Intel i7 Rig Advice..?

mike2801.lee

mike2801.lee

mike2801.lee

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14 Feb 2009
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I’m planning to build a gaming rig as my current one is rather outdated (4-5 years). I’ve never built a pc before but am pretty clued up on what’s involved and my own personal requirements.

My ultimate aim is to build a high-spec rig that can run Crysis on maxed out settings with good framerate @ 1920 x 1200 on my Dell 2407 Monitor. I figure if I can do that, the new rig should be relatively future proofed for gaming (if that is even possible in such a fastly evolving market lol!).

As well as a gamer I am also an aspiring 3d Artist, so the rig would double as a design tool for 3d / 2d based applications such as 3ds Max, Maya, Zbrush, and Photoshop, which require some serious rendering muscle.

I’ve done a fair amount of research into the various components available and have come up with the following shopping list:

Antec 900-2 Nine Hundred Two Ultimate Gaming Case - Black (No PSU) - £Already Purchased
Corsair TX 750W ATX2.2 SLI Compliant Power Supply - £103.49
Gigabyte EX58-UD5 Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard - £223.09
Intel Core i7 920 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) – OEM - £233.44
Akasa AK-967 Nero Direct Contact Heatpipe CPU Cooler (AM2/AM2+/939/LGA775/LGA1366) - £31.04
OCZ 6GB DDR3 PC3-15000 (3x2GB) Reaper Low-Voltage Triple Channel (OCZ3RPR1866C9LV6GK) - £229.99
GeForce GTX 295 1792MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - £436.99 (Cheapest ATM)
Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103UJ) - £82.79
Asus DRW-22B1LT 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer (Black/Silver) – Retail - £22.99
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) - £6.89
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (66I-01939) - £91.99

Total (inc VAT): £1462.69

I know that a rig of this spec does not come cheap, but I think the i7 processor and triple channel ddr3 memory will help future proof the system. I have however realised that the major costs are in the RAM and the GTX 295 card… I’m aware that the ATI Radeon 4870 X 2 card is cheaper and of a similar spec, but it appears that the GTX 295 performs better in most games (in online benchmark tests).

I suppose the question is: Is this overkill?

I have no problem spending the money as long as it is worthwhile, but I don’t want to spend unnecessarily. I could go with a cheaper SLI or Crossfire option but then I have no room for expansion. If I go with a single GTX 295 now, I could add a second in SLI at a later date.

Also would 750W be enough to power the rig with a single GTX 295?

Could 750W handle 2 of those cards later on down the line or would I need an 850 / 1000W PSU?



If some of you guys would be kind enough to share you’re thoughts on this with me, it would really help me out.

Cheers Guys!

Mike.
 
I'd get the Noctua CPU cooler instead.

750W is fine for one GTX295. Dunno about adding a second one. I assume you'd want to add the second one for rendering as opposed to gaming?

You should have a 320GB boot drive aswell as the 1TB for storage.
 
nice specs (although for CPU coolers, I am more of a Noctua man myself, also it inludes a good thermal grease so you wouldn't need the Artic Silver 5)

I don't believe this is overkill if you want to game highest settings in 1900x1200. I think that is what you need. Anyway in sixth months this will be dated but at least it will allow you to game at max longer than any other spec you could come up with today,

I think it is better to get a 850 PSU if you want a second card, assuming that 295 is as powerhungry as the 4870x2, but I could be wrong tbh.

I had a seasonic 700w m12 which was fine and more than enough for power hungry 4870x2, but I wanted to have 8pin PSU (didn't like the daisy chain with molex adaptors-was some ugly cabling) and I wanted a PSU where I could add a second card and felt like 700w was cutting it to close. I am sure some will argue that 700w could have pulled it off. Maybe or maybe not, but one thing for sure is I don't like having a PSU operating at max so went for lots of overhead room.


all good in my book and enjoy
 
Chimerical said:
I'd get the Noctua CPU cooler instead.

750W is fine for one GTX295. Dunno about adding a second one. I assume you'd want to add the second one for rendering as opposed to gaming?

You should have a 320GB boot drive aswell as the 1TB for storage.
Click to expand...


I'd use the 2nd card for both rendering and gaming tbh, though for the time being one GTX 295 would be more than enough for my gaming needs. As games become more demanding I may need an upgrade considering the resolution I would be playing at.

Also what is it about the Noctua CPU Cooler that is better? I am definately looking at doing some overclocking on the CPU..
 
lunarwolf said:
I think it is better to get a 850 PSU if you want a second card, assuming that 295 is as powerhungry as the 4870x2, but I could be wrong tbh.
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Yeah, I would rather pay the extra now and get a PSU that can support a second card, because it will happen sooner or later. So you reckon a 850W should have enough juice for this..?
 
mike2801.lee said:
I'd use the 2nd card for both rendering and gaming tbh, though for the time being one GTX 295 would be more than enough for my gaming needs. As games become more demanding I may need an upgrade considering the resolution I would be playing at.

Also what is it about the Noctua CPU Cooler that is better? I am definately looking at doing some overclocking on the CPU..
Click to expand...

The Noctua simply cools the CPU better than the Akasa afaik. It has two fans attached to it aswell.

