New gaming Rig!

[mission]

Hi, im rebuilding a new computer for myself since my old one was fried thanks to lightning. It's primarily for gaming, watching movies, and general use. I've done quite a bit of reading and research, reviews, etc to try and catch up on todays hardware...and this is what i've pretty much come up with.

Links supplied are from NCIX.com and therefore in CDN dollars. I wont be ordering everything from here, or anything if i can find it close by. If you're suggesting a different part thats not available on NCIX, any website is fine and i'll try to find it myself.

CPU:
Looking to do some OCing here. As i've read everywhere that the D0 stepping of the 920 OCs very well. I dont know how far i should expect it to OC, im thinking between 3.8-4.2 would be nice.

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping
$350

CPU Heatsink:
With the previously mentioned OC expectations, my past experience with this CPU heatsink leads me to believe that this will do the job? Im also open to suggestions for better ones.

Thermalright ULTRA-120 BLACK
$72

Motherboard:
Here i find that the ASUS P6TD Deluxe has everything i want as far as backplate components. Features, im not really sure whats good and what isnt. I have, however, heard stories that since ASUS makes it's boards in China, the build quality is much lower than that of Gigabyte. Also, how do these boards OC with the i7 920 D0?

Gigabyte EX58-UD5
$322
OR
Gigabyte EX-58-UD4P
$272
OR
ASUS P6TD Deluxe
$335

Memory:
NCIX has a deal on these, and they seem to be the #1 rated RAM for sale there. The timings seem good, but how well would they perform with my mentioned OC requirements?

Corsair XMS3 Dominator 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3-1600 CL8-8-8-24
$230
OR
[Taking other suggestions]

PSU:
I dont plan on doing Tri-SLI or Crossfire, if ANYTHING it would be 2 cards max. Which cards, im not yet sure. Im looking for some modular here, as cable management is something im picky with.
Corsair Professional HX850W 850W
$230
OR
Corsair Professional HX750W 750W
$200
OR
[Taking other suggestions]

Video Card:
Im not a super hardcore graphics gamer at max resolution. I do love my games, and this is what this computer will primarily be for. I only have a 20.1" monitor (Max res 1680x1050), but someday i will get a bigger one. I also have a 42" HD TV that i watch bluray rips on (max res 1920x1080). Gaming on the tv is a little difficult, as i find there is a SLIGHT delay between keyboard/mouse actions and results on the TV. Not sure what caused this before, but i had an 8800GTS 512 and i dont think it was the problem. It's probably just because its a TV and not a monitor.
In any case, with the above in mind, im thinking something like:
-GTX260
-GTX275
-GTX280
-GTX285
Im not fond, nor educated on ATI products, so im not sure how they compare.
Im in need of suggestions here!

Case:
Im coming from a Thermaltake Armor VA8000B. This case sits right under my wall mounted TV. The case itself is actually on a TV stand. Many of the wires are routed under my floors to the otherside of my room where my desk/monitor/etc is. The point being, i want a nice flashy case that looks appealing, has good airflow and is tidy inside, as well as quiet.
Some cases that i've already looked at are:

-Corsair 800d
-Silverstone Fortress
-Silverstone TJ07
-Silverstone TJ09
-Coolmaster ATCS 840
-Lian Li V1200 (The wheels on this case might make it troublesome since its sitting on a wooden TV stand. IE, might roll off? Or does it have a wheel lock?)

Case Fans:
Since this is going to be in the main room of my house, id like my fans to be as quiet as possible when doing things such as watching movies. For this, id probably need a fan controller. What id really like to know is what are todays top end case fans and supply a strong amount of airflow but are still silent?

I know there must be tons of these posts all the time, but any suggestions or help is appreciated.

My budget for this PC is AROUND $2000CDN.

Thanks!!!

PS:This is what my old setup looked like.

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/8992/dsc03788q.jpg

 

[Maverick2002]

Video card: I would recommend GTX 275 ... good price and has 240 cores, which is the same as 285/295.

HDD? Get an SSD if you can swing it. If not, eh, WD Raptor I guess.

 

[mission]

I was leaning towards a GTX 275.

As for HHD, i didnt list it because i simply forgot lol. I WAS considering an SSD, but once i learned that they have a "lifespan" of writes i was kind of turned off. And dont you need to optimize your windows in specific ways in order to increase it's lifespan? For example, turning off indexing or some crap?

Thx

 

[Maverick2002]

Read the latest AT article. You will retire your computer long before your SSD dies. Your disk based drive will probably fail before an SSD does.

link: http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3631

 

[mission]

Heh i read some of it last night....but after seeing how long it was i skipped most of it. I ended up only reading 3 or 4 pages.

Whats the general lifespan of one of an SSD? With or without an optimized Windows install..?

thx

 

[yh125d]

That RAM is WAY overpriced. This G.Skill for $100 less will perform the same. Plus that corsair runs at 1.65v, which is too high

http://ncix.com/products/index...e=G.SKILL&promoid=1058


This Antec would be a good (cheaper) alternative to the HX PSU's. A 750 is honestly overpowered for your system but with such a good deal on this I'd go ahead and get it.

