Hey everyone, I was wondering if ya'll could help me out. I'm wanting to build a computer but I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. I would say over the past six months I have researched a good 200 hours trying to find the perfect system for right around $2000. I'm almost done except for a couple questions and concerns.. Here's my set-up thus far:
Mobo:EVGA E758-TR 3-Way SLI
Newegg.com - EVGA E758-TR 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
CPU: i7 920 D0 Stepping... OR i7 975 extreme (obv this puts my total above 2k)
Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping
Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-975 Extreme Edition Bloomfield 3.33GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
RAM:Corsair XMS3 6GB
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C7 G - Desktop Memory
Cooler:???Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120mm w/ TX-2???
Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
Video Card:XFX HD-5970
Newegg.com - XFX HD-597A-CNF9 Radeon HD 5970 (Hemlock) 2GB 512 (256 x 2)-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Dual GPU Onboard CrossFire Video Card w/ Eyefinity - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Optical Drive:Samsung 24X DVD+R SATA, (might want a blu ray player along with this, any suggestions?)
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 24X DVD+R SATA 24x DVD Burner - Bulk - CD / DVD Burners
PSU:Corsair 950TX
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
Case:Cooler Master HAF 932
Case - Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Hard Drive:Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB (x2)
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
(This was a actually a suggestion to throw them in raid 0 to get maximum performance but I had heard partitioning is pretty crazy... honestly never done that before as I had always bought prebuilt.)
OS:Windows 7 Home
Monitor: Have no clue. What will the best performance be for the build I have with the 5970 ocing?
1920x1080 ok? or do I NEED 1920x1200 for minimum?
All in all I love this setup. It will keep me satisfied for a couple of years. Just making sure there isn't something better out there. And with the i7 975 ex I am more wanting to know if that would be a better choice in the long run or just go with the ocd 920. I want max performance really. And please don't just reply that's fine I don't know if that means "eh it's okay, but I could have done better" or "holy cow that's nice" lol. Any feedback or suggestions or criticism is happily appreciated.
Mobo:EVGA E758-TR 3-Way SLI
Newegg.com - EVGA E758-TR 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
CPU: i7 920 D0 Stepping... OR i7 975 extreme (obv this puts my total above 2k)
Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping
Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-975 Extreme Edition Bloomfield 3.33GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
RAM:Corsair XMS3 6GB
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C7 G - Desktop Memory
Cooler:???Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120mm w/ TX-2???
Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
Video Card:XFX HD-5970
Newegg.com - XFX HD-597A-CNF9 Radeon HD 5970 (Hemlock) 2GB 512 (256 x 2)-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Dual GPU Onboard CrossFire Video Card w/ Eyefinity - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Optical Drive:Samsung 24X DVD+R SATA, (might want a blu ray player along with this, any suggestions?)
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 24X DVD+R SATA 24x DVD Burner - Bulk - CD / DVD Burners
PSU:Corsair 950TX
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
Case:Cooler Master HAF 932
Case - Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Hard Drive:Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB (x2)
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
(This was a actually a suggestion to throw them in raid 0 to get maximum performance but I had heard partitioning is pretty crazy... honestly never done that before as I had always bought prebuilt.)
OS:Windows 7 Home
Monitor: Have no clue. What will the best performance be for the build I have with the 5970 ocing?
1920x1080 ok? or do I NEED 1920x1200 for minimum?
All in all I love this setup. It will keep me satisfied for a couple of years. Just making sure there isn't something better out there. And with the i7 975 ex I am more wanting to know if that would be a better choice in the long run or just go with the ocd 920. I want max performance really. And please don't just reply that's fine I don't know if that means "eh it's okay, but I could have done better" or "holy cow that's nice" lol. Any feedback or suggestions or criticism is happily appreciated.