New PC specs - would appreciate some input

[Drew Carey]

Hi guys,
I'm new here, so I apologize in advance if this thread is some how misplaced or doesn't contain sufficient information.

I'm building myself a new pc, to be used mainly for gaming (at max resolution of 1680*1050), and basic applications.
I've had experience building systems in the past, but I've been out of the hardware loop for a couple of years, so I'm not as up-to-date on all the happenings in the hardware market as I'd like to be.

I'll be buying this system in Israel (where hardware is quite expensive) and my budget is roughly $1500 (but keep in mind prices are higher here, so there's not much use in comparing the overall package to what can be purchased in the U.S. for the same price).

Although my budget isn't insanely tight, I am trying to save wherever possible, and spend more only when the return is worth it.

I've done as much research as I could in the past few weeks.
These are the parts I was planning on buying:

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 2.66Ghz 8MB Cache BOX
M/B: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P
Video: Leadtek GTX260 216 Extreme+ GeForce 896MB
RAM: OCZ PLATINUM DDR3 6GB 1600MHZ - OCZ3P1600LV6GK
HDD: Samsung 1TB 32MB 7200RPM SATA II HD103UJ Spinpoint F1
PSU: PC Power ULTRA-QUIET PSU SILENCER® 750Watt QUAD
Case:Thermaltake V9 VJ40001W2Z Window

Parts I'll be taking from my current system:
Optical drive: LG DVD-RW X18 - IDE 133
Sound card: Hercules Fortissimo 7.1 PCI - old but sufficient for my lousy 2.1 speaker setup
Floppy Drive
Monitor: Apple 20' LCD "Cinema Display"

That's it. Here are my main questions/concerns:

1. What do you guys think about going with stock cooling on the Core i7? I don't plan to overclock or mess around too much.

2. How bad is using an old IDE optical drive?
3. Operating system: I've been using Windows XP for the past six or seven years. I've been debating if I should upgrade to Vista with this system. On the one hand, if I plan to get 6Gb of RAM I have to move up to a 64bit OS anyways, so might as well move to Vista. I'm also interested in having full DirectX 10 support. On the other hand, I've heard a lot of bad stuff about Vista, and am not very sure - what would you guys recommend? Specifically, I am also a bit concerned with running a 64bit OS. Is driver/software compatibility an issue with a 64bit OS? Sorry if I sound paranoid, as I mentioned, I've out of the loop for a while.

4. Video Card: I was fighting an urge to shell out the little extra cash for a GTX 275. After reading up on upcoming Nvidia/ATI cards (GT300/R800) I figured it would be a better investment to buy a cheaper card now, and upgrade sometime next year - would you guys agree?

5. Finally, how much noise do you think a system like this will generate? My understanding is the PSU and Video card are fairly quiet, while the case is loaded with three huge fans and might be more of a nuisance. Can anyone speak from experience using a similar configuration? I?d like to keep the noise to a minimum.

That's it - I would greatly appreciate any help you guys can provide. Sorry for the long post.

Drew.

 

[yh125d]

1) The stock i7 cooler is pretty wimpy but it does fine at stock speeds as long as the case isn't stifled fan wise, and ambient temps in the room aren't too high

2) Optical drives are typically the slowest part on the computer (mb-wise), and IDE are particularly slow I think. Try and step up to a new SATA drive, even if just to lose the fat cable. They're only $25 here in US, shouldn't be much over there either

3) All the bad stuff you heard about Vista stems from the problems it had at launch. All of which have long since been resolved. Especially go Vista if you're going 64 bit OS, it's much more stable than XP 64 bit. Another option is the Windows 7 RC

4) I'd probably agree with that, but I'd take a look at the ATI 4890. You can get them for 20-30 more than GTX260 in the US, and I think that would be worth it

5) It should probably be pretty quiet. The intel stock coolers are usually pretty quiet on their dual cores, but I have a feeling that a stock cooler on an i7 would be working pretty hard and be ramped up pretty often. A PSU with a 120mm-140mm fan would be quieter, take a look at the corsair 650-750w units. Also, if the case fans are too loud you could try to pickup some ~1200rpm scythe or yate loon fans, great airflow and very quiet. And if they are loud it wont be because they're large. That's why most cases have 120mm's these days instead of the old 80mm's, they're quieter and lower rpm

 

[core2kid]

In my opinion, Get Windows 7. Stick with XP for now until Windows 7 comes out. You can get an upgrade for $50 here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windo...s/pre-order-email.aspx

 

[NA1NSXR]

1. The stock cooler if fine at stock speeds. Don't skimp on thermal compound though, pick a good one and make sure you get a good application.

2. Get a new optical drive. This has to do with higher quality burns at faster speeds rather than IDE or SATA.

3. Vista is great, but at this point I would use Windows 7 RC which is free, and purchase an OEM copy for yourself when it gets released formally.

4. I personally chose the cheap card now, upgrade next year path, but somehow ended up with a 4890! I was planning on getting a 4850 just to hold me over until then, but then I saw for only $10 more I could get a 4870/512 and for a few more a 4870/1gb and for a few more a 4890 and here I am today! The card crushes everything (as of now) at 1680x1050 so I guess it can buy me a few more pricedrops worth of time on the next gen cards.

5. If your fans are large they should be quiet. Noise comes from small fans trying to push more air than they can comfortably do so....in general.