LGA1156 i7 build: Opinions?

[MRCL]

Hey all

I want to build an i7 rig, based on the socket 1156. Its cheaper than 1366, and I read that the 1156 i7s are actually on par with or better than their 1366 cousins. I've spent alsmost the whole morning today decieding wether I want to go Phenom II (Declined. Not my taste), i7 1366 (Declined. ex-pen-sive), i5 (declined. No HT, wtf) OR i7 1156 (bingo!!!).

--info: I'll use newegg links for your convenience, because the actual shop I'll buy from doesn't allow direct linking for some reason--

Now, the parts.

I've opted for the Core i7 860 as CPU. Nothing much to say here.

The mainboard would be the EVGA P55 SLI.
Reasons for this particular board:
- Nice price
- Nice color scheme and layout
- Heard good things about it
- I kind of want to get away from Asus for once
- I don't like Gigabytes color schemes (I always have to think about salmon if I see one)
- I don't trust MSI anymore with motherboards.

Any thoughts on this choice? I'm completely new to EVGA, but the reviews so far seem promising.

As for the RAM, I'm a bit of a n00b when it comes to that.
I randomly chose CORSAIR XMS3 in a 2x2gb kit.
At least they meet that 1.65v max requirement. Buts as said, I don't really know that much about RAM, or how to determine good RAM. So any help in that matter is greatly appreciated.

[vaiopup]

I would go 1366 for the hyperthreading and upgrade path to Gulftown.
Makes a better crunching workhorse.

[MRCL]

Originally Posted by vaiopup

I would go 1366 for the hyperthreading and upgrade path to Gulftown.
Makes a better crunching workhorse.

But the 1156 i7s also have HT, or have I misread that? The price difference between a 1156 and 1366 setup is considerable, thats why I want a 1156 setup.

[SK-1]

Originally Posted by MRCL

But the 1156 i7s also have HT, or have I misread that? The price difference between a 1156 and 1366 setup is considerable, thats why I want a 1156 setup.

1156 i7s have HT

[MRCL]

Originally Posted by SK-1

1156 i7s have HT

Thanks. I don't want to throw out a thousand bucks for a 1366 setup without the GPU, thats why a 1156 would be perfect.

[Triprift]

Personally myself id go for Bloomfield over Lynnfield.

[SK-1]

No problem MRCL. Your right, the 1156 i7s are actually on par with or better than their 1366 cousins. Money well saved, and spent.

[tollickd]

In a few weeks I am geting

INTEL I7 860 2.80 GHz socket 1156
GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R this is the motherboard
G.SKILL F3-16000CL9D-4GBGT1 4GB (2X2GB) DDR3 PC3-16000 2000MHZ GT1 SERIES DUAL CHANNEL KIT
MSI 4890 CYCLONE 1GB
SEAGATE BARRACUDA LP ST31000520AS 1TB SATA2
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W
MICROSOFT WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE 64-BIT
SAMSUNG SYNCMASTER P2350 23'' TFT MONITOR

I was looking at the 1366 2.66 which is 22 Euros cheaper! but I wanted the faster one! do you think it is a good choice?

[Triprift]

I think thats a great build the only thing id suggest is another hd if ya can afford it for windows and games other than that first class.

Ps welcome to TPU tollickd.

[tollickd]

Thanks for your reply

how about one of these

WESTERN DIGITAL WD10EADS 1TB CAVIAR GREEN SATA2


Or
WESTERN DIGITAL 1TB WD1001FALS CAVIAR BLACK SATA2

Would I be able to Crossfire my cards in a few months time, with this rig?

[Triprift]

Out of them two id go the cavier black. Your board supports crossfire so yes and when ya rig up and running youll have to post pics here.

[MRCL]

I'd get a Spinpoint F3 And yes you'll be able to crossfire the cards, but its gonna be a tight fit with that 550W PSU. I'd better get one with considerably more juice.

And welcome to TPU from me, too

I'd like to hear some more opinions on that 1156/1366 matter...

[tollickd]

I have changed from the 550W to Corsair TX650 650W. hope that would help

[MRCL]

Originally Posted by tollickd

I have changed from the 550W to Corsair TX650 650W. hope that would help

Are you going to overclock? I had a setup with a heavily overclocked q6600, Asus Maximus Formula, two 4890s and a water loop running off a Corsair 750W. Said PSU died a few days ago, possibly due to too much strain. Of course, I ran that system 24/7 with crunching the whole time, so... well, personally I'd get an 850W PSU. Just to be completely sure.

[tollickd]

I do not thinking of overclocking it! I want to keep the GPU,CPU and the Ram all stock.

[KieranD]

You want help choosing a GPU and Hard drive?

