New High-End Build

[mnelson07]

So, I have had this current PC for quite some time now and I'm looking to build a new one. My video card has really been ****ing me off lately as it isn't running current games (like BFBC2) as well as I'd like. Plus, there is this really weird driver error I get when playing Heroes of Newerth, the drivers fail but windows recovers and the screen just goes black for a couple of seconds.

Anyways, this is what I'm looking at buying.
EDIT
I forgot to mention I already have everything I need (case, keyboard & mouse, monitors, and Windows 7 Professional), I'm just building the core machine.

Motherboard:
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 - $289.99
(I know the ASUS P6T LGA is $60 cheaper, the difference seem to be 1 less PS2 port, 2 more USB ports, and 16x/16x/1x vs 16x/16x/4x, but I'll be doing crossfire in the future so as long as I have PCIe 2.0 @ 16x/16x I'm happy)

Processor:
Intel i7 920 @ 2.66GHz - $288.99
(I'll shoot to OC 3.66Ghz and beyond depending on temps and stability)

Heatsink:
Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme vs. Thermalright Venomous X - About $100 (including fan)
I'll definitely overclock, but I can't decide between the two. They are priced and preform similarly, so let me know your opinions (and that includes a different type of heatsinks if they are better). Please suggest a efficient and quiet 120mm fan too.

Video card:
HIS ATi HD 5970 - $799.99

RAM:
Corsair Dominator 6GB - $229.99

PSU:
Corsair 750w - $149.99
(I will be overclocking, I will have 3 HDD's, and I plan on purchasing a 2nd GPU to crossfire in a couple of months)

Hard Drive:
WD Caviar 750GB 32mb cache - $79.99 (I already have 2 of these)

Optical Drive:
Sony Optiarc - $25.99

Estimated Total: $1,964.93 (before shipping)
(estimated because I don't know exactly how much the heatsink and fan I choose will be)

 

[aliasaid]

cpu: Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-930 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 Quad-Core Desktop Processor - Processors - Desktops
pretty much the same price, and you have that extra multiplier to play with.

heatsink: Newegg.com - Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
since you're looking in the $100 range, this noctua is apparently really good. It includes 2 fans; and its also quite massive! Noctua NH-D14 HSF Review - The Best CPU Cooler Ever? - Installing the NH-D14 - Legit Reviews

gpu: i guess if you need the best... 5970 is the way to go.

ram: i really doubt you'll need the 12gbs.

PSU: since you're eventually going to get 2 5970s in crossfire, i recommend you get a more powerful PSU (even though the one you chose is excellent).
This is a well priced modular PSU.
Newegg.com - Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W Continuous Power ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply - Power Supplies

If modular isn't that necessary then one of these:
Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE OP1000-E 1000W ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies
Newegg.com - CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-950TX 950W ATX12V v2.3/EPS12V v2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

For a $2000+ budget no SSD?!

Good Luck.

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

Motherboard:
I don't understand why you want the Deluxe vs the standard?
They're essentially the same, but one's cheaper.

Third Party Coolers:
Megahalem
Cooler Master Hyper 212
Vigor Monsoon III LT
(I'm not a hardcore overclocker but I personally got an i7 920 C0 stepping to 4.2Ghz with the Vigor Monsoon III LT with temps that only got to the mid 50's-low 60's full load)

RAM:
I advise against that particular ram set because of the high heatsinks, they may block your third party CPU cooler.


PSU:
The Antec Truepower New 750w would work too and you can get it for 80-90$ right now with a promo code.


I don't have any suggestions over the rest, but you can get a Samsung Spinpoint F3 1Tb for $89.99 and they outperform the caviar blacks in sequential read/write.

 

[Slaymate]

I would get the i7 920 over the 930, the 920 is a proven cpu, but either way you'll be good.

I would get this mobo for overclocking and it's got a cheaper price tag than the Asus P6T Deluxe V2.
Newegg.com - EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Straight out of the box I would say the Venomous is a good performer but it won't match up with a lapped TRUE. http://www.techist.com/forums/f115/thermalright-venomous-x-222481/
If your willing to lap the TRUE it's your best bet. If you want a heatsink you don't have to mess with, just install, I'll recommend the Prolimatech Megahalem. The Noctua NH-D14 is just a Monstrosity, avoid it like the Plague. Here's a link to a lapping guide. http://www.techist.com/forums/f10/heatsink-lapping-guide-226442/

(I'm not a hardcore overclocker but I personally got an i7 920 C0 stepping to 4.2Ghz with the Vigor Monsoon III LT with temps that only got to the mid 50's-low 60's full load)

I don't believe you, in fact, that's an Outragous Claim.