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=...-750&manufacture=Antec


For the case assuming you're open to a full tower (you seem to have enough room for it) I'd recommend the ABS Black Pearl. It's deactivated on newegg.ca but I'm sure you could find it somewhere. It's $130 US so hopefully you could find it for ~$160 CAD. It's a rebadged Lian Li PC-V2000b and I love it. Big, good cooling, classy looking all aluminum build, tidy inside, and has a built in 4 channel fan controller that works very well with a temp probe and RPM readout. I take all my fans to the lowest setting all of the time and it stays nice and cool

 

[mission]

thanks for the advice.

As far as the ABS Blackpearl goes, ive looked into it. The deciding factor in NOT going with it was the fact that the case sits in the opposite direction of typical cases. Because of this, i wont be able to run my cables under the floor, like you see them in the pic i attached

The antec truepower just feels uncomfortable to me. when i think antec i think cases, not really powersupplies. in any case, do you have any reviews on that series of PSU's?

The GSkill looks like good ram, the reason i didnt pick it was because of the timings, since they were 9-9-9 i figured they were worse than the dominators..!

 

[yh125d]

When you think "antec = case company" you should also be thinking "corsair = memory company". But yes, I do have a review from jonnyguru (one of the most well known and trusted PSU review sites) and they loved it. Even better than the corsair TX line which is amazing in its own right.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modul...iews&op=Story&reid=140


You definitely will not be let down by the Truepower New. It is a great PSU. Modular, powerful, with great efficiency and rock solid stability. You can't go wrong there.



As for the reverse-atx of the black pearl, why couldnt you use it the same as you do now? The cables still come out of the back, they just come out a little higher on the case. You dont have to have the mesh bit facing away from the wall, you could leave it facing the wall with ~2" clearance and be fine

 

[mission]

yep instinctively corsair = memory to my mind. but i have experience with corsair PSU's as well, and i have been impressed.

as for the case, im not that concerned.

what do you truely think of the ram? i've read some pretty good reviews of that gkill ram you linked.

 

[Maverick2002]

G.Skill is good stuff, I've used it on several systems now. Do yourself a favor and read the SSD article (not skim it). Very worthwhile info in there.

 

[yh125d]

The (g.skill) RAM is good. I'd put G.Skill up there with corsair in terms of quality. The main difference between the brands is corsair tends to focus more on "high performance" RAM, which is really the same ram as you'd find in a g.skill, but running at a higher voltage (BAD) and lower timings (which are pretty much no performance boost at all). I bought OCZ for my current build cause I was in a hurry and less educated when I bought it, if I had to buy today I'd go with g.skill

 

[mission]

I went ahead and read the SSD article...and damn it took forever. So..basically Intel SSD's are the best, in terms of speed and lifespan, and Indilinx or whatever is runner up.

But daaamn, the intel SSD's are damn expensiiiive.

the problem i have now...is i cant afford to spend 400+ on a Intel SSD, but now im scared to get anything cheaper, because i might not get the best performance or a shorter lifespan....or hell even that "stutter" thing ive heard people talking about.

ps. any other suggestions on GOOD ram? my supplier may not carry G.Skill...

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: mission
I went ahead and read the SSD article...and damn it took forever. So..basically Intel SSD's are the best, in terms of speed and lifespan, and Indilinx or whatever is runner up.

But daaamn, the intel SSD's are damn expensiiiive.

the problem i have now...is i cant afford to spend 400+ on a Intel SSD, but now im scared to get anything cheaper, because i might not get the best performance or a shorter lifespan....or hell even that "stutter" thing ive heard people talking about.

ps. any other suggestions on GOOD ram? my supplier may not carry G.Skill...

The is nothing wrong with Gen2 OCZ/Super Talent SSDs. They will last, have TRIM tools and in many cases perform just as well as an Intel, if not better.

Note the single application bench page in an article consisting of 27 pages.

If this is a gaming rig, you can purchase a Phenom 955 with Gigabyte 790FX AM3 motherboard and not miss a single thing.

And will save enough money to purchase a Gen2 OCZ SSD.

 

[mission]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo

Originally posted by: mission
I went ahead and read the SSD article...and damn it took forever. So..basically Intel SSD's are the best, in terms of speed and lifespan, and Indilinx or whatever is runner up.

But daaamn, the intel SSD's are damn expensiiiive.

the problem i have now...is i cant afford to spend 400+ on a Intel SSD, but now im scared to get anything cheaper, because i might not get the best performance or a shorter lifespan....or hell even that "stutter" thing ive heard people talking about.

ps. any other suggestions on GOOD ram? my supplier may not carry G.Skill...

The is nothing wrong with Gen2 OCZ/Super Talent SSDs. They will last, have TRIM tools and in many cases perform just as well as an Intel, if not better.

Note the single application bench page in an article consisting of 27 pages.

If this is a gaming rig, you can purchase a Phenom 955 with Gigabyte 790FX AM3 motherboard and not miss a single thing.

And will save enough money to purchase a Gen2 OCZ SSD.

oh dear lol. i appreciated your input...but changing my mind to AMD cpu's/mobo's is just toooo much for my head to handle..!

i was over at Toms, and someone gave me a heads up on the ATI 4890, sounds like it beats out the 260/275 in my resolution range, and its slightly cheaper...so ill be looking into that.

PS> budget increased to about $2500.