Thoughts/Advice on My First Build!

[steven0724]

So I've been poking my head around this site for a while trying to figure out everything I need to know about my first build and I'm getting close to getting this project started. Any questions/complaints/thoughts/ideas/suggestions/recommendations about this prospective build would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks!

-Steve



APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Soon, maybe this weekend

BUDGET RANGE: $1500ish (flexible on this)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, Movies, Surfing

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, speakers, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg, tigerdirect, amazon

PARTS PREFERENCES: None

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Sometime in the future but not right now

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Here are the parts that I am currently looking at. Any opinions/suggestions would be much appreciated

CPU:
Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

Heatsink:
Cooler Master RR-B10-212P-G1 Hyper 212 Plus 775/1156/1366/AMD/AM2/AM3 Universal Direct Contact Heat-Pipe 120mm Fan CPU Cooler

Is the Arctic Silver paste worth the extra 6 or 7 bucks?

MOBO:
Intel Extreme Series BOXDX58SO LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

Power Supply:
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply

Memory:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory

Graphics:
SAPPHIRE TOXIC 100282TXSR Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Bare Drive

CD/DVD/Blu-ray:
SAMSUNG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Combo Drive - Bulk Model SH-B083L/BSBP LightScribe Support - OEM

Monitor:
SAMSUNG 2494SW Glossy Black 24" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor

Case:
Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case


Thanks again!

 

[jasonw223]

Everything is looking pretty good in there, although I'd suggest a couple of small things...

1) In my 930 system I put this motherboard, you don't need to, but take a look at it:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423&Tpk=x58a-ud3r

2) The 5850 is overpriced at the moment, I'd either wait for them to come down in price, or else go with a GTX 460 (or two). They have been slaughtering the ATI cards in the same price range, and even compete with 5870s. Yet they are WAY cheaper. Here's a link or two:

http://www.techspot.com/review/309-geforce-gtx-460-sli-performance/page6.html
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/08/09/geforce_gtx_460_1gb_sli_vs_radeon_hd_5870_cfx/



EDIT: You'll want to switch your 8gb memory to a 6gb or 12gb triple channel kit!

And for your thermal paste question, it may change the temp. of your processor by a degree or two, but usually nothing major. If you're going to overclock it hard, then go for it, if you're going to run it stock or slightly overclock, then don't worry about it.

 

[steven0724]

Great! Thanks for you input. Please excuse my ignorance here but why switch to a triple channel kit? I thought that Intel ran memory best in couples so with the 4 slots of the MOBO I figured that would be 2 groups of 2x4gb ram sticks. What would make a triple channel kit better?

Thanks again

 

[Emperus]

Your initial Intel board has 4 memory banks which is quite skeptical.. The X58 platform operates on triple channel memory and usually has 6 memory banks on every board.. Jason has given all valid suggestions and recommendations for you to apply..

 

[jasonw223]

On their socket 1156 or 775 series motherboards, memory is best to have in dual channel mode, however, on the 1366 socket, triple channel memory is supported and usually recommended. That Gigabyte board I suggested (and most other x58 boards) has 6 memory slots as well, for either 1 or 2 triple channel kits.

Now performance isn't really all that different (most people think it will be drastically faster or something), but it does affect gaming slightly. Here's a small benchmark just to get the idea:
http://www.insidehw.com/Reviews/Memory/Intel-Core-i7-Dual-Channel-vs.-Triple-Channel-Memory-Mode/Page-4.html

If I were you, I'd either go with a 6gb triple channel kit, or even just a 4gb dual channel kit.

 

[steven0724]

Your initial Intel board has 4 memory banks which is quite skeptical.. The X58 platform operates on triple channel memory and usually has 6 memory banks on every board.. Jason has given all valid suggestions and recommendations for you to apply..

Oh oh oh ok I didn't put together the fact that he was refering to the X58. That makes perfect sense.

The only reason I was leaning towards the intel board was a recommendation from a friend of mine. He had said that in his experience the intel board coupled with the intel chip ran a bit faster than others boards like ASUS etc. at the cost of a lot of the bells and whistles (more ports, USB 3.0 etc). He also thought that the Intel board could actually self adjust the processor speed when overclocking if things got too hot. For someone who is a bit new at this I found that appealing but I'm not sure how much truth there is behind it.


Edit: Jason, I'm following what you're saying now. Thanks for the advice.

 

[jasonw223]

I wouldn't worry about lack of speed from any other board... if there is any, it would be minuscule. The Gigabyte board and other boards as well will clock down your processor when it is not being stressed. They also have plenty of overclocking protection and other handy things. Here's a review on Tom's that talks about that board I bought for myself and a few others if you're interested:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/x58-usb-3.0-sata-6-gbps,2614-15.html

Anyhow, enjoy your build!

 

[steven0724]

Best answer selected by Steven0724.