Building i7 Windows 7 machine

[chameleon23]

Hey everyone,

I am planning on building a new machine for myself. Have been using my current computer for 4 years and it's time. With Windows 7 rolling around I'm trying to build a machine geared towards taking advantage of the new OS. I won't be gaming much so my most intensive tasks will be running MATLAB, watching HD movies and being able to quickly backup my data. The computer below comes to about $1,250 on Newegg and + or - $150 or so isn't a big deal. And this 1TB HD will be my third, got 2 smaller ones already that I will use as well. Thanks for the input.

Here's what I got so far:

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX X58 SLI LE Intel Motherboard - Retail

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Compatible ... - Retail

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D - Retail

EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI ... - Retail

Western Digital RE3 WD1002FBYS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223B - OEM

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

The case will be thee most pertinent item as it will outlast most platform rebuilds. My first was a PC-60... probably version 1 bought over 8yrs ago... i still have it. Don't use it (atm) but I am thinking about an i7 build and I'm not about to tear down the other machines I have for a Gaming build. So, my options lead me back to my old *sigh* PC-60 of ...8yrs ago

Everything looks like a sweet deal. My point is think your case through as you might want to upgrade or add more storage drives, possibly install a custom h20 system, add things here and there... I'll always buy the case I want rather than compromise for the price. My latest wallet killer was the PC-A20 Lian

Good Luck and have fun with your build

 

[jkresh]

looks pretty good, but the re3 is unnecessary unless you plan on setting up raid (caviar black would work fine otherwise), I agree with the prior post, cases are important and if you buy the proper case you can use it for years (a good case should last for several builds).

Also if you aren't using cuda for anything why the 20 over a 4890 (while both cards would be fine for what you listed the 4890 is a bit faster and about the same price so unless you need cuda it might be worth considering), if you do actually make use of gpgpu stuff (not sure what you are doing with matlab but some things that work well in matlab would lend themselves to gpgpu) or even intend to in the future then it might make sense to go wtih a cheap card now and pick up a directx 11 card in the fall when they are out (should be a lot better then anything currently out for gpgpu).

 

[chameleon23]

jkresh, Now that I think about it, I'm not really going to be playing much games as I don't have the time for it. Maybe something hear or there, but many graphics cards nowadays should be able to handle games within the last couple years fairly well. So I was thinking of following your advice and getting a much cheaper graphics card and wait till directx 11. My only stipulation is that this graphics card has to handle HD movies well as I do use my computer as my TV.

Would this card be suitable or too crappy?:

EVGA 01G-P3-N959-TR GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

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As for the HD I was looking for a drive with vibration reduction and quality since it would be used as my backup drive. If you think I'd get the same performance out of the Caviar Black then I'll go with that one. That's originally what I had chosen.

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BTRY B 529th FA BN, I don't understand why the Antec case is bad? I was looking for a reliable case that wasn't too flashy or large. In addition it has 7 HD bays. Is there something I'm overlooking by choosing this case? I don't mind spending over $100 on a case, but this one seems to fit all I need to do.

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Thanks for the replies!

Oh, also wanted to ask is the 620W enough if I'm running all the above plus two addition HDs?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

No. That's fine, I'm just saying think it through and make sure you are not the kind of person that will end up doing the upgrades as I've mentioned. It's a good case; nothing wrong with that choice

For my storage drives. I've always opted for reliability and if the RE3 is the one, then get it! When I bought storage drives, 1tb drives weren't out yet and i opted for the Seagate Network Storage drive made for the enterprise level.

Good Luck!