Core i7 System Build - Critique Requested

[Shadowmage952]

So I'm thinking of going ahead with my long over due system upgrade today and I was looking for some critique on the build that I have put together. With the release of the Core i7 I've decided to use that as my base and go from there. I know it'll add a bit to the price of the system vs performance gain, but it is well within my budget and provides what I hope to be some good future proofing.

My current build out is as follows:

CPU
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202) - Lowest end Core i7, but still incredible bench marks, and nearly half the price of the next highest.

Cost - $294.99

MOBO

MSI X58 Platinum LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130216) - Thankfully the Core i7 mobos have expanded from earlier this month from 4 to 11 and this looks to be a reliable board for the cheapest price. It help that is has a $30 savings in a combo deal with the CPU.

Cost - $190.99 (Inluding the $30 discount)

Memory

2x OCZ Reaper HPC 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227292) - Since DDR3 is a requirement. I debated over Triple Channel vs Dual Channel, but it is my understanding that triple channel really isn't going to offer all that much extra benefit and this way provides 4 gigs vs having to go 6 (instead of just 3). I do need to verify that the motherboard can support dual channel as well, but it is my understanding that it will. Bonus of a $40 Mail in rebate

Cost - $199.98 ($120 with rebates)

Video Card

XFX GX260NADBF GeForce GTX 260 Black Edition Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150330)

or

SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801)

This is what I have my biggest debate on. I've been on Nvidia cards for as long as I can remember and have never had any major issues. Also I am familiar with the brand/drivers and feel comfortable there. Both cards come in at $250 with Mail in, so price is not an issue here. I've seen back and forth benchmarks on the cards so I'm rather torn. Any recommendations (with reasons) would be highly welcome. Also, I am not overly familiar with good brands for an ATI, so I went with the Sapphire, if there is a better chance let me know.

Cost - $250 (with rebate)

Case

ntec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025) - Solid case (I wanted the 900, but it is sold out due to the Thanksgiving day sale.). This one also has a thanksgiving sale for $70 so you can't go wrong.

Cost - $70

Power Supply

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006) - Solid brand, solid amount of power. Enough said.

Cost - $104.99 ($70 with Mail in)


Total Cost - 1110.95
With Rebates - 995.95

Also, just about free shipping on everything for an added bonus.

I already have all the other components I'll need, so that sums it up. I'm looking to put the order in today so quick responses are appreciated.

[Slack3r78]

Looks good, I'm just not sure that jumping on Nehalem makes too terribly much sense right now. You're paying early adopter tax on the CPU, RAM, and chipset/mobo and it's a steep tax at that.

Nehalem is definitely fast and it's definitely the future, but I'd have a hard time justifying the cost it entails at the moment.

EDIT:

Just a heads up, Newegg also has the Antec 900 on sale for like $60 shipped right now which is a steal and a half if that's your style. I like the P182 a bit better, personally. I'm sure you're aware, but also be prepared for both of these being BIG cases.

[Shadowmage952]

Looks good, I'm just not sure that jumping on Nehalem makes too terribly much sense right now. You're paying early adopter tax on the CPU, RAM, and chipset/mobo and it's a steep tax at that.

Nehalem is definitely fast and it's definitely the future, but I'd have a hard time justifying the cost it entails at the moment.

EDIT:

Just a heads up, Newegg also has the Antec 900 on sale for like $60 shipped right now which is a steal and a half if that's your style. I like the P182 a bit better, personally. I'm sure you're aware, but also be prepared for both of these being BIG cases.

Yeah, I was thinking of the 900 when I saw the black friday deals, but it seems to be sold out at the moment.

I was all set to go with some form of a Core 2 Duo, but with the i7 being an entirely new pin type, future upgrading of the processor will be a moot point. There is certainly a bit of extra price I'll be paying to upgrade now, but pulling in that system at just at $1000 didn't seem to bad. Also, I'm not so sure how long I would have to wait for the prices to start dropping on the i7s and their motherboards. Waiting in the pc market is always and endless thing and something I am quite bad about usually. Hence the long over due upgrade, so when I do upgrade I try and make it count.

