Upgrading, again...

[insane84722]

I'm upgrading again and want to know what you think of my choices. Any suggestions are very welcome.

MB: from Newegg.com - EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard to Newegg.com - ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

I've had freezing problems with the evga board, otherwise I wouldn't change the MB. Should I try another/same evga MB?

GPU: from Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1285-AR GeForce GTX 285 SC Edition 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card to Newegg.com - EVGA 015-P3-1482-AR GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) SuperClocked 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card (or GTX 470?)

I do heavy gaming at 5040x1050. Will a 480 or 470 better suit my needs?

CPU: from i7 920 C0 to I7 920 D0 (o/c 4.0+ ghz)

RAM: from Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK (6gb) to Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH (8gb)

HD: Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (x3, 2 in raid0) to Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (x3, 2 in raid0)

Had 1 drive fail, outside warranty and another on the way out. Trying WD.


I plan on keeping the following components (suggestions if any?)

PSU: Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
CPU HS: Newegg.com - XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
OS: Vista Ultimate 64-bit (w7 sometime)
Case: NZXT TEMPEST


So, that is my planned upgrade. What do you think?

 

[Slaymate]

You've had freezing problems with the EVGA E758-A1, can you elaborate? If it's not a problem we can't solve then I would RMA the mobo and use the replacement.

Go with the GTX 480 over the GTX 470 if your gaming at High Resolutions. I wouldn't get a SC "SuperClocked" version, I have (2) of the regular EVGA 480's and they easily overclock to the same speeds as the SC version.

The i7 920 D0 rules

Stick with the OCZ Platinum (3x2GB) DDR3 1600. Also the G.Skill kit you linked to is only a (2x2GB) kit. The i7 920 has a Triple Channel Memory Controller so you always want to buy kits with (3) modules, not (2).

The Hard Drives are really a matter of Choice, but you won't go wrong with Western Digital.

Instead of messing with new ram, which I don't advise, upgrade to Win 7 64-bit now instead

 

[Sean W.]

bleghhh Nividia!? get a ATI man! so much better!

 

[Muffin Man]

do you feel comfortable with a raid 0 array where you could lose 2tb of data?

if you want speed, you could consider an ssd.
Newegg.com - Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2MH080G2R5 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

 

[insane84722]

The freezing, which happens about 6/10 times, happens once the computer reaches the desktop and is used or idle for about 5-8 minutes. It completly freezes requiring a hard restart. This only happens after the computer has been off for awhile, typically overnight. Once I hard restart, all is well.

I have tried unplugging all usb, cables, etc., but it still happens. Trust me, i've done trial and error with everything. The MB is well outside of RMA, so should I try my luck with another one?

I will get the 480 (maybe sli later) standard edition. I will leave the ram. I didn't notice that it was 2 instead of 3 sticks. Thanks for pointing that out. It is good ram.

Do you know if newegg ships D0 revisions? As for an ssd, I plan on getting those instead of hdd, but not quite yet. I will upgrade to w7 eventually, but im still good with vista for now.

Will be getting the 500gb version, dont really need 1tb each. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320

 

[Slaymate]

The E758-A1 mobo has a Lifetime Warranty so it's never to late to RMA it. Post a HWMonitor screenshot please.

NewEgg has been shipping i7 920 D0 cpu for awhile. I don't think there are any C0 steppings left, but I could be wrong.

 

[insane84722]

Here is the screenshot you wanted.

Another question, is my current power supply still enough for the upgrade? Didn't notice that lifetime. Will I get a new or used rma?

 

[kmote]

I don't think I could spend the money on a whole new CPU just to change from C0 to D0 stepping. 750W corsair will be more than enough.

 

[insane84722]

I know, I want to o/c more than I can get my current cpu. Looking on newegg, the i7 930 is only $8 more than 920. Looks like I might get that instead.

Additional question, my current cpu heatsink, is it still good or is there an 'upgraded' version I should know about?