'09 Build - Suggestions?

[Bald_Yew]

Case:
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail 139.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160)

PSU:
PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7 - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703009) 99.99

Mobo:
MSI X58 Pro-E LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130226) 189.99

CPU:
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202) 279.99

RAM:
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365) 99.99

HDD:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433)84.99

Keyboard:
Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126009) 58.99

Mouse:
Logitech G5 7 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB Wired Laser 2000 dpi Mouse - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104076) 49.99

Headphones:
Creative FATAL1TY 3.5mm gold-plated Circumaural Gaming Headset (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826158051) 44.99

Optical Drive:
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 22X DVD±R DVD Burner LightScribe Support - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151176) 25.99 (currently OOS :()

OS:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM
Includes free Windows 7 upgrade coupon (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116677) 109.99

Monitor:
Acer X223Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 2500:1 - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009145) 159.99

GPU:
EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433) 188.99 x2 = 377.98

Grand Total without Combo deals S&H, = 1722.86

This is going to be my '09 rig. My '05/06 rig has 2 7800GT's in SLI and still plays most games at med/high on 1680x1050, so I understand that if planned correctly an SLI rig can be a good bang/buck. My '07 rig has an 8800GTX and still rocks 1680x1050 pretty well, so the same can be said for a big single card. I am looking at the GTX 260's in SLI because this rig will be folding and I hear the Nvidia stuff gets more PPD than ATI stuff at the moment.

My old 8800GTX/C2D6600 will go to my daughter who plays TF2 and UT3/Q3 at LANs. The main box, G11, an MX518,headphones, and a 22" monitor will go with it.

I will be buying in 2-3 weeks so choices may change a little to follow sales and combo deals. I do not care about rebates as the rebate game(especially OCZ's) is more trouble than it is worth.



My questions:

1. Obviosly, anyone have any suggestions of what to change on the above list?

2. The MSI board looks like a great SLI Corei7 deal, but one of the reviewers said that although the pic shows a bridge that is labeled SLI, that the included bridge is a CF bridge. Can anyone confirm/deny that?

3. For the $$$, is the PPD 2 260's give me a better bang/buck than the PPD the 4870x2 would give? Heck, I don't even know if folding on the ATI card would work. 4870x2 I am looking at is XFX HD-487A-CDF9 Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150349) 369.99.

4. Would there be a big enough difference between the Acer 22" and say an Asus 23" to warrant throwing an extra $40 at an [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236059]Asus 23" monitor?

Trying to keep budget 1650-1750 - have about 2000, but wanna get a netbook to.


TIA for any help peeps!(I posted this at MaxPC forums to.)

[=A!M=OakWind]

You may want to get a monitor that will support Nvidia's 3d glasses. Another reason to stick with Nvidia cards.

[Ninjahedge]

I would avoid SLI for now. Your monitor is not HUGE resolution, so spending the extra $ on it right now would be a waste.

Also, that processor seems a bit much for what you may need to do. The quad is definitely nice, but does anyone know if that is really necessary with most apps these days (or in development?)

Would it be better just to get a faster (cycle) chip rather than a 4 core?

Also, you do not need the Fatality, I liked the Turtle Beach Circumaural with the USB sound device. They are really comfy and work well. A bit more expensive, but they sound great.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826502012

(I think I have the older model.... not sure)

The G11 is nice. I got the old G15 with the LCD though. I usually only use it to see net traffic to see if something is still downloading though....

So, like I said, you may want to cut a bit on the CPU and GPU, but that is about it.

[Bald_Yew]

I plan on using the extra CPU/GPU for Folding@Home clients.

Looked at that Turtle beach first, but the Fatality ones were half the price. Still, if the Turtle Beach ones offer signifiantly better sound, are lighter and cooler, and are sturdy, I wouldn't mind paying the extra for them.

I actually even looked at the G19, but that extra $150 = alot of vid card.

Thanks for the feedback peeps, keep it coming.

[Cerwin_Vega]

I would avoid SLI for now. Your monitor is not HUGE resolution, so spending the extra $ on it right now would be a waste.

Also, that processor seems a bit much for what you may need to do. The quad is definitely nice, but does anyone know if that is really necessary with most apps these days (or in development?)

Would it be better just to get a faster (cycle) chip rather than a 4 core?

Also, you do not need the Fatality, I liked the Turtle Beach Circumaural with the USB sound device. They are really comfy and work well. A bit more expensive, but they sound great.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826502012

(I think I have the older model.... not sure)

The G11 is nice. I got the old G15 with the LCD though. I usually only use it to see net traffic to see if something is still downloading though....

So, like I said, you may want to cut a bit on the CPU and GPU, but that is about it.

On that note... (http://shogun.shafted.com.au/temp/computer_science_lesson.jpg)

[Ninjahedge]

Meh, old jokes.

Like I said, get what you need in the near future, don't look too far ahead or you might just end up getting something that WON'T do what you want it to in 1-2 years...

(I keep getting SLI boards, but find it is just easier and cheaper to get a better single card after waiting a year or two...)

It also uses MUCH less power.....

Just suggestions to try to tame that bottom line.

GL BY!

[Cerwin_Vega]

I think Zaphod and I build PCs around the same time last. We both got the 8800gtx which was more expensive then both the cards Zaphod is looking at for SLI together lol. That was only about a yeard and a half ago.

Now a days though, the serious PC enthusiast must have a quad!

[Ninjahedge]

>sigh<

I know. I am just trying to be the voice of reason here, ya know?

My E6600 dual still runs 99% of things out in the past year at high or very high settings with a 512M 4870 card.

Just waiting a bit and getting a new card that could outperform the SLI a year down the road could be less expensive than going dual now.

Or not.


I still remember spending, I think, $600 n the Dual Canopus cards way back in 2000! It was a MAJOR step up from my 1 meg "Mistique" card (bleh!). But a year or so later, they were already being outperformed by something at half the price!! :(