Intel Build ~2k soon

[jake1121]

I have bounced between i5 760 and i7 950 and even though I am pretty sure I will go with i7 950 I went ahead and broke out a Build A (760) and a Build B (950) from my system’s Common Components.
Waiting for Sandy Bridge is not an option.
Want to be up and running by Thanksgiving.

Usage: MMORG (with Ventrillo), Total War, Internet, Excel w/ scripting, streaming (hockey, baseball), NetBeans (Eclipse) IDE.

Please comment on any or all of the 5 Points to Consider I listed at the bottom.

Common Components….
PSU: Corsair AX850 850W - $185
or
PSU: Corsair 850HX 850W - $160

Cooling: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus - $30
Cooling: COOLER MASTER R4-BMBS-20PK-R0 Blade Master 120mm Case Fan - $10
Cooling: MASSCOOL G751 Shin-Etsu Thermal Interface Material - $5
Cooling: GELID Solutions 350 mm PWM Y Cable Model CA-PWM - $5

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF X - $180
or
Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 922 - $90
Case: COOLER MASTER Megaflow 200 R4-LUS-07AR-GP 200mm Case Fan - $22

GPU: SAPPHIRE RADEON HD6870 - $260

HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" - $75

OS: WINDOWS 7 PRO - $140

Monitor: Asus VH242H - $190

DVD/CD: Sony Optiarc America Inc AD-7260S-0B - $20

Card Reader: Sandisk ImageMate Multi-Card USB 2.0 Reader - $25 (Amazon)

Ext HDD: Western Digital My Book 3.0 1TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive - $100

Router: D-Link DIR-655 - $70

TOTAL COMMON COMPONENTS COST: $1185 - $1285


Build A core - $480
CPU: Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache - $210

Motherboard: ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA1156 - $180
or
Motherboard: MSI P55-GD65 USB3 - $180

RAM: G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO - $90

Build B core - $680
CPU: Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache - $295

Motherboard: ASUS P6X58D-E - $240
or
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X58 - $200

RAM: G.SKILL PI Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 F3-12800CL7T-6GBPI - $150


BUILD A TOTAL ~$1750
BUILD B TOTAL ~$1950

Points to consider:

1. PSU @ 850 because this will be a long lasting and I want to avoid switching it out, and:
■I plan on trying TRIXX on the vid card, future may hold crossfire, I will certainly upgrade vid card(s) in future. If I take long enough then maybe I look at the 6950 or 70?
■I can see adding an SSD next year.
■CPU upgrade possible in 2 years- more likely with X58 since the “Extremes” are still there and will certainly be cheaper(?)
2. Are there better monitors around $200 or so? Gaming and streaming more likely than movies.
3. The HAF X – I like the USB3 on the front and is comes with 4 nice fans and wheels, but only 9” wide as opposed to 10” for the HAF 922, which I would get a side fan for (constant LED ) but is $70 cheaper.
4. The difference in cost between Build A and Build B is about $175 depending on the options, I am leaning towards Build B, but would appreciate thoughts on motherboard choice given the other components and usage.
5. Any recommendations or glaring issues that you can point out will be greatly appreciated.

 

[jake1121]

Scratch the UD3R please, that was old info, actually it's between the Sabertooth and ASUS P6X58D-E

 

[sonic-boom]

sabertooth is an amazing board.
where you getting these builds from? you not building yourself?
1. 850 is fine
2. Asus 23" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236059&cm_re=asus_23%22-_-24-236-059-_-Product
3. all of those cases are nice pick which one you want
4. both builds are extremely overpriced
5. both builds cost too much way too much

 

[jake1121]

Prices are from newegg, builds are from me

 

[sonic-boom]

hmm interesting, hyper 212 is a nice cooler, the psus pick weather you want modular or not
build a or b makes close to no difference for gaming, the higher clock speed is bleh you can over clock the i5 to same speed, its weather you want to spend the 175 for your uses

 

[jake1121]

Thanks Sonic-Boom, I went back and posted the prices above, and I did not use any combos either...I did this in a spreadsheet, so maybe that's why it looks like a 3rd party config deal.

So, you like the VH236H in better than the VH242H?
Do you have any thoughts on the x58 mobo choice?