The Corsair Dominators are not worth the money. Plus , with the tall heatspreaders you may have obstruction issues with a Good Heatsink. I would get these
Newegg.com - OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Desktop Memory
Or if you just want to pay more get these.
Newegg.com - Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 998681 - Desktop Memory

The Corsair 750 should be fine. If you want more power I would go with one of these.
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies
or
Newegg.com - CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-950TX 950W ATX12V v2.3/EPS12V v2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

The Western Digital Black is a good choice, I would avoid the Samsung.

When you get your system setup here's a Overclocking Guide
http://www.techist.com/forums/f10/i7-overclocking-guide-224693/

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

I don't believe you, in fact, that's an Outragous Claim.

I actually did this in February 2009, I'm sorry if you don't believe it.
I'll see if I can find a screenshot, I took some, though I've sold that computer since then, so I don't know if I'll be able to.

I will specify that I had hyperthreading off, I think I may have had turbo off too, but I don't remember specifically, and my case airflow was amazing.

I had to up my vcore and look for the stable sweet spot to get the overclock, I spent several hours and days looking for it, and my temps never got very high, I had the case sitting on a table in front of several windows.

I don't live in a very hot climate or anything, and being that it was winter the ambient temperature was probably somewhat low, considering it was snowing in February here last year.


And what do you have against Samsung Spinpoint F3's?
Their sequential read/write beats the Caviar Black's.
And thus their real world performance is faster.


I'll try to get the batch number from the i7 920 C0 that I used as well.

3842A402 <-- I believe that's the batch number from the CPU used. I will double check if you would like me to.

 

[Muffin Man]

Video card:
HIS ATi HD 5970 - $799.99

that's an outrageous price even for a 5970. it doesn't even have like a non-reference cooler or come pre-OCed or anything that would warrant that high of a price.

it looks like you just went with the most expensive one, um why, lol?

NCIXUS.com - Buy Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 OC Edition 735MHZ 2GB 4.04GHZ DDR5 PCI-E 2XDVI Mini DisplayPort Video Card - 21165-01-51R.
$640, although idk when there will be more stock.

 

[Slaymate]

I actually did this in February 2009, I'm sorry if you don't believe it.
I'll see if I can find a screenshot, I took some, though I've sold that computer since then, so I don't know if I'll be able to.

I will specify that I had hyperthreading off, I think I may have had turbo off too, but I don't remember specifically, and my case airflow was amazing.

I had to up my vcore and look for the stable sweet spot to get the overclock, I spent several hours and days looking for it, and my temps never got very high, I had the case sitting on a table in front of several windows.

I don't live in a very hot climate or anything, and being that it was winter the ambient temperature was probably somewhat low, considering it was snowing in February here last year.


And what do you have against Samsung Spinpoint F3's?
Their sequential read/write beats the Caviar Black's.
And thus their real world performance is faster.


I'll try to get the batch number from the i7 920 C0 that I used as well.

3842A402 <-- I believe that's the batch number from the CPU used. I will double check if you would like me to.

I don't care what you claim to have turned off or what settings you claim to have used. Unless your room was so cold that water would freeze you got nowhere near 4.2GHz with air and temps in the 50's or low 60'sC. And if your room was that cold then you shouldn't be recommending a heatsink based off of abnormal operating conditions. In fact I don't believe you could get to 4.2GHz if you were at the North Pole.

While the sequential reads and writes do matter, it's the random reads and writes that your system is more likely to do frequently.

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

I don't care what you claim to have turned off or what settings you claim to have used. Unless your room was so cold that water would freeze you got nowhere near 4.2GHz with air and temps in the 50's or low 60'sC. And if your room was that cold then you shouldn't be recommending a heatsink based off of abnormal operating conditions. In fact I don't believe you could get to 4.2GHz if you were at the North Pole.

While the sequential reads and writes do matter, it's the random reads and writes that your system is more likely to do frequently.

I'm sorry?
What sort of temps do you get with your amazing overclocking skills?

And...

"Random read speeds and latencies are almost identical to the F1 in every regard and random write speeds are actually a little down, while write latencies are actually up. Of course, IOmeter is a purely synthetic benchmark and the differences in everyday use will be utterly unnoticeable"

Bit-tech doesn't think they would affect real world performance noticeably.

 

[Slaymate]

I'm sorry?
What sort of temps do you get with your amazing overclocking skills?

And...

"Random read speeds and latencies are almost identical to the F1 in every regard and random write speeds are actually a little down, while write latencies are actually up. Of course, IOmeter is a purely synthetic benchmark and the differences in everyday use will be utterly unnoticeable"

Bit-tech doesn't think they would affect real world performance noticeably.

If you'll look around this forum at the overclocking and benchmark threads you'll find all sorts of info about my overclocking skills.

If I cared what Bit-Tech had to say I would be over there.

Edit: I didn't mean to Hijack this thread.

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

If you'll look around this forum at the overclocking and benchmark threads you'll find all sorts of info about my overclocking skills.

If I cared what Bit-Tech had to say I would be over there.

Yep, then I'm definitely lying, just because you don't believe me.


Edit: Sorry for bickering.