System Build help?

[Dob1eman]

I was thinking of putting together a new computer system don't need monitor, keyboard, mouse just tower is this a good spec and could i make any sensible changes to lower the price abit has slightly over budget?

Intel Core i7 860 2.80Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £231.99
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard £143.98
Fractal Design Newton R2 800W Modular Power Supply £139.99
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £127.99
Patriot Viper 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 (1600MHz) Tri-Channel (PVT36G1600ELK) £122.99
Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM x 3 £344.97
Fractal Design Define R2 Midi Tower Case - Black Pearl £79.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) £75.99
Akasa AK-967 V2 Nero Direct Contact Heatpipe CPU Cooler (AM2/AM2+/939/LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1366) £28.99
Akasa AK-455 Thermal Compound £2.34

total - £1,311.55

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I was thinking of putting together a new computer system don't need monitor, keyboard, mouse just tower is this a good spec and could i make any sensible changes to lower the price abit has slightly over budget?

Intel Core i7 860 2.80Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £231.99
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard £143.98
Fractal Design Newton R2 800W Modular Power Supply £139.99
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £127.99
Patriot Viper 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 (1600MHz) Tri-Channel (PVT36G1600ELK) £122.99
Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM x 3 £344.97
Fractal Design Define R2 Midi Tower Case - Black Pearl £79.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) £75.99
Akasa AK-967 V2 Nero Direct Contact Heatpipe CPU Cooler (AM2/AM2+/939/LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1366) £28.99
Akasa AK-455 Thermal Compound £2.34

total - £1,311.55

A socket 1156 processor like the Core i7 860 won't fit in a socket 1366 motherboard.

You can either:
1.)Go for a Core i7 920 which is a socket 1366 processor
2.)Go for a socket 1156 P55 motherboard.

These are the cheapest symmetrical Crossfire and SLI capable P55 motherboards available on OcUK:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-208-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1495

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-204-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1495

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-359-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1495

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-359-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1495

They can all do Crossfire and SLI(obviously not at the same time though)!!

The main advanatage of going for a socket 1366 based system is that Crossfire and SLI can be done at PCI-E 2.0 16X.

I would also go for a faster system drive such as a 500GB Samsung F3:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-081-SA

I would also look at the following CPU cooler too:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-008-TI

 

[Mumu2k]

I would rather go I5 if you wanna go intel route and spend a little more on the grafics card tbh. 5770 isnt a bad card but if your really spending 1300 pounds for a new rig it should contain at least a 5850

 

[Essexraptor]

deleted.... wrong facts!!!

 

[R088ieS86]

you'll have to make the choice between sockets! 1156 is only capable of running dual channel RAM whilst the 1366 will take tri channel.
Grab yourself the i7 920 if you want that setup, CATs suggestion of a cooler will keep it cold an quiet even if you push it to 3.6/4Ghz.

However if your going to be gaming on it i would go down to the i5 and spend the left over money on a better graphics card like:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-215-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=411

Example i5 system:
i5 750:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-299-IN
Asus P7P55D Intel P55:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-360-AS
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-203-CS

Total £322.52. the i7 setup will you have (with the i7 920) would be £481.95.

Hope that helps