The EVGA board is good no worries, RAM just depends on if you want budget or something decent. Timings matter, try get something with at least 9-9-9-20 or like max 9-9-9-24, must be lower than 1.7v for Intel i think its 1.65v, depends if you want to OC or tighten the timings, see on Phenom II we can go up to like 1.85v even higher but personally i wouldn't run daily higher than that. Timings lower = better, depends if you want 1333mhz ram or 1600mhz ram too.

I have a set of 1x4gb corsair XMS3 they arnt super dooper clockers or timings just decent for the price i paid £47.

[MRCL]

Originally Posted by KieranD

You want help choosing a GPU and Hard drive?

The EVGA board is good no worries, RAM just depends on if you want budget or something decent. Timings matter, try get something with at least 9-9-9-20 or like max 9-9-9-24, must be lower than 1.7v for Intel i think its 1.65v, depends if you want to OC or tighten the timings, see on Phenom II we can go up to like 1.85v even higher but personally i wouldn't run daily higher than that. Timings lower = better, depends if you want 1333mhz ram or 1600mhz ram too.

I have a set of 1x4gb corsair XMS3 they arnt super dooper clockers or timings just decent for the price i paid £47.

Do you mean me with the GPU and HD?

Alright thanks with the board. And thanks with the RAM dude. Yeah its 1.65v, hmm seems I have to look deeper into that.

[Paulieg]

I'm currently running 3 1156 rigs, one of which is with the EVGA p55 FTW. Excellent board. Only issue I have is that it sometimes does not recognize my Razer Tarantula keyboard when trying to access the bios. Other than that, it is very solid, and overclocks with the best of them.

[MRCL]

Originally Posted by Paulieg

I'm currently running 3 1156 rigs, one of which is with the EVGA p55 FTW. Excellent board. Only issue I have is that it sometimes does not recognize my Razer Tarantula keyboard when trying to access the bios. Other than that, it is very solid, and overclocks with the best of them.

Heh for the keyboard problem, I still have an ancient ps/2 one

[MRCL]

How would this RAM do?
http://www.geil.com.tw/German/products/showSpec/id/133

Or those?
http://www.mushkin.com/Memory/Blackline/996679.aspx

[BraveSoul]

this is nice setup,, 8 threads for WCG,,,Evga is awesome had several evga products Video card,MB good quiality, support
HOWEVER
1366 platform has better upgradability to future prossesors,... i wont be surprised if it will support a 32nm eight core cpu,,thats 16 threads for crunching

[lemode]

Originally Posted by MRCL

How would this RAM do?
http://www.geil.com.tw/German/products/showSpec/id/133

Or those?
http://www.mushkin.com/Memory/Blackline/996679.aspx

i too run multiple 1156 rigs (evga p55 ftw/i7 860 is what i have at home and i love it) and used to own an i7 920 x58 rig and really don't miss that whatsoever. for how i game, i always felt i was wasting money with the x58 rig because i am not really big on sli or crossfire let alone x3 & x4 gpus. not only that i don't really care about benchmarking anymore and definitely not nearly as much as i did in 2006.

i haven't used geil memory since 2005 and before but it was decent.

i really like and only buy; mushkin/corsair/crucial/kingston on the memory front. i don't mind g.skill, geil, ocz, patriot, i just buy the others because i’ve never had a problem with any stick of ram i’ve ever bought from them.

[MRCL]

Originally Posted by lemode

i too run multiple 1156 rigs (evga p55 ftw/i7 860 is what i have at home and i love it) and used to own an i7 920 x58 rig and really don't miss that whatsoever. for how i game, i always felt i was wasting money with the x58 rig because i am not really big on sli or crossfire let alone x3 & x4 gpus. not only that i don't really care about benchmarking anymore and definitely not nearly as much as i did in 2006.

i haven't used geil memory since 2005 and before but it was decent.

i really like and only buy; mushkin/corsair/crucial/kingston on the memory front. i don't mind g.skill, geil, ocz, patriot, i just buy the others because i’ve never had a problem with any stick of ram i’ve ever bought from them.

I've had geil sticks before, they were pretty decent. Not high end stuff, but still very good. On the other hand, I read a lot about mushkin in magazines, they seem to be pretty good aswell.

[lemode]

Originally Posted by MRCL

I've had geil sticks before, they were pretty decent. Not high end stuff, but still very good. On the other hand, I read a lot about mushkin in magazines, they seem to be pretty good aswell.

You really can’t go wrong with Mushkin. I even have Mushkin in my AMD backup system. But it’s like you wanting to get away from ASUS...I had to try something different this time

[MRCL]

So Mushkin is a good choice then. There was a short documentry in a PC mag once, where they showed how Mushkin RAM is produced and tested etc. Made a good impression. So I'd say Mushkin it is. That EVGA board seems a good choice aswell than. So I guess that is it then.

I don't really have futureproofness in mind. If those six core i7s come around, they'll be too expensive for me anyways Thanks for all your input, really appreciate it