To be honest, a second GTX295 would be good for rendering but I can't see the use for gaming. I'm not aware that any game is well coded for Quad SLi, but I could easily be hideously wrong.
 
mike2801.lee said:
Yeah, I would rather pay the extra now and get a PSU that can support a second card, because it will happen sooner or later. So you reckon a 850W should have enough juice for this..?
Click to expand...


yes

I was originally planning on getting a 850w to be able to run 2 cards comfortably with some overhead, but got 1000w just because i had found a great price
 
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I would definitely go for 1000W+ PSU. It just gives you room for upgrades and overclocking.

+1 for the Noctua cooler.
 
Thanks for the responses guys, most appreciated. :)

Any suggestions regarding a "best bang for buck" 1000W PSU? I've heard good things about the Corsair range but wondered if they are a bit overpriced

(There's quite a jump from the 750W and 850W to the 1000W).
 
ScarySquirrel said:
How does this work? Do you just use the 320Gb for installing Windows, software, games, etc. But store all files on the 1Tb?

Would a 250Gbdrive be ok for a boot drive?
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Yeah, I have a 250GB SATA HDD in my current rig which I could use as a boot drive for the new build (as well as a 160GB internal and 250GB External). I imagine that would be enough. Either that or I could just partition part of the 1TB Drive off for windows etc.. Or would that result in lower performance than a full designated boot drive?
 
if it helps as a reference i went with this

proposed.JPG


runs like a dream
 
mike2801.lee said:
OCZ 6GB DDR3 PC3-15000 (3x2GB) Reaper Low-Voltage Triple Channel (OCZ3RPR1866C9LV6GK) - £229.99
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just noticed that, get cheaper ram. what are you expecting to get from this overpriced RAM?


1333mhz should be all you really need GeIL 6GB DDR3 PC3-10666 1333MHz (3x2GB) Ultra Series Triple Channel Kit (GV36GB1066C7TC) . Geil is easily as good as OCZ, if you don't want preorder get the corsair kit -> half the price of the Ram you selected :eek:


otherwise get some 1600mhz Corsair 6GB DDR3 XMS3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz (3x2GB) Triple Channel DDR3 (TR3X6G1600C9) although most with i7 seem to say the 1333 is all one needs

PS Don't forget about the Noctua cooler, you can't fault it, it's the best. Forget getting a TRUE + fans and brakets :p

Will Gill -> those aren't the best fans for CPU cooling you need the ones with the xtra blades for air pressure ;)
 
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as far as PSU, I really think 850w is really all you ever gonna need. But you seem to want 1000w, so here are a couple of cheaper alternatives to the Corsair

Zalman ZM1000-HP Heatpipe Cooled 1000W Modular Power Supply

Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 1000W ATX2.2 Modular SLi Compliant Power Supply

both very good brands.

It may be worth checking the Enermax Galaxy PSU, very good too; however I think it may be louder than the ones above. OCUK used to sell them and use them in their builds, but I think due to business related issues they stopped selling them.
 
Hey, sorry to rig this thread, but I figured it was better to post here than create a whole new thread for a little question.

I can get an i7 rig for £1000-1050 (no VAT, I'm claiming that back), or I can get a Q6600 rig for £850 (no VAT). The only difference is the i7 920 vs the Q6600 and a coolermaster 1000W supply vs a 750W Corsair PSU. The graphics card is a 4870 1Gb in both, but I can always add another later.

Point is, is it worth spending the extra £150-200 to make it a bit more "future proof"? I know there's no such thing in computing, and had the i7 been a 775 socket I wouldn't have bothered, but by spending £150 extra now, I can save £500 (maybe less as it gets cheaper) later by not having to upgrade the motherboard, memory, processor AND cooler. Plus I can get a little more benefit from the i7 now, and spend the saved money on another 4870, or even 4890, later.
 
D D Danneh said:
Point is, is it worth spending the extra £150-200 to make it a bit more "future proof"? I know there's no such thing in computing, and had the i7 been a 775 socket I wouldn't have bothered, but by spending £150 extra now, I can save £500 (maybe less as it gets cheaper) later by not having to upgrade the motherboard, memory, processor AND cooler. Plus I can get a little more benefit from the i7 now, and spend the saved money on another 4870, or even 4890, later.
Click to expand...

think you answered your own question, for that money would be silly to go for an old quad
 
Mike, looks like a lovely machine. It's tempting to holdback on the graphics card and RAM if you think you can get away with it for now and wait for the 295 to come down in price, but from experience its a false economy - the hassle of and additional marginal costs of upgrading in the future always end up leaving a bitter taste. In my opinion, if you can afford this now, go to the max and enjoy hassle free (hopefully) use for a few years.


ScarySquirel
A seperate boot drive can allow you to get a faster boot time on a faster smaller drive (200-300Gb) like a Velociraptor, whilst getting a standard speed larger drive for storage. Clearly getting both a fast and large drive will kill both objectives, but supersize 10k RPM drives don't come cheap.
I guess another point to add is that if you are doing high demand gaming which take a while to load, the temptation will eventually come to put your games on your boot drive aswell, and before you know it you'll be running out of space.
 
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