Building a Intel i7/X58 System.. need your expertise.

[exxoid]

Hello,

Just recently found out about this forum and i didn't realize i just spent the last 2 hours reading threads :) So, i wanted to see if I could get your guys opinion here.. i am wanting to upgrade my PC (got a paycheck stashed, and its pushing me to spend it on a new system).

Currently i am running:

AMD64 3800+ X2 (2ghz)
ASUS A8N32-Sli (2GB Ram)
500GB HD
Radeon 4850 512MB (PCIe)
OS: WinVista

I have been using this sytem since 2005, but i can feel it being slow and can't really power any new games to their max settings, along with playing in video editing/transcoding. Its not like its unusable, i still play WoW full settings, (it can get laggy on yogg, etc :))

Anyway that's the history.. but here is where i want to jump to:


MOTHERBOARD: (which one??)

• ASUS Rampage II Extreme ?
• EVGA X58 Classified EATX LGA1366 ?

GRAPHICS:

• BFG GeForce GTX 285 OC (1 to start) or eVGA of the same ??

RAM:

• Corsair XMS3 Dominator TR3X6G1600C8D 6GB DDR3 3X2GB

HDD:

• 2 x 1TB SATA
• 1 x 75GB 10k Raptor

CASE:

• Cooler Master Haf 932

POWER:

• Corsair HX1000W CMPSU-1000HX

CPU:

• Intel Core I7 920 D0 Stepping Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.66GHZ

COOLING:

• No idea.. anyone know of air cooling that will fit insite the haf?

LCD:

• Currently I have 19" LCDs, looking for something in 300-400$ range. any tips?

I have done quite a bit of research already, not much more I can do in my IT job on a slow friday.. but would really like feedback.. i will post pics once the system is built!!

I added the high-end psu and mobo to be future proof for more aditions, any comments?

Thanks a lot.

I plan to visit the local NCIX store sometime tomorrow... hopefully they are open and everything is in stock..

I assume, i would feel the different in gaming even WoW switching over from my 4yr old PC? :)

[exxoid]

After some digging, i saw in another post a user posted about an awesome deal at NCIX:

NCIX.com - Buy NCIX Gaming Bundle Intel Core i7 920 EVGA Classified X58 SLI Motherboard 6GB Corsair Dominator RAM - Classified-920-6GB In Canada.

Intel i7 CPU + Classified Mobo + Ram for $899. That is a buy right there.. interesting though, i just went to NCIX the other day to get a quote and asked if they had any deals and didn't get anything close to this.

Any good combos out there for a GFX Card or Case/PS?

Btw, Classified vs. Rampage II ?

[Realityshift]

Classified all the way, that really is an awesome deal. Also drop the raptor and grab 2 or 3 WD blacks and throw them either in raid 0 or raid 5, you could even drop the TB drive as well, in raid 5 youd have much more then 1tb of space but the rig would be much faster and quieter then the raptor drive.

The Haf has ample room for air cooling, grab a TRUE black 1366 edition, their about $70 or so.

for $330 or so you could grab yourself either an LG or Samsung 24" monitor, check around at directcanada or NCIX, remember NCIX price matchs.

If your only looking to run a single or dual VGA setup drop the 1000w psu for a 750/850w and save yourself some money, those 1000ws are for tri and quad sli.

Why dont you take a look at some reviews of the GTX 275, if you could fit it in now you could SLI those GTX 275s and they would only be a small amount slower then the GTX 285s but $200 cheaper in the long run ;) HWC has a review of them in the reviews section of the site. I know NCIX had the SC on for $258 there for a while, not sure if their sold out yet or not.

[exxoid]

You are right, I am going to get an EVGA GeForce GTX 275 633MHZ 896MB 2.26GHZ DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card.

Saves me $200 bucks from the 285, and I can look at affording another one for SLI within a few weeks.

[Dave510]

Just get another 4850 for less than $150 and Crossfire the cards. It'll save you hundreds and give you better than GTX 280 performance until the 5000 series ATI/300 series Nvidia cards come out. Then you can sell your 2 4850s, and spend the $200 you save now on the new card. Besides, if you don't want to keep the 4850 for crossfire right now when it's still a decent card, then why expect to SLI the GTX 275/280/285 later down the road?

