Ordering PC in 2 Weeks, Please Review, i7 Gaming Rig

DrGrass1987 · 07-12-2009, 01:31 PM

Good Evening All:

Budget: $2,000 (+/- 100)
Purpose: Gaming/Video Editing
Programs: Sony Vegas Pro 8, World of Warcraft, Call of Duty 5, Farcry 2, Crysis, Warhammer Online
Purchase Date: July 25th, 2009
Site Used: NewEgg.com
SLI/X-fire & OCing: Getting 1 GPU for Now waiting for the DX11 GPU's and I will be ocing to about 3.6GHz at first.

Here's my Components:

Case
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Motherboard
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

Processor
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor

Heat Sink/Fan
Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO CPU Cooler

CPU Cooling Compound
OCZ Freeze Extreme Thermal Conductivity Compound

Video Card
HIS Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Video Card

Memory
OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory

Power Supply
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply

SSD for Games/OS/Programs
OCZ Vertex Series 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (SSD)

HDD for Music/Videos/Pictures etc.
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives

Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard
Logitech MX518 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical Gaming-Grade Mouse

Monitor
ASUS Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor

Total Price: 2049.88

If you guys have suggestions for any upgrades or price cutter's i would be open to it. I am going to go with a SSD please don't try to convince me otherwise of it, i play MMO's a lot and the data is all fed from the Hard Drive so i will experience a good amount of gaming performance from it. My OS is going to be Windows 7 RC1 until it goes live and i already own 2 Optical Drives that will suffice for me for now.

Thanks everyone.

Tumbleweed36 · 07-12-2009, 02:18 PM

Frankly, I like your build a lot. I would suggest (very minor change) that you select Artic Silver for the thermal paste instead of the "OCZ Freeze Extreme Thermal Conductivity Compound" you have listed.

I have also not personally used the "Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO CPU Cooler," so will let others comment on that issue.

ebackhus · 07-12-2009, 03:09 PM

I know you don't want any bashing of your choice of going with SDD, but there isn't much to be gained for the price. My wife and I are also gamers and we just optimized our machines for maximum HDD performance and use SATS for everything.

**Tyree** · 07-12-2009, 05:28 PM

SSD drives are more overpriced than Raptors. A 32MBCache SATA drive will serve your needs and save you money.
Actually, the OCZ Freeze is very good Thermal paste. Non-Conductive
I'm not familiar with the "Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO CPU Cooler" either but there was a post here recently from someone who was having some issues getting it to mount. I rarely use aftermarket CPU coolers (voids CPU warranty) but when I do I use Zalman.

dai · 07-12-2009, 09:27 PM

the person that posted about the Noctua previously had purchased the wrong model for his m/b and was going to try and change it

MoonShadow_1AU · 08-17-2009, 02:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyree

I rarely use aftermarket CPU coolers (voids CPU warranty) but when I do I use Zalman.

Interesting as I have not found an i7 CPU sold with a fan !!

From INTEL

Quote:

Originally Posted by Intel

Intel® Core™2 Extreme Processor QX9770
These processors ship without a fan heatsink. They require a third part liquid cooling solution. See: http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/rese...ech/387513.htm

Included with the boxed Intel Core i7 processor

Intel® Core™ i7 processor in the 1366-land package
Intel designed thermal solution with support for Intel® Quiet System Technology
Thermal interface material (attached to the heatsink)
Installation instructions and certificate of authenticity
Intel Inside® logo label

The Intel Core i7 processor in the 1366-land package refers to processors in the 1366-land Flip-Chip Land Grid Array (FC-LGA4) package with an integrated heat spreader (IHS) that aids in heat dissipation to a properly attached fan heatsink.
See: http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/rese...406396.htm#bpc

I am yet to find the actual warranty

**Tyree** · 08-17-2009, 06:52 AM

Perhaps that is only the Extreme Edition or OEM?
All "Boxed" Intel CPU's that I have ever used come with a heatsink/fan.
The i7's carry the same 3 yr. warranty as all other Intel CPU's.

