New i7 build - Need suggestions/feedback

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JeffK91

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Hey everyone. This will be my first build in well over four years. I actually intended my budget to be $1500 tops, but I went a little overboard with the Blu-ray and it came out to $1,737.72.

I am a gamer first and foremost, but I also do a little bit of everything else too. The most important part of this build is for it to be future proof so that I don't have to upgrade for the next couple of years and if I do, then the upgrades should be compatible with the rest of my system.

I play at a high resolution of 1920X1080, so please keep that in mind. Here's the build:

Cooler Master 690
EVGA X58 3-Way SLI i7
Intel i7 920
EVGA GTX260 Core 216 X2
Corsair Dominator 6GB PC3-12800
Corsair 1000W HX Series
Western Digital 1TB 32 MB Cache
Cooler Master V8 Core i7 Cooler
LG LightScribe Blu-ray/HD-DVD combo

I do have a few glaring questions.

1. First, will those GTX 260 cards fit in my mid tower case?
2. Is the mobo compatible with ATI cards as well? On Newegg's site it says it's SLI and Crossfire compatible, but it doesn't say that on Amazon. And is my power supply good enough? I hear Corsair's the most trusted brand for PSUs, so that's what I went for. And will the 1000W still be good enough if I added a third GTX 260 and maybe another 1TB hard drive down the line?
3. Will I need to buy any extra case fans for good ventilation?

Your feedback is really appreciated. Thanks!

In case you're wondering why I'm buying from Amazon, it's because Newegg's tax and shipping charges make it a much more expensive option after I compared the two.
 
Get these instead:

Amazon.com: OCZ OCZ3P1600LV6GK DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz 6GB Platinum XTC Triple Channel Kits: Electronics
Amazon.com: CORSAIR 750w TX Series 80 Plus Certified Power Supply: Electronics
Amazon.com: XFX GX285NZDFF GeForce GTX 285 1 GB DDR3 PCI-E 2.0 Video Card: Electronics


Cheaper RAM, better timings.

Less wattage on a PSU, you don't need 1000w. You don't even need 750w right now, but it's worth buying anyway.

The 285 is a better deal than 2x 260s.

That will save you almost 250 bucks.
 
if you decide to go with the SLI 260's they will fit just fine in the 690....that's what i'm running..and as hikari said you really don't need 1000w it's kinda overkill

and yes, all boards will work with a single ati/nvidia card....only with dual cards it was SLI or Crossfire, never both...but the new X58 chipset supports both SLI AND Crossfire. So yes..that board will work with both Nvidia or ATI in SLI or Crossfire mode

and the 690 has tons of room for more fans...i suggest getting a 140mm fan (or two)for the side window they are quiet and move a lot of air. As well you have room for 120mm fans on the front, two on the top, one on the bottom, and one on the back...so that's a total of 7 fan's all together.....but make sure they are quiet or you'll be like a jet engine ^_^
 
1000w would be fine for 3x 260's...but for the love of god, don't waste your money on that. The 285 will handle just about everything you throw at it.

If you must have something else, grab another 285 later, you'll be set for a long time, and the 750 should be ok for that.
 
Is the 285 really a better overall value than the two 260s? The price difference is only about $50.

And what're your thoughts on the mobo? I don't see myself having three graphics cards, but is everything else top notch?

I'm not sure if I will overclock my system yet...I tried it on my system and it did not turn out too well, and I just remember being scared of my mobo frying when it wouldn't boot up. I wouldn't want that to happen again on a $1700 investment.

And about the PSU, why do a lot of people use 1000W? Are they just buying into the thought that more is better?

Thanks for the input.
 
a lot of people associate watts with overall performance...which isn't quite true..it's all about the amps...also how clean the power is. The only reason to get a 1000watt corsair is for tri-sli gtx 285's ......which is crazy hahaha....go with a single 285..it's the same performance as two 260's in SLI and leaves you room for another 285 down the road as well as doesn't produce as much heat and consumes less power, although if you are like me and just want to use Folding@Home on the gpus...then go with the 260's because they produce more PPD combined than a single 285.
 
What's with the Folding@Home thing? I hear about it all the time, but have no idea what it's about.

Another question: I'm a complete noob when it comes to optical drives, so am I good with just that one Blu-ray/HD-DVD drive? Will it be able to read regular DVDs and CDs?

And would I need any extra case fans for better ventilation?
 
Folding@home - Main
its fun and addictive...also for a good cause..it's the little thing you see in a lot of our sigs with all the numbers.

also the more fans the better i always say..as long as sound isn't really an issue also the 690 i believe comes with one front mounted 120mm fan, a 120mm rear and a 120mm side fan...might want to pickup a few more but that at least should work
 
the 285 gets about 8500ppd...while running two gtx 260's get around 13-14k ppd combined...but just saying ^_^ lol i wish i had two 285's to fold on hahahha
 
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