Second time build. $1,300. Motherboard and some other advice welcome.

[Drayeon]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Sometime this or next week.

BUDGET RANGE: Around $1,300 dollars

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, 3d animating, web surfing, school

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: ( keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, wireless card)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel and Nvidia cause I used them in my last build. But, I can be easily persuaded.

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1440X900

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: (For my birthday my family said they would get me a good gaming pc. My last build was $600 dollars so this will be my second build. I gave my dad the parts I wanted but, he refuses to buy 2 graphics cards for some reason so no SLI. I did not overclock my last build but looking to do it this time.)

Parts im looking at-

Graphics- ZOTAC AMP! ZT-40102-10P GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500166 Since I can't get SLI I figured I'd get the most expensive card on the market.

PS- SILVERSTONE DA750 750W ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256017

Memory- Crucial 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148247

CPU- Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80601930
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225

Motherboard- 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

Cpu fan- Open to suggestions.

Mostly im at a loss for what motherboard to get.

My hardrive I have already is 1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

I also need windows 7 64 bit Oem so any combo deals would be nice. Thx for the help.

 

[Somebody_007]

the mobo you listed is great. however if you don't plan on getting another 480 soon 460 sli would be a much better option. Tell your dad to read this article see if he changes his mind

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/geforce-gtx-460-sli-geforce-gtx-480,review-31957.html

 

[Timop]

Heres an alternative with a 750 + dual GTX460s, better performance for less.

I7 750 + Win 7 $285
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.437518.19-115-215

2* GTX 460 $360 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187112

Lian Li case + XFX 650W: $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.482949

ASUS P7P55D-E Pro + 4GB DDR3 1600 Ripjaws $225:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.479717

Zalman Perfoma $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118059&Tpk=zalman%20performa

Total: $1020, use the leftovers to get a SSD if you want.

 

[jasonw223]

That motherboard is what I used with my 930 - it's perfect. As for no SLI, show your dad this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-sli-geforce-gtx-480,2694.html

If you REALLY can't go SLI, then yes that card is the next best thing.

For a CPU fan, go for a Scythe Mugen or a Zalman CNPS10x Performa.

Anyhow, good luck finding some combos and deals, I'm just good with the Canadian ones...

 

[Drayeon]

I got him to allow me to get 2 460's. Thx for the link to the article. I like your suggestions Timop But, im concerned about the performance of the graphics cards in the LGA 1156 from what this http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pcie-geforce-gtx-480-x16-x8-x4,2696.html says. Also will that power supply handle the load. It looks like its getting a little close. Thanks for the suggestions really like them.

 

[Somebody_007]

the psu is more than sufficient really.

as for the thing about pci-e lanes. You're probably looking at around a 5percent difference in GPU performance. You could also go with ga-x58a-ud3r + i7 930 if you can afford it.

 

[Timop]

I got him to allow me to get 2 460's. Thx for the link to the article. I like your suggestions Timop But, im concerned about the performance of the graphics cards in the LGA 1156 from what this http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pcie-geforce-gtx-480-x16-x8-x4,2696.html says. Also will that power supply handle the load. It looks like its getting a little close. Thanks for the suggestions really like them.

It says X8 is 4% behind dual X16. Also, 650W is PLENTY for dual 460s, they draw barely 300W on load an the CPU draws no more than 150W OCed.

 

[jasonw223]

Those 460s have a max draw of 160w each, so a 750w PSU is more than enough. Even a good solid 650w would do the trick.

 

[Drayeon]

Best answer selected by Drayeon.

 

[Drayeon]

Heres an alternative with a 750 + dual GTX460s, better performance for less.

I7 750 + Win 7 $285
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.437518.19-115-215

2* GTX 460 $360 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187112

Lian Li case + XFX 650W: $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.482949

ASUS P7P55D-E Pro + 4GB DDR3 1600 Ripjaws $225:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.479717

Zalman Perfoma $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118059&Tpk=zalman%20performa

Total: $1020, use the leftovers to get a SSD if you want.

Thx for the suggestions Timop I will be using the parts for my build.
Except for using http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130568&cm_re=gtx_460_1_gb-_-14-130-568-_-Product as a factory overclocked 460.
Why is this the same thing just cheaper and different model number? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130567&cm_re=gtx_460_1_gb-_-14-130-567-_-Product.

Also the motherboard that is listed. I need to get a wireless card in there. Its very thin so I would think that it would fit into the first PCI slot. I am not experienced with SLI and don't know how much it will cover.

And could someone explain what JD in the comments section for the motherboard meant when he wrote "Joe wrote that he had problems with support of 8 GB of
1600 Mhz DDR3 XMP Ram using 4 memory slots. Due to Intel Spec Definition, XMP DIMMs and DDR3-1600 are only supported for one DIMM per channel. Asus states this limitation in the User Guide for the motherboard - page 2-11 - para 2.4.2"

Thx again for any help.

 

[Timop]

Thx for the suggestions Timop I will be using the parts for my build.
Except for using http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130568&cm_re=gtx_460_1_gb-_-14-130-568-_-Product as a factory overclocked 460.
Why is this the same thing just cheaper and different model number? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130567&cm_re=gtx_460_1_gb-_-14-130-567-_-Product.

Also the motherboard that is listed. I need to get a wireless card in there. Its very thin so I would think that it would fit into the first PCI slot. I am not experienced with SLI and don't know how much it will cover.

And could someone explain what JD in the comments section for the motherboard meant when he wrote "Joe wrote that he had problems with support of 8 GB of
1600 Mhz DDR3 XMP Ram using 4 memory slots. Due to Intel Spec Definition, XMP DIMMs and DDR3-1600 are only supported for one DIMM per channel. Asus states this limitation in the User Guide for the motherboard - page 2-11 - para 2.4.2"

Thx again for any help.

I would get the normal ones and OC then your self, paying extra for a 30Mhz isn't worth it. Nor is the $30 for 1GB of Vram for your res.
The cheaper EVGA has only 2 years of Warranty, while the other is "Lifetime"

For the Wi-fi card, it will fit fine. You could use both PCIe X1 slots on both ends and the light blue PCI slot on the left of the white PCIe X16 slot (Not recommended for airflow reasons though).

On the RAM, all it means is you'll need to adjust the timings manually for 4 sticks of RAM, since you're using only 2 for now, nothing to worry about.