Prepping to build a new rig (Eyefinity-ready?)

Corsairs

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Feb 28, 2005
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While I'm not a first-time system builder, I'm just clever enough to recognize that I don't know nearly as much as I think I do about putting together the best bang-for-your-buck PC. I've done my research - man, have I done my research! - and I've reached a point where I at least feel like I'm not a total ignoramus. Still, I know this community is filled with people far more knowledgeable that I am. Before I make the plunge, I'd like to turn my proposed build over to you to have it picked apart for (the inevitable) flaws.

This new PC is going to be a huge jump up for me. I'm typing this on the last system I built: an Athlon64 1.8 GHz machine, complete with a 7800GT that was shiny and new back in 2005. Yeah... high time for an upgrade. Frankly, I can't wait. But before I get to the build, let me answer the standard questions...

  1. What YOUR PC will be used for. I do a variety of tasks on my computer. I'll certainly be working a lot with Photoshop, Word and Excel, and also quite a bit with my website. That being said, I'm gearing the components towards gaming. Any and every game is a target, from Torchlight to Crysis.
  2. What YOUR budget is. My goal coming in was to spend $2,500. However, I may be willing to extend that by as much as $500 for a triple LCD setup (see below).
  3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from. USA.
  4. IF YOU have a brand preference. Not in the slightest. Consider me a tech mercenary. ;)
  5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are. I will be reusing only my mouse, keyboard and speakers.
  6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads. You better believe it.
  7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. My goal is to overclock when gaming. I'd term my overclocking goals as "mid-tier". No expectations of setting any records; just solid, sustainable overclocks that won't fry my system.
  8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with. 1920x1200 (5760x1200 in Eyefinity?).
  9. WHEN do you plan to build it? Early December.
On to the build. As I mentioned, the system is being designed with gaming in mind. However, whenever possible I'm trying to give a thought to low power consumption, as well as cool and quiet operation. This is all relative, of course; a real gaming rig is going to draw its fair share of power and generate its fair share of heat and noise. I'm just working to minimize those factors as much as I can while not sacrificing the system's gaming potential.

This is the component on which I could use the most advice. I was originally looking at a Core i7 920 but have since moved over to the Core i7 860. The reason for the move is that I believe the 860 is a better processor right now. So why would I consider the 920? The Socket 1366 platform that it's built on is likely to have a better future upgrade path than the Socket 1156 platform of the 860. Specifically, Westmere-based CPUs will be appearing next year, starting with the 6-core Socket 1366 Gulftown.

It's tempting to go with the slower 920 and its Socket 1366 platform in order to be better situated for future upgrades (and that platform offers better dual-GPU performance as well, although I'm not planning on installing 2 video cards). However, I tend to feel that the best policy is, "Buy what you need, and buy for the here-and-now." That policy recommends the 860 and that's the way I'll go with it unless I hear a compelling argument otherwise. The remainder of my component choices are made based on the assumption that I purchase the 860.

I haven't graduated to liquid cooling yet, so I remain in the market for quality air cooling. There seems to be no better air CPU cooler on the market than the Megahalems. Plus it's got a cool name!

  • Video Card:
    • Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 Vapor-X (currently unavailable - product page) - est. $430
As I mentioned, (relative) lower power consumption and cool, quiet operation is something I'm aiming for. The 5870 Vapor-X works right along with those goals. The fact that it comes with two free games and is 0.5" shorter than reference makes the small price premium worth paying.

I gave some thought to the idea of purchasing two 5850s. That option would put me over budget, though. Also, it seems that Crossfire is not always faster than a single 5870 (witness Dawn of War II benchmarks). I know that the 5870 provides enough oomph to power a single 1920x1200 display. What I'm not so clear on is whether it would be enough to power a 5760x1200 mutli-monitor setup (a question I realize depends on the game being played... I'll have an easier time of it with Dragon Age than I will with Crysis).