[Slack3r78]

Yeah, I was thinking of the 900 when I saw the black friday deals, but it seems to be sold out at the moment.

I was all set to go with some form of a Core 2 Duo, but with the i7 being an entirely new pin type, future upgrading of the processor will be a moot point. There is certainly a bit of extra price I'll be paying to upgrade now, but pulling in that system at just at $1000 didn't seem to bad. Also, I'm not so sure how long I would have to wait for the prices to start dropping on the i7s and their motherboards. Waiting in the pc market is always and endless thing and something I am quite bad about usually. Hence the long over due upgrade, so when I do upgrade I try and make it count.
True, but you also have to look at it this way -- after rebates, you're going to pay over twice as much for the RAM as you would for the same amount of DDR2. Same deal with an LGA1366 mobo vs LGA775.

I guess my point is that $1000 isn't bad for a cutting edge system, but you could probably save $200-300 easily and still run anything you could throw at it for quite some time to come. Not saying that going Nehalem now is a bad idea, per se, I'm just a pretty big advocate of bang for the buck.

[Shadowmage952]

True, but you also have to look at it this way -- after rebates, you're going to pay over twice as much for the RAM as you would for the same amount of DDR2. Same deal with an LGA1366 mobo vs LGA775.

I guess my point is that $1000 isn't bad for a cutting edge system, but you could probably save $200-300 easily and still run anything you could throw at it for quite some time to come. Not saying that going Nehalem now is a bad idea, per se, I'm just a pretty big advocate of bang for the buck.

Point well taken, and it is something I've debated about a bit.

Any thoughts on the video card debate?

[Rogue_hunter]

In terms of RAM, it has to be installed in groups of three. That's how memory works under the Core i7. Read the specs page, it says Triple Channel ONLYAnd, with it being DDR3, it's gonna be pricey too. Also, the current chips all use server chips and chipsets, also adding to the price. The benchmarks aren't enough to justify using the current crop of chips for gaming either. It would be better and cheaper to wait until the consumer level parts are released (likely Feb/March), or build a Core 2 Duo system now (look at Mag's thread for a great system for $650. And you'd be able to drop a Core 2 Quad in there later, which is what I'll be doing)

Go with the Radeon HD4870 for graphics. Even though there isn't a price difference, the ATI chips still have been getting the better benchmarks. I got the Sapphire, and it chews up everything I throw at it.

How are you getting the P182 for $70? The Newegg link still shows it at $140. I managed to get one for $100 two weeks ago on sale in a store, but I haven't seen any deals for it anywhere. For the most part, the case is actually a mid-tower, just a little taller than normal. The Antec Nine Hundred is bigger than the P182 by a smidge though, so if you have a space premium like I do, stay with the P182.

[Shadowmage952]

In terms of RAM, it has to be installed in groups of three. That's how memory works under the Core i7. Read the specs page, it says Triple Channel ONLYAnd, with it being DDR3, it's gonna be pricey too. Also, the current chips all use server chips and chipsets, also adding to the price. The benchmarks aren't enough to justify using the current crop of chips for gaming either. It would be better and cheaper to wait until the consumer level parts are released (likely Feb/March), or build a Core 2 Duo system now (look at Mag's thread for a great system for $650. And you'd be able to drop a Core 2 Quad in there later, which is what I'll be doing)

Go with the Radeon HD4870 for graphics. Even though there isn't a price difference, the ATI chips still have been getting the better benchmarks. I got the Sapphire, and it chews up everything I throw at it.

How are you getting the P182 for $70? The Newegg link still shows it at $140. I managed to get one for $100 two weeks ago on sale in a store, but I haven't seen any deals for it anywhere. For the most part, the case is actually a mid-tower, just a little taller than normal. The Antec Nine Hundred is bigger than the P182 by a smidge though, so if you have a space premium like I do, stay with the P182.

