New Core i7 rig... need advice

[torrentj]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for.
--- SD encoding, virtual machine, possibly play a few games

2. Budget.. <$1000

3. Country..USA

4. Brand pref..Intel fanboy

5. Reusing the following
Samsung dvdrw
Case: LianLi
monitor: Samsung 245BW
Speaker.. generic
KB&Mouse.. old stuff
OS: own.. xp 64 bit (through msdn)

6. Read lot of stuff around the forums.

7. will try to overclock by 10-15%.. if not stable planning on going back. not a big deal

8. Planning to build now

System:
============
1. Cpu: Intel Core i7 920 -- $294 (newegg)
2. Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA -- $209
3. Video: SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB -- $155
4. PSU: PSU RAIDMAX | HYBRID2 RX-530SS 530W - Retail -- $49 (AR)
5. HDD: Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS -- $160 (AR)
6. Memory: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel -- $175

Total -- $1085

Cpu Cooler: stock?? (does retail cpu come with a cooler?)

Am I forgetting something.. like special power cables for the video card?
Is DDR3 memory a requirement?

Thanks.

 

[krnmastersgt]

Yes DDR3 is a requirement on an i7 system, one of the reasons and i7 system is more expensive than a nice C2 system, the other being the cost of the motherboard. Your PSU is a quality one, it should have the 6-pin PCI-E power connector with it, so no worries there. And yes the retail CPU comes with a stock intel cooler, OEM would be just the chip.

 

[torrentj]

Thanks.. I have updated the config with DDR3 memory.
Any other advice?

 

[krnmastersgt]

Well if you wanted more hard drive space, the 300gb version of the hard drive you chose is only $40 more amir, $50 before it. If you don't have a need for more storage space or you can't cough up the cash up front for now, no real add-ons to the build you chose. Nice system

 

[mcc27]

450W PSU might be a little small. The 920s will overclock like mad, but you'll need more power from the PSU to keep that stable. I'm guessing your proposed build will be using up most of the watts in the 450 without OC.

You need a CPU cooler. Stock 920 cooler is a little anemic. 920's get hot and High speed DDR3 (1600) add even more heat to the CPU. Remember, they moved the memory controller to the CPU from the north bridge and the heat that goes along with it.

If you're on a tight budget, you can try running the ram slower if you have stability issues until you can get a better heat sink.

Just built an i7, and it rips through encoding like a hot knife through butter.

If you can't beef up the cooler, make sure you have good ventilation in your case.

 

[torrentj]

mcc27... thanks for your useful input.
I have changed it to a
PSU RAIDMAX HYBRID2 RX-530SS 530W - Retail

Thanks again

 

[DSF]

RAIDMAX is not known for their PSU quality. Go for something by Corsair, PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic or Antec. Coolermaster, OCZ and BFG have some good units as well, but they're not as consistently high quality across the board.