New Build for a friend

[Jumping_Bean514]

So a few years back I build a rig for a buddy of mine. The build has been upgraded a number of times since then and its specs are currently as follows.

Asus P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP
G.skill 8Gb (4x2GB)
Zalman CPS9500
Q6600
EVGA GeForce 8800GTX
Thermaltake Armor (with side window)
SILVERSTONE SST-ST60F ATX 600W
3 harddrives (not sure of the capacity)
3 monitors (ones not being used)
Large Wacom
5.1 Creative Surround

It's a pretty decent rig but my friend wants to bump up to the next level as he is going to school for 3d design and does a lot of work with 3d programs and games. Were trying to make an i7 build that's less then 1,000 (900 would be prime). Our plan is to save his current build and use it as a render node. To save money we will buy a small case and transfer his current build into the smaller case and use his armor for his new build. here is what we have so far.

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R Intel X58 Core i7 Extreme/Core i7 Socket 1366 PC3-16000 (DDR3-2000) ATX Motherboard Retail at ZipZoomfly

INTEL BX80601920 Core i7-920 2.66GHz Intel QPI 4.80 GT/s Socket 1366 Desktop Processor Retail at ZipZoomfly

Newegg.com - ZEROtherm ZC-1366 Mounting Clip for CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
(We allready have a zerotherm Nirvana laying around and were hoping this bracket will work. Though its says Nirvana P, take a look)
Newegg.com - ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks


Newegg.com - OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - MSI R4890-T2D1G OC Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - OC Edition - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

LITEON iHAS124-04 24X SATA DVD Burner Black Drive Bulk at ZipZoomfly

Comes to about 971$ after shipping and rebates.

One problem we are running into is that he has 3 monitors and wants to run all of them. We were thinking of getting a 4850x2 because it has 4 DVI slots but then we won't be able to run in crossfire mode and we fear that his 3d performance would be no better then his current 8800gtx. So we went with the 4890 and will add a crappy little graphics card to run the other monitor. Your opinions on this would be appreciated.

Side note: I'm working on another build at the same time as this one so give it a look see if your interested.
http://www.techist.com/forums/f76/low-budget-build-211316/#post1680198

 

[Hefemeister]

If you have a microcenter close to you I beleive they still have i7's for $199

Used the money saved to get a better board. either the, gigabyt ga-ex58-ud4p, EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR or asus p6t.
4 RAM slots could mess with further ram expansion if he feels the need in a couple of years.

 

[Jumping_Bean514]

SOB didn't notice the ram slots. I'll switch up the board to something else as I was really shaky on that board to begin with. I wanted to go with the Asus P6t but its 50$ more... Yeah theirs no micro center in Seattle, Only Frys.

 

[Sir Cumference]

Hmm, its gonna be a tight fit with that case. I have the same one (wide a clear side panel), but with a 7800gt so imagine a 4890 or even SLI/Xfire. Not really that great for cable management unless you put in huge work. Never seen anyone put holes into it though. Id imagine it would help a lot.

Id consider a different case if I were you just to avoid the trouble. $1000 is a tight budget for an i7 build. Doable but then you gotta skimp on some parts. If your friend could add another $200 to the budget, it would help a lot.

I reread your first post again and I see whats going on. nvm about this post, haha.

 

[Jumping_Bean514]

Hmm, its gonna be a tight fit with that case. I have the same one (wide a clear side panel), but with a 7800gt so imagine a 4890 or even SLI/Xfire. Not really that great for cable management unless you put in huge work. Never seen anyone put holes into it though. Id imagine it would help a lot.

Id consider a different case if I were you just to avoid the trouble. $1000 is a tight budget for an i7 build. Doable but then you gotta skimp on some parts. If your friend could add another $200 to the budget, it would help a lot.

I reread your first post again and I see whats going on. nvm about this post, haha.

I might switch the case to an Antec 300 anyways because we may want to put his old 8800gtx in it until we buy a little media center card.