i7 920 build advice needed please

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xeddex

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Messages
147
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mainly gaming in 1920x1200 max settings but will kick down to 1680x1050 and back off max settings to keep framerates up if needed, web browsing/occasional ripping/general use but nothing heavy.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1100-$1500 and of course trying to keep as low as possible

3) Where do you live?
South Eastern US (but nowhere near a microcenter so no B&M $200 i7 920 for me :( )

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU, MOBO, RAM, GPU, PSU, case, a new ssd drive for os and apps

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
external dvd burner, external esata cage with 3TB of storage, ,kb, mouse, monitor HP A7217A (Sony FW900) crt

6) Will you be overclocking?
yes but plan to oc as far as i can get without adding any additional voltage if possible.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
already have a monitor HP A7217A (Sony FW900) crt

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
within the next month

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Crossfire for future expansion, esata, solid board because I don't want to deal with any flakiness

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Win7 will be on my doorstep around Oct22nd ;)



Here's the current parts list that I'm considering.

Antec Mini P180 Case White (pulling the lower drive cage to have room for the gpu, my dvd and esata storage are all external so the ONLY thing in the case other than cpu/mobo/ram/gpu/psu will be the SSD)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CITJGU

Thermalright CoGage True Spirit 4-Heatpipe Core i7 CPU
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/9...rue_Spirit_4-Heatpipe_Core_i7_CPU_Cooler.html

ASUS Rampage II GENE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131371

XFX HD-585A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5850 (may add a second 5850 next year if needed)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150442

CORSAIR CMPSU-650HX 650W (enough efficient power so that estimated power use for both one 5850 and two 5850's stay nicely in the sweet spot on an overclocked i7 920)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) (solid timings at 1600 and I don't see the need to spend +$100 to try and get 2000 with looser timings from a different set of ram)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145242

Intel X25-M (not sure where I'll get it from, whatever has the best price at the time)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167016

Antec SpotCool (going to be used to cool the northbridge since it runs hot on the rampage)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209017

CORSAIR CMXAF1 (ram fans, the clips are supposed to hook to each side of the ram clips but the rampage only has clips on one side. Any idea if this will attach properly? If not I could always just add another spotcool for the ram)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835704001

Anyone see any glaring problems? Potential disasters? It's been a looooong time since I built a system but I've been doing a lot of reading here lately to try and catch back up.
 
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My build is similar to yours. http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1460721 For the CPU & Mobo I suggest looking at ewiz, they have a promo going for $15 off $100+. Make multiple orders and use Bing CB. The 5850 is cheaper through circuity city after bing as well. The Antec TP-750 is cheaper and better in some ways than the HX650. Although the HX650 was my 2nd choice, mainly the price got me.
 
I concur with Lathode: go for the $105 Antec Truepower New 750 Blue.

Thats waaay too much money for the RAM. I'm fairly sure that you can find DDR3 1600 RAM for less.
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Instead of a spot fan for the northbridge of the Rampage II Gene, consider a chipset heatsink like the Thermalright HR-05/IFX. However, the removal of the stock northbridge heatsink automatically voids the board's warranty.

You don't need Corsair Dominator RAM, nor do you need a fan dedicated to cooling the RAM. This G.Skill kit, for example, will allow you to overclock just as well as the more expensive Dominators. And CAS Latency (CL) matters little when it comes to overclocking -- you probably wouldn't notice the difference between CL7 RAM and CL9 RAM even under stock speeds.

FYI, the Antec TP-750 Blue is currently on sale for $105 shipped at NewEgg.

I noticed that you haven't chosen an optical drive yet. For simple DVD burners, any Samsung drive would work fine. The SH-S222A and the SH-S223B are two commonly chosen models.

For comparison shopping:

tiraides said:
I use Google Product Search for general comparison shopping. I know Bing has something similar, but (IMO) it's not as polished as Google's service.

The other major site is Pricewatch... but I've personally had mixed results from using that site.
Click to expand...
 
I agree with what was said above. Go for the G.Skill kit as you will not notice a real-world difference between those timings, but the lower voltage certainly won't hurt (can only help). You should have case fans that passively cool your system so there is no real need for dedicated RAM cooling.

Also, go with the TruePower since it is a good PSU and provides more headroom if you plan to CF in the future.
 
Thanks for all your help everyone. Here's where I'm at now. Any more corners I could cut? Anything I missed?

superbiz
mobo: 219.00 - 15.00 = 204.99 - 5% cashback = 194.75
processor: 279.99 - 15.00 = 264.99 - 5% cashback = 251.74
intel x25-m: 269.99 - 15.00 = 254.99 - 5% cashback = 242.24

amazon
case: 88.99

newegg
antect truepower psu: 104.99 - 2% cashback = 102.89
patriot viper memory: 139.99 - 2% cashback = 137.19 - 20 rebate = 117.19

circuitcity
5850: 269.99 - 5% cashback = 256.49

frozencpu
CoGage True Spirit: 39.95
arctic silver 5: 7.99
shipping: 9.42

total:
1311.65 after $54.54 bing cashback and $45 ($15x3) ewiz coupon (thanks lathode) and $20 memory mail in rebate
 
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xeddex said:
Thanks for all your help everyone. Here's where I'm at now. Any more corners I could cut? Anything I missed?
Click to expand...

