Going to jump in: i7 upgrade suggestions appreciated

[chrisk]

Finally going to take the i7 plunge. Even though I am not sure I really need it as my Q6600 is fine, the urge to go i7 won't go away. Will get a few extra PPD on vmware with an i7 .

I am upgrading my current setup by replacing the mobo, cpu, ram, and hsf only. The old parts will be placed in my folding rig in my sig. Here is my current parts list copied from my sig:
Q6600 G0@3.0GHZ, Mushkin HP PC2 6400 4-4-4-15 4GB, Gigabyte EP35-DS3P, 2 X EVGA GTX 285, 2X WD Raptor Raid 0, Enermax Revolution85+ 1050W, CM HAF 932, LG Blu-Ray GGC-H20L, Hauppauge HVR-1600 Tuner

Will be looking for a D0 i7 920, and hoping to get ~3.2ghz on air, which seems to be no problem.

Here are the things I considered for the upgrade, in order of importance:

1. Two PCI-E 16x slots. When both slots are populated, a PCI slot needs to be available for my Tuner card which is PCI. Don't care about Crossfire or SLI really, as I use two cards primarily for folding and not gaming.
2. Onboard sound. I am open to using onboard sound, but wouldn't mind pay a little extra for a mobo if the onboard sound was better than another solution. From what I can see, there is little difference in the current solutions. Perhaps someone can make a suggestion here.
3. Cost. Hoping to keep this below $800 before taxes. As always, in fits of madness I sometimes blow the budget.
4. Brand. I currently like my Gigabyte board, and have had two bad experiences with Asus boards the last two purchases I made. I am leaning toward Gigabyte again for this reason, but could be talked into something that really seems to be better or more reliable.
5. Ram. Looking for DDR3 1600, but I am not sure I will need that much headroom for the OC I will do. Must keep ram at 1.65v. I also hope to avoid the huge ram heatsinks (like the Dominators or Reaper).

That's mostly it. Here are the parts I am thinking about so far:

• Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R, $229.99, Canada Computers - Motherboards > Socket LGA1366 : Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R Socket 1366 Intel X58 + ICH10R CrossfireX Triple-Channel DDR3 2000+/1333/1066Mhz Dual GigaLAN 7.1Ch Audio 6x SATA 2x PCI-E X16 . Hoping to get the new 1.6 version. The new revision has slightly better (official) OC support, and a larger bios chip (16mb vs 8mb on regular version). Not sure I need either, but I am thinking that the newer revision might have some other under the hood improvements.
• i7 920, $344.99, Canada Computers - CPU > Desktop Intel Processors : Intel Core i7 920 Quad-Core Socket LGA1366, 2.66Ghz, 4.8GT/s FSB, 8MB L3 Cache, 45nm (Retail Boxed) (BX80601920).
  Going after the D0 version of the chip, which is marked SLBEJ. If someone is selling a D0 I will be willing to pick that up.
• Mushkin XP3-12800 DDR3-1600MHZ 6GB, XP Series Cas 7-8-7-20 (1.65V), $164.99, Canada Computers - Memory > Desktop Memory > DDR3 1600 PC3-12800+ : Mushkin XP3-12800 DDR3-1600MHZ 6GB (3x2GB) Triple Channel Kit XP Series Cas 7-8-7-20 (1.65V) 240pins (998679).
  Liked this ram as my current Mushkins have been good, the price is OK, and the timings seem up to par.
• Cooler Master Hyper 212 HSF, $43.99, Canada Computers - Cooling > CPU Cooling : Cooler Master Hyper 212 4 Heat Pipes, Copper Base (RR-CCH-LB12-GP) for Socket LGA775 & AM2/754/940/939.
  Seems like a great HSF, as good as the TRUE which was on my list first until AkG's 212 review here.

That's it. I stuck to Canada Computers as they are local, but I could go with something at Infonec. I don't wish to purchase online.

Open to suggestions if I have missed something. Stability at ~3.2GHZ is what I al looking for, and I don't need too many bells and whistles on the mobo. I am willing to pay a little more (~$300) if there is a truly great mobo at Canada Computers or Infonec that will suit my needs.

Thanks guys! This will be folding 24/7 so stability is paramount. Heat is an issue too (but not going water).

