This is what I ordered (New Computer)

[RD Mercer]

I decided by your input thanks. So what do you think?

Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4P rev 1.0 $172.99
Gigabyte GV-N26SO-8961 GTX 260 (680Mz) $204
GSKILL 4GB DDR3 1600 4GBNQ $95.99
HP 24X DVD writer Model 1260i Retail $28.99
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 $34.98
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit OEM $89.99
Antec TPQ-850 850W SLI/Crossfire 80 plus certified Modular $129.99
Coolmaster HAF 932 Full tower $139.99
Western Digital Black 1TB 7200 32M $95.99
Intel Core i7 860 2.80Ghz Retail Box $218 shipped and received J
Linksys WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router IEEE 802.11 & 802.3/3u Retail $54.95
Grand Total $1275.95 - $50 = $1225.95

 

[Fayd]

not AMD enough for me.

 

[Jd007]

1. If you have enough spare funds, step up the GPU to an ATI 5850 or 5870. The GTX 260 is DX10 only and is about to be last generation.

2. That cooler is weak. I had it for two days and returned it - barely better than Intel stock (but then I had a 130W Core i7 920). Get something better, like the Prolimatech Megahalems. Or if you don't OC, just save the money and use the Intel stock cooling.

Otherwise looks great to me. Have fun with the build.

 

[Ichigo]

Post-order threads. Love them.

 

[ehume]

The problem with the AC7 is that you can't really upgrade the fan, and it has open sides. It is a lot better than the stock cooler (I have tested them both with the same TIM). If you never ever OC you will be fine. And if you later decide to OC you will not have so much sunk into the cooler that you will hesitate to replace it.

I do recommend using their pre-applied stock paste, though. I was unable to improve it with Gelid GC Extreme.

You will love your 860.

 

[RaistlinZ]

Well, there's not much we can advise now since it's all been ordered. I also agree with stepping up the 260 to a 5850, and I'm not familiar with that CPU cooler.

And why such a high watt PSU? Even 650w would be overkill for the components you're running.

 

[Syran]

$204 for a GTX 260? Really?

 

[jae]

I was thinking the same thing... GTX260's still run for $200. Next time, if you're buying an older Vid Card, buy it off the forum, itll save you some cash. And post your build before you order it! $1200.. you should of gotten a SSD.

 

[RD Mercer]

I wanted to stay around $200 for a video card. Yes there are several GTX 260 for around $180 I went with this one because it is a little faster. The 5850's are still cost too much for me. If you will notice I have a wireless router and OS priced in the build which makes the price higher. Take those 2 items out and the build came out price right for me. SSD coming down the road.

 

[ehume]

Overall I like your components.

How did you get an 860 so cheap?

 

[RD Mercer]

I bought the 860 (boxed factory sealed) off Ebay. The seller had 100% rating and his history looked good. It was the best deal I could find. I wanted to build a i7 after doing some research.

 

[MisterDonut]

Should've gotten Scythe Mugen 2 and a 5770/5850/5870.

 

[RD Mercer]

The research on coolers lead me to this Freezer 7 rev 2. I am not a hardcore overclocker so it should be fine. On the video card the 5770 with direct X 11 was considered but I felt the GTX (680 Mhz)was better for me. I was going to buy the 5850 but the cost is still to high to justify in my opinion.

 

[ehume]

I'm running an i7 860 on a Gigabyte P55M-UD2 with 8GB G.Skill RAM . . . and an AC Freezer 7 Pro, Rev 2. It keeps everything adequately cool. I would not recommend it for overclocking, but go ahead and install it with its pre-applied thermal paste patch and you'll be fine.

 

[Absolution75]

Good components - only a few things I'd change.

I agree with the above posters, $200 for a nVidia 260? eh, I paid just over $120 for my HD4890 AR a while ago. It is still a good card, but overpriced and about to be last gen.

The PSU is a bit overkill. I would have gone around 600-700watt (specifically 650) if I were you. You can get very good OCZ PSU's for ~$40 AR for those levels when they are on sale.

If you're a student you could grab home premium for $30 at win741.com. Otherwise I just upgraded from HP to Ultimate (anytime upgrade actually worked, though the key is a full retail key) from a $16 ebay key .

Eh, and what everyone else said about the cooler is probably in line.

Otherwise, solid build, should run solid for years. Though you could have saved some $$$ by waiting just buying stuff on sale =p.

 

[RD Mercer]

I agree the GTX 260 (680Mz) may not be the best but the only other choice was the 4890 at the $200 mark which was my limit. I perfer Nvidia. This GTX card I purchase because of the clock is like a GTX 275. I saw the student version OS and I did not want just a download. I have not built a computer in a while but I do know the PS is where you do not need to take a short cut on. The price at the time was the best deal. If you exclude the router and OS the total price would be hard to beat with the exact same componets. Total $1120.92 - Rebate $50 = $1070.92 including shipping