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Finalizing i7 920 build, any recommendation?

Last response: in Systems
January 7, 2010 3:55:40 PM

I sold these from my old system for $400.
Cpu: Q6600
Mobo: evga 650i ultra
ram: ocz platinum ddr2 800
Sound: Asus xonar dx
PSU: Corsair tx650w

I also sold my
GPU: Evga gtx 260 216 for $200

I have $600 from old system, 200 from christmas savings, and 170 from my sister and 150 from my mom.

These is my proposed build: mainly used for gaming and I'm sticking with 1366

CPU: i7 920

MOBO: Gigabyte ex58a-ud5

PSU: Corsair tx950w

GPU: XFX 5850

RAM: G. Skill Pi Series (3x2GB) 1600 mhz

I will be keeping my:
Corsair h50 cooler and my hdd

my questions:

1. Should I wait for 930? I will be ocing to 4.0-4.2 nothing more than that. Can i7 920 d0 easily reach that oc?

2. Should I upgrade to 5850? I really want the fermi but it's still not released, should i upgrade to 5850 then sell it to get the fermi once it comes out?

3. Should I just stick with the ud5 rather than the ud7? *both have usb 3.0 and everything (see link of mobo). Is there much of a difference other than the passive heatsink on the ud7? does it do anything? or I can manage without it? also, is there a big difference between a 12 phase and a 24 phase? ud5 vs ud7.

Thanks guys!
January 7, 2010 4:18:54 PM

1.) Waiting depends. You will reach those clock speed with the 920, but (presumably) the 920 will be cheaper once the 930 is out.

2.) I would either wait for Fermi to build, or stick with the 5850. You're just going to sink a lot more money into the build by jumping ship. If you want Fermi that badly, wait for it. Or buy a really crappy card to use until it comes out. Keep in mind that Fermi may not be better than the current 5xxx cards, and could be more expensive.

3.) The heatsink doesn't really do anything. You can do without it, especially for $50. There isn't anything special about the 24 phase. From what I'm reading, 12 isn't even needed. It's just a marketing ploy (and judging from every new build thread you've started, one that's working).
January 7, 2010 4:21:33 PM

if playing at 1680x1050, is it worth the 5850 over my current gtx 260 216?
Related resources
January 7, 2010 4:29:31 PM

Nope. Check out the article "Best Video Cards for the Money." You start getting good performance at 1680x1050 in the $100 range.
January 7, 2010 4:51:33 PM

so what do you guys recommend on the gpu area? i'll be selling my gtx 260 216 for $200 and i got someone to buy it. you think it's a great deal for $200?
January 7, 2010 4:54:42 PM

Since it sells new for $215ish, I'd sell it and buy an HD 5770. Downgrade on the performance, but you won't see a difference.
January 7, 2010 4:58:20 PM

is gtx 260 216 better than 5770?
January 7, 2010 5:18:27 PM

Not really. Their about the same in terms of performance, but the 5770 is cheaper, cooler, more efficient, and better in a dual card setup.
January 7, 2010 5:41:46 PM

Um with a $1120 budget you really shouldn't be trying to build an i7-920 system....

In gaming, the i5 is slightly better than the i7 in terms of FPS, but has a much higher minimum FPS, making it a better gaming CPU than the i7-920.

The ONLY weakness of the i5 platform, x8 PCIE lanes in xfire is not an issue unless you game at 2560 x 1600,2...

The ONLY reason not to go with the i5 build is if for some crazy reason you want to Xfire 5970's or other 2 GPU's on a stick cards.

CPU/HSF Combo- i5 and CM Hyper 212 Plus $221.98

MOBO Asus P7P55D-E Pro $189.99

RAM G SKill DDR3 1333 7-7-7-21 $99.99

GPU- 5850 $309.99

HD's No Idea what your old one is, but getting a new HD can speed up your system quite a bit,

Samsung Spinpoint F3 500gb $54.99

No mention of what you're using so I recommend HAF 922 $80 after MIR

PSU Corsair 750 TX $109.99 after MIR

You can save $20 by going with the 650TX, which also also run xfire 5850's. The 750TX is just xfire ready w/o having to buy molex to 6 pin converter cables, and if you have the budget and plan on xfire in the future is worth getting.

Total: $1065.92 after MIR before shipping.
January 7, 2010 5:50:33 PM

If you really insist on going 1366 then at least drop the PSU to something reasonable like the 65TX or 750 TX.

BTW your current build lacks a case, and is $1204.

Also your Corsair H-50, depending on when you purchased it, may or may not have brackets for LGA 1156 or 1366.

Most i5-750 and i7-920 can reach 4ghz. The OC potential of any CPU varies greatly from chip to chip. Some i7-920 can OC to 3.6 ghz w/o a voltage increase, some can't get to 3ghz w/o a voltage increase.

Read this article to see why cheap liquid cooling like your H50 is actually worse than using a good HSF.,...

Also, those Gigabyte mobo's do not have true USB 3.0 or SATA 6.0. So if you do xfire, you're at x8 speeds for both slots, the same speed as P55.

On the other hand, you can get a true USB 3.0/SATA 6.0 P55 mobo for $100 less.
January 21, 2010 12:47:19 AM

1200 is stretching it, but definitely pretty close to being possible. With the i7 930 coming out (with everything showing no updates but an extra x1 on the multiplier taking it from x20 to x21 or 2.66ghz to 2.79 or what they'll call 2.8ghz) the i7 920 will probably be had for cheaper at some point soon. The i7 930 appears to be coming out feb 28th, but actual in stock may be a week or two +/-. That's just too long for me to wait with everything else ready and currently using a single core cpu with a busted 6800 Ultra that can't do anything but run windows.

Here's mine (buying the 920 tonight)
X58 Platinum SLI - 169.99
I7-920 D0 slbej - 265
Seventeam 850w modular psu -109.99
6gb cl7 Supertalent 1600mhz- 114.99
Prolimatech Megahalems -65
Arctic mx-3 12.99
2xScythe Ultra Kaze 19.98
2xCoolermaster (R4) 17.98
IN WIN Maelstrom Case 109.99
HIS ATI 5850 314.99
Total before shipping (and in some cases already included)
= ~$1201

+109.99 Win 7

Recycled hd's and dvd burner, and cd burner, and 22" NEC CRT 1440p from old computer.

However if I wanted a hd I'd wait until I saw a deal like recently 1 tb 79.99, or if SSD I'd look around 100-150 range with TRIM (or like it) support. 32gb now or 64gb probably sometime this year for around that price.

So that setup with a new hd and new ssd hd would run about 230-250 combined. Or again if you just need 1 hd, find one for around 79.99

That will take you to $1540-1560 before shipping, assuming you aren't paying sales tax. (or $1391 without the ssd hd )

Of course of those things listed, I got free shipping on about half, including the case.

Also you have to get those prices for those products, but if you spend some time every day looking for deals, and catch things with free shipping, you can get a i7 system for right around 1200-1300 dollar mark.

If it's too much work, then it's too much. It wasn't for me. I did buy these over a 8 week timeframe or thereabouts. (except for the i7 which is my 2nd one since the used one off ebay didn't work...although there was the disclosure from the seller that it might not...and was only 75 no biggie but everything else was bought between mid-oct to mid-december)

But again I got an i7 system, and will be using the old hd's and 2 burners, and monitor. But my total upgrade cost was roughly $1300 to get into a i7 system. Approx 1375 including the bricked i7 920 I also purchased.

Unless the economy goes screwy, which it very well might, it is very possible to do the same. I wouldn't doubt even a bit cheaper giving good timing, and newer parts pushing down prices.

Good luck, with a little effort, it IS possible.