Excited about new computer build.

[Pennilenko]

Ive been an AMD guy for a long time..........It mostly had to do with price points.

Its been a long time since I have upgrade my computer or my wife's computer. After long and hard consideration I have switched to Intel.

Building two I7 920 Machines, with semi nice MSI motherboards, gonna give the wife dual 8800 GTS set up and ordered a new 4870 for me. I'm really excited. Yay for DDR3!

Anything I should know about when building Intel machines that i might not be familiar with if I have always built AMD based machines?

[Nebu]

Could you please post a more specific build list (case, mobo, memory, power supply, vid card, HD, etc.)?

It may be helpful to answer your questions and serve as a resource for those looking to upgrade this summer. 

[Pennilenko]

Could you please post a more specific build list (case, mobo, memory, power supply, vid card, HD, etc.)?

It may be helpful to answer your questions and serve as a resource for those looking to upgrade this summer. 

Cases: Pre-existing
LIAN LI PC-60BPLUSII Black Aluminum ATX
(older version of this)NZXT Nemesis Elite Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower

CPU:
2 x Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor (gonna over clock the piss outta these)

Motherboard:
2 x MSI X58 Pro LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

Ram:
2 x CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory (this shit is so inexpensive I'm considering doubling the order)

PSU:
2 x BFG 650 Watt , Dual 12v Rails, Dual 6 Pin PCI express.......can furnish more stats, I love these because of the lifetime warranty. Had these already. I recommend them.

Graphics:
1 x SAPPHIRE TOXIC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready (For me)(also I'm very interested in trying out my first non-nvidia card)
2 x EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP (for my wife, I wanted to get her a new card but she refused stating that the two perfectly working cards would be sufficient for her)

Hard Drives:
2 x 250 gig Seagate perpendicular drives (pre-existing)(For her computer she doesn't have much use for large storage and we are gonna fool around with raid configurations)
1x Seagate ST3640323AS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" (new for me)

Operating Systems:
Vista Ultimate 64 Bit.

I think what i need the most is a suggestion on proper coolers for the chips if im planning on overclocking them. Every overclock forum I have visited have tons of people saying i can overclock them to 3.0 on stock coolers, I don't know if i trust that though.

Calculating the cost of the stuff I already had total for these two builds is approximately $2,200 U.S.

[Morfiend]

Personally, I like the EVGA or Intel motherboards. My friend had a MSI and had some HUGE hassles with it. But thats brand preference. I have a Intel BadAxe2, and the thing has been amazing. As one of the posters on hardforum said, cant go wrong with Intel on Intel.

As for the wifes GPU I would go with EVGA 260. You will probably get better performance than 2x 8800gts. Its $179 with $20 mail in rebate. Just an idea.

Corsair makes great RAM, so good on that. Also, I love my Corsair PSU. The modular one. I will never ever buy a PSU again if it is not modular. Modular Corsair PSUs here.

If you are not going to pirate your OS, there really isnt much need to spend the excessive price for Vista Ultimate. You can go with Home Premium and get almost all the same features. Then spend that money on better graphics cards or more ram or what have you.

[Pennilenko]

Personally, I like the EVGA or Intel motherboards. My friend had a MSI and had some HUGE hassles with it. But thats brand preference. I have a Intel BadAxe2, and the thing has been amazing. As one of the posters on hardforum said, cant go wrong with Intel on Intel.

As for the wifes GPU I would go with EVGA 260. You will probably get better performance than 2x 8800gts. Its $179 with $20 mail in rebate. Just an idea.

Corsair makes great RAM, so good on that. Also, I love my Corsair PSU. The modular one. I will never ever buy a PSU again if it is not modular. Modular Corsair PSUs here.

If you are not going to pirate your OS, there really isnt much need to spend the excessive price for Vista Ultimate. You can go with Home Premium and get almost all the same features. Then spend that money on better graphics cards or more ram or what have you.

I've had incredible success with MSI boards. I haven't tried a corsair PSU before. Problem is that my current ones are more than suitable and I don't have to pay for a replacement if one fails.(go go lifetime warranty) Also I take apart my PSUs and machines in general every month or so and give them a thorough cleaning with compressed air and other electronics safe cleaning agents.

