[hshadowa]

My friend is building a computer for me, I just wanted to get a second opinion before I spend the money:

Processor: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202&Tpk=N82E16819115202
$290

RAM: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225&Tpk=N82E16820231225
$90

DVD Burner: SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model SH-S222A
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151175&Tpk=N82E16827151175
$23

Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009&Tpk=N82E16817139009
$145

Case: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811129042
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042&Tpk=N82E16811129042
$60

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319&Tpk=N82E16822136319
$75

Motherboard: EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188039&Tpk=N82E16813188039
$300

Video Card: EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433&Tpk=N82E16814130433
$205

Total: $1,188

I plan on running Windows 7. Any ideas/comments/criticism would be appreciated!

I plan on using the computer to mainly play video games. I'd prefer not to spend more than $1200 (or there abouts). Thanks!

 

[Tyree]

I'm far from sold on i7 (way to expensive-still too many bugs with DDR3 RAM) if you must go that route, look at Asus or Gigabyte Mobos.
EVGA makes some very high quality graphics cards but there Mobo's are not that reliable.
Ther Antec 300 is a very nice case. I've used about a dozen this yr.

 

[hshadowa]

Any suggestions on a processor that's not an i7? I had been thinking of not going that route, I think it's a bit overkill when I'm just going to be gaming.

 

[Tyree]

Asus P5QPro Mobo $118
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131295

Intel E8500 $189
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

CORSAIR 4GB 2 x 2GB PC2 6400) RAM $47
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

Your other selections will be good.

 

[Dilemmachine]

I just bought a rig with the e8500, asus p5q-e mobo, corsair xms2 RAM PC2 8500, I put a sapphire radeon hd 4870 in it and it runs amazingly I love it. With that mobo I can put another 4870 in crossfire too. But I'd definitely agree with the above and go with the e8500.

 

[ssj4Gogeta]

E8500 should be good as long as you're not planning on running SLI or crossfire in the future. Otherwise a quad core is best. If you do a lot of encoding or other compute intensive stuff, then I'd suggest you go for i7.

You should easily be able to get your E8500 to 4.0GHz with a good cooler, so I'd also recommend an after market cooler.

 

[Timmy_j]

Tyree, im running the i7 920 with the GA-EX58 Extreme and 12 GB of Corsair Triple kit DDR3 1600Mhz with windows 7 64 bit and everything runs fine, havent had a single bug or stuff up.

 

[Tyree]

Some people have no problems at all and others do. I cant see the justification for spending more money for little/if any gain.

 

[Timmy_j]

well i didnt go with the i7 for the performance gain, just figured might as well by a top notch computer so i wont have to for ages

 

[hshadowa]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm going to go with the 8500 processor instead of the quad core.

If I choose to overclock the cpu, what kind of cooler would I need?

 

[ssj4Gogeta]

hshadowa:

Try XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler (as recommended by Anandtech). It's $37 on newegg and performs quite well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

 

[sethy666]

Even though its double the price, I would recommend a XIGMATEK Thor's Hammer. If your gonna go, go big!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233032

I figure if it can keep an old Pentium D 925 under control, it can handle anything new that comes though the pipes. :smile:

 

[ssj4Gogeta]

If you're gonna spend more you can also go for Vigor Monsoon:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835702007