New System build

[eafshar]

I am building my first system and this is what i have come up with until now:

Asus P6T Deluxe V2 Socket 1366 Intel X58
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz
OCZ XMP Ready Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
Corsair TX Series CMPSU-850TX 850W
BFG GeForce GTX 280 Video Card - OC Edition
Seagate Barracuda (ST31000528AS) 7200.12 SATA 3.0Gb/s 1000GB (1TB) 32MB Cache (OEM

the system above costs 1300.95 CAD before any taxes obv.

I need to decide on a CASE. this is my first build so i don't know what too look for in a case... any suggestions?

Also should i go for an SSD? Intel X-25M sells for 234.99$. is it worth the price? from techspot review on SSDs they seem to perform very well against SATA drives. I'm wondering how noticeable would app load time be. would game load time be cut in half? I'm just not sure about the actual boost they'd give my system.

appreciate all input.

 

[red1776]

eafshar,
here is some info on SSD load times and other aspects.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2007/07/21/samsung_32gb_solid_state_drive/3

as far as a case, beyond finding the aesthetics you want. look for superior airflow. you can research the number of fans and the collective cfm of them. you can also decide if you want a positive or negative pressure system, both have advantages/disadvantages
http://www.silverstonetek.com/tech/wh_positive.php?area=usa.
if sound level is important to you, look at the decibel level of the fans. for a high performance system like yours, you are going to want a lot of room for that airflow and the large GFX card like the GTX 280. i would suggest a large mid tower if not a full tower. if you decide to go with liquid cooling

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Get a GTX 275 instead of the GTX 280. They are very close in performance, but the 280 sells for almost $100 more than the 275.

Also, I recommend not getting an i7 system, since the performance advantage (in games) is not large enough to justify the high price (unless you are going to do a lot of video and image editing, and will be heavily using content-creation apps like 3DSMax and Maya). Build an AM3 Phenom II based system instead IMO. The Phenom II X4 955BE and the Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P are my recommendations for such a system. You will either have to get 8GB or 4GB of RAM, since the AMD mobos only support dual-channel at most. Not a big con IMO, since the real-world performance difference is minimal.

I recommend going for a Western Digital Caviar Black HDD for the larger warranty period compared to the Seagate drives.

SSDs do provide enormous boosts in access times over HDDs, and they will definitely lower loading times dramatically for both games and other apps, as well as the OS itself. I recommend OCZ's Summit series as an excellent alternative to the Intel SSDs.

For cases, Lian-Li are the best in the business, but be prepared to pay a lot of cash for one. Other than that, I recommend the Antec Twelve Hundred, Cooler Master Stacker and HAF932, Thermaltake Armor and Kandalf cases, Silverstone TJ-07 and all of Chieftec's cases. Make sure you buy a full-tower case.

BTW, what sort of monitor will you be gaming on? Unless you are planning to buy a large 30" screen, I think you can downgrade to a 650TX and save some cash.

 

[klepto12]

might as well grab the new amd phenom II 965 BE its clocked at 3.4ghz and is $249.

 

[klepto12]

might try this man
COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 $179.00
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB $94.99 Free Shipping
GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 $126.99 ($111.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate Card) Free Shipping*
XFX GeForce GTX 275 896MB $217.99
CORSAIR 750W $119.99 ($109.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate Card) Free Shipping
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $79.99 Free Shipping
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz $249.00 Free Shipping
Vigor Monsoon III LT Dual 120mm Fan CPU Cooler $55.40

all for $1,123.35

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

I think that would cost considerably more in CAD. Not sure though, but it does look like a great build to me.

I'd recommend a Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme or Xigmatek HDT-S1283 instead of that cooler though.

 

[klepto12]

i understand the cpu cooler thing but if he is not going to overclock its no big deal and its steal a great cooler and i never realise it was in Canadian money dangit.

 

[eafshar]

ya. in canadian dollor, the price without out case is 1085 CAD. so dats appx a difference of 200$. i feel like the extra 20% price increase would be worth it in the long run. the GPU gtx 280 dat i was looking at is the bfg overclocked version... in adition its on 50$ canadian dolloar difference. but then i guess dats beside the point since i have already bought it. the case is the only thing im really undicided on. what do you guys think about Thermaltake Armor Series Black Full Tower Case w/ 25CM Fan

it seems like a good value. seeing how the case clepto suggested was 249.99 and this one is 164.99. unless there is a major issue with cooling and haveing a SLI in there and fitting my PSU in there i think its fine.

oh i wanna go with a 850W PSU since i plan on doing SLI soon. and i figure a strong PSU is always a good investment seeing the effect it can have on the stability of the system. i am also planin on overclocking the CPU.. so im going to have to get one of those coolers.

EDIT: ps. thermalright cooler is discontiued at newegg.ca. is XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler good for me i7 system? or do i need something more fancy? i dont wanna overclok it too much. 3.4-3.6ghz should be fine.

 

[red1776]

eafshar, here is a review of several I7 cooling solutions.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/07/23/intel_core_i7_heatsink_roundup_q309/1

 

[eafshar]

thanks alot for the help guys. i finally went with the following setup

Intel core 17 920
Asus P6T Deluxe V2
OCZ Summit 60GB SSD
BFG GTX 280
6gb Corsair Dominatior 1600mhz
D-link DWA-556 wireless adapter
1TB WD caviar black.
Antec 1200 full tower

assembling everything went really smoothly even though this was my first build. really happy with the performance right now... SSDs are fast.. i really cant believe it. my game load time feel like have been cut in half at least. i made sure to get D0 stepping for the i7 as it seems to be better at overclocking.

 

[red1776]

hi eafshar,
glad it went well, thanks for letting us know what you went with. did you get an after market HS? just curious what you went with to cool that when you OC it.

 

[LinkedKube]

I'm going to post here only on the state of your memory choice, if you purchased the dominator 1600 its able to oc to 1886, highest I've been able to obtain, with some trial and error with people from extreme overclockers. Hope your build goes well.

 

[eafshar]

i wanted to get Cooler Master V8 CPU Fan, but tigerdirect store near me was out of stock. so i didn't get to buy it. i put an order for it yesterday. overclocking will have to wait.