$2,500 gaming rig plz rate (ordering soon)

[Guttzu]

So the time has come to order my stuff... I get paid next Friday so I am going to start ordering stuff the second I get paid if not before (I have about $1000 saved up to start ordering stuff)...

Here is my wishlist... let me know what you all think and what I should/could change...
Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

Monitor: Seems awesome...

i7 920 or 950?

Is the Optical Drive any good?

Case: I like the style of it and I think it will suit me well...

Case Fans: Slaymate recommended the HS fan to me so I need to get 2 more 120mm's to go on the HDD cage... Does CM or anyone else make some nice blue ones?

HS: Prolimatech Megahalem for Intel Socket 775 /1366 Products Model: MEGAHALEM [MEGAHALEM] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come
HS Fan: Cooler Master Y720DCD-25T1-GP 120mm Blue LED Silent Fan 110CFM 16dBA - Sleeved Products Model: Y720DCD-25T1-GP [Y720DCD-25T1-GP] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come

I think that is it... comments/recommendations are welcome... thanks to everyone on here for giving me advice over the months on everything!!!

 

[dirkpitt45]

Get rid of the windows vista and download the Windows 7 RC.

I'd recommend this case, seems to get a lot of love here. Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases.

That mobo seems like overkill honestly, unless you do some hardcore over-clocking I don't think there's a need for a 300USD board. If you get the p6t deluxe board combo; Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more! or even just the basic p6t combo.


The blu-ray drive seems kinda pointless to me also, I personally can't tell the difference between regular DVD and blu-ray on a computer monitor, but its up to you.

With the money saved from that a gtx 295 could be a possibility. Newegg.com - XFX GX295NHWFC GeForce GTX 295 1792MB 896 (448 x 2)-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Thats just my opinion, I personally can't notice the difference between my $110 board and a friend's 180$. But if you're overclocking and doing some cpu intensive stuff or benching then a good mobo would probably be a good idea. Otherwise just stick with the average ones.

 

[Slaymate]

For regular case fans I've been using the low speed Yate Loon. The medium speed Yate Loon is fairly quiet also. And you can get them in various colors. I've linked to the Blue ones

Yate Loon 120mm Low Speed Silent UV Blue Case Fan with Blue LED - D12SL-124UB - Sleeved Products Model: D12SL-124UB [D12SL-124UB] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come

Yate Loon 120mm Medium Speed Silent UV Blue Case Fan with Blue LED - D12SL-124UB - Sleeved Products Model: D12SM-124UB [D12SM-124UB] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come

I have a Lite-on Blu-ray in my Office Workstation and I have a Asus Blu-ray in my Gamer. They both work good for me. My Lite-on drive is out of stock at Newegg, this is the updated model.

Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Disc Combo Model iHES208-08 - Blu-Ray Drives

Newegg.com - ASUS Black 6X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-Ray DVD Combo Drive Model BC-06B1ST - Blu-Ray Drives

Stick with the i7 920, the others just cost more.

I think your good to go

 

[H4x3r]

Like Slaymate said, stick with the 920, seeing as it overclocks so well you can easily pass the speed of a 940 while on stock cooling. I've got mine running 24/7 @4.2ghz.....love the chip and you'll save $700 as well

 

[Guttzu]

For regular case fans I've been using the low speed Yate Loon. The medium speed Yate Loon is fairly quiet also. And you can get them in various colors. I've linked to the Blue ones

Yate Loon 120mm Low Speed Silent UV Blue Case Fan with Blue LED - D12SL-124UB - Sleeved Products Model: D12SL-124UB [D12SL-124UB] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come

Yate Loon 120mm Medium Speed Silent UV Blue Case Fan with Blue LED - D12SL-124UB - Sleeved Products Model: D12SM-124UB [D12SM-124UB] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come

I have a Lite-on Blu-ray in my Office Workstation and I have a Asus Blu-ray in my Gamer. They both work good for me. My Lite-on drive is out of stock at Newegg, this is the updated model.

Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Disc Combo Model iHES208-08 - Blu-Ray Drives

Newegg.com - ASUS Black 6X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-Ray DVD Combo Drive Model BC-06B1ST - Blu-Ray Drives

Stick with the i7 920, the others just cost more.

I think your good to go

Thanks for the help man!!! What would you recommend between those 2 fans? The medium or low speed? What would be the best airflow between the 2? Also there is an option between using a 3 pin and 4 pin? what is the better choice? 3pin connects to the MB and 4pin to the PS? I'll be ordering this next week so I just want to make sure all my "ducks are in a row" per say lol

 

[Slaymate]

The Medium is going to move the most air.
The 4 pin standard Molex connector will be the most common as you can plug it directly to the Power Supply. And you can alway use an adapter if needed.

4-pin to 3-Pin Female Socket Cable Adapter Sleeved [4PIN3PIN] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come

Also, speaking of adapters. If the medium speed fan is to loud you can always use one of these to slow it down and reduce the noise.

4-pin reducer - 7V DC Quiet Fan Cable - Sleeved [7V-CABLE] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come

3-pin reducer - 9V DC Quiet Fan Cable - Sleeved [9V-CABLE] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come

 

[Guttzu]

The Medium is going to move the most air.
The 4 pin standard Molex connector will be the most common as you can plug it directly to the Power Supply. And you can alway use an adapter if needed.

4-pin to 3-Pin Female Socket Cable Adapter Sleeved [4PIN3PIN] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come

Also, speaking of adapters. If the medium speed fan is to loud you can always use one of these to slow it down and reduce the noise.

4-pin reducer - 7V DC Quiet Fan Cable - Sleeved [7V-CABLE] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come

3-pin reducer - 9V DC Quiet Fan Cable - Sleeved [9V-CABLE] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come

Thanks for the advice... looking at the fans you linked there is a section called "Available Options"... one of them is "convert to 3pin only, sleeved" and some others.... which one would you recommend to go with?

 

[hikaricloud]

If you're going for a dual drive setup here, with this budget you should grab an SSD instead of the 640gb.

Newegg.com - OCZ Vertex Series OCZSSD2-1VTX60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (SSD) - Solid State Disks

Also, don't get TX-3 unless you're looking to do some insane overclocking. TX-2 works fine, and you don't have an aftermarket HSF in that wishlist anyway.

Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-LGA1366 LGA 1366 Core I7 Socket Retention Bracket Set - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

Comes with a good fan and TX-2 bundled in, plus the bracket. 50 bucks minus 20 in rebates.

 

[Guttzu]

If you're going for a dual drive setup here, with this budget you should grab an SSD instead of the 640gb.

Newegg.com - OCZ Vertex Series OCZSSD2-1VTX60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (SSD) - Solid State Disks

Also, don't get TX-3 unless you're looking to do some insane overclocking. TX-2 works fine, and you don't have an aftermarket HSF in that wishlist anyway.

Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-LGA1366 LGA 1366 Core I7 Socket Retention Bracket Set - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

Comes with a good fan and TX-2 bundled in, plus the bracket. 50 bucks minus 20 in rebates.

Thanks for the advice on the TX-3.... I actually do have a HS/fan picked, I linked it at the bottom of my original post... So I should be fine with TX-2 or just spend the extra couple bucks and get TX-3? So tomorrow I'm going to start ordering stuff, I think I'll order the case first for sure and then start looking for combos on NewEgg... thanks to all who have helped!!! So I guess picking those Medium Speed fans will be the best choice for the HDD cage... So go with an SSD then? Will just one 60gb be enough for an OS/game drive? Aren't they a big hassle to keep updating and what not?

 

[hikaricloud]

Don't buy the Megahalem...it's a big waste of money. I would say one of the best performing HSF's out there, but for a price. For less than half what you will pay for that plus a decent fan and thermal compound, you could get the Core Contact with the retention bracket, which performs pretty well.

But it's up to you.