I did all the convincing i could regarding the graphics cards. She isn't going to let me buy a new one until one or both of the 8800s fails, which i might have to arrange . The OS aren't going to incur any costs.

[Big Gulp]

The OS aren't going to incur any costs.

I'd just install the Windows 7 RC for now.  Just be glad you skipped over Vista and buy 7 when it's finally released.

[Pennilenko]

The OS aren't going to incur any costs.

I'd just install the Windows 7 RC for now.  Just be glad you skipped over Vista and buy 7 when it's finally released.

Been using vista on two desktops and a laptop since release, and have done hundreds of vista based media center computers for home entertainment through my business. Have never had an issue. Not one.

P.S. I take that back, had a hell of a time regarding cable tuner decoder card inserts from concast(spelling intentional) and drm during the first few iterations while setting up dvr functions in media center, but that was it, and I am pretty sure it was a problem with the cards supplied by concast. Half of the time concast dispatchers couldn't code the fricken accounts right.

Please though no more derail on operating systems, I need to know about proper overclocking and cooling for my new chips.

[Morfiend]

I did all the convincing i could regarding the graphics cards. She isn't going to let me buy a new one until one or both of the 8800s fails, which i might have to arrange . The OS aren't going to incur any costs.

Do you know if she has first gen or second gen 8800? If she has a first gen, it might now work well in SLi with a second gen 8800. You could bring that up to her. If thats so, she would only be getting a marginal upgrade for $100, when she could get a substantial upgrade for $150. Honestly, it might be better just to not get her any graphics card until the current one starts becoming sluggish, then get her a 2XX card.

[Pennilenko]

I did all the convincing i could regarding the graphics cards. She isn't going to let me buy a new one until one or both of the 8800s fails, which i might have to arrange . The OS aren't going to incur any costs.

Do you know if she has first gen or second gen 8800? If she has a first gen, it might now work well in SLi with a second gen 8800. You could bring that up to her. If thats so, she would only be getting a marginal upgrade for $100, when she could get a substantial upgrade for $150. Honestly, it might be better just to not get her any graphics card until the current one starts becoming sluggish, then get her a 2XX card.

The 2 matching 8800 gts were purchased at the same time about 7 months ago both from newegg. We bought them at the time to replace aging graphics cards we had. At the time they were very attractive for the price and performance. The age of the cards is the reason why she is being stubborn on letting me purchase a new one for her. It will be interesting to see how they work in SLI.

Unrelated to the graphics cards, I am hoping intel gets a lot of years out of their new socket type just like the 775s have been around for years.

[Yegolev]

The only real difference I saw when switching to Intel is that I did not have to buy a separate HSF.  The stock one works just fine.

[Strazos]

Agreed. While I do not have an i7, I am using a Q9550, which is not too far below it. I don't OC, but I could definitely see the stock cooler handling a few hundred Mhz of OC.

Oh, and just get a 260; the difference might be pretty dramatic, which I am sure others here can more reliably c/d.


Lastly, I'd argue with you until I was blue in the face over MSI boards. Also, I would never use a board that I only considered "semi-nice," a bad mobo can really hose your system and other hardware components. No, you don't need to spend $200+ on a mobo, but don't settle on "semi-nice," especially if you intend to get serious longevity out of the system.

If it counts for anything, I ran an AMD-based system for more than 6 years with an Asus board, but no problems that I could blame on the board. You really get what you pay for with PC components, and I would strongly caution against trying to "save money" by skimping on the mobo.

[Pennilenko]

Agreed. While I do not have an i7, I am using a Q9550, which is not too far below it. I don't OC, but I could definitely see the stock cooler handling a few hundred Mhz of OC.

Oh, and just get a 260; the difference might be pretty dramatic, which I am sure others here can more reliably c/d.


Lastly, I'd argue with you until I was blue in the face over MSI boards. Also, I would never use a board that I only considered "semi-nice," a bad mobo can really hose your system and other hardware components. No, you don't need to spend $200+ on a mobo, but don't settle on "semi-nice," especially if you intend to get serious longevity out of the system.

If it counts for anything, I ran an AMD-based system for more than 6 years with an Asus board, but no problems that I could blame on the board. You really get what you pay for with PC components, and I would strongly caution against trying to "save money" by skimping on the mobo.

