i7 920 Rig

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scrimstar

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Hello, I'm a new member looking into building an i7 based computer. :laughing:
I wish to play every game with max detail on my 1080p HDTV. Please critic my build, and give me advice, because I'm kinda nooby at this computer building stuff, but I've been looking around this forum for hours.

Newegg.com - ASUS P6T Deluxe LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Newegg.com - Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Can this OC to 4.5 GHz? I saw a thread with someone who had a Phenom II, and a GTX295, and everyone liked his build, so is that a better CPU?? I also heard there will be new Phenom II's, and new Intel Quadcores, so should I wait for those? :rolleyes:

Newegg.com - Vigor Monsoon III LT Dual 120mm Fan CPU Cooler Socket 1366 Ready - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
This looks like a nice CPU cooler, if anyone has found anything better, please give me a link. I would also like it to not be so loud. :eek:

Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
Will DDR3 get cheap, anytime soon?! DDR2 is a lot cheaper!

Newegg.com - XFX GX295NHHFF GeForce GTX 295 1792MB 896 (448 x 2)-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
I heard XFX was a good brand, is there any better ones? I also heard ATi will be releasing a new GPU that would crush the GTX295, is that true? And will there be any new dual Nvidia GPU'S?

Newegg.com - HT OMEGA CLARO Plus+ 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Sound Cards
Any better sound cards? I need the Optical and Coaxial plugs for my Sony SG-2100 home theater system.

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
I head Seagate was releasing 12 series HDD's, should I wait for those?

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners

Newegg.com - LG Black 6X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 6X Blu-ray DVD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA Internal Blu-ray Burner Super Multi Blu-ray Disc Burner & HD DVD-ROM Drive Model GGW-H20L - Blu-Ray Burners
I like Samsung, will there be a Samsung Blu-Ray burner?

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-1000HX 1000W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies
I plan on getting another GTX295, will the i7 bottleneck it?

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Black/ Silver Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER COSMOS S RC-1100-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Ok, I like the look of the Cosmos 1000, but I heard it's hot. I might get the Cosmos S, but it won't fit my living room.

I need a card reader for my Sony memory stick, but a lot of them have bad reviews..
 
Looks pretty good to me, I'll comment on a few things.

I think I would grab a Biostar x58 board instead of the asus.

4.5ghz sounds like a stretch. But the i7 is the best there is now and if you got close to 4ghz should last a very long time.

I would expect ddr3 to get cheaper but nothing drastic any time soon. But who knows...

XFX is about as good as it gets. EVGA is also good but if the cost is about the same I'd go XFX. I heard ati was coming out with some cards soon but not sure exactly when and I never heard of it being faster than gtx295. Unless there going to have a X2 version of their newest card right away.

Seagate already released the 12 series but I don't think the 1tb version is out now.
 
4.5 GHZ would be a 70% OC, on air it's very much a stretch but I'm sure phase change or maye even water cooling would get you enough cooling power for 4.5 GHz anyways with a GTx 295 the only game you'd really need that for is Crysis at 1920x1080 (1080p), $500 is alot of money to spend so just think about it, there are other options
 
Updated, guys! =O

I'm actually thinking about two GTX295's, but later on, when its prices go down. Will the Biostar let me OC even more than the Asus P6T, because I heard the i7 920 is limited by itself. So how much is water cooling, I know nothing about it. And are either AMD, or Intel going to be releasing something greater than an i7 920, any time soon? Should I wait for the Seagate 1TB?
 
Updated, guys! =O

I'm actually thinking about two GTX295's

That'll be like having the power of a tank at your fingertips :D

Anyways, Asus is one of the best (if not the best) quality motherboard manufacturers around, the P6T will do whatever you want it to do, try not to jump to far into the overclocking yet, you'll get the groove quick enough .

hitting 4.5 GHz with the i7 920 with water cooling isn't for the faint of heart, you'll be plenty fine up till 3.8 GHz with a good air cooler, and trust that'll be all the power you will need.

As far as any big releases from Intel and AMD nothing much short term and most of the talk on AMD's plans of a 16 core monster are pretty hush hush, But you can't loose with the i7.

Hope I could help
 
personally, i'd recommend the Foxconn Renaissance or the Gigabyte EX58-UD5 (which you can combo with the i7 to save a few bucks atm... Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more! and Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more! respectively)... you wont hit 4GHz with much stability on air without alot of skill

those plats recommended above are great sticks... you'll get alot of OC room outta them

XFX and eVGA are the best nv board partners out there... you'll really love that card... you'll see excellent framerates in all games (and i mean ALL games!)

the WD Caviar Blacks are fast... VERY fast! that will be an awesome drive, specially if you stick a couple of them in RAID, but thats probably not really necessary

you dont need a 1000W PSU... 2 GTX 295s OCed with a good OC on the CPU will use around 750W, so a Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies will give you plenty of room

as for the HSF... its not bad, but Sunbeam has released an LGA1366 bracket for the CCF, so i'd grab that instead -> Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120mm "Core Contact Freezer" CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
 
If you are only going to be using 1080p resolution, i would just pick up a single gtx285. And maybe a 2nd one down the line. 2 295's will be way more than you need at that resolution. 4.5ghz on air is going to be stretching it. So far my best is 4.3ghz on water, but i still have quite a bit of room left to push mine. The corsair hx1000 is a sweet psu and will easily run 2 295s if you decide to go that route.
 
But the GTX 295 is only like $130 more, and is almost the same performance as two GTX285's. So how much better is water cooling compared to that Sunbeam core contact freezer? Does it actually blow like ice vapor through that fan, or something?! Also, can I replace that fan on the cooler with better fan? I'm kind of intrested in water cooling, but I don't know much about CPU cooling at all.. I know the i7 is pretty hot, so I'm nervous about how to cool it down. What are your temps, veedub? And I found a review that said the Sunbeam cctf (is that the abreviation??) won't fit in a Cosmos S, and you have to take out the huge fan, so I might just go with a Cosmos 1000, because wither way, watercooling or with the Sunbeam cctf, I won't need that fan, right? The GTX295's hot air goes thrugh the back of the case, too.
 
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