Check Over my Rig

[Nerdy]

First of all I would like to say thanks for just looking at this topic

I have never built a computer before.. but I have done simple things like install ram,HDD,graphics card and once install a CPU heat sink

Also I am only 14 so I ain't a computer genius.

If anyone could check over my build and give their suggestion or opinions about hardware and price.

1. My pc will be used for gaming mainly the call of duty series, TF2, L4d, and Crysis maybe
2. My budget is $3000 after taxes but I would like to make it low as possible to save money.
3. I live in Canada and will be buying everything from NCIX.com as there store is 10km away from my house.
4. I am a Intel Fanboy, Best Performance Video Card Fanboy (nVidia or Ati I don't care)
5. I do not intend on using any of my current parts.
6. I looked around the forums for similar threads
7. Do Not Plan on overclocking until further down the road and will buy a after market cooler later aswell. And only overclocking the CPU, no ram or gpu's.
8. I plan to build it after I have a complete and checked over list of parts and verification from my parents to spend the money. Maybe less than 4 days from now.

The PC: *Some items are Price Matched*

Case: Antec Twelve Hundred $179.99*

Mobo: EVGA X58 ATX LGA1366 $329.99 Special price

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.66GHZ $358.39*

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 295 1792MB 1.998GHZ GDDR3 $549.99 Special Price

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB $88.88 x2 $177.76

PSU: Corsair HX1000W CMPSU-1000HX 1000W ATX $285.99 - $36.00 rebate = $249.99

Ram: OCZ Reaper 6GB 3X2GB DDR3-1866 Triple Channel Memory Kit $162.99 Special Price

Is my motherboard compatible with this ram speed?

DVD Drive: Samsung 22X Speed Plus Black SATA DVD Writer OEM $22.99 Special Price

OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64BIT $140.89*

Keyboard: Razer Arctosa Ultrapolling Gaming Keyboard $44.99

Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Gaming Mouse 5 Button 1800DPI $54.99

Monitor: BenQ G2400WD 24IN Widescreen LCD 2MS 1920X1200 $299.99 Special Price

Thermal Paste: Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound $9.99

Misc: ANTISTATIC WRISTBAND $6.87

If I am missing a part please indicate and recommend one.

Total: $2,615.82
Total with Tax: $2,615.82 + $12.00 Enviroment Fee + ADDITIONAL INSURANCE ($39.42 + 12% = $2987.31
If it is possible to cut down on the total please help..
BTW, I am keeping the additional insurance just cause


THANKZ

[Dwayne]

Hi there... your age doesn't matter here for the most part, and you will find most of us are big kids anyway!

Your build looks great... if you were saving some money I would look at a GTX 285 vice 295 for a couple bucks, but I have a GTC 295 and I am very happy with it. The OCZ mem price is pretty good and I think that it will run just fine at stock speeds with the CPU you picked. Not sure what kind of OC you will get from them. You could check this review OCZ 6GB PC3-12800 Platinum DDR3 Triple Channel Memory Kit Review and see what those stick are at NCIX.

The only thing different that I might do is get another hard drive and try a RAID 0, just for fun! Awesome looking picks!

[Realityshift]

Drop the anti static strap you wont really need it, umm I would go with a 750 or 850w PSU instead of that 1000w beast as its a little over kill and will save you money, ram should be fine speed wise not sure what the evga x58 supports brand wise but you should be fine. If you want to trim a little more money you could grab an antec 902 instead of the 1200 as you dont need the space from the 1200 and the 902 looks exactly the same as a 1200 but smaller =)

I would really sudjest you go with XFX or EVGA for the video card, may cost a bit more but better warranty and customer service and XFX has double lifetime EVGA has step up. Other then that the build looks awesome and good job formating your post I wish more people would take the time to answer all the questions.

Another idea would be to drop the GTX 295 completely and go GTX 285 SLI, dunno if its cheaper but it will be faster. Make sure you get NCIX to price match all your parts to the lowest price you can find too =D

The only thing different that I might do is get another hard drive and try a RAID 0, just for fun! Awesome looking picks!

He has 2 HDDs and you can raid 0 with 2 so he should be fine.

[Nerdy]

Originally Posted by Realityshift

Drop the anti static strap you wont really need it, umm I would go with a 750 or 850w PSU instead of that 1000w beast as its a little over kill and will save you money, ram should be fine speed wise not sure what the evga x58 supports brand wise but you should be fine. If you want to trim a little more money you could grab an antec 902 instead of the 1200 as you dont need the space from the 1200 and the 902 looks exactly the same as a 1200 but smaller =)


He has 2 HDDs and you can raid 0 with 2 so he should be fine.

Regarding the PSU I am looking to get another Gtx 295 and go quad sli before summer.
I cut down to Antec 902 but for getting gtx 295 from another company it costs $110+ more so is it really worth it? and gtx 285's in sli are more expensive.

[Dwayne]

He has 2 HDDs and you can raid 0 with 2 so he should be fine.

Got to get my glasses fixed... you're right, they are right there.

I could say I was thinking RAID 5, would you believe that?

[Realityshift]

why go quad SLI?? thats way overkill unless your using them to fold. you would need a 30" monitor to even push 1 295 the 2nd is just over kill. but if thats the way you wanna go you will need 1000w.

[Nerdy]

Originally Posted by Realityshift

why go quad SLI?? thats way overkill unless your using them to fold. you would need a 30" monitor to even push 1 295 the 2nd is just over kill. but if thats the way you wanna go you will need 1000w.

I got a 42" TV beside my computer and might want to hook it up when no one is using it but considering it is used for almost 5 days of the week I have my 24" monitor that I mentioned in the first post.

[sswilson]

Looks like a great build, and you won't necessarily need it if you aren't going to overclock, but it seems a shame to have all that top end gear and not invest $50 or so on a quality aftermarket CPU heatsink.

+1 to Realityshift's suggestion on price matching. Even though you're planning on picking it up at the store you can still order it on-line and use the price matching feature to ensure that you get the absolute best price possible. Chances are, you should be able to get your Vid card manufacturer of choice that way.

Be sure to let us know how it all turns out!!!

[Realityshift]

a 42" TV runs at the same resolution as a 24" monitor man so I wouldnt say quad sli is going to give you much benefits here besides E-Peen... a single 295 will push crysis at max settings on either the monitor or the TV with 80+ fps... but you probubly have money to burn so as always its up to you, I just wouldnt recommend it youd be better served going with 3 GTX 285s over 2 GTX 295s.

[Nerdy]

Do 3 GTX 285's be better than 2 GTX 295's performance wise