"First"-timer requesting advice & double-check

[SpacemanSpiff]

Hola!

I've long worked in the computer field, have replaced nearly every component type (in older, existing systems), installed OS's and NOS's, but never "rolled my own" hardware-wise, and I'm not up on the latest. Will appreciate advice on current tech, compatibility, and any other suggestions.

This is supposed to be my "dream" computer. Intended usages:

definitely productivity/internet,
want to dual-boot to some kind of Linux,
I may get games my previous (old) PCs could never play,
the way my room is situated now, I could watch streaming movies on it,
or hook up a Wii someday,
I take a lot of pictures but haven't gotten into editing them much ... yet.

And I'm all about keeping parts around forever and upgrading pieces as needed (vs. building from scratch every few years). I may not take the time to learn/risk(?) overclocking, but I'm curious. All-encompassing budget is ~$1800 (last year's "stimulus"), but would like to save some for other things, like anyone else.

Based on recent comments about future proofing with an i7 CPU, my first cut is in that direction.

(Also, I'm also going to a computer show tomorrow ... something I don't see mentioned much around here ... to see if I can beat the current Newegg prices on some of these things.)

Basically, I started with the latest "high end build" I found, with very few mods ... but I have questions/wonderings:

Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128362) GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ... I guess GB is the new ASUS? Has built-in wired & wireless net, right?

CPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202) Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz

Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx? ... I haven't had a chance to look .. why is this better than Q9550 or E8400? Item=N82E16817139006) CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V ... or is a 650W just as good?

Ram (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225) G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 ... Is 6GB necessary now? What happened to Crucial that Rob always recommends? I guess G.Skill is good b/c I see it in these forums often.

GPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433) EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition ... oft recommended here

Hard Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319) Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB ... I think I only need one. And SSD was too much at $300+. I may want to get a larger HDD for a net drive/backup later. Ideas?

Optical Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173) Samsung SH-S223Q 22X DVD R/W burner with LightScribe

The only things not above are:
- case w/o PSU: which I had questions about here (http://forums.mysuperpc.com/showthread.php?t=2394) (est. $60) ... currently considering this GIGABYTE Triton 180 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233016)

- OS: I already have an unused copy of XP ($85)

- monitor: I have serious issues deciding between 22" vs. 24" (at a 20" viewing distance or so and a daughter without the greatest eyesight, or movies from across the room) and TN vs. VA vs. IPS. I guess I'll see if they have a Dell 2408WFP A01, 2209WA, SP2309W, or HP LP2475W for ~$400 or less at the show tomorrow. I don't see too many monitor-related discussions here.

- keyb/mouse: I like my wife's Logitech EX110 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126174&Tpk=logitech%20EX110) [I]EXCEPT I want the home-insert-page group oriented the traditional way ... ideas?

- SPEAKERS! (almost forgot): Rob's Hifi.com Cambridge's are out of stock. Suggested replacements?

- Do I need extra cooling?

All above is ~$1725 (assuming similar/estimated pricing for the unnamed items), including shipping, from Newegg ... better if I get some deals at The Show.

Or should I just drop the mobo and RAM back to Budget+ with the Q9550 CPU and save the ~$250 for other things (or just Save)?
Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358) GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041) Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz LGA 775
Ram (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122) G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800

Anything else I need to consider? Thanks, everyone!
Spiff :^{D

[The Wise Monkey]

For the motherboard, that Gigabyte board is very good, but if you want to stick with ASUS then the P6T is excellent:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131359

Case wise, I can't really give much better advice than "whatever you like". Remember that you are going to be looking at/using it for a long time, so you really need to be comfortable with your choice. I've always liked the Lian Li aluminium cases, but they are very expensive.

If you can afford it, a 24" monitor would be a better choice for watching films, but you could probably get a very good 22" monitor for the same price i.e. one with a lower response time, better contrast.

A 650W PSU would be just fine for that setup.

G.Skill is a good brand of budget RAM that also dabbles in the higher performance range. A good alternative would be this OCZ, which is only $85 after MIR:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

[RickyTick]

Like Wise Monkey said, its really hard to recommend a case since so much is just personal preference. Look here for some reviews of different cases.
http://www.3dgameman.com/content/category/4/19/48/

I have a tendency to recommend the G.Skill ram only because I've used it and I'm comfortable with it. There are many others that are just as good or better, like Corsair, Crucial, OCZ, A-Data, Mushkin, Kingston, and others.

Building an i7 system for under $1800 is going to be hard to do if you're including a monitor. Although you can find some nice 22" monitors for under $200. That Dell 2408wfp is great, but it can be rather pricey. We talked about it in a previous thread, didn't we? Also, there are some budget i7 motherboards available now too. Check this out. http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/16558
It may be possible afterall. I'll give it a look through and post back.

