i7 920 setup - first thoughts

[SqualidChimp]

These are my initial thoughts on the subject that I have kind of been half-musing for the last couple of months. I'd appreciate your thoughts...

I want a supercomputer from the future. But until I get my hands on a De Lorean, I'll make do with an i7 setup.

Currently my spec is a E6600 core 2 duo, asus p5n, 2gb ram, winXP pro, ati 4850 512mb graphics, hercules 7.1 sound card of some description, 4 tb of hard drives. etc

On my 19" monitor this setup does me well enough, but I keep seeing people buying setups that on paper are 4 times faster than my current setup. I guess some would call it computer-envy. Not that I feel the need to compensate that much , but I digress...

Is it time for an upgrade, or is there something looming round the corner that I should hold off for? The i7 920 looks the best value grunt per £.

My initial thought was go for something like

i7 920 @ ~£200
Asus mobo @ ~£90
8gb ram @ ~£80
uber graphics of some description @ ~£150
random decent case @ ~£60
random decent PSU @ ~60
optical drive @ ~£20
hdd (use one of my 1tb ones from other system :S )

free windows 7 for now

total ~£660

Thoughts?

 

[Jonny Manc]

I think you might be getting crossed wires over skt775 and 1366.

For a Core i7:
i7 920 D0 Retail - £206
MSI X58 Pro - £130
6gb Patriot DDR31600 - £75
Coolermaster CM690 Dominator Case - £50
OCZ ModXtreme 600w - £58
Pioneer SATA DVDRW - £18
TOTAL - £537

Graphics card - A few choices really depending on overall budget and gaming preference, but trying to keep within your original £660, the options are:
ATI HD4870 - several specs
Nvidia GTX260 - several specs

For £20 more, you could get the flagship ATI single card - HD4890.

Hope this helps

 

[reflux]

Yup, the platform cost of i7 is higher because it's a new socket and thus requires a socket 1366 motherboard and DDR3. There won't be anything faster for the next few years though.

 

[Jonny Wright]

To motherboards are a bit more expensive:

TBH the PSU is a bit week but minus the shipping and you have £694

 

[SqualidChimp]

I think I was going to go with the "stealth" OCZ 600W initially. My original guestimate of £660 wasnt too bad! I could stump up an extra £40 I guess. So the cheapest motherboards in that sort of setup are going to cost me the best part of £150...? *sigh* Is there any likelihood that mobo prices will fall dramatically in September? I could either hold off til then or just bite the bullet now. I dont like the Coolermaster Centurion. I've never really like silvery cases at all actually - Black is more my thing. Subtle lighting optional.

 

[NathanT]

Might be worth looking at the antec 300 case or the CM-690

Both are good cases at around the same price mark at £50 give or take a fiver (I'd personally invest in a further 120mm fan as an intake for the front of the antec if you go down that route which will bring it up to £50.. those 920 can get a bit toasty as can the 4890s)

Cm-690 has some good cable management, antec has pretty much none so its personal preference.

Any future plans of updating your 19" monitor? If not, then you get away with shaving a few quid off by dropping the spec of the GPU.
Basing it off of this also, your not going to be looking at crossfiring, so that 600 PSU should give you more than enough draw.


Cant say about the mobo costs in Sept, no idea what intel are planning to do and how it will affect their prices

 

[Deadbeat]

For a Core i7:
i7 920 D0 Retail - £206
MSI X58 Pro - £130
6gb Patriot DDR31600 - £75
Coolermaster CM690 Dominator Case - £50
OCZ ModXtreme 600w - £58
Pioneer SATA DVDRW - £18
TOTAL - £537

Hope this helps

This is almost exactly the build I went for. Actually, it's my build to the letter - but I spent an extra couple of quid getting the lightscribe drive.

Might be worth looking at the antec 300 case or the CM-690

Both are good cases at around the same price mark at £50 give or take a fiver (I'd personally invest in a further 120mm fan as an intake for the front of the antec if you go down that route which will bring it up to £50.. those 920 can get a bit toasty as can the 4890s)

I went for the 690, how's the ventilation on the factory spec? If the 4890 XT puts out that much heat, should I worry about getting another evac fan? I don't plan to overclock til the warranty runs out anyway - I can't see me tearing out my hair in frustration over my terribly slow hyperthreading quad core within the next 3 years.

Cm-690 has some good cable management, antec has pretty much none so its personal preference.

Cant say about the mobo costs in Sept, no idea what intel are planning to do and how it will affect their prices

Aren't intel dropping the i7 to plug the less-bang-for-your-buck i5? I figure if you cash out on the mobo now, P6T or UD3R at least, it'll stick it out past your next upgrade.

 

[NathanT]

I went for the 690, how's the ventilation on the factory spec? If the 4890 XT puts out that much heat, should I worry about getting another evac fan?

Not worked with a 690 but been told that they are pretty good, can keep the insides nice and clean due to the cable management which helps the air flow and keeps temps good.
The 4890's can get warm, I think the case has an optional 120mm fan that can be put on the side panel where the GPU goes (the same way the Antec does). Should be fine if your not overclocking, as the stock case comes with a front intake and rear exaust

Aren't intel dropping the i7 to plug the less-bang-for-your-buck i5? I figure if you cash out on the mobo now, P6T or UD3R at least, it'll stick it out past your next upgrade.

My understanding is the LGA1366 is still the top-end socket and the i5 will come in below it on a new socket, so i7 will (from what I can figure) still be good to trot for 3 years or so.