High Mid-Range i7 Build

[toaksie]

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $289.99

Processor:
Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950 $294.99

RAM:
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C9 $114.99

GPU:
XFX HD-687A-ZNBC Radeon HD 6870 Black Edition 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card with Eyefinity $299.99

Hard Drive:
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $69.99

Optical Drive:
LG 22X DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model GH22LS50 LightScribe Support - OEM $17.99

Case:
COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $79.99

PSU:
COOLER MASTER GX Series RS750-ACAAE3-US 750W ATX12V v2.31 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply $89.99

Wireless:
D-Link DWA-525 PCI Wireless Adapter $37.70

Monitor:
Samsung BX2350 23'' LED BackLight LCD monitor $249.99

KB:
Logitech 920-000914 Black USB Wired Ultra-thin Illuminated Keyboard $69.99

Total: $1615.60

How do you guys think this system looks. It is designed as an all round system with a bias towards good gaming performance and future proofing. Any suggestions, changes, or recommendations would be much appreciated.

 

[muskie32]

An i5 is ideal for gaming. But if you are really into the i7 look at my sig, just built it and it is a killer rig!

You also may want to wait for sandybridge (the new line of intel processors)

CPU
Motherboard
SSD
HDD
Power Supply
-Case of your Choice-
Video Card
8gb Ram
Monitor
Keyboard -Personal Preference- The G11 is awesome though!
Mouse -Persone Preference- although the MX 518 is awesome as well!


Some Questions:
What is your budget? You may want to start by answering the questions in the sticky.

Hope this helps!

 

[toaksie]

My budget could extend to $1800, but ideally below $1700 is my aim.

 

[fffblackmage]

For a gaming rig, you're spending too much on a the i7-950 that doesn't do any better than a cheaper i5-7xx. muskie's build looks good, but I'd get the i5-760 for only $9 more than the i5-750.

DDR3-1600 might also be worth it if you're planning on OCing.

 

[mfenn]

OK, there are some major issues with that config. $1600 should easily buy you 6870 Crossfire. Here's what I would recommend:

i5 760 $209
ASRock P55 Extreme4 $145
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $120
2x 6870 $550 - Ideally wait until some more reasonably-priced 6870s are in stock
Samsung F3 1TB $70
LG DVD Burner $18
Cooler Master 750W PSU + CM690 II $150
Total w/ your Wifi, Monitor, and KB: $1619

EDIT: It should be mentioned that 6870 CF may be overkill, depending on your games of choice. If you feel that a single 6870 would be sufficient, you should also drop the PSU to a ~550W unit and get an SSD.

 

[Davidh373]

OK, there are some major issues with that config. $1600 should easily buy you 6870 Crossfire. Here's what I would recommend:

i5 760 $209
ASRock P55 Extreme4 $145
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $120
2x 6870 $550 - Ideally wait until some more reasonably-priced 6870s are in stock
Samsung F3 1TB $70
LG DVD Burner $18
Cooler Master 750W PSU + CM690 II $150
Total w/ your Wifi, Monitor, and KB: $1619

EDIT: It should be mentioned that 6870 CF may be overkill, depending on your games of choice. If you feel that a single 6870 would be sufficient, you should also drop the PSU to a ~550W unit and get an SSD.

mfenn strikes again with fantastic advice!

 

[MisterDonut]

+1 on mfenn's. i5 is a much better choice for gaming than the i7 is...

 

[toaksie]

What is the reason for the i5 being better than the i7, other than cost. Also how does the i5 compare with the i7 in terms of future proofing. Thanks for all your input though much appreciated.

 

[muskie32]

The i5 has a higher turbo than the i7 that you listed.
And the i7 has Hyper-threading.

So:
i7- Workstation
i5 Gaming

 

[betasub]

"Future-proofing" usually leaves us looking like fools.

Buy an i5-7xx now for gaming now.
Buy a SandyBridge in the future for "future games".

 

[mfenn]

The i5 has a higher turbo than the i7 that you listed.
And the i7 has Hyper-threading.

So:
i7- Workstation
i5 Gaming

Yep, HT might matter for a workstation, but gaming is going to benefit from raw clock speed.

"Future-proofing" usually leaves us looking like fools.

Buy an i5-7xx now for gaming now.
Buy a SandyBridge in the future for "future games".

:thumbsup:

 

[jaydee]

Many will disagree with me, but I'm generally making suggestions on high-end builds to wait until Sandy Bridge if you can. If you can wait 6 weeks, you can build a system for about the same price that will perform better and consume less power (benchmarks are already out). All depends on how patient you are, how badly you need it now.

I avoid words like "future-proof" because it is misleading and highly subject to interpretation. That being said, I don't think there's any doubt that Sandy Bridge will perform better for a longer period of time, than the two year old architecture that is Lynnfield.

But, if you can afford a $1700 system today, than you can probably afford another $1700 system in 3 years, so maybe I'm a bit more cost conscience than you. Waiting 6 weeks now, will likely buy you another year or two before you have to upgrade in the future (compared to Lynnfield). To me, that's a compelling reason to wait.

Another way to look at it, is: you're spending a lot of money in the 14th month of a 15-month product cycle (for i5-760) or 26th month of a 27-month product cycle for (for the architecture in general) depending on how you want to look at it. And you're paying the same amount now as you would have had you purchase it when it first came out. Like I said, to me it's a no-brainer (unless you really need it now), but there are plenty of people who disagree with me.

 

[exar333]

Check out the hot deals page; they have 1600 6GB DDR3 for ~$65.00 (AR). You could either save some $$$ and get that, or get 12GB for about the same price you have listed.

 

[mfenn]

Check out the hot deals page; they have 1600 6GB DDR3 for ~$65.00 (AR). You could either save some $$$ and get that, or get 12GB for about the same price you have listed.

Except that that 6GB is going to be triple-channel 1.7V (!) and 6 sticks (12GB) won't even fit.

 

[biostud]

I would get two 6850 for cf instead http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-348-_-Product

for $360 and overclock, then then they're only ~10% slower than the 6870

or ideally wait for the 69xx to see how they stack up.

x58 for high end gaming and pro work.
p55 for midrange gaming.

The i5-760 will just as fast as the the i7 for all software, except encoding, 3d and other pro software.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i3-athlon-ii-x4,2791.html