I was slightly mistaken on the P182. It is actually for $90 and that is using a promo code for today only (one of their black friday deals).

In regards to the RAM, I actually got my hands on the documentation for the mobo and it can handle single/dual/or triple channel just fine. It does not have to be triple channel. That said, due to the Intel "recommendation" that anything running at voltage over 1.65 could cause permanent damage to the CPU it is hard to find anything with good timing that meets that requirement for the price, so I would l likely go with a triple channel set anyway.

I am still not 100% committed to the idea of the Core i7, but I've just been leaning that way for some future proofing.

Thanks for the responses, though.

[biosc1]

Go with the Radeon HD4870 for graphics. Even though there isn't a price difference, the ATI chips still have been getting the better benchmarks. I got the Sapphire, and it chews up everything I throw at it.

Agreed. My Diamond 4870 1GB chews up everything as well. It's nice to have one that vents to the outside...what's the noise like on the Sapphire? The Diamond is pretty darn quiet (amazingly so, though I do have a nice quiet case).

[Rogue_hunter]

what's the noise like on the Sapphire? The Diamond is pretty darn quiet (amazingly so, though I do have a nice quiet case).

P182 makes it really quiet, but overall, the fan will spin up loudly for two second bursts, but it's never on a regular schedule. Super-quiet overall, and solid 60 FPS in Fallout 3 completely cranked.

[LiquidRain]

Core i7's early adopter tax is, as Rogue said and as I always say, not worth it. i7 is a server chip and platform, not a desktop platform, you'll be paying through the nose for anything the rest of the system's life.

If you absolutely must buy now, go with a Core 2 Duo or Quad. If you can wait, hold off for AMD's Phenom II or wait until spring/early summer for Intel's i7 flavoured desktop chips.

[Disgustipated]

Don't bother with i7 til next year. Too expensive, and being an early adopter sucks.

[LiquidRain]

Don't bother with i7 til next year. Too expensive, and being an early adopter sucks.
Not always, a smart early adopter buy can yield good fruit. I'm still running strong on my early adopter nForce4 SLI board. (though I never used the SLI part)

[rahsoul]

Go with the Radeon HD4870 for graphics. Even though there isn't a price difference, the ATI chips still have been getting the better benchmarks. I got the Sapphire, and it chews up everything I throw at it.


To be honest, for every benchmark I've seen the GTX 260 ahead, I've seen one for the 4870. In my opinion there really isn't much, if anything, between the core 216 and 1gb, you can find scores to spin it either way.

I'll put in a good word for my Nvidia 260 which runs silky too. :)
You really can't go wrong with either, ATI or Nvidia.

I also agree that getting core i7 now is a bit early, and too expensive for not much, if any, improvement.

[biosc1]

P182 makes it really quiet, but overall, the fan will spin up loudly for two second bursts, but it's never on a regular schedule. Super-quiet overall, and solid 60 FPS in Fallout 3 completely cranked.

Hmpff...I love the P182..probably why my 4870 doesn't sound like the jet turbine that I thought it would :)

[Rogue_hunter]

Hmpff...I love the P182..probably why my 4870 doesn't sound like the jet turbine that I thought it would :)

A great mid-tower that has all the features of a full tower. And since the P183 is coming out soon, I would expect prices for the current towers to drop. Most excellent choice for a tower. Though, cable management takes alot of planning.

[KingGorilla]

Not always, a smart early adopter buy can yield good fruit. I'm still running strong on my early adopter nForce4 SLI board. (though I never used the SLI part)

Yeah, but the people who bought nForce 4 boards for Core Duos and early DDR2 RAM were not happy. Or the suckers who got 1800XTX or X800 cards day 1. Generally being the first to buy is not a good thing.