 

[Somebody_007]

Both builds are great. All components are the same I would have picked.

And as for i7vs i5

Here's the thing

i7>i5 that's a fact IMO the i7 is definately worth the price increase if you can afford it. Wether it's too good for the rest of your system well. In very GPU intensive games i5+6870 are an almost perfect match(considering OC that is) in more cpu intensive games the i5 will start to suffer. Here is a benchmark showing what I just said strangly though the i5 closes the gap in terran x3 probably due to the turbo boost, but with the i7 875k you can change even that. Also note the i950 is a good deal better than the 930.

As for x58 over p55: Tripple channel and more lanes is all there is to it.

Tripple channel is pretty useless for most apps so forget that.

But more lanes(some p55 mobos which are insanely expensive also have more lanes) means you can support sli/crossfire fully and with GPU power increasing x8 bandwith bottlenecking can only increase. With curren GPUs you're ussually looking at a 5% increase for 2 cards and there is the possibility of 4 cards whereas with most p55 boards there isn't.

 

[Somebody_007]

also why the haf x? Do you like the looks, since personally I despise the overkill and agressive looks but if you like it go ahead.

 

[jake1121]

Originally I was going with haf because of air flow, and had always figured it would be haf 922. With 922, I want a side intake fan and can only find LED fans and no ability to turn LED off.
So, I looked at haf x reviews and I do like the usb3 on front panel, even if they still connect to the ports on the back. I also would not have to buy any fans with it.
I am certainly open to other good air flow cases with enough room, especially if there's usb3 on front panel (but that's not a deal killer)

Now, when you say "Whether it's too good for the rest of your system".... what do you mean? I am open to suggestions.

 

[vindictive]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216
can support up to ten fans, case is the bomb.
has a 2.5"/3.5" hot swap bay on top of the case as well.

 

[Somebody_007]

Well a perfect build is about balance. With the least possible bottleneck a 980x for example is just too good for a 6870 for gaming. And like I said an OC'd 760 is a perfect match for a 6870 but if you want to add another 6870 or replace it with a higher end card then you better go with the 950.

This is the best air cooler on the market, not as huge as the haf x, much prettier and being a more solid construcution it's also a good deal sturdier. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163162&cm_re=silverstone_ft02-_-11-163-162-_-Product

this is the cheaper version http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163154&Tpk=rv02 which is cheaper but worse in every way, still an amazing case if you can't afford the fortress though.

 

[mk-ultra]

Well a perfect build is about balance. With the least possible bottleneck a 980x for example is just too good for a 6870 for gaming. And like I said an OC'd 760 is a perfect match for a 6870 but if you want to add another 6870 or replace it with a higher end card then you better go with the 950.

This is the best air cooler on the market, not as huge as the haf x, much prettier and being a more solid construcution it's also a good deal sturdier. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163162&cm_re=silverstone_ft02-_-11-163-162-_-Product

this is the cheaper version http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163154&Tpk=rv02 which is cheaper but worse in every way, still an amazing case if you can't afford the fortress though.

I was going with a Silverstone case as well, but after watching reviews on youtube (not just from random people, from HardwareCanucks NCIXcom, and 3DGAMEMAN) I switched over to HAF X. The reason being is that although they rotated the motherboard so that the hot air rises with the help of 3 180mm fans, the HAF X has fans that are bigger then Silverstones, and more can be added as needed. Also even though the Silverstone is a Full Tower, when you put everything in it, it feels crapped and the possibility for wire management is greatly decreased.

Thats just my two cents.

 

[jake1121]

Thanks again!
Actually I was thinking about crossfire 6870, or if the 69XX come out soon, starting with one of them. Either way, I do expect gpu to upgraded, it's a matter of when.

 

[mk-ultra]

^ On a side note, the HAF X also has a support bracket for when you SLI, or Crossfire cards. Also has a air duct directing air from a 230mm fan directly on it. And a covering for the Graphics card that is easily recoverable. On the support bracket you can add yet another 80mm fan on it, and on the Graphics card housing you can add another 120mm. if you added all the additional fans, you would have 3 fans blowing air directly onto the Graphics card. You also have the option of adding another 230mm fan to the top of the case.

 

[jake1121]

Best answer selected by jake1121.