Availability of this card (all Radeon 5xxx cards, really) is the #1 thing delaying my purchase. I'm scanning for an in-stock Vapor-X daily. I'm willing to spend a little over MSRP, but not too much.

After originally considering the DFI LANParty DK P55-T3eH9, I decided to upgrade to an ASUS. I was swayed in part by the superior overclocking capabilities of the ASUS mobos. The Asus P7P55D Deluxe is only $34 more than the DK P55-T3eH9 anyway - a small price to pay.

The P7P55D Deluxe has a little gadget that most of you will probably say is worthless but that, for whatever reason , I really dig. It's their TurboV remote. As a noob overclocker, this really speaks to me. I readily admit that overclocking is a bit daunting to me, and while I'm confident I'm up to the task, I wouldn't mind a utility like this that lets me easily change profiles right in Windows.

Of course the P7P55D-E Premium adds "future-proofing" technologies in USB 3.0 and SATA 3.0. There's no question these technologies will eventually become the de facto standards, but it is a question as to whether I will ever utilize them before I build a future system. Is it worth paying $69 for two technologies that may never be of use to me? Probably not. I'm fairly content to stick with the P7P55D Deluxe.

I know, I know... who needs 8GB for gaming? Yes, 4GB would do me just fine when I'm playing a game and doing nothing else. The more that I get involved with work, though, the more I'm putting myself into high-memory usage environments. It's not uncommon for me to be running an editing program, Photoshop CS4, Firefox with 10+ tabs open, Excel, Word, VectorMagic, Outlook, anti-virus, plus of course Windows 7. From painful experience, I've learned how crippling a shortage of RAM can be. Having an excess of RAM will also allow me to forego using a swap file, freeing up space on my SSD.

I've switched to the brand-new ECO series from my previous choice, the G.Skill Ripjaws. The new ECOs run at solid 7-8-7-24 timings, but they require only 1.35V to do so. They therefore consume considerably less power and run considerably cooler. I'm intrigued by the ultra-low voltage and am willing to take a shot on them. Using 4 DIMMs may limit my clocks somewhat, but darnit... I was that extra RAM cushion. :D

First, major props to xtknight for his amazing LCD thread. I've learned an incredible amount pouring over that. Second, all of these LCDs are 24" and 1920x1200 native resolution.

I'm in love with the all-around excellence of the U2410 (standard MSRP is $599) and its high-quality H-IPS panel. I prefer the U2410 because it uses a slightly newer version of the LP2475W's panel and it has a little bit better connectivity. As a primary monitor that's going to be doing a lot of work in Photoshop as well as movie watching and gaming, I think it's a real winner.

And now for the mega-splurge. I lust after an Eyefinity setup for gaming. I've read the reviews, seen what it can be... simply amazing. The one area where the U2410 is a bit weaker in is gaming, and that happens to be a strength for the VK246H, so the two seem to compliment each other well.

The problem is that going this route is going to put me over budget. I've decided that for this one area I may be willing to break open the wallet. The big question is, "Given my setup, is Eyefinity worth it?" I'm only going to be running a single 5870; there's no room in the budget to splurge on both the LCDs and two video cards. The good news is that I'm not the kind of gamer who demands crazy FPS from all my games. As long as I can maintain a reasonable play experience without undue stuttering, I'm content. So what do you think... am I a candidate to go the Eyefinity route?

750 watts should be plenty for my single video card setup, even with modest overclocking. The price on the 850W model has come close enough to the 750W model, though, that I've decided to give myself the little bit of extra room for overclocking.

Basically it boils down to this. The HAF is the undisputed king of airflow. There quite simply isn't a better performing case on the market. The HAF has just two downfalls. One, the lack of dust filters, is certainly annoying but I believe I'm up to the task of keeping it clean via regular blasts of compressed air. But the other problem isn't quite so easily escaped; in my eyes, at least, the HAF is one butt-ugly case. I feel like it fell from the Ugly Tree and hit every branch on the way down. Face first.