[stoanee]

You might be able to save a few bucks by going with this:
Mushkin HP3-12800 High Performance DDR3 SDRAM, 6GB Triple Channel Kit (3 x 2GB) at Memory Express Computers
I have it and will be trying some overclocking today, I think it will be capable of 3.2ghz. It requires lower voltage 1.5>1.6v.

[3.0charlie]

Hey! Welcome back! Hope you enjoyed your vacation.

Parts-wise, you're in business though the Ram may be overkill if you want a 3.2 oc. Great, stable board too.

I would be tempted to look at the BST threads, 1366 boards, ram and chips are available - Linus has a D0 for 300$, NIB.

[stoanee]

I also will have some DDR3 3x2gb for sale. It will either be this;
Mushkin HP3-12800 High Performance DDR3 SDRAM, 6GB Triple Channel Kit (3 x 2GB) at Memory Express Computers

Or this:
NCIX.com - Buy Corsair XMS3 Dominator TR3X6G1866C9DF 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1866 CL 9-9-9-24 Core i7 Memory Kit - TR3X6G1866C9DF In Canada.

The Corsair was back-ordered so I got some Mushkin to tide me over. The Corsair is now sitting at the post office waiting for me to pick it up. I got a good deal on the Corsair ($139) so I will probably sell the Mushkin.

[chrisk]

Originally Posted by stoanee

You might be able to save a few bucks by going with this:
Mushkin HP3-12800 High Performance DDR3 SDRAM, 6GB Triple Channel Kit (3 x 2GB) at Memory Express Computers
I have it and will be trying some overclocking today, I think it will be capable of 3.2ghz. It requires lower voltage 1.5>1.6v.

I saw that on Canada Computers, but CC listed the volts as 1.8-1.9 so i ruled it out. Their own link to the product , however, shows 1.5-1.6 as you stated. Thanks for the great suggestion stoanee!

They have it in stock at $137.99 (-$20 rebate, which pushes the price to 117.99), vs the $164.99 (same rebate for this one, which pushes the price to $144.99).

Is the ~$30 dollar difference justified for the tighter timings on i7? Otherwise the HP3 stoanee suggests seems good.

[chrisk]

Originally Posted by 3.0charlie

Hey! Welcome back! Hope you enjoyed your vacation.

Parts-wise, you're in business though the Ram may be overkill if you want a 3.2 oc. Great, stable board too.

I would be tempted to look at the BST threads, 1366 boards, ram and chips are available - Linus has a D0 for 300$, NIB.

Vacation was awesome! I was surprised at the amount of litter around the Giza pyramids (it was like there was a KISS concert the night before, with all the drink bottles you had to step on to get around). Having police officers trying to get you to let them take your picture, in order to demand a buck, is also interesting. Still a great experience. I think it will be hard to top this, having seen Rome, other parts of Italy, Athens, several Greek islands, a few places in Turkey, and Cairo all in one trip.

I am out of touch with the BST threads. I'll take a look to see what's on the go in there for sure! Linus' D0 seems like a good idea.

[3.0charlie]

HP3-12800 DDR3 - Mushkin Enhanced: 1.5-1.6V. With an i7, speed is King. Don't worry about the timings.

[Arinoth]

i am VERY impressed with Cooler Master Hyper 212, ambient temp in my basement is from 22-25C and never saw it constantly go over 75C, it did peak a few Cs higher at the max but while i am folding 4 vmware instances i see it go the highest fluxate 74/73C for Core 1, Core 2 is 72/70C and Cores 3/4 are 68-70C. Worth more then the 30$ spent on it.

[morphy]

Infonec has a deal on the i7 920 for $315 CAD this week only..If doing a pickup I'm sure you can check there if it's a D0. Also that mobo doesn't support SLi , if you don't have plans to SLi then it's a really good x58 board for the price. Igenerally find infonec prices better than CC. That mobo for example is $214 at Infonec, $225 at CC ($210 after MIR).

[chrisk]

Just got back from Canada Computers and got the D0 i7 920, version 1.0 of the UD3R, and the HP3 Mushkin ram 3.0Charlie mentioned.

I didn't go into Infonec, as I had to drive there and they usually have to get anything I want sent from the warehouse with an hour wait, and I knew Canada Computers had them next door to my house so I went with whats easiest.

($315 is a good price though. I added up the parts from infonec, and could have easily saved $40, but instead went with whats convenient).

Good news for UD3R owners is that the board now officially supports SLI with a bios flash.

When it first came out, it did not do SLI, but now it does.