Need HELP on i7-930 build

[nish-ka-bibble]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Tonight, tomorrow morning

BUDGET RANGE: $1100 before rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies, light photoshop

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: CPU (i7-930), keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, DVD drive, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, tigerdirect, any new place

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050 (for now but would like to move up soon)


ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

I already have the i7-930 processor, but need to get everything else.

I also wish to have Eyefinity on 3 monitors in the next few months (will save up for those monitors along the way).

I've decided on these, but willing to change:

Motherboard - very confused here

ASUS P6X58D-E
ASUS P6X58D Premium
ASUS P6T Deluxe
ASUS Rampage III
EVGA E758-A1
EVGA E760 CLASSIFIED
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R

GPU: Maybe XFX HD585XZAFC Radeon HD 5850 (will buy another one in two months or so) maybe a HD 5870

RAM - Corsair Core i7 Dominator 6GB PC12800 DDR3 RAM - Tri Channel, 1600MHz, 6144MB (3 x 2048MB) -don't know if this is good... I've been told that I can support my CPU perfectly well with triple-channel RAM at only 1066MHz, 1333MHz is bonus and any faster than that is overkill - that I should concentrate on very tight timings at the slower (1333MHz) speed, with a note that I require only 1066MHz RAM in triple-channel to get the same memory bandwidth as 1600MHz RAM in dual-channel... not sure what that all means....

HD - Western Digital WD6400AAKS Caviar Blue Hard Drive or Western Digital Caviar Black
(Would like to get an SSD for OS, but can't decide on one...heard they were going down in price soon, so I'll wait).

Power Supply - Corsair TX850W Power Supply - 850W, ATX, 80Plus

Case - Caught between 3: IN WIN Maelstrom (I don't know why, but I really like the case...it looks good for the price, full size and good ventilation), Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower Black Case (good ventilation) or the COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (its smaller and not sure about how it will handle two GPU's, but its nice)

CPU Cooling - I have no idea at all. I am totally stuck here. I thought about the CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler but was worried about it leaking. I also looked at the Coolmaster v8, but that thing looks freakin' insane! And advice?

Any advice on a different setup, pricing, opinions, etc. please advise.
Thanks very much

 

[TomMario]

Hello nish-ka-bibble

1st Mobo:you can't decide and i understand so here is a little help, three new flagship LGA 1366 Motherboards rounded up for you here and i would go for the R3E for great efficiency but if it does not fit the budget i would go for the BigBang from MSI.

2nd GPU:the gpu HD 5850 is a great choice and there is no point on spending another 100$-150$ for the HD 5870 if you are going to Xfire the HD 5850.

3rd Memory:if you can't decide on the memory sticks i recommend taking a look here and i also recommend the G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3

4th HD:the SPINPOINT F3 is the best HD you can get at the moment for almost any budget for only $69.99.Here are some reviews for you if you are not convinced yet.

5th PSU:Here is a combo deal for you COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Blue + XFX Black Edition XPS-850W-BES 850W and the review on the XFX PSU if you are not convinced here . It can support your 2xHD 5850 + i7-930 oc'ed.

6th HSF:Cooler Master RR-B10-212P-G1 Hyper 212 Plus does the job.

 

[banthracis]

Don't bother paying for a fancy mobo, you won't use most of the features.
A GA x58 UD3R or P6x58D-E are both fine. Get whichever you can combo to the cheapest overall price.

If you plan on OC, you want DDR3 1600 RAM. Grab a G Skill Pi 6gb kit for $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335

You don't need a 850W PSU. You can run xfire 5850's on a 650w one. If you really want, you can get a 750w just to avoid having to get molex to 6 pin converters.

Case wise a HAF 922 is already as big as full towers from other companies, the 932 is unnecessarily large. A HAF 922 is $90 on newegg atm, combine that with a XFX 750 BE for $85 After rebates and promo code.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197&cm_re=922-_-11-119-197-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207003&Tpk=xfx%20750


About the whole RAM thing.

AMD architecture favors tighter timings over faster speed for
performance increase. Intel, favors neither. That said, neither makes
a significant impact on performance to warrant a major price
difference.

CAs latency refers to how long it takes the RAM to do something after
it's given a command. Makes no difference to FPS in gaming, but like
an SSD, it improves system responsiveness.

Stock i7-930 is 133 block, 21 multiplier and 10x memory multiplier.
Though the latter is determined by MOBO not CPU. This fully saturated
1333mhz RAM. 133block speed x 10 memory multiplier= 1330.

To OC above this you'll need to either lower multiplier or get faster RAM.
In general, we recommend DDR3 1600 RAM if you plan on a OC.

Now, the reason why we recommend G Skill RAM is that memory can
perform better than rated speeds. Most companeis sell you RAM that'll
perform at specs, G SKill tends to give you better than you pay for.
So their RAM can run at higher speeds, lower voltages and/or lower
timings than specs. OCZ is the opposite, hence we don't recommend
them.

High speeds requires looser timings to work. I'll avoid the
tech details as to why, but suffice to say this is a mechanically
imposed limitation. Now, because faster RAM must be of higher quality
to maintain the same latency as slower RAM, they're generally better
quality. As a result, the Trident DDR3 2000 kit that's rated at cas 9
at 2000, can hit CAS 6 at 1600 speeds. CAS 5 at 1333 speeds. This is
why people will buy extremely fast RAM. They're getting higher quality
RAM so they can run it at tighter timings for the speeds they want.

Now as to why 1600 7-8-7-24 kit is better than a 1333 7-7-7-21 kit, is
because, the 1600 kit can run 7-7-7-21 when under clocked to 1333
speeds.