The ATCS seems to be a well-designed case. It stands toe-to-toe with the HAF feature-wise. There are dust filters, the motherboard tray is removable, and the build is entirely aluminum (as opposed to the heavier steel build of the HAF). The ATCS has a much more subdued, classic look that would fit more readily into my redesigned living room. The only thing the ATCS can't do is match the HAF's thermal performance. It's not that the ATCS is a poor cooling case by any means; it's just that the HAF is so darn good at what it does.

So the question is do I go with the undisputed thermal champ, or do I go with the case that sacrifices a little performance but tries to compensate with superior features and looks? Your input would be appreciated.

I keep hearing about how impactful an addition a SSD is. I am constantly archiving and moving tons of little files, so I expect this is going to be a big speed boost for me. I plan to store Windows 7, program files, and a game or two on the drive.

Everything else will get dumped onto the 1TB WD-1001FALS. Since this drive will be used for storage and not so much for launching programs, it's not as important for it to be fast. Still, the WD-1001FALS is a pretty zippy drive for a traditional 7200RPM model.

At least the iHAS424 has LightScribe technology as something to differentiate itself from the ubiquitous pack.


  • Peripherals:
    • Free (porting over from my old system)

TOTAL COST: $2,512
Assumes all primary choices are purchased; mail-in rebates not factored in; Eyefinity setup not factored in

My apologies for the length of this post, but I figure the only way I'll get a meaningful response is to provide you with as much detail as possible. I believe this build could really benefit from this group's insight. I know my confidence in it will certainly benefit, so you have my thanks in advance for your advice.
 
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Corsairs

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Feb 28, 2005
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I know the forums were down for a good portion of yesterday and today, and this thread may have slipped through the cracks because of that. I know I also loaded up my post with a heckuva lot of text. :oops: I'm still quite interested in hearing opinions on my proposed build. If it would help for me to post a greatly condensed version of my magnum opus, I'll be happy to do that.
 

WaitingForNehalem

Platinum Member
Aug 24, 2008
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Go with a Core i7 920 and a Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler. An enthusiast platform needs to be on 1366. Go with an Antec True Power New 750 for your PSU. The 860 is faster because of its higher clock speed but once you overclock the 920, there will not be a difference. The 920 is actually a better overclocker.
 
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Corsairs

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Feb 28, 2005
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CORSAIR CMPSU-750HX
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...tCode=10010447
$128.99 after rebate, or $113.99 after rebate and eBillme(if you're a first time customer).

Much better than those you listed. Better/quieter fan(140mm), modular cables, better efficiency, etc...
That's a great price on a modular PSU. Thank you very much for that link. I suppose an extra $40 for modularity and a cooler, quieter, more efficient PSU is worth it. Looks like the rebate lasts through tomorrow, so I'll make up my mind one way or another by the end of the day Monday. I'm leaning towards your suggestion right now.

In this thread, lothar, you suggested the G.Skill ECOs weren't the way to go. I was thinking they'd be a good choice since they're so low voltage. They would seem to have a lot of headroom for overclocking. For the record, here's a thread with some info on the new ECOs.

Go with a Core i7 920 and a Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler. An enthusiast platform needs to be on 1366. Go with an Antec True Power New 750 for your PSU. The 860 is faster because of its higher clock speed but once you overclock the 920, there will not be a difference. The 920 is actually a better overclocker.

Regarding the Noctua... wow, impressive! This review was particularly convincing. It included comparisons with the Megahalems using a variety of setups. The Noctua came out on top in the end. It's more expensive than the Megahalems, but it also comes with fans, pretty much negating the difference. So basically I'm sold on the Noctua but for one minor issue; it doesn't seem to be available anywhere. The only two US retailers I can find that list it don't have it in stock. I'll keep my eyes open, but if all the other parts are ready and I'm just waiting on the cooler, I'll probably break down and get the Megahalems.

