i7 rig

[n-ster]

rate it... I'm thinking about buying this when I'll be able to.. opinions appreciated as for cpu cooler, I think i'll take the s1283 with a fan and adapter and artic thing 5, but only later, so not posted here

Cpu+Mobo


Case

Screen

PSU

Memory


DVD burner

Hard Drive

Graphics card

totals about 1200$

will probably xfire 4830 later on

[Binge]

are you going to crossfire 4830s?

[Dan2312]

Best two coolers available are;

Akasa 967 £25 - not as good as the ultra 120, but half the price and cools 21oC lower than intel HSF. (according to custom PC UK)

Thermalright Ultra 120 £50

[tcorbyn]

- WAIT! Intel is about to bring out a new revision of the 920 so hold your horses and get one of those. We don't know the specifics yet but it COULD be a better overclocker.

- Thermalright Ultra 120, without a doubt.

- Splash out an extra $30 and get the Gigabyte UD5, slightly more upgrade friendly and will last you longer.

- That case is ugly and probably doesn't perform well (NOTE: Probably, so don't quote me on that). You would be better of with an Antec 300 if you want a cheap, solid, performing case.

- Memory; I would go for 6gb 1600Mhz XMS3 because it has great price/performance ratio. If not, 3gb XMS3 1600Mhz is also good, or you could always buy 3gb XMS3 1333Mhz and overclock it to 1600Mhz pretty easily.

- Splash out another $30 on the graphics card also and get a 4850, follow this link and use code EMCABBDEB at the checkout. Or you could even spend $150 and get a 4870 use promo code EMCABCHFG

- Saving $5 on the hard disk isn't practical when the WD Black also has 7200rpm but double the cache of the caviar.

- Pioneer make the best optical drives.

- Personally I wouldn't buy a screen smaller than 22", the one you have chosen has a really high resolution so you won't be able you max out any games on that graphics card. I would go for a Dell 22" 1680x1050.

- If I were you I would get a 1000w PSU in case you ever want to upgrade to a high end graphics card in the future, things are always changing so get yourself a nice 1000w, the OCZ and the corsair seem good.

Other than that everything seems great... oops!

[r9]

Don`t buy that short version PCB even if it is 4850. Get reference 4830 or 4850 overclock better and no bios lock.

[tcorbyn]

Yeah the 4870 is better value for money aswell.

[n-ster]

thxs all! i forgot i made this thread LOL will do more searching and responding tomorrow though... STUDYING

[n-ster]

Originally Posted by tcorbyn

- WAIT! Intel is about to bring out a new revision of the 920 so hold your horses and get one of those. We don't know the specifics yet but it COULD be a better overclocker.

- Thermalright Ultra 120, without a doubt.

- Splash out an extra $30 and get the Gigabyte UD5, slightly more upgrade friendly and will last you longer.

- That case is ugly and probably doesn't perform well (NOTE: Probably, so don't quote me on that). You would be better of with an Antec 300 if you want a cheap, solid, performing case.

- Memory; I would go for 6gb 1600Mhz XMS3 because it has great price/performance ratio. If not, 3gb XMS3 1600Mhz is also good, or you could always buy 3gb XMS3 1333Mhz and overclock it to 1600Mhz pretty easily.

- Splash out another $30 on the graphics card also and get a 4850, follow this link and use code EMCABBDEB at the checkout. Or you could even spend $150 and get a 4870 use promo code EMCABCHFG

- Saving $5 on the hard disk isn't practical when the WD Black also has 7200rpm but double the cache of the caviar.

- Pioneer make the best optical drives.

- Personally I wouldn't buy a screen smaller than 22", the one you have chosen has a really high resolution so you won't be able you max out any games on that graphics card. I would go for a Dell 22" 1680x1050.

- If I were you I would get a 1000w PSU in case you ever want to upgrade to a high end graphics card in the future, things are always changing so get yourself a nice 1000w, the OCZ and the corsair seem good.

Other than that everything seems great... oops!

green means disagree red means agree gtg but willl comment further later

[tcorbyn]

Whats the point of opening a thread, not having time to reply to it and disagreeing with most of things people are saying?

Also what does yellow and purple mean?

