First Time Builder Seeking Advice

[oflimiteduse]

Hi, I'm looking to build my first system from scratch. I'm considering the following components for my build and would appreciate and helpful comments, criticism, or advice.

CPU- intel i7 930 bloomfield
MOBO- gigabyte GAx58a- Ud3r
RAM- 4 gb G.skill ripjaw ddr3
Case- Antec 300 Illusion (am i cheaping out on this case?)
PSU- Antec earthwatts 650 w
GPU- evga gtx geforce 460 fermi (haven't liked the past 2 ati cards i've had and eventually when needed i intend to get an additional matching card to put in SLI)
HDD- samsung spinpoint 500gb 7200
Optical- Asus DR-W SATA 24x DVD burner. (very rarely use my CD dirves these days)
Monitor- Asus VH242H 23" Widescreen HD monitor.


I think that's everythign i need. If i missed anything please let me know. Thanks!

 

[Lmeow]

Please fill out the form in my signature so we know how much you can spend, what you plan to use it for etc.

 

[oflimiteduse]

Gah, sorry for the newb move.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: early september

BUDGET RANGE: $1200ish lower is always nice,

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, internet, media.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: (e.g.:, monitor, speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com open to other reliable e-vendors.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US

PARTS PREFERENCES: Open

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080,

Parts i'm considering so far have been;


Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80601930
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225



GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423



EVGA 01G-P3-1371-AR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130566



Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181


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



ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052



ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

The total here is $1254 USD Thanks for any help.

 

[Silvune]

The Antec 300 Illusion is a solid choice for a case.

The power supply only has 530 watts on it's 12V rails, so I think a bit light for a system with two GTX 460s. That RAM comes in a combo with this PSU: Combo with XFX 650W Modular 80Plus Bronze PSU $173 ($20 rebate). Which will have enough power.

I think you should change to a P55 build if you aren't planning on adding three graphics cards to this build. The i5-750/60 will save ~$90. Going down to an Asus P7P55D-E Pro or MSI P55A-G55 would save a decent amount as well. If 'media' means watching tv/movies, listening to music etc, then the i5-750 will be plenty of processing power for you.

 

[Lmeow]

If this is just gaming an i5 750 or 760 & Asus P7P55D-E Pro will do. If you want to play around with video editing and applications of the sort then I suppose the i7 is somewhat justifiable, and if you want the i7 930, you'll want a triple channel memory kit, i.e., 3x1 GB or 3x2 GB (6x1 is also possible but 3x2 GB is better, I doubt you'll need 12 GB).

 

[oflimiteduse]

Very many thanks. The i7 chip came highly recommended from guys i work with but does seem like a bit of overkill. I also want this build to have staying power for the next several years. If i downgraded the cpu / mobo would this build have the same lasting power / upgrade ability to keep me happy for the next couple of years and beyond?

 

[oflimiteduse]

I've pretty much decided to go with an i5 760. After a bit more research i've decided it should be fine for my needs. However now I'm having trouble choosing a motherboard any suggestions?

 

[Lmeow]

The Asus P7P55D-E Pro. The i5 760 should last you quite a while too.

 

[Silvune]

MSI have brought plenty of boards to market which mean that you don't have to spend $180 to get a quality P55 board with SATA6Gbps and USB 3.0:
MSI P55A-G55 $125 ($20 rebate, $2 shipping). The reasons you wouldn't want to get this board include: lack of eSATA, firewire port, coaxial, out of the box support for 1600mhz memory and DrMOS. If you do want eSATA & firewire and DrMOS: MSI P55A-GD55 $150 ($7 shipping).

 

[oflimiteduse]

Many thanks. O just realized i never included a floppy drive, probably because i can't recall having used one in the past 5 years or so. Is it necessary to have one these days or with this build?

 

[Silvune]

I really doubt you will need a floppy disk drive.

 

[oflimiteduse]

Is a 650w PSU goign to be enough if i choose to use SLI in the future? I know you mentioned a different one above but that's also 650w.

 

[Silvune]

The only reason I would recommend someone to get more than 650W for a system with two 460s is if they were going to OC both their CPU AND GPUs.

I've seen plenty of benchmarks that showed that a system with two 5850s and an OCed i7 chip won't exceed 500 watts power draw under a furmark load. GTX 460s use a very similar amount of power to a 5850, so I think they are very comparable. Furmark is a stress/torture tester, so it will cause higher power consumption than a game or other normal usage would.
So taking that 500 number, you're getting 150 watts of headroom or 76% utilization in a scenario that you're unlikely to be in that often. So IMO you are likely to have even more headroom/less utilization than that.

 

[oflimiteduse]

One last thing. Should I get an after market heatsink? If i feel the need later is it possible to replace the stock cooler?

 

[Lmeow]

No, unless you're overclocking.

 

[Silvune]

Two reasons to get an aftermarket heatsink. 1 - Overclocking. 2 - You want your CPU cooler to be as quiet as possible.

It is possible to install a heatsink later, but unless your case has a hole in the motherboard tray you usually have to take it all out. So it is a lot easier to do it first time around. Altho installing a heatsink would be a good opportunity to have a proper clean out inside your case.