Regarding the i7 920... this is a big question mark for me. I've heard others say the same as you. My concern is that I'm far from an expert overclocker and now I'd be buying a part that would require me to overclock it to get the most out of it. I do have confidence in my ability to research, fiddle and ultimately attain a reasonable overclock. But what about daily use? Wouldn't I be running at stock then and thus be better off with the 860? None of this is to say that I disagree with your suggestion - far from it. I'm just trying to get the clearest picture. Like I said, I'm a newbie and I know it, so I definitely appreciate the education. :)
 

WaitingForNehalem

Platinum Member
Aug 24, 2008
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Going from 2.66 to 2.8GHz is not that big of gain. Sure, turbo goes higher on the 860 but in the end the 920 is still very fast. With your budget though you should have no problem fitting in a Core i7 960 for $590 which will take care of your clock speed concerns.
 

lothar

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2000
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That's a great price on a modular PSU. Thank you very much for that link. I suppose an extra $40 for modularity and a cooler, quieter, more efficient PSU is worth it. Looks like the rebate lasts through tomorrow, so I'll make up my mind one way or another by the end of the day Monday. I'm leaning towards your suggestion right now.

In this thread, lothar, you suggested the G.Skill ECOs weren't the way to go. I was thinking they'd be a good choice since they're so low voltage. They would seem to have a lot of headroom for overclocking. For the record, here's a thread with some info on the new ECOs.

Another thing to consider is that PSU I linked to has a 7 year warranty vs. 5 years from the ones you linked to. I didn't realize the prices you posted were before rebates...
I don't know about you, but personally I can't stand non-modular PSU's.

Regarding the RAM sticks, I didn't say they're not the way to go. I said until I see more information on them, I wouldn't recommend them or automatically assume that they will be better. I would let other people be the guinea pigs first before spending money on them.
Regarding that Xtremesystems link on the RAM, there's no info there. None of the people there have it so far or has tested it. Some other guy posted pics from a German hosting site claiming they overclock well, but again the name and ID of the stick isn't in any of those pics. If that person is indeed telling the truth then I'd say they're pretty good. Price is an issue for me though...but since you're spending $2,000+ on your system I wouldn't be worried about a $20-30 difference/premium for them.
 

Corsairs

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Feb 28, 2005
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I suppose the ECOs are a moot point if I move to the 920 since they don't come in a 3x2 2GB kit. And moving to the 920 seems to be the big question of the day...

So I'm basically in a quandary right now about this. I was so sure that the 860 was the right processor for me, but upon further review I admit I may have been wrong. I based a lot of my position on the fact that one of the big advantages of the x58 platform - 16x16 Crossfire support - isn't something I'll be using. I knew that the 920 is supposed to be a better overclocker, but I guess I wasn't clear exactly how much... and I'm still not clear on that.

I do play to overclock and even though I'm relatively inexperienced I hope to be able to push the CPU at least a little. Not 4 GHz territory, mind you, but hopefully something that's a noticeable step forward from stock. That puts me into the "enthusiast" category, I suppose. So my question is, "Is that planned usage enough for you to recommend that I move to the 920?"

I'm basically an open book here. If the overwhelming sentiment is that, yes, I should move to 920, I'm going to defer to your judgment and make the move (and no, I won't be coming back here later and crying that, "You made me do it!"... I take full responsibility if I botch the choice ;) ).

The other question I would have: If I make the move to 920, what x58 motherboard would you recommend? Better yet, can you recommend a source where I can further research x58 mobos on my own? I'm quite up to date on my p55 mobo research since I had been planning to purchase that platform, but I know next to nothing about the x58s.

Oh, and lothar: I just purchased the 750hx. Thanks for the tip, man. You're absolutely right; it's worth it for the modularity.
 

Corsairs

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Feb 28, 2005
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I could still use some advice on the choice between the 860 vs. the 920, and if it's the 920 that's generally favored, which x58 mobo would come most recommended. I'd also be curious to hear whether people think the single video card system I'm planning is sufficient to run an Eyefinity setup.
 

