Yet another Core i7 build.

5uspect

Hi guys,
I finally hope to put together a new PC in the next few weeks.
(I've finished my PhD and now I have some time to enjoy myself:))

Currently I have a 6~7 year old Northwood machine that has served me well but now needs to go. I would like to build a machine that should last a few years with just a handful of upgrades. I'm not interested in overclocking, but its something I might consider in the future when needed.

Anyway my current thinking is to go with a Core i7 system with about 6 Gigs of RAM. I've read somewhere that this is something of a sweet spot for Intel's new baby. I will be using this machine for gaming, Photography (processing RAW files etc) and probably a bit of number crunching for work.
I would like to use CUDA/Stream to accelerate code at some stage.

I've set myself a budget of about €1000 for the hardware. I'll use my existing monitor, mouse etc. Might upgrade to a better monitor later in the year. I plan to use Win 7 x64 RC also until the release. I've nothing really against Vista, I use it quite happily on my Q6600 in work I would just like to put the money into the hardware for now and avail of the current freebie. (I'll keep my old machine as a back up, I might even dual boot)

Anyway I've attached a provisional setup (Komplett vs Hardwareversand)
I'm not particularly set on one particular part (comments about the P6T in the other thread duly noted!), except maybe the LGA1366 socket. Its similar money with either company unless I've forgot something. I'd imagine Komplett are cheaper on postage?

I went with nvidia and XFX because I've had good experiences with their cards in the past. I've tested heat sinks on ATI cards in work and found them excellent too so I've so qualms about going with either.

Also I can use a LGA775 cooler from work on the P6T if I need to or order one elsewhere instead of using the stock cooler.

Anyhow. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Solitaire

5uspect wrote:

I plan to use Win 7 x64 RC also until the release

That would be just a little hard... as there's no sign of MS releasing it before August (when the demo times out)

a Core i7 system

I've set myself a budget of about €1000

I'm not interested in overclocking

Okay...

I will be using this machine for gaming

... Not so okay. i7 is an enterprise platform and not so great for gaming - if you think you'll be able to max everything without a bit of OCing (say 3GHz+), think again. i7-920 just doesn't have the single-core speed and isn't really any faster per clock cycle than C2D/P2 for games (it annihilates everything else in every other software category though :P) You'll get good framerates in most things but some newer games without quad-support might wind up CPU-limited at very high settings. Not an issue for 99% of people but this is an i7 build so I assume only the best will do

Anyway, nice build overall. That's a great price for the Adamas but it's a bit small inside so putting the mobo in will be a wrestling match. Oh, and WD or Samsung >> Seagate for HDDs. Oh, and Zotac are a fair whack cheaper than EVGA over on HWVS

5uspect

Thanks, I'm still undecided on which manufacturers to use. I had initially specd 2 x WD 500GB drives but stuck in the Seagate for handiness.

Its not purely for gaming and I don't mind not running games without the MSAA set to full. .
Churning through my RAW files and numerical number crunching are also as important.
Not everything can be accelerated with CUDA due to the lower precision.

The RC is valid until June 2010 (the beta in Jan) and Acer have suggested they expect an OEM release in October 09.

I would imagine M$ would want to keep the goodwill windows7 bandwagon rolling from the mostly positive feedback so far. Then again it is Microsoft!

kaimera

the 920 is quality for games coupled with a decent gpu.

I've got it in my gaming machine with a 4870 and a few gigs of ram and it's great.

Mac daddy

Solitaire wrote: »

That would be just a little hard... as there's no sign of MS releasing it before August (when the demo times out)

Wrong it's out on MSDN at the moment.

5uspect

Hi Guys, I ordered it last night from HWVS.
Here is the final parts list:


Configured article 1.283,51 €
6GB-Triple-Kit Corsair TR3X6G1600C9 DDR3, CL9
Antec Three Hundred, ATX, ohne Netzteil
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2, Sockel 1366, ATX, DDR3
Corsair TX750W 750 Watt
EVGA GeForce GTX 275 Core 240 - 55nm, 896MB, PCI-Express
Intel Core i7-920 Box 8192Kb, LGA1366
Samsung SH-223F bare schwarz
Samsung SH-D163B SATA Bulk schwarz
Samsung SyncMaster 2243NW (22" TFT)
WD Caviar SE16 500GB SATA II 16MB
WD Caviar SE16 500GB SATA II 16MB

€1,333 including postage et al.

I went with the EVGA as I read that the Zotac is quite noisy and the EVGA is pretty good in that dept.
I also decided to get a monitor, thought it would be a crime to run this on my 17" 1280x1024 LCD.

5uspect

So my parts arrived yesterday. I have Win 7 running on it here and everything seem to be running fine.
I requested a D0 stepping core i7 from HWV and they kindly obliged.