Awesome i7 Sandy Bridge rig!

[TheTemplai]

Awesome Intel i7 "Sandy Bridge" rig!

BASIC HARDWARE COMPONENTS
========================
Case: Cooler Master 932 Advanced (Newest case from CM) $159
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K $326
Motherboard: ASUS Maximus IV Extreme (REV 3.0 / Intel P67 / LGA 1155) $347
RAM: 4GB (2x2GB) G.Skill DDR3-2200 / PC3-17600 Ripjaws X Series $99
PSU: Corsair TX 950 950W $149 (I probably won't need all of that but hey.. lol)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112 12X Internal Blu-ray Disc Writer $107
Graphics Card: Radeon HD 6970 (waiting to see theR6970 Lightning from MSI, btw any news on that?)
HDD /SSD: Don't know yet..
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master V6GT or V8 - help me out here guys -

Total Price: Approximately $1187 (USD) without the CPU Cooler

PERIPHERALS (Completely optional, of course)
==================================
Mouse: GIGABYTE M8000X $59
Keyboard: GIGABYTE K8100 $69
Headphone: Audio-Technica ATH-A700 or Fischer Audio FA-002w (Beech Light Brown) The ATH-A700s are better I think but the FAs have a outstanding design, those wooden made ear-cups are really beautiful and they're made by hand, can you believe that?!) $127 or $203 respectively.

I honestly think I've got the "best bang for buck" products here, what do you think guys?

 

[smarteyeball]

Looking good so far

 

[Everlong]

For the "best bang for buck", I'd have gone for the i5-2500k, but if you can afford to stretch to the i7, then go for it.

 

[TheTemplai]

Thank you guys, more comments are welcome!
Tho' it's extremely hard to find those Gigabyte mice and keyboards..

@Everlong
I'll take that in consideration, thanks.

 

[Minotar]

Nice spec
I prefer the HAF X though

 

[TheTemplai]

@Minotar
Thanks buddy.

Update: Cooler Master V6GT CPU Cooler added.

 

[TheTemplai]

BUMP! Need more opinions guys!

 

[Damonlandsdown]

hey buddy
nice setup, i just built up my i7 950 rig, and im really pleased with it.
cant imagine how good the second gen i7 would be
i personally think that you should buy a HD radeon 6970. the gtx580 is a better card, yes. but for 300 i find the 6970 better value. thats just opinion, though im still going to throw it out there!

good luck man.

 

[Damonlandsdown]

also, if your gaming a normal HDD will do. as games load everything needed, read/write doesn't happen as often.
but, if you have the money, grab yourself a SSD and install your OS on it, and enjoy 10 second boot up

 

[Stormkitty]

This is just my opinion, but I think you should go for either 6 or 8gb of RAM. 4gb these days is what I would consider "bare minimum" if you're going to be doing anything RAM intensive like gaming, photoshop, firefox, iTunes, or 3D Modeling. 6gb gives you lots of breathing space but 8gb is just easier to do because you can just buy an 8gb kit. Of course, I may be missing something here but I imagine the low amount of RAM is due to it being 2200, right?

 

[TheTemplai]

hey buddy
nice setup, i just built up my i7 950 rig, and im really pleased with it.
cant imagine how good the second gen i7 would be
i personally think that you should buy a HD radeon 6970. the gtx580 is a better card, yes. but for 300 i find the 6970 better value. thats just opinion, though im still going to throw it out there!

good luck man.

That's exactly what I will do bro, I was taking a look at the tom's hardware chart and the 6970 is only 1fps down if compared to the GTX 580 on Metro 2033 - Enthusiast, and price difference is huge $540USD for the GTX 580 against $329USD for the 6970. I won't pay that much more for a possible 1fps more than the GTX 580, HD6970 it is! Thank you for the heads up!

This is just my opinion, but I think you should go for either 6 or 8gb of RAM. 4gb these days is what I would consider "bare minimum" if you're going to be doing anything RAM intensive like gaming, photoshop, firefox, iTunes, or 3D Modeling. 6gb gives you lots of breathing space but 8gb is just easier to do because you can just buy an 8gb kit. Of course, I may be missing something here but I imagine the low amount of RAM is due to it being 2200, right?

That's right man, I want to get the most from the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme MB in terms of memory, which I believe is 2200mhz without overclocking so I went with the 4GB of G.Skill DDR3-2200 RAMs as I won't be able to buy 6 or 8GB simply because the 2200mhz+ memories are a lot more expensive than the PC3-16000 ones.