[Realityshift]

the GTX 275 destroys the 4850s, and 4850 in crossfire vs GTX 275s in SLI also get destroyed, even with the release of new video cards the GTX 275 will fair FAR better then the 4850s....

You also have to think about 4850s exasuting all their heat into your case since 9/10 of them are single slot coolers... The op would be much better off looking at 4770s if he wanted to go lower end, but I think for a build like this he would see the most benefit from a GTX 275 or even 2 GTX 260 sp 216s.

[Dave510]

Originally Posted by Realityshift

the GTX 275 destroys the 4850s, and 4850 in crossfire vs GTX 275s in SLI also get destroyed, even with the release of new video cards the GTX 275 will fair FAR better then the 4850s....

You also have to think about 4850s exasuting all their heat into your case since 9/10 of them are single slot coolers... The op would be much better off looking at 4770s if he wanted to go lower end, but I think for a build like this he would see the most benefit from a GTX 275 or even 2 GTX 260 sp 216s.

No, the 4850 in Crossfire performs at GTX 280 levels (except in anti-Crossfire games). Keep in mind that the review was written more than half a year ago, and Crossfire drivers have also improved since that time. And since GTX 280 > GTX 275, therefore Crossfire 4850s > GTX 275.
ATI HD4870 & HD4850 Crossfire Performance Review

As long as he gets a case with a side fan, the heat should not be a major issue at all. He would also not be much better off looking at 4770s since he already has a 4850 in his configuration. If he was starting off from scratch, then yes 2 4770s would be a better value, but in this instance that's not the case.

Sure, 2 GTX 275s will be better than 2 4850s in Crossfire, but the price takes yet another leap right into the sky if he were to get that.

For someone with a 4850 already, nothing beats the value of simply getting another 4850.

[gingerbee]

folks he said a haf 932 i don't think case cooling is going to be a problem. and i second that 4850 crossfire will save some coin to

[Realityshift]

The guy is looking to spend $400 on a monitor, 2 4850s is NOT going to cut it, Ive personally run 9800GTXs in SLI which is directly equvilent to the 4850s, at 1650x1080 I still found myself needing more power, at 19:10/12 resolutions its going to be even more so. The op has already stated he wants to go multi card with GTX 285s in the first post, 4850s wont come anywhere near 2 GTX 285s, the GTX 275s do however while saving the OP a decent amount of coin in the return. If you want to save more money go 4870 1gbs or pick up a couple EVGA GTX 260 sp 216s for around $200 each, their going to easily out perform the 4850s in SLI and cost wise you could almost go with 3 if you wanted to. I still stick by the GTX 275s though, those cards offer some wicked price vs performance.

[Dave510]

Originally Posted by Realityshift

The guy is looking to spend $400 on a monitor, 2 4850s is NOT going to cut it, Ive personally run 9800GTXs in SLI which is directly equvilent to the 4850s, at 1650x1080 I still found myself needing more power, at 19:10/12 resolutions its going to be even more so. The op has already stated he wants to go multi card with GTX 285s in the first post, 4850s wont come anywhere near 2 GTX 285s, the GTX 275s do however while saving the OP a decent amount of coin in the return. If you want to save more money go 4870 1gbs or pick up a couple EVGA GTX 260 sp 216s for around $200 each, their going to easily out perform the 4850s in SLI and cost wise you could almost go with 3 if you wanted to. I still stick by the GTX 275s though, those cards offer some wicked price vs performance.

The OP stated he wants a single GTX 285, and maybe a second one in time. If he just wants 285 level performance for now, then get another 4850 for that, save a few hundred bucks, and then get the 5000 series or 300 series when they come out in less than half a year. Everything will take a dip in price at that point, and the more he spends on a graphics card now, the more he stands to lose when the new generation comes out.

Performance wise, 4850 just isn't that far behind a single 285, and he's not going to game in 2560x1600, he's most likely just going to game in 1920x1200, so the memory on the cards should be fine as well.

Sure he can pick up 2 GTX 260s, but that's 500 dollars after tax and shipping. He can sell his 4850 for maybe $100. That's 400 dollars he's chipping in. If he buys a 4850, that's probably $150 after tax and shipping. $250 difference for what? A minor gain in performance? Hardly worth it if you ask me.