Building i7 gaming machine...

[DewmD66]

So I know a bit about computers, and i'm putting togeather a gaming machine. I'm not into OC (dont' want to void any warrentys and I am a newb so I don't want to do OC)

I put the specs for this machine togeather, hoping you can all take a look at it and tell me what you think/give me some idea's. thanks!

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ASUS P6TD Deluxe LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.com - ASUS P6TD Deluxe LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards


Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Newegg.com - Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases


CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies


LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray Reader & 16X LightScribe DVD±R DVD Burner
Newegg.com - LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray Reader & 16X LightScribe DVD±R DVD Burner - Blu-Ray Drives


COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks


XFX HD-587A-ZNF9 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity
Newegg.com - XFX HD-587A-ZNF9 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards


Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops


OCZ XMP Ready Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3X1600LV6GK
Newegg.com - OCZ XMP Ready Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3X1600LV6GK - Desktop Memory


SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
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As far as the harddrives go, i'd like to get 4 of them and do RAID 10. And I plan on running windows7 64bit.



Thanks!

 

[Hefemeister]

Save yourself some cash and get the i7 920. The 950 is a waste of cash.
the corsair 750tx would be plenty of power unless you plan on adding a second gpu at a later point in time.

 

[DewmD66]

What would be the benifits of adding a second gpu? (And no as of this point I had no plans on doing so)


So this Power supply would be plenty?

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

 

[Hefemeister]

For serious gaming on high resolution monitors.

Take a peek at this ram as it has the same speed and timings and is currently available:
Newegg.com - OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Desktop Memory

What is your need for a raid10 array?

 

[DewmD66]

As far as the raid 10, I originaly was just going to go with mirrored 1TB HD's, but if I dueled 500GB Samsungs I would be saving around $20.00 for the drives and it would be slightly faster.

But I do want the mirrored to help with hardware crashes.

 

[DewmD66]

Yeah that ram does look better. (visualy and its cheaper)

 

[Hefemeister]

If you have a different source for ram then great but on the egg the first set is not available and $150 while the ones I posted are $130 wit a $20 mir.

These would be the same price for 2 x 1tb in raid0. Less drives = less heat. plus 32mb of cache vs 16mb. The greens are $84 each and not much slower.
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives -Bare Drive
although raid10 can be a bit faster. Remember raid arrays are for hard drive failure not data backup.

the 750tx you picked out is great. I have one

 

[DewmD66]

Yeah I got backwards on my RAM links, but the ones that you posted deffinitly seem the way to go.

As far as that WD HD correct me if i'm wrong but I dont' think thats a single platter drive = slower. So if the price is same I think it would be better to stick to the Samsung, but maybe not?


And as far as the raid arrays, that is correct I want to protect myself from a HD failure. I've had quite a few brand computers (Dell XPS, a few HPS) and I've had more then 1 HD go bad on me. So you think its a waste?

Thanks for the info!

 

[Hefemeister]

If you are concerned about hd failure then it is not a waste as long as you back up your important data as well.

Unfortunately prebuilts generally do not come with the best components.

You are correct that the samsung is a slightly faster drive. I have just had issues with them in the past hence I am partial to WD. Samsung makes great components so if that is the way you want to go it will be a nice choice.

Here is a nice review for you to peruse:
bit-tech.net | Review - Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB Review

 

[DewmD66]

I am also partial to WD (All of my external drives have been by them, and no problems yet)

So i'm wondering.. Hmmm if it where you, would you go with say twin 1TB WD's with no backup. Or the 4 samsungs with the raid?