 

[IownAmoneyPit]

My new rig is somewhat similar to yours in specs, I went with the sabertooth P67 for the warranty and PCE-E x 1 slots (TV card), Went overboard with 16 GB ram, An Nvidia 570 video card etc, but the hard drive is what I wanted to mention most as I chose the newest Intel 510 sata III - SSD (avg $300 can) point being that I see the BIOS screen longer than it takes to start windows to desktop.

Also an HD 6970 card is worth about $400 (can) for any model plus do you have to buy a new copy of windows or already have one.

My cost came in at about $2300 (can) and I have the older 932 case, already had mouse, keyboard and Blu ray writer.

 

[TheTemplai]

My new rig is somewhat similar to yours in specs, I went with the sabertooth P67 for the warranty and PCE-E x 1 slots (TV card), Went overboard with 16 GB ram, An Nvidia 570 video card etc, but the hard drive is what I wanted to mention most as I chose the newest Intel 510 sata III - SSD (avg $300 can) point being that I see the BIOS screen longer than it takes to start windows to desktop.

Also an HD 6970 card is worth about $400 (can) for any model plus do you have to buy a new copy of windows or already have one.

My cost came in at about $2300 (can) and I have the older 932 case, already had mouse, keyboard and Blu ray writer.

Do you really need 16GB of RAM? Why don't you use that money to get a better Graphics card, a GTX 590 or a HD6990?

Also could you post your rig here so I can see it and compare with mine? Again 16GB of ram seems a "bit" extreme, don't you think?

Oh, and I already have a copy of Windows as you can see on the left of the screen, it's a genuine copy of the Windows 7 Ultimate.

 

[Muggs]

My new rig is somewhat similar to yours in specs, I went with the sabertooth P67 for the warranty and PCE-E x 1 slots (TV card), Went overboard with 16 GB ram, An Nvidia 570 video card etc, but the hard drive is what I wanted to mention most as I chose the newest Intel 510 sata III - SSD (avg $300 can) point being that I see the BIOS screen longer than it takes to start windows to desktop.

Also an HD 6970 card is worth about $400 (can) for any model plus do you have to buy a new copy of windows or already have one.

My cost came in at about $2300 (can) and I have the older 932 case, already had mouse, keyboard and Blu ray writer.

Do you really need 16GB of RAM? Why don't you use that money to get a better Graphics card, a GTX 590 or a HD6990?

.

Personally, I wouldn't touch a 590. Not going by the reviews I've read anyway. As a card it sits right in between the 570 and 580 in SLi, despite the 590 supposedly being two 580's on one card.

Wouldn't touch a standard 6990 either. They get very hot and very loud with that "cooler fan". Until aftermarket coolers come out for the 6990, it's not worth it. So that would leave two 580's in SLi. It's still the best set-up and only a couple of hundred pounds more than what a 590 costs. Assuming money isn't a big object.

 

[TheTemplai]

My new rig is somewhat similar to yours in specs, I went with the sabertooth P67 for the warranty and PCE-E x 1 slots (TV card), Went overboard with 16 GB ram, An Nvidia 570 video card etc, but the hard drive is what I wanted to mention most as I chose the newest Intel 510 sata III - SSD (avg $300 can) point being that I see the BIOS screen longer than it takes to start windows to desktop.

Also an HD 6970 card is worth about $400 (can) for any model plus do you have to buy a new copy of windows or already have one.

My cost came in at about $2300 (can) and I have the older 932 case, already had mouse, keyboard and Blu ray writer.

Do you really need 16GB of RAM? Why don't you use that money to get a better Graphics card, a GTX 590 or a HD6990?

.

Personally, I wouldn't touch a 590. Not going by the reviews I've read anyway. As a card it sits right in between the 570 and 580 in SLi, despite the 590 supposedly being two 580's on one card.

Wouldn't touch a standard 6990 either. They get very hot and very loud with that "cooler fan". Until aftermarket coolers come out for the 6990, it's not worth it. So that would leave two 580's in SLi. It's still the best set-up and only a couple of hundred pounds more than what a 590 costs. Assuming money isn't a big object.

Fair enough, I too think that the 590 and the 6990 don't justify their price, they are just that expensive 'cause they are the top of the line cards. Though I was just stating that he could lower his amount of RAM and spend the money on something else or save it.

 

[TheTemplai]

UP!