[RickyTick]

Affordable i7

Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375) GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 $195

CPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202) Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz $280

Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006) CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V $90

Ram (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145220) CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 $69

GPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433) EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition $200

Hard Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319) Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB $80

Optical Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173) Samsung SH-S223Q 22X DVD R/W burner with LightScribe $30

Operating System (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488) Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit $100

Total after rebates $1169

Add an arbitrary case $125

Leaves roughly $500 for a monitor.

[RickC]

May I also add there is nothing mentioned as far as fans and depending upon the case you buy and what it may have for fans, more than one case fan and the fan on the video card might be a wise decision just based on the fact that cool is good! Also as Wise Monkey recommended to me when I was building mine don't forget an adapter for the CPU Fan if you decide to put one in. All this based on what you case you plan on buying or using. Lastly make sure your Video card will fit in the case you are planning to use. Seems the higher end cards get rather large probably more in length of the card than anything else. Hope my 2 cents help.

[SpacemanSpiff]

Thanks to everyone!


A 650W PSU would be just fine for that setup.

Would that still be true if I decided to overclock and needed more cooling than listed above?

I just keep noticing that RickyTick goes for the 750W, so I wonder why if 650W is enough.

Spiff :^{D

[The Wise Monkey]

You could go for the 750W if the price difference isn't too great, but the 650W would still be perfectly fine.

[SpacemanSpiff]

Thanks for the words of PS wisdom, WiseMonkey.

Now, this has not gone unnoticed ...


May I also add there is nothing mentioned as far as fans and depending upon the case you buy and what it may have for fans, more than one case fan and the fan on the video card might be a wise decision just based on the fact that cool is good! Also as Wise Monkey recommended to me when I was building mine don't forget an adapter for the CPU Fan if you decide to put one in. All this based on what you case you plan on buying or using. Lastly make sure your Video card will fit in the case you are planning to use. Seems the higher end cards get rather large probably more in length of the card than anything else. Hope my 2 cents help.

I agree that the fans issue is based on the case chosen, so I've waited until after choosing a case to respond to it. I've chosen this Gigabyte Triton 180 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233016). Out of everything I looked through, it had nearly everything I wanted (see other thread) (http://forums.mysuperpc.com/showthread.php?p=13076).

So, now, with case (and many other parts) selected, what else would I need to ensure totally cool workability? This case comes with two 120mm fans. Any extra small parts or additional cooling needed for what I'm spec'ing?

And what about that video card fit issue. Could that be an issue here?

Thanks again!
Spiff :^{D

[SpacemanSpiff]

Just bumping to see if these questions can be answered. I'm sure they were just overlooked. I've never done this "from scratch" before, so I just want to be as sure as possible that I have everything right.


So, now, with case (and many other parts) selected, what else would I need to ensure totally cool workability? This case comes with two 120mm fans.

Any extra small parts or additional cooling needed for what I'm spec'ing?

And what about that video card fit issue. Could that be an issue here?


Thanks, all!
Spiff :^{D

[The Wise Monkey]

You might have a problem fitting the video card in as the case is only 17.4" long. However, the card that Ricky linked to is now listed as a deactivated item, so you would be looking at getting something different anyways - the GTX275 looks good for about $200.

If you want better cooling, then you will probably need a slightly larger case as they tend to have more fans - one on the front, one at the back and one on the side is the usual setup, but some cases have a fan on the top as well.

[SpacemanSpiff]

You might have a problem fitting the video card in as the case is only 17.4" long. However, the card that Ricky linked to is now listed as a deactivated item, so you would be looking at getting something different anyways - the GTX275 looks good for about $200.

Hrrm. Concerned about the length now. Actually, I noticed Ricky's item was deactivated as soon as I saw it. However, the one I originally spec'd is still active.

My spec was 896-P3-1257-AR. Ricky's was 896-P3-1267-AR. Other than the 1 num in the model#, I don't see an actual difference in the description/specs. Wait, mine has an HDMI connector "via Adapter," whatever that means. I'm inexperienced with GPUs, so am I missing some other diff?


If you want better cooling, then you will probably need a slightly larger case as they tend to have more fans - one on the front, one at the back and one on the side is the usual setup, but some cases have a fan on the top as well.

I only want more cooling if I need it. And I don't know how to tell if I need it. Based on my setup and intentions, do I need it? Or other advice to help me determine for myself?

Thanks once again!
Spiff :^{D

[RickyTick]

That first one was discontinued and replaced with the 1257.

Even though the GTX260 is 10.5 inches long, remember that the two 6 pin power connectors are on the side of that card and not at the back like many of the older cards. You should have enough room. However, if you don't, then go with the Radeon 4870 1gb, as it is more than an inch shorter.

[The Wise Monkey]

Good point Ricky - as long as you are careful how you arrange your hard drives then you should be fine.

The 4870 1GB is a very good card, definitely comparable in performance to the GTX260.