Which Patriot Viper kit are you getting? If the RAM runs at 1.65V or higher, get something else. You should look for RAM that runs at 1.6V or less.

Instead of Arctic Silver 5, I recommend using some thermal compound that doesn't require any curing time, like the Arctic Cooling MX-2/MX-3 or the OCZ Freeze. They perform just as well as AS5 but don't require a curing time of "up to 200 hours" to start lowering CPU temperatures.

lowteckh said:
The G.skill 1600s are not free shipping. There's a 2000 kit for $155 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231306

Or Patriot 1600s for $120 AR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220365
Click to expand...

I'm well aware that the G.Skill RAM kit doesn't come with free shipping. However, the shipping costs for the RAM, by itself, would range between $5-$7.

BTW, you, of all people, should know my feelings about after-rebate prices.
 
tiraides said:
Which Patriot Viper kit are you getting? If the RAM runs at 1.65V or higher, get something else. You should look for RAM that runs at 1.6V or less.
Click to expand...

With regard to the 1.6v or less comment can you point me at an article or some more info. (I'm still trying to learn all the in's and out's.) EDIT: see post below

Sorry I didn't link; this is the one. It's listed on the ASUS website as officially supported for the mobo and there was a boatload of newegg comments that I read through. A few comments specific to the mobo which were helpful.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220365

I just checked and the gskill you linked is also listed as officially supported.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225


tiraides said:
Instead of Arctic Silver 5, I recommend using some thermal compound that doesn't require any curing time, like the Arctic Cooling MX-2/MX-3 or the OCZ Freeze. They perform just as well as AS5 but don't require a curing time of "up to 200 hours" to start lowering CPU temperatures.
Click to expand...

Whoops. I didn't know that one required curing time.I'll look into the other ones that you listed. Thanks.
 
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I just found this.

What are the Intel® Core™ i7 processor and the Intel® Core™ i5 processor DDR3 memory voltage limitations?

Intel® recommends using memory that adheres to the Jedec memory specification for DDR3 memory which is 1.5 volts, plus or minus 5%. Anything over this voltage can either damage the processor or significantly reduce the processor life span.
Click to expand...

So is the logic. "Buy lower than 1.65v if you can because then you've got a little room to add voltage if you need it for stability but if you start at 1.65v you've got nowhere to go"? and also "if you do have to add voltage then at least you're closer to the 1.5v intel spec that you would have been otherwise"?
 
xeddex said:
With regard to the 1.6v or less comment can you point me at an article or some more info. (I'm still trying to learn all the in's and out's.)
Click to expand...

I'll have to find the source -- I lost it, yet again -- but the long story short is that Intel's Core i7 processors can run with RAM at up to 1.65V. Any RAM with higher voltage levels run the risk of damaging the processor, which controls the RAM timings and speeds through its integrated memory controller hub (MCH). Lower voltage RAM also generates less heat, which can help increase the processor's overclocking threshold (though YMMV).

In other words, while the Patriot Viper RAM would work fine, if you want to overclock, it would be better to find lower voltage RAM.
 
I also recommend RAM that runs at 1.5-1.6v.

I also recommend Arctic Cooling MX-2/MX-3 over Arctic Silver 5.
 
I would lose the SSD and get a WD black till the prices go down.

WD Black 750 3x250 platters or 640 with two 320 platters

WD $70.00

1241.65?
 
If performance was the key consideration, and the SSDs or VelociRaptors are out of the question, the new hard drives based off the 500GB HDD platters would outperform the WD Black HDDs. The Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 and Samsung SpinPoint F3 series use those 500GB platters in their new 500GB and 1TB hard drives
 
Yes, performance is the main reason for the SSD but I don't mind paying the extra ~$150 to get it vs getting a good performing platter drive. I've had my heart set on using a SSD for os/critical apps for a while and I'm hoping that this computer will last me 3+ years so the extra cost doesn't bend me out of shape when looked at as being spread over 3 years.

Plus I figure that the SSD drive could very well live on as the primary drive in my next build as well so I could be looking at 5-6+ years worth of use out of the drive.
 
tiraides said:
If performance was the key consideration, and the SSDs or VelociRaptors are out of the question, the new hard drives based off the 500GB HDD platters would outperform the WD Black HDDs. The Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 and Samsung SpinPoint F3 series use those 500GB platters in their new 500GB and 1TB hard drives
Click to expand...

Hey good call on the F-3 Just read some reviews and it is an asskicker.
 
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