i7 spec check

Sir Hiss · 24 May 2009 at 22:18

Hi everyone. I will be taking the i7 plunge this week and i would just like some opinions on my spec if possible.

Intel Core i7 920 "D0 Stepping" 2.66Ghz
Thermalright True Black 120 + 1366 adapter
Asus P6T Deluxe V2
Corsair Dominator 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz
BFG GeForce GTX 275 OC 55nm SLI 896MB DDR3
Creative X-Fi Titanium SoundBlaster 7.1 Soundcard
Corsair 620W HX Modular PSU
Silverstone Fortress FT01B-W

DVDRW drive and hard drives i will be using from my current rig (2x 80gb RAID, 3x 1TB)

That comes to around £1150, my budget is 'up to' £1200. Is there anything there people would change? Recommend something different?

Thanks in advance

95thrifles · 24 May 2009 at 22:21

Looks like nice set up, though if youre thinking of adding a 2nd 275 later in SLI you'll want a bigger PSU, circa 800W

RJC · 24 May 2009 at 22:28

Nice setup

icey_haj · 24 May 2009 at 22:34

This is how I would go:

- The 275 isn't worth the price premium over the 4890, they perform to similar levels.

- The Xonar is a very good sound card, and doesn't have the driver problems like the Creative seems to do.

- The BeQuiet! is an excellent PSU, but the Corsair is also very good.

- The Dominator RAM I don't think is worth the substantial extra cash over the Kingston.

cmndr_andi · 24 May 2009 at 22:34

Agreed with 95trifles about the PSU.

Also, you might want to have a look at this RAM - its got the same specs as the dominator and is conciderably cheaper.

Sir Hiss · 24 May 2009 at 23:24

Thanks for the replies guys.

It's quite suprising about that RAM being so much cheaper than the Corsair. However i think ill stick with the dominator as i love the look of them and im a corsair whore lol :rolleyes:

About the GTX 275 being overpriced. Yes it probably is but im deffinately sticking with Nvidia as i dont like ATI. The 260 is a little cheap considering what im spending on the rest of the components and the 285 is way too expensive. The 275 seems perfect for me as its so close to 285 performance anyway.

I have no plans to go SLI, by the time this rig needs a second card, newer and better cards will be out and ill get one of those.

Iv had an X-fi extreme music for probably 3 years now without a problem. That ASUS D2 is pci, i need it to be pci-e. The D2X is only £20 more than the X-FI but what are the benefits assuming i am not going to have any driver problems?

Finally, Noctua is ugly and more expensive lol

greywolf · 24 May 2009 at 23:30

Sir Hiss said:
Thanks for the replies guys.

It's quite suprising about that RAM being so much cheaper than the Corsair. However i think ill stick with the dominator as i love the look of them and im a corsair whore lol

About the GTX 275 being overpriced. Yes it probably is but im deffinately sticking with Nvidia as i dont like ATI. The 260 is a little cheap considering what im spending on the rest of the components and the 285 is way too expensive. The 275 seems perfect for me as its so close to 285 performance anyway.

I have no plans to go SLI, by the time this rig needs a second card, newer and better cards will be out and ill get one of those.

Iv had an X-fi extreme music for probably 3 years now without a problem. That ASUS D2 is pci, i need it to be pci-e. The D2X is only £20 more than the X-FI but what are the benefits assuming i am not going to have any driver problems?

Finally, Noctua is ugly and more expensive lol

I think then you original spec will be perfect.

cmndr_andi · 24 May 2009 at 23:32

If you are looking for a good PCI-E sounds card, the Xonar DX is a very good bit of kit (currently out of stock at OCUK).

How much are you getting the 275 OC for? If you want the fastest single GPU out today then the GTX 285 is only £250.

I think you are bit mad paying £80 extra for better looking RAM, but its your money.

Agreed that the Noctua cooler is more expensive. However, the TRUE needs a fan +the bolt through kit - so it will be about the same price (better performance with the TRUE so it makes sense in the end). If you are looking for a very good 120mm fan for the TRUE, the noctua p12 is the best performance/low noise fan about. I guess the noctua colour scheme is an acquired taste, but their stuff tends to be the best.

icey_haj · 24 May 2009 at 23:35

^ andi makes some good points.

lynchy6789 · 25 May 2009 at 00:28

Why do you not like ati? Frustrates me when people say this. It's an component and surely you want the best performance for price :S

I would personally go with XFX ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB £248.99

Sir Hiss · 25 May 2009 at 01:17

cmndr_andi said:
If you are looking for a good PCI-E sounds card, the Xonar DX is a very good bit of kit (currently out of stock at OCUK).

How much are you getting the 275 OC for? If you want the fastest single GPU out today then the GTX 285 is only £250.

I think you are bit mad paying £80 extra for better looking RAM, but its your money.

Agreed that the Noctua cooler is more expensive. However, the TRUE needs a fan +the bolt through kit - so it will be about the same price (better performance with the TRUE so it makes sense in the end). If you are looking for a very good 120mm fan for the TRUE, the noctua p12 is the best performance/low noise fan about. I guess the noctua colour scheme is an acquired taste, but their stuff tends to be the best.

The dominator is actually only £55.50 more than that OCZ stuff

but i have my heart set on it! That or the OCZ blade but the timings are worse on that so i went with the Corsair.

TRUE with a 1366 bolt through kit comes to £45.40 and i have a 120mm fan i can use. Or ill get a sharkoon i maybe. :confused:

The 275 OC is around £210. That ASUS 285 for £250 is looking very tempting now you mention it!

cmndr_andi · 25 May 2009 at 01:23

Sir Hiss said:
The dominator is actually only £55.50 more than that OCZ stuff but i have my heart set on it!

Corsair Dominator 1600MHz CL8 - £144.99

OCZ Gold 1600MHz CL8 - £70.99

144.99 - 70.99 = £74.00

Agreed, its not quite 80 quid but its close - and a lot of money for no extra performance. However, if you have your heart set on it (for some reason) then its your money and your decision.

Sir Hiss · 25 May 2009 at 01:57

cmndr_andi said:
Corsair Dominator 1600MHz CL8 - £144.99

OCZ Gold 1600MHz CL8 - £70.99

144.99 - 70.99 = £74.00

Agreed, its not quite 80 quid but its close - and a lot of money for no extra performance. However, if you have your heart set on it (for some reason) then its your money and your decision.

All my prices are from competitor websites. They are all cheaper :rolleyes:

lynchy6789 · 25 May 2009 at 01:58

More money then sence! Get the Ocz ram with gtx 285 and you will still have money to spare why waste £80 on something that is not even that greatly visable once evrything installed?