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Help Me Build an i7 rig

Reventon

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I'm looking at getting a new rig but I have a lot of options. If you guys could suggest an i7 build for me, that'd be much appreciated. I've never done an Intel build before so I thought it'd be time for one. This rig will be used for music, internet, and gaming.

Budget is $1000, including OS. Must have a good soundcard. As far as a graphics card, I don't need anything too powerful.

Thanks in advance.
 
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Here you go, this comes out to $1,060. I knwo it's over your budget, this has some shipping included to Miami for a rough estimate. Thing is there is soo many RAM kits, HDD's to choose from, and cases that really even from the below, you can save lots of money to put it under your budget. Anyhow, here's something to get you started :toast: just to sorta give you a feeling of what to get, but like I said, there is tons of RAM kits, HDD's and mobos that are as good or maybe even better than what I selected below. Good luck. :toast:

If I missed anything let me know, CPU comes with a heatsink so I didn't add any aftermarket cooler since the stock one will get the system running perfectly fine.

 

Reventon

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Thanks :) Only things I would like different are a WD Black drive instead of a Green drive (I'm not sure if I need 2TB, 1TB is probably enough for me) and I've heard Creative soundcards aren't the best so I'd probably go with an HT | Omega or ASUS. But thank you :toast:
 
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Thanks :) Only things I would like different are a WD Black drive instead of a Green drive (I'm not sure if I need 2TB, 1TB is probably enough for me) and I've heard Creative soundcards aren't the best so I'd probably go with an HT | Omega or ASUS. But thank you :toast:

That's what I meant in my previous post, there is sooo many variations and opinions depending on users. I have a creative and i love it so before recommending something i haven't used, I rather recommend something that has worked great for me. But yeah man, take a look yourself and then swap pieces to make it more to your taste. :toast: Keep us posted with what you wind up with.
 

Reventon

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Sure will :) I've been working on another build that's a little more but it's a Phenom II 940/890FX/6850 build. The i7 is much more future-proof though, not to mention I'd like to try an Intel build.
 
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Sure will :) I've been working on another build that's a little more but it's a Phenom II 940/890FX/6850 build. The i7 is much more future-proof though, not to mention I'd like to try an Intel build.

I had one, it's great man, I just like AMD/ATI more for regular everyday rigs, i7's rock though! :rockout:
 

Reventon

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Here's the AMD build I was thinking.




Still adjusting it.
 
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That looks pretty good, the 940 is still a great CPU!
 

Reventon

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Anymoar suggestions?
 
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I second this but get a better board if you can and an 875k if possible. the ud3 is a decent board but not great for i7 overclocking you want a ud5 or so and the 875k is not much more but overclocks tons better and has completely unlocked ratios as well wich helps with ram overclocking a ton. those ripjaws are an amazing kit. dont skimp on the ram for sure you will pay for it in the long run.
 

Reventon

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Eh, a little more than I was wanting to spend. I also don't plan on overclocking a whole lot, while probably just do a slight overclock. Maybe I'll get a cheaper case to get that though. Here's what I have so far for an i7 build. This is a little more than what I wanted to spend but I can sell a few things for the extra cash.

Edit: Ignore the overlapse.




Better rig overall than my AMD build but the AMD build will have incredible cooling and I'll be able to run RAID 0. Gotta find what I want more.
 
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Eh, a little more than I was wanting to spend. I also don't plan on overclocking a whole lot, while probably just do a slight overclock. Maybe I'll get a cheaper case to get that though. Here's what I have so far for an i7 build. This is a little more than what I wanted to spend but I can sell a few things for the extra cash.

Edit: Ignore the overlapse.

http://img.techpowerup.org/101104/i7 rig.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/101104/i7 rig 2.jpg

Better rig overall than my AMD build but the AMD build will have incredible cooling and I'll be able to run RAID 0. Gotta find what I want more.

That looks good bro. I had forgotten about the 875K, that does seem like a great option. :toast:
 
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do you absolutely need a soundcard?? my asus onboard audio is quite good. i got rid of my sound card because i couldnt tell much of a difference at all
 
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do you absolutely need a soundcard?? my asus onboard audio is quite good. i got rid of my sound card because i couldnt tell much of a difference at all

The soundcard I got now sounds wayyyyy better than the onboard of my ex EVGA X58 3x SLI board. Not sure how much better the ASUS onboard can be so I'm just throwing my two cents out there based on "my" experience. :toast:
 
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Like OC101 said, just use the onboard for starters and either save the money or put on other components.

After listening to music and other media you can then decide if you need something better. A good audio card does make a difference, but obviously audio is quite subjective.
 
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$4 under budget!

i7-870
Asus Sabertooth
Sapphire 6850
4GB memory
1TB Western Digital Black
Asus optical drive
HAF 912
600w Silent Pro PSU
Win 7 Home 64-bit

I think this would be a very decent gaming rig. Later on you could get a sound card and possibly upgrade the case fans if you need better cooling (plenty of options in the HAF 912).
 

Reventon

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Thanks guys. The soundcard is pretty much necessary. I finally have some good home audio speakers and I can tell onboard sound is pretty lacking. I'll just have to put in a little extra for one I guess.
 

brandonwh64

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In this build here you wouldnt be able to use the PC, the CPU is AM2+ and the motherboard is AM3

 

Reventon

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Thought that board supported AM2+ as well.
 

JrRacinFan

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Thought that board supported AM2+ as well.

Nope, am2+ cpu's don't have support for ddr3 on their memory controllers. Besides, you got the budget get either an i7 860 or a 1055t/1075t. Oh and theorhetically, you could drop the X-Fi card if you get the right motherboard ;)
 
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Hmm well if you don't want to overclock or care too much about a fancy case maybe something like this?



The Xonar DX would be a good choice for home theater and gaming. The Striker is great for *home theater but it seems to be a mixed bag for gaming. I have the Xonar DS as my second audio device and it works great for an analog line out to stereo speakers.
 
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I second the Xonar DX awesome card! though the DS satisfies me, using up the pci-e x1 slot seems like a better choice :)

If you live near a MC, it would be nice... I would ask what you will do with your PC? I prefer lga 1366 over 1156, but idk if you really need such a good MB... you got the budget for it though. I don't have time right now, but if you want more personalized help, shoot me a PM, I'll be happy to help. I'm pretty good pricing up i7 builds
 

Reventon

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I don't live near a MicroCenter unfortunately. Thank you for the suggestions though, I will keep working on it. I'm not getting this until Christmas so I have some time to decide on what I want.
 
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