series (5770 and up for performance reasons) to run three monitors on one card. I would go for this 5770 ($159, $7.56 shipping) as it is a bit cheaper and has the 'egg' cooler which is better at keeping temps of the card down (while barely raising the temp inside a well ventilated case) and it is quieter.

When I looked earlier this (CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600CMX6GX3M3C1600C7) was the cheapest CAS 7 1600Mhz set. Much better value than the Dominators, I would say the only situation where Dominators are worth their price is if you want to overclock them a hell of a lot.

I would suggest the Scythe Mugen 2 ($35, $7.56 shipping) as many people will say that the CM Hyper 212 Plus is overpriced on newegg atm (you can get it for a sensible price on Amazon apparently), also this one is much better at being quiet.

The Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R is a very good choice of mobo, you should definitely go for it.

'Green' drives don't use a significantly less amount of power compared to 7200 RPM drives, so it is reasonably sensible to suggest one as a storage drive.

The Corsair 750HX is a bit excessive for your build, you would only need that much power for three 5770s. It depends on what you want your options to be in the future. So I don't really have any thing further to say on the matter, except that you could save a decent amount of money on a cheaper 750W PSU or getting something more appropriate for two 5770s.

 

[andyyo]

go for the ati 5770.
change ram. get a gskill 6gb. corsair dominators are overpriced. you pay more for the DOMINATOR.
and case? maybe a coolmaster haff 922?
and for your hdd 2 why is it at 5400 rpm? get a seagate 7200.12 1tb.

Thank you, xurwin.

Very helpful. I had wondered about whether the extra price for the Dominator was worth it.

Thanks for the case advice. I had seen several other people with similar builds using Cooler Master Haf 922s. I will take a look at that.

HDD 2 was supposed to be a "green" data drive to save energy, but I understand it doesn't save that much energy. I'll check out the seagate.

Thanks again.

 

[andyyo]

You will definitely need an ATI 5000 series (5770 and up for performance reasons) to run three monitors on one card. I would go for this 5770 ($159, $7.56 shipping) as it is a bit cheaper and has the 'egg' cooler which is better at keeping temps of the card down (while barely raising the temp inside a well ventilated case) and it is quieter.

When I looked earlier this (CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600CMX6GX3M3C1600C7) was the cheapest CAS 7 1600Mhz set. Much better value than the Dominators, I would say the only situation where Dominators are worth their price is if you want to overclock them a hell of a lot.

I would suggest the Scythe Mugen 2 ($35, $7.56 shipping) as many people will say that the CM Hyper 212 Plus is overpriced on newegg atm (you can get it for a sensible price on Amazon apparently), also this one is much better at being quiet.

The Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R is a very good choice of mobo, you should definitely go for it.

'Green' drives don't use a significantly less amount of power compared to 7200 RPM drives, so it is reasonably sensible to suggest one as a storage drive.

The Corsair 750HX is a bit excessive for your build, you would only need that much power for three 5770s. It depends on what you want your options to be in the future. So I don't really have any thing further to say on the matter, except that you could save a decent amount of money on a cheaper 750W PSU or getting something more appropriate for two 5770s.

Thank you Silvune for the advice. I'll take a look at the 5770 you pointed to. I'm always into saving $.

Thanks also for the RAM advice. Yet another vote for the Dominator being too expensive.

I'll check out the cooler you suggested. Quieter and cheaper is always good.

Perhaps I looked at too much of the marketing hype on the Green drives.

Thanks alsow for the PSU advice. I'll check out cheaper and/or less powerful options.


Appreciate the help!

 

[ashergill]

Make sure you look at the combo deals at Newegg once you decide on the final components.

 

[andyyo]

Thanks. I keep finding combos that almost match what I want, but always have something I don't. I will keep looking.

 

[andyyo]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within the next week to two weeks; trying to take advantage of some Memorial Day sales in the US if possible.

BUDGET RANGE: $1400-1600

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Flight simulator (x-plane) (which I understand from other postings to be more CPU than GPU intensive), some gaming, ripping DVDs, some photo editing, basic office work and web surfing. Don’t want this thing to be a complete energy hog.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, speakers,

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com or amazon.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States

PARTS PREFERENCES: i7 920 CPU (I have already purchased this chip)

OVERCLOCKING: Not at first, but likely some light to moderate overclocking later

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Not yet, but maybe later.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080 (would like to be able to run three monitors on x-plane side-by-side on a single video card at 5760x1080)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: My 10 year old son and I are going to build this machine. Neither of us has ever done a build before. The genesis for this machine is that he wants to play X-plane, which his friends have and we need a new computer for him to do homework on. I want to use it for ripping DVDs and storing media. We probably won’t do much overclocking at first, but want a build that we could upgrade somewhat if he gets into gaming. The real areas where we need help are: (1) to find a motherboard, case and CPU cooler combination that fits together well; (2) to find a good intro graphics card that will support flight simulation and some gaming.

Here is the list that I've selected so far, please comment on it

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: Intel Core i7-920 (Already purchased)

Motherboard: Gigabyte X58A-UD3R

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423

Case: Very open to ideas; just want something that fits mobo and CPU cooler easily and has decent cooling; don’t need anything too radical. Looking at Antec Three Hundred

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066&cm_re=antec_three_hundred-_-11-129-066-_-Product

RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMP6GX3M3A1600C8

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145295

CPU Cooler: Don’t know. Just want something that will fit with the Mobo and Case and that will allow moderate overclocking. Looking at:
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact"

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

GPU: Trying to decide between ATI Radeon 5770

http://www.jr.com/xfx/pe/XFX_HD577AZNFC/ (because of three monitor) ability;

and GeForce GPX 260

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433&cm_re=evga_gtx_260-_-14-130-433-_-Product

DVD: LG Black 10X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Disc Combo Model UH10LS20 LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136183

HDD: (1) For OS and apps: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533;

HDD (2) for Data: Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARS 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136490

PSU: CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

Monitor: SCEPTRE E246W-1080P Black 23.6" 2ms Widescreen LED Backlight LCD monitor 250 cd/m2 DC 5,000,000 (1000:1) Built-in Speakers
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824112020

Thank you very much for your help

Thanks for all the feedback. So, Here is the revised build. Let me know if you have any more avice on Case/ Mobo / CPU Cooler combos or any other comments. Thanks!

CPU: Intel Core i7-920 (Already purchased)

Motherboard: Gigabyte X58A-UD3R

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423
(was looking at ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366) but saw a lot of negative reviews.

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197&cm_re=haf_922-_-11-119-197-_-Product


RAM: RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX6GX3M3C1600C7

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145286&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

CPU Cooler:Looking at Scythe SCMG-2100 Sleeve CPU Cooler, but have to see if it will fit. That thing is big!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

GPU: XFS HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150462&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

DVD: LG Black 10X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Disc Combo Model UH10LS20 LightScribe Support - OEM (May go with something cheaper)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136183

HDD: (2X) Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533;

PSU: 750W

Monitor: SCEPTRE E246W-1080P Black 23.6" 2ms Widescreen LED Backlight LCD monitor 250 cd/m2 DC 5,000,000 (1000:1) Built-in Speakers (JUST PURCHASED TWO OF THESE)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824112020