Zargon

Lifer
Nov 3, 2009
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the hanns g 28's are pretty nice panels, and can be found for 250 a pop currently
 

lothar

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2000
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I could still use some advice on the choice between the 860 vs. the 920, and if it's the 920 that's generally favored, which x58 mobo would come most recommended. I'd also be curious to hear whether people think the single video card system I'm planning is sufficient to run an Eyefinity setup.

I'm not sure about Eyefinity, but either one will be fine for your needs for everything else you mentioned.

If it makes you feel better, I just got an i7 860 today from Microcenter.
My new system is the following:

CPU: Intel i7 860
Motherboard: Gigabyte P55A-UD4P
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231303
PSU: The same one I told you to get.
Video Card: HIS Radeon 4890 1GB
Cooler: Prolimatech Megahalems Rev. B with 2x Scythe GentleTyphoon 1800RPM 120mm fans
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932
HDD: 640GB WD Caviar Black and Samsung EcoGreen 1.5TB
Monitor: Dell 2209WA 22" e-IPS
DVD Burner: IDE carry over from old system. I'm not dumping it because the industry has adopted a new standard when mine still works just fine.

I bought the case 2 months ago, the processor today, and everything else last week.
I went with the GentleTyphoons because I'm looking for a balance between power, efficiency and noise.
I thought about getting an SSD my system became overbudget and something had to be cut.
 

Corsairs

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Feb 28, 2005
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I'm not sure about Eyefinity, but either one will be fine for your needs for everything else you mentioned.

If it makes you feel better, I just got an i7 860 today from Microcenter.
My new system is the following:

CPU: Intel i7 860
Motherboard: Gigabyte P55A-UD4P
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231303
PSU: The same one I told you to get.
Video Card: HIS Radeon 4890 1GB
Cooler: Prolimatech Megahalems Rev. B with 2x Scythe GentleTyphoon 1800RPM 120mm fans
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932
HDD: 640GB WD Caviar Black and Samsung EcoGreen 1.5TB
Monitor: Dell 2209WA 22" e-IPS
DVD Burner: IDE carry over from old system. I'm not dumping it because the industry has adopted a new standard when mine still works just fine.

I bought the case 2 months ago, the processor today, and everything else last week.
I went with the GentleTyphoons because I'm looking for a balance between power, efficiency and noise.
I thought about getting an SSD my system became overbudget and something had to be cut.

Oh cool, so you went with the USB 3.0/SATA 6Gb/s mobo. I was thinking about going that way myself but decided that I probably wouldn't be picking up any USB 3.0 peripherals anytime soon. It would definitely be cool to have the capability if it were in my budget. And I see you went with my runner-up case, the HAF 932. That one would have been my choice but for the fact that it doesn't match up with my aesthetic tastes (to put it kindly).

So I assume you're planning on overclocking your system? Do you feel comfortable overclocking with the 860 rather than the 920? I guess I'm to understand that the 920 has more overclocking headroom, though I don't know exactly how much so. What I'm less clear on is how the 860 and 920 compare when they're clocked at the same frequency. Does the 920 have the advantage when it's at the same speed as the 860?
 

lothar

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2000
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Oh cool, so you went with the USB 3.0/SATA 6Gb/s mobo. I was thinking about going that way myself but decided that I probably wouldn't be picking up any USB 3.0 peripherals anytime soon. It would definitely be cool to have the capability if it were in my budget. And I see you went with my runner-up case, the HAF 932. That one would have been my choice but for the fact that it doesn't match up with my aesthetic tastes (to put it kindly).

So I assume you're planning on overclocking your system? Do you feel comfortable overclocking with the 860 rather than the 920? I guess I'm to understand that the 920 has more overclocking headroom, though I don't know exactly how much so. What I'm less clear on is how the 860 and 920 compare when they're clocked at the same frequency. Does the 920 have the advantage when it's at the same speed as the 860?

