Working on a build. Advice please.

[plasmas222]

Relevant info: I will be using this computer mostly for gaming, however I do a fair amount of programming, CAD work, and video editing, so it needs to be good all-around.

Here is what I am sure of currently: I want either the i7-860 or 920. (Unsure because I don't know what the difference is, could someone help me understand please? thanks!)

I will want to have 8gb ram, and preferably with the option to upgrade to 16 in the future.

For the graphics card I have no idea what is good or not. I wont need a dual card setup for my needs will I? Maybe some suggestions for good picks here? Thanks again!

The only other thing I think I need help with now is the motherboard. Going with the above info (sorry its not very concrete, once I get a firmer idea of what I'm doing I'll post my final build for helpful suggestions/commentaries ) what motherboard would you suggest for me?


Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

[glc]

Previous threads:

Upgrading motherboard and cpu - Help plz
Question about i5, i7 and hyperthreading

[David M]

The major difference between those two CPU's is that the i7-860 processor is an LGA 1156 socket and the i7-920 is an LGA 1366 socket...they have a different number of pins. Although they are both quad cores, both have a number of internal differences, much of which has to do with the cache. Its an easy an Google look up to find the differences. Right now, only one motherboard is considered stable enough to utilize an i7-920 with an Intel chipset. That board is the Asus P6T Deluxe V2. The i7-920 is considered more of a high performance/gamers CPU and the i7-860 more of a mainstream product.

You want to avoid having dual cards. It is better to step up one increment with a more powerful card than to have two lesser cards for around the same price as the single. It's more cost effective and stable. There are some plenty powerful single cards out there now. Radeon has taken the lead in that price/performance area. A powerful card at a good price point is the Radeon 5850 or even the 5870 if you want to go up a notch in processing power.

With DDR3 RAM, go in increments of 3 DIMMs (sticks), usually 1 gig per DIMM and sometimes 2 gigs per DIMM. Six gigs is at a sweet spot. With what you are doing you may even want to go to 12 gigs. The experts here can tell you more.

The professional builders in this forum favor Asus boards. Amongst the same brand, quality and stability does vary.

Wiki has a nice summation of the i7 processors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...icroprocessors
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_i7

[glc]

With DDR3 RAM, go in increments of 3 DIMMs

Only with 1366. The 1156 is dual channel.

The performance difference between the 860 and 920 is just about negligible.

Bottom line, for a novice builder I would recommend the Asus P7P55D or P7P55D-E motherboard and the i7-860. Match it up with 1 or 2 dual channel 2x2 gig DDR3-1333 or DDR3-1600 kits, make sure they are on the Asus QVL.

If you are out for absolute maximum performance, then get a 1366 setup, but be prepared to have to fiddle with it to get it running right, that really is a high end/hobbyist setup.

[plasmas222]

Thanks for the suggestions. That really helped clear a few things up.

So I have decided to go with the i7 860 and the ASUS P7P55D-E and 4x2Gb ram.

With that as my starting point I need to decide on PSU and a graphics card.

I have no idea how to pick the power supply. I tried looking it up myself but could find no helpful info. Sorry for continually asking such basic questions. If someone could tell me how to know what psu to get, or suggest a few that would be very nice.

EDIT: I did find a psu calculator just after posting this, it recommended a minimum of 550 wattage. Also, does the ASUS P7P55D-E support overclocking?

Same goes for graphics card. I get the general idea there but I'm not wholly confident in my hardware knowledge, so a few suggestions for that would be greatly appreciated. ((Budget: no more than 150 preferably))



Sincere thanks for all the help

[plasmas222]

glc: "Only with 1366. The 1156 is dual channel."

What do you mean by this? The 1156 still uses ddr3 not ddr2 ram yes?

EDIT: never-mind, after a little research I've cured this particular ignorance.

[flanzig1]

They both use DDR3 but the 1366 uses the ram in a tri-channel while the 1156 uses ram in a dual channel.
For a PSU,can't go wrong with a Corsair in the 650w range.

[plasmas222]

Originally Posted by flanzig1 They both use DDR3 but the 1366 uses the ram in a tri-channel while the 1156 uses ram in a dual channel. For a PSU,can't go wrong with a Corsair in the 650w range.

Sorry for being dense, but what does that mean? Just that there are 2 vs 3 pathways for the data to be processed?

So for the psu its just pretty much get one that meets the wattage requirement?

EDIT: Same as last post, found some nicely explained answers to my questions on my own. Slowly fixing my ignorance of hardware. Thanks.


