This will be my first build and I know I need guidance. I have spent days reading different posts and believe I have a tentative grip on an idea. I think I have selected all the parts required to produce a working machine but I'm not positive. I will be overclocking (Also a first) as soon as I learn how to safely. I intend to goose the CPU and RAM. A new (set?) video card will be in the future after DX11 support becomes more common. I am going for a build that I can upgrade a little at a time as prices drop and the need arises.
I appreciate any input.
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: ASAP
BUDGET RANGE: $1500 - ish After Rebates
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, video editing, Surfing, networking
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Monitor, OS, keyboard & mouse
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: NewEgg or other reputable site.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: I will be using my Sony 40? 1080p 120hz tv as a monitor.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I do not want a case full of led?s. I would prefer a mid-tower but will go for a full if I need to. I want good air flow for cooling and the quieter the better. Additionally I would like a PSU that is as economical as possible while supporting futurizing. Do I need a controller and/or Raid card? (What are they used for?) Below is a list of parts I am considering purchasing. Are they compatable? I want to run XP for a while until 7 gets the bugs worked out.
MOBO
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
What?s the difference between these 2 MOBO?s?
I am strongly against this idea. Loads of PC builds, literally loads, come with the idea of 'get another card later' but it never works out for a simple reason. By the time they can afford the second card, the first is outdated, and it's better value to sell the old card and buy one new one, rather than have two outdated ones. SLI/Crossfire is only recommended for those who can afford it to start with.
There isn't a great deal of difference between the EX58-UD5 and EX58-Extreme other than cooling setup. The UD5 is fine for your purposes. I'd avoid the EVGA boards, triple SLI boards are always troublesome, and EVGA are still learning how to produce decent boards.
The i7 950 isn't a great deal more powerful than the 920 - it's possibly worth it for those with a high budget, but for overclocking, the 920 will serve you pretty much as well. Even the 920 can get to 4Ghz in a good system.
Realistically, none of the power supplies or cases listed will offer a quiet system. The HAF932 can semi-achieve it, but the Antecs are certainly out.
Looking at the combos:
Combo 1: Ideally avoid Asus motherboards. Their quality is very suspect these days.
Combo 2: See earlier comment about Triple-SLI and EVGA.
Combo 3: As above, but take note that 850W PSUs for the most part are quite noisy (there is one well-known exception to this rule, the Zalman ZM850-HP, which I highlyrecommend for a high end dual/quad graphics setup - realistically though, 600W of power for almost any system is ample).
Combo 4: As above
Combo 5: Interesting case choice, the Zero 2 is relatively nice to work with and quieter than the other cases listed, but see before comment about the motherboard.
Combo 6: Nice board, but see previous discussion about the 950 - if overclocking, upgrading to a 950 isn't earning you much.
Combo 7: The HAF922 is slightly better designed than the 932, but still far from optimised for low noise.
Combo 8: See earlier comments
Combo 9: As above
You haven't decided on a graphics card. Unless you have a decent one already, this lot will be dramatically held back in games, as the graphics card is the most important bit of hardware in a PC for defining games performance.
Thank you for your opinion. You are correct I haven't decided on a gpu as of yet. I was planning on going with a GeForce GTS 250 1gig for the time being. I am not planning on a 3way SLI but 2 is a definite possibility. I figure there will be a new line of GTX 300's sometime next year. I have decided on a corsair 750tx 750watt psu just to be sure I have enough power for the second GPU and additional HDD's. I have already sworn off Asus but now I'm not sure where to turn.
If you want something cheap to get you buy then I'd recommend you either go for something cheap like an HD4670 or a good value midrange card like the HD4870. The GTS250 is a reasonably cheap cards as they come, but does not represent good value for money at all.
Brand preferences aside, you get more for the money with ATI hardware, and then some, at the moment.