[LiquidRain]

Not disagreeing with your statement; just saying a well thought out early adoption purchase can pay off. Sometimes. :)

[Smoof]

If you plan to game, buying a slow-ass Quad Core wont do you any performance favors.

[Slack3r78]

If you plan to game, buying a slow-ass Quad Core wont do you any performance favors.
Ci7 is hardly slow ass. Not worth the money, perhaps, but definitely not slow. Nehalem is a complete beast.

[KingGorilla]

The point more is that software makers are just now starting to program for a 2 core environment. Much like dual core CPUs being slower for archetecture designed for one(because wash core is much slower than the previous single core processors). Each core one the current crop of quad or octo core cpus is slower than those on dual core cpus. Given the software archetecture, the potential is unlocked. But that archetecture is not there yet.

[itchyeyes]

I see his point about the Core i7 upgrade path. If he buys a Core 2 Duo right now he'll pretty much have to replace his chipset, CPU, and RAM whenever he decides he wants to upgrade. If it were me, I'd still go with Core 2 Duo, but go the budget route, say something like an e7300, P43 motherboard, and some DDR2 1066. That way you can swap it out for some cheaper Core i7 hardware in a year or two without too much pain in your wallet. With a decent overclock that should easily keep pace with top end GPU's for the next 12-24 months. As for the GPU question, I think it's a bit moot. Both cards are more or less even on a price/performance basis, and each has their own strengths (shaders for the 4870, physics for the GTX260). Just go with whichever you can find the best deal on.

[Ancalagon]

What computer do you have right now, LiquidRain?

if you have anything better than an Athlon X2, I'd just say waste.

[LiquidRain]

I have a Socket 939 Athlon64 X2. It's reached its end-of-life in terms of upgrading it.

[Ancalagon]

I have a Socket 939 Athlon64 X2. It's reached its end-of-life in terms of upgrading it.

Yes true. but that doesnt mean its reached the end of its life performance wise. Its on its last legs, sure, but I'd still suggest waiting till next year January/February, mostly for the prices of components to drop a bit, but also for Deneb to come out.

I mean, I just had a look at i7 motherboards in the UK, its £200 for the cheapest one! Holy cow! I dont know what you guys are paying for i7 motherboards over there, but thats nearly triple what I paid for my SLI motherboard.

[LiquidRain]

As I said, I don't plan on Core i7, I plan on the desktop flavour of it. I know my S939 still has life in it: it plays Crysis and Far Cry 2 above 20fps and L4D stays above 30 in even the most brutal of spots, though none are entirely smooth. (TF2 can really suffer sometimes, though) If I didn't think I could hobble on this system for a while longer I'd have jumped to a Core 2 Duo. :) (the life I've gotten out of this system has been nothing short of amazing)

[Ancalagon]

As I said, I don't plan on Core i7, I plan on the desktop flavour of it.

Core i7 is the desktop flavour of it. They havent launched the server version yet. Look at wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i7_microprocessors

[LiquidRain]

Lynnfield running on LGA 1160 is going to be Intel's mainstream line. Dual channel, single graphics card only. Bloomfield running on LGA 1366 is the high end workstation/server line that's currently out. This is why there's no P55, only the X58. I expect the P55 will be LGA 1160. (though I could be wrong)

[KJAX]

I have a Socket 939 Athlon64 X2. It's reached its end-of-life in terms of upgrading it.

My girlfriend's son will inherit my current Socket 939 Athlon 64 X2 system. I plan to upgrade to Core 2 Duo in the next few weeks barring any financial surprises.

A bit off topic but the Phenom II x4 line on Socket AM2+ has me thinking just a bit about going AMD AM2+ for a cheap upgrade path.

[LiquidRain]

Phenom IIs launch on January 8th. I'm interested because of Hybrid Power being available on AMD systems, but I can still afford to wait it out for an upgrade. :) (not to mention I can't afford one anyway)