P.S. nice sig flanzig1

[plasmas222]

K. So far I have decided on the following:

Motherboard: ASUS P7P55D-E: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-620-_-Product

CPU: intel i7-860: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115214

PSU & case combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.322039

Hard drive: 1Tb: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822145287

Ram: 4x2gb: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231277

dvd drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118031

That ram I am considering seems a little expensive, any chance I'll be able to find a better price somewhere else / combo deal ? I couldn't find any... Checked tiger, newegg and amazon...


for the graphics card I'm still unsure. I listed in the first post in this thread what I will be using the computer for, if anyone has some suggestions I would be very happy to hear them. Budget for graphics card: I would prefer to keep it under 150$, but if I can get something much better for less than 200$ I'm open to it. Thanks!


Lastly I would just like to ask the general question is there anything else I'm going to need. Such as thermal glue or w/e for the cpu? or does that usually come with? etc so forth... All comments and helpful suggestions will be greatly appreciated.


Thanks!

[David M]

Are you are asking if a dual channel DDR3 memory DIMM is different from a tri channel DDR3 memory DIMM. No. Triple channel or dual channel is determined not by the DDR3 stick but by how the the motherboard uses those sticks. What we see are DDR3 tri kits or DDR3 dual kits.

Here is an example...
http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/ddr3/gold_series

Definitions...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-channel_architecture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple-...l_architecture

[glc]

Uh, nope.

1. HEC power supplies are no good. Get a case that you like without a power supply, then get a Corsair 650TX, it's a great deal right now, on sale.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

2. Get a Western Digital Black hard drive, not a Hitachi.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136284

3. Get a DVD burner from LG, Lite-On, or Sony. That's an old combo drive you chose and it won't burn DVD's.

4. That's the going price for ram, but you don't need the Ripjaws. Research the Asus QVL for that board and choose DDR3-1600 if you plan on overclocking LATER.

5. The best video card for $150 is a Radeon 5750. Get one made by Asus, Diamond, or HIS.

[plasmas222]

hrmm. thanks for the advice. Assuming you suggested against those for quality/customer relations issues?

Revised build:

CPU & Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.315602

Hard Drive: 750Gb: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136359

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

dvd Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136177

finally picked a Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...0Radeon%205750

ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231277

didnt change this because I'm not sure what you mean by I don't need them. Assuming you meant they are overkill - they are the cheapest way I found to buy ddr3 1600Mhz... Unless I missed something somewhere...

would this be an acceptable psu in this combo deal? http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.312681

If thats not a good choice on PSU I'm really liking this Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811162045


I think after I get comments on the PSU / case I'll finally be done. Thanks so much for all the help everyone.

EDIT: are OCZ psu's any good? found a nice deal with one and was just wondering...

[glc]

No. WD Caviar Black, not Green. Chosen for speed and warranty.

Ripjaws is acceptable as long as it's on the QVL.

*NO* Rosewill power supplies.

Read the case reviews - that Broadway case appears to be poorly made. If you need a little direction toward well made brands, start looking at Antec and Coolermaster, but there are certainly others. Read the reviews.

OCZ's are generally okay, but that's a deal on that Corsair that you need to grab before it goes off sale.

[plasmas222]

hrmm...

After taking into consideration the kind advice of glc....

hddr + psu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.319410
I'll probably buy that deal... look ok?


ripjaws are indeed on the QVL.


So aside from the case, everything appears to be in order yes?
If anyone has any comments, suggestions, or advice of any kind please give shortly, I am going to order within the next 24 hrs.

Thanks so much for the help everyone. Especially glc, you are a life saver.



P.S. For the case I am just wanting the cheapest one that isnt complete crap. I couldn't find any that had good reviews anywhere for less than 70$ For that I'd be more willing to try and make my own... If anyone knows of a good case for less please lemme know. Thanks.

[triquee]

Here are some possibilities...

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129042

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119077

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129066

[plasmas222]

Here is my final build. If you see any conflicts or potential problems please lemme know. Thanks

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129066

Hddr+PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.319410

CPU+Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.315602

dvd Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136177

Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.320629

ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231277

I am going to have windows 7 64bit. If I get just 4 gig ram, think that wil do for awhile? I'm wanting to wait till I sell my old computer before I buy the other 4 gig....

[glc]

Looks fine. 4gb will do a very good job, you may not need more for quite a while.

[plasmas222]

Thanks for all the help everyone. It's been a blast getting advice from you all, especially glc.


Thanks! ~_^

[triquee]

Originally Posted by plasmas222 Thanks for all the help everyone. It's been a blast getting advice from you all, especially glc. Thanks! ~_^

I agree, glc is pretty awesome

[jdeb]

yeah, he is the man.. nice build