Advice on new i7 build

[ZachMillis]

Hi all,

I've been looking at building a new Core i7 PC for quite awhile now, and think I finally have the parts lined up. I'll answer the questions requested, and have a list of the parts I've picked out so far at the end.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for -

A even mixture of Internet/Web stuff, Multimedia, Gaming, and testing VMs with VMware Workstation.

2. What YOUR budget is.

~$2000 USD. I could go a little higher as I'm planning on a new monitor as well, but <$2000 for all of the non-monitor hardware.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

The good ol' USofA.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference.

Intel and ATI... even if it doesn't make a lot of sense. :-D

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

Will reuse my keyboard and mouse, otherwise it's all new.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Why yes I have... that's where I got most of my ideas from.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Starting with default, overclocking when I have more free time.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Soon. Would like to order parts by the end of this weekend.





And now for what I've worked up so far:

Case
Silverstone TJ09-BW
I like the look of the SS and LL cases, so I'm mainly looking at those, but if someone knows of a SS / LL looking case that's not SS / LL let me know and I'll check it out.

Power Supply
PC Power & Cooling 750W S75QB

Motherboard
EVGA e758-TR

Processor
Intel Core i7 920

HeatSink
Noctua NH-U12P
From what I understand this won't fit on my board with both fans, but the second fan only helps lower the temps another 2-3C so I'm not too worried. Has anyone used this on the EVGA e758-TR I listed above?

Memory
OCZ Gold 6GB

Video Card
ATI 4890 1GB from XFX
I don't know a lot about the third part manufactures of video cards... any suggestions here would be appreciated.

Monitor
ASUS 25.5" VK266H LCD

Optical Drive
Sony DVD/CD RW drive - SATA

SSD
OCZ Vertex 120GB

Data Drives
3 x 750GB drives in RAID 5 - not sure about brand, I have these already (new from Dell ~ 1 year ago, never used)

Keyboard
Already have a keyboard - Bluetooth MS keyboard

Mouse
Logitec G5



One thing I am concerned about is I'm moving to either Canada or New Zealand in the next few months. I checked the PS and it should work in all three countries (in USA right now), but I don't know if anything else would be affected. Otherwise let me know what you guys think, and if I should change anything.

THANKS!!!!

-Zach

 

[z1ggy]

Looks like a solid build. Case is kind of expensive but your budget is pretty high.What is the total price of that build? If you have room you may want to CF. Should be fine w/o it but I mean..as long as the games you play scale right, so if you have the money to spend why not? Just some thoughts.

 

[ZachMillis]

Total price if I buy all from newegg (excluding shipping) is $2110.90.

The case is definitely on the expensive side, but I've had issues with cheap cases before. I'm hoping (I said this with the last case too) that this will be "the one" and I won't have to buy another new case for my next build.

I'm tempted to do CF, but at the same time I may just wait and see how the DX11 cards are in a few months and do an upgrade then.

Edit - Thanks for your response! Any and all suggestions are welcome!

 

[z1ggy]

^^ True..def. don't cheap out on the case. I mean, my antec wasnt cheap , but it wasnt a wallet killer either. Yeah thats a good idea too about waiting for the DX11's. I doubt though, they will really be benefitial until next year...and will come with a hefty starting price tag. If you dont think they are worth it you can always get another 4890 that will last you a while, until those new cards drop in price. That HSF is a beast I hope you know lol I hope it fits in there...