By saying semi nice i meant it had all the features i liked without being well over 200 dollars.

[Big Gulp]

Been using vista on two desktops and a laptop since release, and have done hundreds of vista based media center computers for home entertainment through my business. Have never had an issue. Not one.

It's not about having issues, it's that Win7 is just a light years better OS.  I bought Vista and didn't have any problems with it either, but there's a reason that 7 has been my main OS since I got ahold of the beta (not even the RC) months ago.  It's Vista done right.

Seriously, you're spending all this time and money upgrading your hardware for better performance and then you're going to run an OS that's a whole lot less efficient than the latest Windows build, that you can legitimately get for free?  That doesn't make any sense to me.

[raydeen]

Although I'm not running 7 as my main OS, I can second the recommendation. I ran that sucker in a VBox VM on my work MacBook with a simulated 8 meg vid card and 512 megs of memory and it ran fairly nicely. No speed demon, but it wasn't a dog either. I can only assume that running 7 with full hardware support would be a dream. And I may do it when the retail hits. I'm not digging on the idea that if I install it now that I'll just have to re-install everything in 6 months time or so. I've got a dual boot XP/Ubuntu system that's chugging along quite nicely. If I do an upgrade I want to do it once and only once for the next few years or so. I'm 40 and am hitting the grumpy old man stage where if it ain't broke I don't want to fix it.

[Pennilenko]

Been using vista on two desktops and a laptop since release, and have done hundreds of vista based media center computers for home entertainment through my business. Have never had an issue. Not one.

It's not about having issues, it's that Win7 is just a light years better OS.  I bought Vista and didn't have any problems with it either, but there's a reason that 7 has been my main OS since I got ahold of the beta (not even the RC) months ago.  It's Vista done right.

Seriously, you're spending all this time and money upgrading your hardware for better performance and then you're going to run an OS that's a whole lot less efficient than the latest Windows build, that you can legitimately get for free?  That doesn't make any sense to me.

I get what you are saying I just have no idea if I am going to be hard up for cash or not when it comes time to pay for windows 7. Right now we are doing good but in a year i might not have the money to splurge just to use my computers after they make you pay. Unless somebody can guarantee that windows 7 is going to have a low price point I'm sticking with OS that I have already purchased.

Also I have been saving up computer upgrade money for a while, my budget was approx 1400. The important part was my main goal was to give my wife and I some mild future proofing because our computers were aging. Just trying to get the most out of hardware and software I already have.

P.S. Just did searching and it looks like 7 home premium is gonna be 250, so, Microsoft can go fuck off. I'm not buying another operating system until i have no other choice.

[Pennilenko]

Also Update. Both machines went together like a dream. Fire up first time no issues, currently undergoing stress testing.


The 8800 GTS cards previously mentioned are amazing in SLI. Just running any of the games in my library full out the performance is amazing. Clearly though its not top of the line. But amazing for our needs right now. As soon as one of them shows signs of failure i am getting the wife a newer fancy card. But for right now im very impressed considering I wasn't really hopeful for great performance.

P.S. The stock coolers are good up to about 3.2 Ghz worth of overclock, they get too hot anything over that. I'm very happy.

[Strazos]

$250 for the "good" version of 7 will be unfortunate.

[Big Gulp]

$250 for the "good" version of 7 will be unfortunate.

It was the same for Vista, but only suckers pay that amount.  Just buy a system builder's copy off of Newegg.  Should run around $100, but you don't get any of the fancy documentation.   

[Trippy]

The OEM versions have a much more restrictive licenses and usage (e.g. can't use for upgrade, can only use on one computer, i.e. it's non-transferable) which is why they are cheaper.

[Strazos]

At what point would the OS/license recognize your PC as a different PC than when you first installed/activated? In regards to changing/upgrading hardware.

[Reg]

If  Microsoft keeps releasing new versions of Windows so frequently there's no way I'd pay 250 for the more flexible version. My computers are lasting me at least 5 years these days.

[SnakeCharmer]

The 100 dollar Vista Premium sys builders edition from newegg has worked through two complete (re)builds so far since purchase.  Just can't have it activated on two rigs that at the same time.

[Koyasha]

I'm thinking of doing a core system (motherboard / cpu / memory) upgrade on my computer, since my memory's been crapping out or something lately, and I want to upgrade to ddr3 and an i7 instead of replacing the old memory.

