First time gaming-build (i7-930 Processor [Looking for around $1500])

[PolishPirate]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: End of August (after summer wages are earned)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (may eventually purchase Blu Ray drive to watch movies on TV)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: All parts required (however, I'm mostly interested in help on tower components)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Have been using newegg, but am open to other sites

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel processor (i7-930)

OVERCLOCKING: Yes

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe in the future, want a good enough graphics cards for now and upgrade to Crossfire when I need too

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Although value and performance are very important to me, I also want to balance those with future expandability ("future proof," I guess?). The main goal of this computer is to run the next wave of Blizzard games (maxed out); however, I want to be able to run any game of my choosing on very high settings.

BUILD:

Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225

Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018
Is this overkill?

ASUS P6X58D-E LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131641
I'm really not sure on this one, it was recommended on another thread for a similar build

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100281-2GVXSR Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102893
My main questions regarding this build involve the graphics card. I'm currently flip flopping between 5850 and 5870 (Am I right in thinking the current generation of Nvidia are to be avoided?), guidance and advice would be much appreciated. Also, if I opt for a 5850 is it worth getting one of the 2GB variations? And finally, are the high end graphics card manufacturers worth their premium?

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
Planning on adding a 160GB SSD when I get the chance to round up some cash (kind of hoping they get cheaper before too long)

G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8TU-6GBPI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247

ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

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
Not particularly set on this case, but looked liked a good one

 

[gkay09]

^ Nice selection of parts...
Suggestions...
1. Mobo - Yes that is a good X58 mobo...stick with that...

2. RAM - That GSKillz is good...other options...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145286

3. HDD - Definitely this one...
Samsung F3 1TB - A very fast 1TB at a very good price...

4. CASE - HAF 922 is very solid Mid-high budget case with lots of room and very good airflow...

5. PSU - No doubt about that PSU...

6. Graphics card - There is no significant performance increase with a 2GB card...stick with 1GB...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%20106793261%201067949754&bop=And&CompareItemList=48|14-161-331^14-161-331-TS,14-150-490^14-150-490-TS,14-125-316^14-125-316-TS,14-121-374^14-121-374-TS
And if you will mainly be playing Blizzard games and might add another card in crossfire, then the HD 5850 is not a bad idea at all...It is also a very powerful card for 1080p resolution...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%20106793261%201067949753&bop=And&CompareItemList=48|14-125-318^14-125-318-TS,14-150-491^14-150-491-TS,14-127-500^14-127-500-TS,14-150-494^14-150-494-V01,14-121-375^14-121-375-TS

7. HSF - If you are not planning for a very high overclock, say only upto 3.8-4GHz, then CM Hyper 212+ would suffice...You can get even better performance with a better fan if you want to...but the stock fan is not bad either...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G1YPH0/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1WY6H4EFJ3H9JZYKXHAW&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

 

[PolishPirate]

Thanks for the advice! As far as the graphics card is concerned, 5850 is seeming like the best option for me.

But more specifically, are things like the SAPPHIRE TOXIC 5850 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102881) worth the premium or would I be better suited with a quality manufacturer, but lower price option?

 

[gkay09]

^ Any of those that I linked are as good...
You pay extra for the mild overclock that it comes with...
Get any of the above r this if you want Sapphire - Non-overclocked Vapur-X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102886
If you check out the CCC, it allows you to overclock any HD 5850 to those speeds...

 

[midd2006]

The OP's build is almost identical to the build that I started out wanting to buy for my first gaming rig. Bottom line is that your not going to be able to find all of those parts for $1500. You'll likely spend $1800-$2000 for that build. For the build that I ultimately chose, I downgraded to the Core i7 860, a LGA 1156 motherboard, and 4GB of dual channel memory. Those compromises will save you a good deal of cash and you'll maintian excellent performance at 1920 x 1080. If you choose to crossfire 5850s or use a single 5870, I can't imagine a blizzard game that could challenge that system. Though by using a single gpu, you could get by with a lower wattage PSU (mabye 600 or 650).

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

ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131621

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

XFX HD-587X-ZNFV Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150490

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017
Note: $99/ $20 off, $20 Mail-in rebate, and 20% off with promo code "bigsave20" = $44! Good deal!

Case, Monitor, Hard Drive, and Disc Drives are all personal preference. Don't forget to factor in the operating system. All together I spend around $1500 with a few great deals.

 

[PolishPirate]

"You'll likely spend $1800-$2000 for that build" (midd2006)

Could you elaborate? With gkay09's advice I was able to get the final cost of the tower down to about $1450. While I grant I will end up paying about $1800-$2000 for everything including a monitor, OS, speakers, and a gaming mouse/keyboard, the tower is what I wanted to spend around $1500 on, and as far as I can tell, mission accomplished.

FINALIZED BUILD:

Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz

GIGABYTE GV-R585OC-1GD Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro)

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

ASUS P6X58D-E LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit

ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready

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

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler

TOTAL COST: $1472

Although I appreciate your (midd2006) advice on the processor concession, one of the main goals of this computer is upward mobility in the future, and I'm willing to take a bit of a hit on the processor and motherboard.