"Budget" i7 build

[Sam!]

Getting back into PC realm since the 486 days. OC via jumpers was fun! Been a Mac user ever since, and now with my next computer, I find their hardware offering a bit lacking.

Just trying to get opinion on my equipment list so far. The HWC community was very useful in my research from both the review section and forum users. Been reading up on equipment for the past few weeks and I've barely scratched the surface. But now my machine is finally coming to fruition with most of the parts on hand/en route. Making sure there's no compatibility issues or bottlenecks.

Machine will mostly be used for photo editing/rendering and light gaming. Slight OC will come, just reading up on how you young'uns do things nowadays. So I'm sure more cooling equipment will be added to the list in the future.

Note: Yes I know I ordered the wrong RAM. The part is enroute, do you think NCIX will take return in exchange for 1600MHz version of the same RAM?

[martin_metal_88]

Welcome to HWC my friend.
Well everything is good GZ for the board, it`s the best IMO out there but not many people use it. IMO again, I don't really like TT product but a case have to be chosen if you like it. I see the you have a 500$ free in budget ;) time for aftermarket cooler if you want to oc my friend. Noctua NH-U12P with push pull config or Thermalright Ultra 120 are some of the best, take a look at HWC cooler chart to find the one you live in the best performance one. here are my fav.
Noctua NH-U12P push pull
Thermalright ultra 120
OCZ vendetta 2
Prolimatech Megahalem

Ask for more

[Dwayne]

Looks pretty solid to me. You could drop the Raptor and get a pair of WD 640 Blacks for about the same price. Even if you don't RAID them the performance is pretty solid and you get tons of drive space. Alternately you could RAID them and pick up a 1 TB Blue or Black for storage. There are some really good discussions on getting Solid State Drives for the OS and large mech drives for storage over in the Storage forum. Have a look and decide from there.

NCIX is pretty good, but they may want a restocking fee... check the website on return policy? Here is the blurb I found on their site:

What if I'm dissatisfied with an item I've bought? NCIX.com offers a 15-day Satisfaction Guarantee on many items that we sell. Due to supplier and manufacturer restrictions, some opened items will be non-refundable, and any return is subject to prior approval from NCIX.com. Items that are unopened and still in its original shrink wrap and sealed, can be returned without restriction, within 15 days of purchase, unless marked as unreturnable. All items returned to us must be shipped pre-paid.
Items eligible for return are subject to a 15% restocking fee, and if approved by NCIX.com would be eligible for exchange, merchandise credit or refund. Due to the volatile nature of computer prices, items will only be refunded at the current pricing at the time of return. Software must be in its original box and unopened (still sealed in its original shrink wrap). Defective software will be exchanged with the same title (subject to availability).
Satisfaction Guarantee excludes CRT monitors, LCD monitors, notebook computers, mobile PCs, PDAs, printers, consumables (i.e. printer cartridges, CD-Rs, and blank media), televisions, consumer appliances (i.e. microwaves, refrigerators, etc.), customized computers, mouse pads and special order items.

It looks like you may be able to come to an agreement on an exchange at a 15% restock fee... but you could plead ignorance ;) or at least a lack of current experience?

[element291]

You'll most likely get stuck with the restocking fee on the RAM. Also I would have price matched the parts from canadacomputers through ncix.

[enaberif]

Budget i7? Doesn't exist. ;)

[Kylzer]

I wanna mention that Thermaltake case is meh i would look for something better TBH maybe a coolermaster haf 922 ?

Also what kind of corsair ? TX/HX

The TX build quality is not that great i would go with the HX as its using the newer TWC design, It seems allot better overall in general plus is modular.

[Sam!]

Yeah, the case wasn't on the top of my list. CC actually had the Antec 183 for $120, but the TT was almost half that after rebate, couldn't say no. Doing some pre-cable management and everything seem to tuck in nice behind the motherboard mount. Not very into the whole side window/flashy led do-hickies, especially for colour management during photo editing.

Pricing could've been handled better too, but when you're in the store, it's hard to hold back. SSD's are still a bit pricey so the 10k hdd was a bit of a trade off for access speed. Something Caviar black will be in the works for file storage at a later time, putting that off at the moment, waiting for that special sale to come up to pull the trigger. :P

Yeah, i7 setup is pricey compared to other PC chipsets, but it's not bad when compared to the price of an iMac.