I7 build tweaking

[desekoro]

Looking to build a PC.
It will mostly be for gaming.
My budget is preferably under 1500 to stay reasonable.
I am located in Ohio.
I am willing to buy online.
Will be using no parts from previous build.
I don't need any peripherals but i'm shopping for a monitor that would not be part of the pc's budget.
I haven't bought any parts yet.

I could use some help tweaking my choices so far on these components.

1. Tower. Something very spacious and open with room for plenty of cooling and upgrades. Must be able to handle the monster sized video cards.
2. Power Supply. Enough power to get me through another video card upgrade(hopefully).
3. Motherboard/Processor. Quad or I7 preferably. (any thoughts on after market heat sinks/fan?)
4. Memory. A decent amount that is compatible with the MB etc.
5. Video card. ATI or Nvidia that can handle graphic intensive games. Hopefully under $300.
6. Monitor. A wide screen LCD with lots of bang for the buck.

My build so far with these guidelines.

Tower Newegg.com - Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
PSU Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies
MB Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
RAM Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
GPU Newegg.com - XFX HD-489A-ZDEC Radeon HD 4890 Xtreme 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
CPU 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
Monitor Haven't even begun to look.

What i could really use help with would be suggestions on side grades, and small to moderate upgrades to what i have picked that would be really worthwhile. Also the operating system, is vista a must? Or can i squeak by with xp till windows7.

Thanks in advance to any and all help. I hopefully can get everything and have it all work and be compatible and be 100% satisfied with some advice.

 

[Guttzu]

XP only recognizes 4gb of Ram so with your Ram and VC it wouldn't be working at it's fullest potential. I'm sure someone will come along and have an awesome build for you... cough cough SALTY or PINSCHER!!!

 

[myowngod]

personal opinion maybe but...

Tower: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Ram:Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
MB: Newegg.com - EVGA 132-BL-E758-A1 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards OR if you need it for the budget: Newegg.com - EVGA 132-BL-E758-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards same board.. minus lifetime warranty..

But really... just the ram... the one I selected is better... the rest is personal preference.. you did a good job... vista 64 is a must...

 

[Hefemeister]

Ram.
For $10 more I would look into this RAM
Newegg.com - OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
ddr3 1600 vs the 1333 you picked out.

Hard drive look at a 32mb cache drive.

To take full advantage of your build you would want Vista home premium 64bit.
If you own a copy of xp you could squeak by but I would want 64 bit to handle the 7 total gb of memory you will have in this system.

Besides that I like your build.

 

[myowngod]

well if he can afford it, the platinum's have better timings and with the $40 rebate are only like $100
tech forums.net's favorite HDD: Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

Heat Sink depends on budget left...

Personally:

1) Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120 (needs 1 or 2 fans, a bracked for i7 mobos)
1) Xigmatek Thors Hammer (1 or 2 fans needed)
2) Sunbeam Core Contact
2) Newegg.com - Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks (comes with 2 fans)
2) Xigmatek Dark Knight

If i was doing air cooling on my current build I'd personally do a Thors Hammer with 2 High Speed Yate Loon fans...

 

[desekoro]

Good call on the ram, Didn't really even look at the speed. Only concerns on the motherboard I picked out is that is has no E-Sata but I'm going to chance it and hope that it won't burn me later on. Although i have considered this

Newegg.com - ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards .

The crossfire and SLI have me semi concerned as I'm not really sure if all motherboards with multiple pci-e slots have support for this or not. Only certain motherboards are tagged that its ready for them. I have no immediate plans to have 2x video cards but most likely will get a matching card as prices drop over time.

I am interested in those heat sinks. Would you just recommend one for the cpu or multiple extra cooling options for the whole mother board etc.?

 

[myowngod]

Unless you are doing some serious Overclocking... a case with good air flow and a good CPU cooler should suit you well... one thing you might like is the HAF932 has an E-SATA in the front panel of the case and a long sata cable to use with any mobo.. the EVGA x58 also has an E-SATA on the i/o panel... supports Xfire and tri SLI... and is only ~270.... oh and it has a fan on the northbridge...

I've heard good things about the p6t though...

 

[desekoro]

Okay so I'm going to get the ram mentioned by Hefemeister. Definitely getting the Cooler master case and the hard drive mentioned by myowngod (also getting the platinums like they said but thanks to hefemeister also). I think i may actually go for the motherboard i originally considered though. It seems like it has the best pci-e x16 slots, max memory, best ram speed at the cost of no e-sata. Still going to give it a few days, my build has changed a ton so far and I haven't even started looking at monitors either. Appreciate all the help, you guys have posted some really really good info and links.

I am still not 100% on motherboard, kinda wondering what am i even gonna need e-sata for.

 

[Thresh25]

XP only recognizes 4gb of Ram so with your Ram and VC it wouldn't be working at it's fullest potential. I'm sure someone will come along and have an awesome build for you... cough cough SALTY or PINSCHER!!!

Not true, you could get a 64 bit XP if you really don't want vista. But i've got vista now and have had no problems.

edit; What's the difference here???

Newegg.com - EVGA 132-BL-E758-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Newegg.com - EVGA 132-BL-E758-A1 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

 

[myowngod]

one has a lifetime warranty the other does not.. no other differences according to EVGA's Website...

OP: if you go with the HAF932 you probably wont need the Esata on the mobo, unless you are biased toward pluggin it in to the backside vs. the frontside..