[n-ster]

sry lol... I just put school 1st ya know? and I didn't know my math teacher forgot to tell us that theres an exam tomorow... purple = red and yellow equal half red half green

for case I'll go yellow
as for TRUE, or TRU or wtv u call it... (the cpu cooler) it's not a no, its just that I'll buy that later on... and isn't it too big for mid tower cases?
for UD5, is it really worth paying more for it? it'll last longer? really? cuz idc if its not noob friendly xtra....
I find this memory for 3gb very good price... just look at stats... look at price... I wont favor corsair
idk for the graphic card... I'm a lower end gamer is 4830 xfire better then 4870? I might just buy this and wait for other cards... again i don't play THAT much... I would be content of medium setting 1280x1024 for 1.5yrs
I LOVE that screen and I might hook up my ps3 too it occasionally... btw 21.5" = 22" basically
1000w is overkill ... but again, you didn't know I'm not a super gamer

why spend 1.2k on a system if your going to use your computer for gaming only rarely? for it to last long but srsly, I'm thinking of am3 too... and I still will play fallout 3 , gta iv etc... but i can guarantee later on I'll be more into gaming...

btw I want to OC my i7 to 3ghz... and want it to last 3 years at least... should I invest in one of those 30$ coolers or go with the 60$ one or save up and go with a 300$ w/c?

[tcorbyn]

Originally Posted by n-ster

sry lol... I just put school 1st ya know? and I didn't know my math teacher forgot to tell us that theres an exam tomorow... purple = red and yellow equal half red half green

for case I'll go yellow
as for TRUE, or TRU or wtv u call it... (the cpu cooler) it's not a no, its just that I'll buy that later on... and isn't it too big for mid tower cases?
for UD5, is it really worth paying more for it? it'll last longer? really? cuz idc if its not noob friendly xtra....
I find this memory for 3gb very good price... just look at stats... look at price... I wont favor corsair
idk for the graphic card... I'm a lower end gamer is 4830 xfire better then 4870? I might just buy this and wait for other cards... again i don't play THAT much... I would be content of medium setting 1280x1024 for 1.5yrs
I LOVE that screen and I might hook up my ps3 too it occasionally... btw 21.5" = 22" basically
1000w is overkill ... but again, you didn't know I'm not a super gamer

why spend 1.2k on a system if your going to use your computer for gaming only rarely? for it to last long but srsly, I'm thinking of am3 too... and I still will play fallout 3 , gta iv etc... but i can guarantee later on I'll be more into gaming...

btw I want to OC my i7 to 3ghz... and want it to last 3 years at least... should I invest in one of those 30$ coolers or go with the 60$ one or save up and go with a 300$ w/c?

LOL, That just doesn’t happen in the UK... Surprise exams, SHEESH!

As long as you don’t intend on using the stock intel cooler I just think it’s worth it because your almost garneted 4Ghz with a good cooler on the current revision and with the new one... who knows? I can get 4.3Ghz [-HT] and 4Ghz [+HT] with my current watercooling setup load temps ~65c I know EVEN WITH THE BEST AIR COOLING some people are getting 100c temps when running 1.475 vcore which is what I need to run stable. I recommend watercooling above everything else but its NOT for anyone who want to slap together a system and forget about it under the desk. Also there will be the added cost of a new case as well. I got a TJ07 but there are cheaper cases which can take a double/triple rad.

I’ve would never recommend cutting corners on the motherboard of all things, personally I took that to the next degree and got myself an REII

Yeah the ram seems ok but I always go Corsair because they are very overclockable and have a GREAT customer service.

Without a doubt I’d say get the 4870 or the 4850 depending on how tight the budget is, if you want something that’s going to last that is, and that’s a great price too (see promo code). Not all games support multi GPU and I always say if there is a single GPU card that is better go for it. I have a GTX 295 because it was the best when I came to buying my graphics card and even in games that don’t support SLi one GPU is more than enough. The games you have listed and not exactly the least demanding games around.

Again if you want a computer that will last as it is, the PSU you got is fine. But if you want a computer that will handle whatever the throw at it get a good 1000w.

Don’t go Phenom II yet, you might as well get a Q6600+4GbDDR2 and a highly overclockable £100 mobo. HOWEVER, the next lot of phenom IIs look to be much better and perhaps a competitor for i7. There is little to no point of having an i7 and not pushing it further than 3Ghz as Custom PC says "your average grandparent could overclock an i7 to 4Ghz".

wow, an i7 920 with a 4830? Bit of a bottleneck methinks.

[n-ster]

well I'll xfire them... or maybe like for next christmas I'll buy a 500$ card