I initially wanted to get the P55-UD3R($140), but I later went with P55A-UD4P because I was able to get it for only $20 more(paid $160 for it on eWiz with BF discount code and bing CB). I was also waiting for the P55A-UD3R, but it's not out yet and can't be found online anywhere. I was tired of waiting and if I continued to wait, the discounts will all be gone.
I won't be buying a new system until Haswell(after Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge) so I figured I might as well get USB3/SATA3 eventhough it may be a crippled implementation, it's still much faster than USB2/SATA2.
I'm not someone who buys a new rig every year like most people here on Anandtech...Every 4-5 years is good enough for me so I need something a bit more future proof.

Aesthetic tastes? Meh...I don't care how my case looks as long as there are no stupid bright(blue, green, or some other stupid color) LED lights everywhere and it does it's job.

Yes, I feel comfortable getting 3.8-4GHz with my system.
The i7 860 has better advantage at the same speed because of better Turbo implementation.
If you disabled Turbo in the BIOS for both, they would be equal.
 

Corsairs

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Feb 28, 2005
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Yes, I feel comfortable getting 3.8-4GHz with my system.
The i7 860 has better advantage at the same speed because of better Turbo implementation.
If you disabled Turbo in the BIOS for both, they would be equal.
Hmmm, if that's the case, is it fair to say that the advantages of the 920 over the 860 boil down to:

  1. Better Crossfire support (16x/16x)
  2. A higher maximum overclock ceiling
  3. A better upgrade path (Gulftown coming on Socket 1366)
If that's all that the 920 brings to the table, I'm not sure that's enough to push me towards it. I won't be using Crossfire, so that advantage is out the door. The upgrade path is nice but I'm more interested in buying the best CPU for the here-and-now. As for maximum OC headroom, I'm not really intending on pushing my CPU to the bleeding edge anyway. If it's just a difference of maxing out at a "measly" 4.0GHz rather than 4.2GHz, well, I think I can live with that. Or is there something else that I'm missing?
 

betasub

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Mar 22, 2006
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Another advantage (minimal in most cases) for Skt1366 is triple channel memory, & with it greater memory capacity if you go for a six DIMM board.
 

lothar

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2000
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Hmmm, if that's the case, is it fair to say that the advantages of the 920 over the 860 boil down to:

  1. Better Crossfire support (16x/16x)
  2. A higher maximum overclock ceiling
  3. A better upgrade path (Gulftown coming on Socket 1366)
If that's all that the 920 brings to the table, I'm not sure that's enough to push me towards it. I won't be using Crossfire, so that advantage is out the door. The upgrade path is nice but I'm more interested in buying the best CPU for the here-and-now. As for maximum OC headroom, I'm not really intending on pushing my CPU to the bleeding edge anyway. If it's just a difference of maxing out at a "measly" 4.0GHz rather than 4.2GHz, well, I think I can live with that. Or is there something else that I'm missing?

1.) Yes, but the difference between 8x/8x Crossfire and 16x/16x Crossfire is minimal at best.
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3649

2.) Debatable. Most 860's top out at 4GHz on air, 920's maybe ~4.3GHzGHz...I don't consider the extra 300MHz overclock to be of any significance...Any higher overclock than those would probably require an insane amount of voltage (1.36+v or some other form of cooling)

3.) Moot point. Gulftown processors are going to cost $999+(Some even say $1,999)...Do you see yourself buying a new processor in a year or less? There won't be any new quad core released on the 32nm process until Sandy according to Intel's roadmap...Forget about it.


Off those 3 reasons you cited, only the Crossfire one makes the most sense.

Regarding the triple channel RAM and capacity, there's little(if any at all) to no benefit.
8-16GB should be enough for anybody...If you're going to have more than 16GB RAM(which makes no sense and is bloody expensive), that's where the X58 Socket 1366 benefit comes in.
 