I have a question about the motherboard guys..
At first I wanted the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme but I'm not sure anymore as I did some more research and have stumbled across two other models, which are the ASRock Fatal1ty P67 and the ASUS Sabertooth P67.

So I'm confused about which one I should buy and which one of them would be better for my needs, which are:
- Hardcore Gaming (everything must be set at F-HD Enthusiast otherwise I won't play the game LOL)
- Loads of blu-ray and 3D content (some times I even play two or three blu-ray movies at once).
- I'm a extremely heavy internet user, at this exact moment I have 48 tabs opened in 6 windows on Firefox and some more on Opera.
- MediaMonkey, uTorrent, Audacity, JDownloader and a whole bunch of other programs are almost all the time running - some are always running.
- I do render stuff some times.
- Computer is always connected via HDMI cable to my F-HD Sony Bravia 3D TV.

Now that you guys know what are my needs, I hope you can help me choose the most suitable Mobo for me.

Thank you once again.
Have a nice day..

 

[IownAmoneyPit]

Do you really need 16GB of RAM? Why don't you use that money to get a better Graphics card, a GTX 590 or a HD6990?

Also could you post your rig here so I can see it and compare with mine? Again 16GB of ram seems a "bit" extreme, don't you think?

Oh, and I already have a copy of Windows as you can see on the left of the screen, it's a genuine copy of the Windows 7 Ultimate.

I agree 16 gigs is extreme but only choices were 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB (4 x ? GB) so I chose the 16 GB as it was on sale and future-proof.

I mentioned the Windows as depending on which version you have (OEM Ultimate on my old computer in my case) is not transferable but saved some money on the genuine full retail Pro version for the new build.

The specs of my rig are in my system specs and also Show us your Rig (2)

EDIT: Only one major drawback with the Sabertooth P 67 is the CMOS battery is hidden beneath the TUF Armor or plastic shield just below the 1st PCI-E x 16 slot which would require a complete tear-down of the computer to remove the shield and change the battery, but with the 5 year warranty and long life batteries that are now being made I should have no worries for a while.

 

[TheTemplai]

Here is the final build:

Case: Cooler Master 932 Advanced $159 or HAF X
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K $326
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty P67 Professional Series $249
RAM: 8GB (4x2GB) G.Skill DDR3 PC3-17066/2133mhz Ripjaws X Series $79.99 x 2
PSU: Corsair TX 950 950W $149
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112/212 12X Internal Blu-ray Disc Writer $107
Graphics Card: Radeon HD 6970 (waiting to see the R6970 Lightning from MSI)
SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SATA III MLC Internal SSD $300
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master V6GT (I've decided to stick with the V6GT)

 

[IownAmoneyPit]

Here is the final build:

Case: Cooler Master 932 Advanced $159 or HAF X
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K $326
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty P67 Professional Series $249
RAM: 8GB (4x2GB) G.Skill DDR3 PC3-17066/2133mhz Ripjaws X Series $79.99 x 2
PSU: Corsair TX 950 950W $149
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112/212 12X Internal Blu-ray Disc Writer $107
Graphics Card: Radeon HD 6970 (waiting to see the R6970 Lightning from MSI)
SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SATA III MLC Internal SSD $300
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master V6GT (I've decided to stick with the V6GT)

Good choice on the 932 Advanced, Front USB 3 and 2.5 SSD tray + all Black inside. I settled for the first version of the 932 to save money and wish I went with the front USB 3 series.

 

[TheTemplai]

Here is the final build:

Case: Cooler Master 932 Advanced $159 or HAF X
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K $326
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty P67 Professional Series $249
RAM: 8GB (4x2GB) G.Skill DDR3 PC3-17066/2133mhz Ripjaws X Series $79.99 x 2
PSU: Corsair TX 950 950W $149
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112/212 12X Internal Blu-ray Disc Writer $107
Graphics Card: Radeon HD 6970 (waiting to see the R6970 Lightning from MSI)
SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SATA III MLC Internal SSD $300
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master V6GT (I've decided to stick with the V6GT)

Good choice on the 932 Advanced, Front USB 3 and 2.5 SSD tray + all Black inside. I settled for the first version of the 932 to save money and wish I went with the front USB 3 series.

"...to save money"? I don't get that, Cooler Master said it would have the exact same price as the older version... :huh: well, besides the black interior and USB 3.0 ports they are by all means the same so you still got a solid case. ^_^

Thanks for following my thread, I really do appreciate that. I'm sending you a friend invite, I'd be very happy if you accept it.

Cya buddy!