07-12-2009, 01:31 PM	#1 (permalink)
DrGrass1987 Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 13 OS: Windows Vista 32-Bit SP1	Ordering PC in 2 Weeks, Please Review, i7 Gaming Rig Good Evening All: Budget: $2,000 (+/- 100) Purpose: Gaming/Video Editing Programs: Sony Vegas Pro 8, World of Warcraft, Call of Duty 5, Farcry 2, Crysis, Warhammer Online Purchase Date: July 25th, 2009 Site Used: NewEgg.com SLI/X-fire & OCing: Getting 1 GPU for Now waiting for the DX11 GPU's and I will be ocing to about 3.6GHz at first. Here's my Components: Case COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case Motherboard ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard Processor Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Heat Sink/Fan Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO CPU Cooler CPU Cooling Compound OCZ Freeze Extreme Thermal Conductivity Compound Video Card HIS Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Video Card Memory OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Power Supply CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply SSD for Games/OS/Programs OCZ Vertex Series 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (SSD) HDD for Music/Videos/Pictures etc. Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives Keyboard & Mouse Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard Logitech MX518 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical Gaming-Grade Mouse Monitor ASUS Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor Total Price: 2049.88 If you guys have suggestions for any upgrades or price cutter's i would be open to it. I am going to go with a SSD please don't try to convince me otherwise of it, i play MMO's a lot and the data is all fed from the Hard Drive so i will experience a good amount of gaming performance from it. My OS is going to be Windows 7 RC1 until it goes live and i already own 2 Optical Drives that will suffice for me for now. Thanks everyone.

07-12-2009, 02:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 19,650 OS: XP Professional	Re: Ordering PC in 2 Weeks, Please Review, i7 Gaming Rig Frankly, I like your build a lot. I would suggest (very minor change) that you select Artic Silver for the thermal paste instead of the "OCZ Freeze Extreme Thermal Conductivity Compound" you have listed. I have also not personally used the "Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO CPU Cooler," so will let others comment on that issue. __________________ ---------- I don't receive email notifications of replies to subscribed threads. (Internet provider policy) Therefore, if I don't respond to your post within 24 hours, please send me a reminder PM and include the link to your thread. Last edited by Tumbleweed36; 07-12-2009 at 02:27 PM.

07-12-2009, 03:09 PM	#3 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,255 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Re: Ordering PC in 2 Weeks, Please Review, i7 Gaming Rig I know you don't want any bashing of your choice of going with SDD, but there isn't much to be gained for the price. My wife and I are also gamers and we just optimized our machines for maximum HDD performance and use SATS for everything. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

07-12-2009, 05:28 PM	#4 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 5,525 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: Ordering PC in 2 Weeks, Please Review, i7 Gaming Rig SSD drives are more overpriced than Raptors. A 32MBCache SATA drive will serve your needs and save you money. Actually, the OCZ Freeze is very good Thermal paste. Non-Conductive I'm not familiar with the "Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO CPU Cooler" either but there was a post here recently from someone who was having some issues getting it to mount. I rarely use aftermarket CPU coolers (voids CPU warranty) but when I do I use Zalman. __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently. Last edited by dai; 07-12-2009 at 09:25 PM.

07-12-2009, 09:27 PM	#5 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,575 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Ordering PC in 2 Weeks, Please Review, i7 Gaming Rig the person that posted about the Noctua previously had purchased the wrong model for his m/b and was going to try and change it __________________

08-17-2009, 06:52 AM	#7 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 5,525 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: Ordering PC in 2 Weeks, Please Review, i7 Gaming Rig Perhaps that is only the Extreme Edition or OEM? All "Boxed" Intel CPU's that I have ever used come with a heatsink/fan. The i7's carry the same 3 yr. warranty as all other Intel CPU's. __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently.