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[sykurmoli]

Hello.

This would be my first attempt at building a PC from scratch and I'm a little anxious. I have thought of the following configuration and would like your advice on it. I'm really an enthusiastic newbie when it comes to hardware, so I'd prefer if things were relatively simple to assemble. I thought I'd also give a try at overclocking, since moderately overclocking the i7 920 seems easy enough for dummies.

Anyway, here are the details.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: next week
BUDGET RANGE: about €1600 (that is around $2300)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, Internet, ...

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: LDLC.BE, but I use here links to newegg, because it's in english)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Belgium (so English is not my fiirst laguage, sorry)

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel, rest is more or less open

OVERCLOCKING: Yes (moderately, to about 3.33)
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Not right now, but want possibility for crossfire later

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680*1050, with probable increase next year with new monitor

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Parts

Thermaltake Spedo Advance Package VI90001W2Z Black 0.8 mm SECC Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133072&cm_re=thermaltake_spedo-_-11-133-072-_-Product
(seems like spacy and easy for newcomers)

HIPER Type R II HPU-5B680 680W Continuous @ 40°C (Maximum Continuous Peak: 890W) ATX12V V2.2 & EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817128015
(This is one of the things I'm least sure about - is it enough power, is ther a better alternative? Btw, it's not discontinued in Europe)

ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157163&cm_re=asrock_x58-_-13-157-163-_-Product
(seems like a comptetent full features mobo at decent price)

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202&cm_re=intel_i7_920-_-19-115-202-_-Product
(pretty sure about this choice)

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1333C7 G - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145250&Tpk=TR3X6G1333C7
(memory selection was especially difficult for me. I would be surprised it there was a better alternative)

SAPPHIRE 100281SR Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102856&cm_re=5870-_-14-102-856-_-Product
(maybe a bit of an overkill at my resolution, but I intend to upgrade my monitor next year.)

2x Western Digital Caviar Green WD10000CSRTL 1TB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136236&cm_re=caviar_green-_-22-136-236-_-Product

Creative 70SB088000004 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Express 1x Interface PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102024&cm_re=x-fi_titanium-_-29-102-024-_-Product
(I need dolby digital live enconding and I think it only comes on more expensive mobos, hence the cheaper alternative: a X-fi sound card)

LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray Reader & 16X LightScribe DVD±R DVD Burner - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136162&Tpk=ch08LS10

Main questions:
* I'd like to moderately overclock the i7-920, to about 3.33GHz. Is the stock cooler good enough in this configuration or do I need a more specific cooler. If so, which one do you suggest ?
* I really have no idea about a good PSU
* I'm open to any alternative in the same range of budget.

Thanks in advance to anyone who is kind enough to give a look at this.

Looking forward to reading you,
Sykurmoli

 

[ubernoobie]

If you live in europe, do not use american sites to purchase, use as reference, also you could put a title in it. Nice build and the psu is sufficent. The stock cooler is good enough for 3.33ghz but you have to make sure you put minimal voltage into the cpu while it is stable