That MSI board is the least expensive of those who's manufacturer I recognize on Newegg, so I'm thinking of getting it also - it's worked fine and there's been no oddities with drivers or bios for you?  I got an abit board a while back and every time I do a reinstall it gives me driver problems, so hearing from someone who has the exact board I'm thinking of getting makes me a little more comfortable.

[Strazos]

Just get an Asus.

[Engels]

Asus has terrible on-line documentation, but they do have a solid product. I have had very good luck with Gigabyte, and I like their focus on duralblbe parts. I've heard good things about A-bit and MSI too, but like with just about any board, occasionally a bad one slips through the cracks.

[Hoax]

ABIT used to be awesome, its dead now.  Don't even go there.

MSI and Gigabyte are your best bets if your trying to avoid Asus.  The main advantage of Asus is it probably has the most users so even though the company itself is worthless and annoying when it comes to support there is all sorts of documentation online from users fixing things.

[Pennilenko]

I'm thinking of doing a core system (motherboard / cpu / memory) upgrade on my computer, since my memory's been crapping out or something lately, and I want to upgrade to ddr3 and an i7 instead of replacing the old memory.

That MSI board is the least expensive of those who's manufacturer I recognize on Newegg, so I'm thinking of getting it also - it's worked fine and there's been no oddities with drivers or bios for you?  I got an abit board a while back and every time I do a reinstall it gives me driver problems, so hearing from someone who has the exact board I'm thinking of getting makes me a little more comfortable.

No issues so far with either computer, and I am pretty impressed with overall performance. These are the nicest machines I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I have always been an MSI fan though. Its funny some of the people saying get an asus board. I've had lots of trouble with asus boards.

[Pennilenko]

I've heard good things about A-bit and MSI too, but like with just about any board, occasionally a bad one slips through the cracks.

I'm that unlucky guy thats gotten several DOA asus boards, so any of my advice comes from that perspective.

[Pennilenko]

ABIT used to be awesome, its dead now.  Don't even go there.

MSI and Gigabyte are your best bets if your trying to avoid Asus.  The main advantage of Asus is it probably has the most users so even though the company itself is worthless and annoying when it comes to support there is all sorts of documentation online from users fixing things.

For me its about the support. I had an issue a couple years back with a north bridge that went south <hehehehe> MSI support advance shipped me another board at no charge and my warranty period had been expired for 2 months. They still took care of me. I will remain loyal untill i have alot of bad runs with their products.

[rattran]

DFI has been the best support I've had, had a board go south, they diagnosed it fast on the phone, and got me a replacement quick. Gigabyte seems to have gotten their shit together in the last few years, I'm running one of their boards in the server quite happily.
The only boards I try hard to avoid building for people are ECS and Foxconn, ECS for being complete shit, Foxconn for having odd issues and inconsistencies.

MSI always seems to fall in the middle of the pack. Not terrible boards, not great.

[Lantyssa]

My old, old Asus boards were great until the transistors leaked.  Had the same problem with both dual-socket boards, which basically turned them into single-socket boards, which defeated the purpose.  Awesome while working but too high a fail rate for my liking.

My ECS board was simple but rock solid.  The only reason I switched was because I installed a new processor which was bad and it took the board with it upon first boot (six inch flames shooting out bad).  My replacement DFI board was good, but the AGP limited me on upgrades.  My current Abit (IP 35 Pro) was a bit of a hassle until they got decent BIOS support for quads, but I love it now.

[Hoax]

I bought Asus because there is just so much overclocking data out there on their boards.  I have regretted it because the board forced an RMA (blown cap, might have been my fault) and after that I still had to reset CMOS after computer wouldn't come out of sleep.

I'll stay away from them in the future and probably go MSI which was my second pick at the time.

[Koyasha]

Mm, thanks for the advice, I'll probably go ahead and get that MSI board since it looks like a good deal right now.

[Strazos]

The sleep mode problem is the only problem I've had between my 2 Asus boards in 7 years.

Just saying.

Also, Gigabyte is a good choice as well, though I've never used one personally.

[Furiously]

Evga has done pretty good for me. Their warranty is the best and they offered a really nice 99 upgrade from my old motherboard to my new one.