Trying to build a system around the i7-930. I’ll be using it for some gaming, some productivity and also as a media center streamer. I have an existing setup that works pretty well with an old tuner in it that has 2 tuner channels and currently I can play a game (right now Starcraft II), record a channel, stream another channel to an xbox via media center extender, and watch the recorded channel on another extender, while still running background services or downloads without any noticeable slow down. I’ve got a Q6600 with 4G ram (running win 7 32 bit – I know 32 won’t let me use all the ram). For video I’m running 2x Radeon HD 2600 Pro’s (I use three 21 inch monitors when I’m using the computer to work on). I currently run the OS off a SSD and have a few other drives for file/game storage.
So given that, I’m looking to upgrade. I plan on keeping the case, video cards, and SSD, but everything else is going to change. I’m going to upgrade to the Ceton InfiniTV 4 or similar tuner. So questions:
I like the bang for the buck of the i7-930. It’s a LGA 1366 so I figure that I’ll have a little future proofing there. Should I be considering any other processor around the same price point? I’ve seen the AMD 6 core around the same price, but the reviews tend to say they perform about the same.
My first MB choice was the ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 – it was in a combo with the i7-930 on newegg and I had seen it in previous builds so I figured it would work well. Until I realized that some of those were almost 2 years old. Now I’m considering GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 because of the SATA III/USB 3.0 and its priced lower than the P6T. I might shell out some extra to start off with a 6gb/s WD raptor. Any advice here? Is there a better 3rd board that’s in the $200-250 price range?
Given the process/board choices before, what memory should work? I’d like to get 6G to start (3 x 2G) but I’ve had issues with both ASUS and Gigabyte being picky about what memory will work out of the box. I’ll also be running Win 7 64 to take advantage of the increase in memory. If anyone has a setup running with the above boards, let me know what memory works best. I’m not looking for highest performance, but just good stability.
Advice on the power supply would be great too - I think I'm looking at the Antec Earthwatts 750W... Any other advice or recommendations are welcome.
So given that, I’m looking to upgrade. I plan on keeping the case, video cards, and SSD, but everything else is going to change. I’m going to upgrade to the Ceton InfiniTV 4 or similar tuner. So questions:
I like the bang for the buck of the i7-930. It’s a LGA 1366 so I figure that I’ll have a little future proofing there. Should I be considering any other processor around the same price point? I’ve seen the AMD 6 core around the same price, but the reviews tend to say they perform about the same.
My first MB choice was the ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 – it was in a combo with the i7-930 on newegg and I had seen it in previous builds so I figured it would work well. Until I realized that some of those were almost 2 years old. Now I’m considering GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 because of the SATA III/USB 3.0 and its priced lower than the P6T. I might shell out some extra to start off with a 6gb/s WD raptor. Any advice here? Is there a better 3rd board that’s in the $200-250 price range?
Given the process/board choices before, what memory should work? I’d like to get 6G to start (3 x 2G) but I’ve had issues with both ASUS and Gigabyte being picky about what memory will work out of the box. I’ll also be running Win 7 64 to take advantage of the increase in memory. If anyone has a setup running with the above boards, let me know what memory works best. I’m not looking for highest performance, but just good stability.
Advice on the power supply would be great too - I think I'm looking at the Antec Earthwatts 750W... Any other advice or recommendations are welcome.
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