building a new rig

[VistaGamer]

Alright I am going to be building a new rig this summer, and I want to plan out what I am getting now. Prices will hopefully drop by then but if not I am still getting this.


All I know is that it will have this


CPU: Intel Core i7 940 BX80601940 - INTEL CORE I7-940 2.93GHZ 8MB CACHE LGA-1366 4.8GT QPI - Sohodiffusion.com

GPU: XFX GTX 285 GX-285N-ZDFF - XFX GTX 285 648MHZ 1024MB 2.48GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E DUAL DVI-I HDMI HDCP - Sohodiffusion.com (This company allows you to overclock and stay in double lifetime warranty. thats why I am buying this brand's one instead of BFG or another company.)

RAM: Corsair 2x2048 extreme speed sticks TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - CORSAIR TWIN2X2048-6400C4 2GB 2X1GB DDR2 800MHz PC2-6400 CL4 DC Kit - Sohodiffusion.com

Monitor: Acer 24 inch 1920x1200 ET.FP4WP.002 - ACER 24IN P244WBIICN 24IN TFT LCD 3000:1ACM 1920X1200 VGA BLACK 300 CD/M2 - Sohodiffusion.com

Hard Drive: Western Digital caviar black 1Tb WD10EACS - WESTERN DIGITAL 1TB GREEN 7200RPM 16Mb CACHE SATA II - Sohodiffusion.com (Friend suggested this company, he said that new seagate models have some problems)

Optical Drive: Samsung blackbulk SH-S223F/BEBN - SAMSUNG DVDRW 22X SATA BLACKBULK W/ VISTA SW - Sohodiffusion.com (Also recommended by friend)

Case: NZXT zero 2 full tower NZX-ZERO2 - NZXT ZERO 2 *NO PS* FULL TOWER (BLACK) - Sohodiffusion.com ( I can get extra fans, for anyone looking at newegg reviews)

Using that site, Which power supply should I get? Which mobo should I get thats compatible with i7? and what else do i need other than that? what can I upgrade?

I want my monitor to stay around that size. I don't want anything bigger than 1920 x 1200. I don't want to go blu-ray yet, so I may be keeping the blackbulk if it turns out to be any good. I don't want the total price going over 3000 ( thats what I am planning to make over the summer, with a few extra hundred here and there), so i think i may be able to get a better component here or there, but nothing too drastic.


Thanks for any help.


Oh I forgot, i am getting windows vista ultimate 64 bit.

 

[scrimstar]

You're Canadian? You can buy your stuff from newegg.ca, or NCIX, which provide to Canadians for a nice price. They also have a wide selection of everything. I recommend getting i7 920. XFX GTX295, Gskill DDR3 3x2GB (i7 can only take multiples of 3 DDR3 RAM, not 2x2), WD 1TB Caviar Black (faster), and a CoolerMaster Cosmos computer case, because NZXT cases are hard to work with.

That monitor looks good, but you might want a Samsung, because they are higher quality, but Acer is also pretty good. You also might want a BluRay burner, because it will be cheaper by summer, and your monitor can support 1080p. They might have new, cheaper motherboards by then, but I recommend getting a Asus P6T deluxe for now. The Corsair 850TX is an awesome PSU.

 

[VistaGamer]

This Site offers good prices too, and I can pick up the parts anytime I want, but thanks for the offer.

hmm... Are you sure about the i7 downgrade? I mean the lowest grade i7 beats the phenom 2, So imagine the power of the mid grade i7.

I really don't need a 295, 285 is fine. It's pretty expensive, But I guess the difference between the mid and low grade i7 makes up for the price.

how about these sticks then? KVR1333D3N9K3/6G - KINGSTON KVR1333D3N9K3/6G 6GB KIT 3X2GB 1333MHZ DDR3 NON-ECC CL9 DIMM - Sohodiffusion.com

by faster western digital caviar black, do you mean this? WD1001FALS - WESTERN DIGITAL 1TB 7200RPM 32MB CACHE SATA II - Sohodiffusion.com ? remember I dont want the price range too drastic, I want to stay in between 2000-3000 dollars.

I'll keep the NZXT case, just because I know someone who can teach me how to work with it properly. Very lucky to have a tech wizard (most of the times) friend.

heres the samsung monitor, is it good? LS24TWHSUV/ZC - SAMSUNG 24IN T240 WS LCD 1920X1200 20000:1 5MS - Sohodiffusion.com

Like I said BluRay might be a nice feature but I will probably stick to a normal ODD for now. If the price does drop fairly then I will consider it.

Thank you for your reccomendation on a mobo and a psu.

Also, thank you for those suggestions.

Heres the Mobo I am getting, Its a variant of the ASus P6T deluxe P6T DELUXE/OC PALM - ASUS P6T DELUXE/OC PALM S.1366 INT X58/ICH10R ATX 3PCIE X16,6D.DDR3-1333MHZ 1600 /1333FSB SATA RAID0 - Sohodiffusion.com

Do you recommend a sound card?

Everything I have now comes out to around 3150 dollars with tax. I don't have too much room to squeeze out more.

 

[scrimstar]

The i7 940 isn't worth it, because the i7 920 can OC really high, but you won't need it that high. You should really get a GTX295, because it will be almost double the performance of the single GTX285, for less than 200% of the price. That RAM kit is nice, for the price. Your mobo, monitor, and HDD are good to go, but what PSU are you going to get?

 

[VistaGamer]

Do you think i could get better ram for no more than 40 dollars more expensive?

you gave me an awesome recommendation for a psu, I might take that

It's a choice between either that, or a Pcpower&cooling psu PPCT860 - PCPOWER PPCT860 860W TURBO COOL SERIES - Sohodiffusion.com

 

[scrimstar]

PCP&P and Corsair are almost the same quality, go with the cheaper of the two. I recommend going with OCZ, Corsair, and Gskill for RAM.

 

[VistaGamer]

final total is just over 3200 dollars, I cant spend more than that


However, would getting the cheaper 9800 gx2 be a better idea? I heard that card also kicks ***, in fact I heard it beat the 295 at some benchmarks. Which would be better at 1920x1200 res?