ScorcherDarkly

Senior member
Aug 7, 2009
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The 920's overclocking advantage, from my perspective, is that it will reach higher frequencies on stock voltage than an 860 will. It will also reach higher frequencies overall, yes, but if you're not concerned about the bleeding edge than that doesn't matter that much. Having to up your voltage does matter. More voltage means more heat means more cooling needed. I personally am going to go with Lynnfield, and probably even an i5 750 as I don't do enough multitasking to notice the difference hyper threading would impart.

Two things I notice with your proposed parts list. One, the WD Black drive you have listed isn't $89 normally, so your price will be off $30-$40. Two, why spend all that money and not even have the option of playing Blu-Ray? Get a BD-ROM/DVD-R combo instead of the basic drive you've got picked out. In a budget machine I'd leave it out, but it seems kinda silly when you're spending $2500.

And as an FYI, the latest sighting (today) of 5870 Vapor-X cards in the VC and Graphics forum had them going at $600 on mwave or zzf (don't remember which). Soooo, good luck with that.
 

lothar

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2000
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Two things I notice with your proposed parts list. One, the WD Black drive you have listed isn't $89 normally, so your price will be off $30-$40. Two, why spend all that money and not even have the option of playing Blu-Ray? Get a BD-ROM/DVD-R combo instead of the basic drive you've got picked out. In a budget machine I'd leave it out, but it seems kinda silly when you're spending $2500.

And as an FYI, the latest sighting (today) of 5870 Vapor-X cards in the VC and Graphics forum had them going at $600 on mwave or zzf (don't remember which). Soooo, good luck with that.

http://www.google.com/products/cata...n&cid=9732020980620773979&sa=button#scoring=p
He's only off by $15 on the HDD.
He made this thread during Black Friday/Cyber Monday period so expect his prices to be off by a bit.

Blu-Ray combo drives/burners are still expensive IMO.
$100 for an optical drive? Not in my lifetime.
 

Corsairs

Member
Feb 28, 2005
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I very much appreciate the input, guys. Your info has made things a lot clearer for me. It seems that, for my purposes, the 860 is the right choice. If I were going to be using Crossfire or pushing my overclocks as fasr they could go, then yes, probably 920 would be the right path. Since I won't be doing that, I'll go with the 860. It's quite a relief to have that pinned down. Now I can get to the fun part; actually buying the components and building the darn thing. ;)

Speaking of buying components... that $89 I listed on the Caviar Black is actually what I paid. I was able to snag one during the Black Friday weekend from Amazon while they were having a sale. Even better, it's a retail version. You wouldn't think that would matter, but it just might save me from Amazon's crappy shipping.

As for the Vapor-X... unbelievably, I picked one up this afternoon for $2 less than the price I estimated in my original post. Newegg had a few on sale and I guess I lucked out to click on the link just as they went up. A few minutes after I posted its availability here in the forums, it was out of stock again. This situation is just crazy.

I guess my final thing to do is review my mobo choice. I suppose the two I linked to are a bit on the pricey side. I'll look it over and see if I really want to pay $220 for a 1156 mobo or if I'd be better served going a bit cheaper.
 

Corsairs

Member
Feb 28, 2005
54
0
0
Ga-p55a-ud4p.

Yup, I'm looking squarely at that option. $190 for SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0 isn't bad. Of course the P7P55D Deluxe is just $29 more and, while it doesn't have SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0, it does seem to be an excellent mobo. Plus it comes with that handy TurboV remote that I seem irrationally taken with. :wub:

I was looking at this review of MSI's new Big Bang Trinergy motherboard. Very impressive. That one would certainly be in the running but for the cost. Too bad the version with the Lucid Hydra chip has been delayed for whatever reason (cue conspiracy theories).
 

tjaisv

Banned
Oct 7, 2002
1,934
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Very nice build, Corsairs. I'm sure you'll be more than satisfied with any of the choices you have presented.