Long lasting Gaming build

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24 May 2010
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11
Hi

Ive had the same dell computer for the past 7 years and its time for a new PC as the smallest thing I do it sounds like the fan is gonna blow up!
I want one that will be used for gaming, internet, watching movies like blurays, some video editing and really just a bit of everything.

The items ive picked may seem a bit much but I want to make sure it lasts me at least 5 years with minor upgrades, bearing in mind that im not a tech person, here is what I have been thinking about so far.

Case - COOLERMASTER HAF 932 FULL TOWER GAMING CASE
CPU - Intel® Core™i7 Processor Extreme Edition i7-980X (3.33GHz) 6.4GTs/12MB Cache
Motherboard - ASUS® RAMPAGE III EXTREME: 3-Way SLI & CrossFireX, SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0
Memory - 6GB DOMINATOR GT TRI-DDR3 2000MHz (8-8-8-24)
Storage - 160GB Intel® X25-M 2.5" SSD (34nm / upto 250MB/sR | 100MB/sW)
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£119)
Power Supply - CORSAIR 1000W MODULAR PSU (HX1000) 80+ ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling - TITAN FENRIR EXTREME DIRECT TOUCH COPPER CPU COOLER
Sound Card - ASUS XONAR HDAV1.3 - Enjoy 100% Blu-Ray Quality Audio
Operating System - Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
Graphics Card - Not decided yet if I should go ATI HD 5870 or Nvidia GTX 480....

I havent fully decided on the motherboard, I wont be overclocking it so maybe the Rampage III is a bit much, the other choices I was thinking about were - Asus P6X58D Premium Intel X58 or Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58 (im not really sure what the difference between them are)

Please let me know what you think and if this sounds ok or if you think I should change something, Im looking for something that will run quiet and be able to handle anything I do on it.

Also is it better to have 2 SSD? one for OS and storage and the other for the software I would run? not sure if it would make it faster with the OS on its own drive.

Thanks
 
what is it you do exactly, i mean on your computer? gaming, editing, encoding? i know you want to future proof but you could build the vast part of an amd x6 for the price of the i7 hex alone.
 
Id probably swap the 6 core i7-980X for a i7 920, the motherboard for a cheaper one, get a 850W PSU and use the money saved for future upgrades. Id probably get a 5870 with a good fan over a 480 if you dont like loud fans.
 
here i put this together, its what id get i think, i forgot to add a cpu cooler, id get the h50 or noctua, apart from that mayb a case change or psu depending on preference...

build.png
 
thanks for the suggestions

I would rather stick with Intel and not AMD, not really got a reason why but I just prefer it.

I use the PC mostly for gaming, internet, I film a lot of stuff so I encode and edit videos so it needs to be able to handle that and be fast.

I have changed a few things and it has dropped the price by around £1000!

COOLERMASTER HAF 932 FULL TOWER GAMING CASE
Intel® Core™i7 Processor i7-960 (3.20GHz) 4.8GTs/8MB Cache
ASUS® P6X58D-E: DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-Way SLI
6GB CORSAIR XMS3 TRI-DDR3 1600MHz
1GB ATI RADEON™ HD 5870 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
160GB Intel® X25-M 2.5" SSD (34nm / upto 250MB/sR | 100MB/sW)
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
CORSAIR 850W PSU (TX850) 80+ ULTRA QUIET
TITAN FENRIR EXTREME DIRECT TOUCH COPPER CPU COOLER (do you think i'll need that or will stock cooling do?)
ASUS XONAR HDAV1.3 - Enjoy 100% Blu-Ray Quality Audio
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit

Can someone tell me the difference between these -
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-399-AS
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-379-AS
I cant see whats different.
 
How about:

expensivepcbuildforanoc.jpg


You choose your sound card and case! Forget any other mobo you want FUTURE PROOF? YOU GOT IT! Stick with the UD9 and you can game forever with 4 way sli/crossfire configuration mwahahahahahahahahaha.
 
Yeah, probably don't need a 1.2Kw PSU but apart from that it looks good! Maybe another 2 gigs of RAM if he's going to video editing?

Yeah you're right, I chose that cause I thought I heard a few people recommending the 1k corsair psu and he seemed to agree so I thought might as well go for the 1.2k psu since its even cheaper I believe.
 
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You are wasting money here, seriously. You can get 80% of the performance for 40% of the price - and no PC game in the next 2-3 years needs that power.
 
This is ridiculous. What the hell is anyone recommending a 450 quid motherboard for? @The OP, you don't need to spend anything like this much. Not even close. 2000MHz ram makes little sense for overclockers, it makes none whatsoever for someone who wont overclock.

A far more sensible core specification would be:

i7 930
Gigabyte UD5
6gb Corsair 1333mhz ram
Antec P series case
Thermalright TRUE with scythe gentle typhoon

I can't comment on gaming, and the psu required is a strong function of which graphics card you use. Corsair/Seasonic both offer power supplies with 7 year warranties. This is still a thoroughly overspecified computer system, but at least it's not based on liquid nitrogen overclocking components.

edit: gigabyte ud3r is almost certainly a better idea than the ud5, I'm personally wary of buying the lowest end from any range so am reluctant to recommend it. There's a lot to be said for Intel or Supermicro boards for reliability if you're not overclocking.
 
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Something like this:

HIS iCooler V ATI Radeon HD 5850 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £232.99
Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66GHz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail £179.99
Intel X25-M Mainstream 80GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (SSDSA2MH080G2C1) £169.99
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard £156.98
OCZ Gold 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 (1600MHz) Tri-Channel (OCZ3G1600LV6GK) £128.99
Corsair TX 650W ATX SLi Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-650TXUK) £86.99
Antec 902 Nine Hundred Two Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £81.98
Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB SATA-II 64MB Cache - OEM (WD10EARS) £59.98
LG GH22NS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM

£1,127.57 (Inc VAT)
 

The main difference is that the premium version has the full blown heatpipe mobo cooling, where as the normal is'nt all fully connected, not a major issue really. Also the premium has 2 lan ports over the others 1.

Basicly if u are looking at those mobo's get the cheaper non premium version. Its the mobo i chose for my next build myself too.

Also the premium from what i read can't do raid on the sata 3 controller, or does it poorly, but on the non premium the sata 3 controller is newer and allows raid and its better at it.
 
there is really no point going beyond a i7 930 at the moment. Going beyond that will make a barely perceptible difference in any games out at the moment - and that is likely to be the case for several years. Most games do not even make full use of a multi core processor currently.
I would go for the 5870.
 
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