Trying to build my first pc , at a sticking point about parts

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OG_DeX

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Hi guys, so i've always bought big box pc's and for the last 5 years or so all Dells. I've decided to build my own by upgrading my current pc 1 item at a time. So im hoping you guys can give me a bit of advice on what i should get or wait to get with an eye toward the future so i dont have to go and replace parts needlessly

So this is what i've started with :

Dell 435t case
Win7 64 bit premium
Dell 435t Motherboard
i7 920 2.67gz quad core
12gb G.Skill DDR3 1033 ram (very first upgrade so its old)
Nvidia GTX 260 card 1.8gb video ram
600gb 7200 rpm hard drive (not sure about cache)
Stock 475w PSU

So i started in october by upgrading my PSU and GPU in anticipation of the BF3 release , my system would have un the game but i wasnt sure how well. I got a deal on these items bundled:

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Silent Pro M700 RS-700-AMBA-D3 700W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply PSU

Newegg.com - ASUS ENGTX560 DCII OC/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card GPU

I've always had issues with heat , not so much with my new card tho since the cooling is excellent , so i figure the smartest next step would be to get a big case to fit and cool all future upgrades. So last night i ordered :

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Compucase Case with USB 3.0, Black Interior and Four Fans-1x 230mm front RED LED fan, 1x 140mm rear fan, 1x 230mm top fan, and 1x 230mm side fan Case

So im a bit nervous about taking a motherboard out for the first time and trying to put it all together but i think i can do it and if i have to learn the hard way i'd rather it be on a board i intend to replace anyway. So when that arrives i'll look like this:

Cooler Master HAF 932 case
Win7 64 bit premium
Dell 435t motherboard
i7 920 2.67gz quad core
12gb G.Skill DDR3 1033 ram (very first upgrade so its old)
Asus GTX 560 DC II card 1gb video ram
600gb 7200 rpm hard drive (not sure about cache)
Cooler Master Silent Pro 700w PSU

So here are my thoughts by priority on the items left that are still stock:

1. Motherboard - Works but holds me back in many ways. I dont have the option to run SLI , i cant OC my CPU or set timing on ram due to Dell BIOS , my RAM speed is limited at 1033 due to Dell BIOS , i dont have enough SATA connectors for my optical drives and HDD's (i have 3 connections on the board but 4 drives)

2. CPU - Solid performance , never seems to break a sweat and its not even OC'd

3. HDD - I'd like to get a 120gb SSD as a boot drive and to run whatever games i happen to play most and then use the HDD for files , media etc.

4. RAM - 12g is plenty for now , i'd like to get 24g at a better speed than 1033 but as i understand win7 premium can only use 16g and i would need win7 pro to use 24g

5. OS - only a thought if i'd like to get the 24g ram


I thought next i should get this MoBo:

Newegg.com - ASUS Sabertooth X58 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

And put my CPU in it and then i could OC if i needed too but my concern is that i may lock myself into this socket and some new awesome CPU may come out or PCIe 3.0 will be needed to play something and ill have to repurchase the board. Or maybe i should just start with the drives? This is where im stuck for now and need help

So sorry for the mega long post but does anybody have any idea what i should do about the MoBo/CPU or should i just focus on the drives? or any opinions on what ive done so far

Thanks for reading , you'll never get that hour back so you might as well reply lol
 
if you upgrade your motherboard youll need to buy a new win7 disc. HP, Dell and so on all use OEM disc for windows and are linked to the motherboard there first installed on, change the motherboard lose windows
 
1) Keep in mind when you change your motherboard you will also have to buy a new Windows license, since your current license is tied to the motherboard you currently have installed. But it does sound like you will certainly need a new MB considering how limited the Dell one is for you.

2) Yeah the i7 920 is a good chip and with a MB that would allow you to OC it, along with an aftermarket heatsink, it should last you quite a while.

3) SSDs, always a good decision.

4) 12GB of RAM is a ton, I can't imagine you would need more than that before you need to upgrade your CPU and MB again. Wouldn't hurt to get 12GB of 1600MHz RAM at some point, but not sure how much of a real world performance increase you would see with it.

5) See 1) and 4). You will need a new OS with a new MB, up to you if you want to move to Pro when you upgrade.

The Sabertooth X58 is a really nice board and should do everything you are looking for in a motherboard.
A new batch of Intel CPUs has already launched (Sandy Bridge E, socket 2011) and at the beginning of next year we should get another batch (Ivy Bridge, assumed socket 1155/2011). Your socket 1366 is already old news, but that doesn't mean it is bad by any means. I would certainly expect your i7 920 to be working like a champ for at least another year, if not longer.
As to PCIe 3.0, I wouldn't get too worried about it. Most current gen GPUs can't even saturate PCIe 2.0 bandwidth, so by the time you're looking at a GPU that will test the limits of PCIe 3.0 you should also be looking at a new CPU and MB, or already have them. Plus they are all backwards compatible, so even if you want to buy a PCIe 3.0 card you can still put it in a PCIe 2.0 slot.
 
I had no idea that i would need to buy a new copy of windows , i thought it would just go with my HDD! That would have been an ugly surprise. Ok , so back to my little list then

1. Mobo - this should be my next step

2. CPU - Keep for a couple more years , I'll get more from mine with the board and by the time i need more the 6 core option for this socket should be down in price ($1,000!)

3. SSD - Def step 2 after new MoBo and OS

4. RAM - I'll play that by ear , if i catch an awesome deal then ill pick up some faster sticks but this isnt a concern

5. OS - Have to buy with Mobo

So , now that i have a plan , here's my last question. What Motherboard should i get? The Asus Sabertooth is $195 and the Asus Rampage III is $218 after 10% discount and $30 M.I.R. , im kind of thinking the rampage because of the 3 way SLI and SATA 3.0 support, any thoughts? For $20 i def want the best option

Newegg.com - ASUS Rampage III Formula LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard Rampage III

Newegg.com - ASUS Sabertooth X58 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard Sabertooth
 
if you have the money id go with the rampage. tho i myself see no reason for 3way sli/crossfire. with two gtx 570 or ati 6970 im sure your cpu would be bottlenecking you before youll ever need a 3rd and even then other then bentchmarks id think 2 will still pwn any game withh room to spare . BUT i say the rampage because with the sabertooth PCIe slots so close some cards can run realy hot with the rampage you could put a card in slot 1 then the other in slot 3 and get a ton better airflow
 
If it was me I'd look at the EVGA X58 mobo's, I had great luck overclocking my old 920 and the 920 in my office pc with EVGA mobo's. But that is a pretty good deal on the Rampage III, I'm sure you'll be happy.
 
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