check my i7 build. please

barnei · 29 Nov 2008 at 18:40

I'm planning on building an i7 pc mainly for gaming (games would be like the valve games on steam hl2 etc. as well as crysis call of duty). I'm not planning on over clocking straight away but I probably will later on. I know i7 has just been released so I should probably stick with core 2 and save money but I like being an early adopter and christmas seems like the perfect time for me to go all out.

any way I was just wondering if any body knows if the performance increase between a 940 and 965 is worth the price increase? I've seen benchmarks for them but none which actually compare gaming performance between the two.

Also I've never heard of G.skill ram before, is there ram as good as ocz or should I go with ocz?

OneTime · 29 Nov 2008 at 18:57

Do you not know how to crop an image?...sigh

reflux · 29 Nov 2008 at 19:02

Get the 920 and overclock it. G.Skill is OK....depends what you want to spend really.

barnei · 29 Nov 2008 at 19:06

The 920 and 940 both have a lower QPI than the 965 can overclocking increase that aswell as clock speed?

Will the gpu temps be okay with air cooling, I've heard the 4870 x2 runs hot?

Oh and I know the PSU is a bit ott but I might add another gpu later or at least its future proof.

lunarwolf · 29 Nov 2008 at 19:26

4870x2 is fine, new drivers have addressed temps and fan speeds

agree with reflux, get a 920

1200w is complete overkill, and thermaltake, good brand but they are rather noisy. i would opt for a 1000w zalman or corsair, that is overkill also and will give you plenty of extra power for overclocks and a second 4870x2 if you wish to add that in future

re : omtherboards, seems like cheaper gigabyte and asus p6 are fine. bit early to say for rampage, but does seem a bit overpriced, maybe i will be wrong and those will push the 920 even further. hehe we will see.

re mem, double-check motherboard website to see what they recommend as compliant brands

barnei · 29 Nov 2008 at 20:21

Thanks for the info.
PSU's is where I know least about.

Okay well just to tell you the changes, I'll go for a 920. Zalman 1000w , Gigabyte EX58 extreme.
And 3GB dominator 1600MHz , I couldn't see it listed as recommended on gigabyte's website but I've seen some people overclocking and they had gigabyte with dominator.

lunarwolf · 30 Nov 2008 at 03:37

should be ok with corsair mem, i can't imagine a mobo manufacturer overlooking corsair in their specs - would be the first time I hear of this