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Fighting Saint’s Potential Build GA-X58A-UD3R/i7 930

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Mar 25, 2010
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174
Motherboard
GA-X58A-UD3R
CPU
i7 930
Graphics
HIS 5770
Mac
  1. 0
Classic Mac
  1. 0
Mobile Phone
  1. 0
First, I would like to thank everyone for making this forum a great resource. Special thanks go out to Tonymacx86, MacMan, and Lnx2Mac. Without your knowledge and patience this forum wouldn't be what it is. You’ve definitely given me the courage to do this. :thumbup:

I have been visiting this forum for many months reading as much as possible trying to gain as much knowledge before I proceed with building my first computer. Please offer any comment on my selections. I plan on using the system for video/photo editing. It’s more than I probably need but the X58 system seems reasonable in price so I thought I would just go for it. I may end up using it for other things later on depending on how this experience turns out. Thank you in advance.

The following four items I’m still not sure about.

1. RAM: I’ve read comments from users not happy with OCZ brand used in the CustoMac Pro setup so I changed this to G.Skill. Is this particular G.Skill good or is there a better G.Skill model that I’ve missed?

2. CPU: I have selected the i7 930 but the i7 950 is only $30 more at Micro Center. Is it worth spending the extra money?

3. Power Supply: Which power supply is better, the Antec or Corsair? Also, the Corsair 750W and 850W are the same price right now. I don’t see myself needing the 850W but if I decide to go with Corsair would it be smart just to get the 850W since it’s the same price?

4. Monitor: Does anyone have experience with the Asus monitor I have selected? The reviews are good at Newegg but I would like to know if anyone has this one or if there is a better choice.


Case: COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($79.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216&Tpk=cm690%20II%20advanced

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R LGA1366 ($189.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423&Tpk=GA-X58A-UD3R

CPU: Intel i7 930 2.8 GHz Quad Core ($199.99)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0331303

CPU Cooler: Scythe SCMG-2100 Sleeve CPU Cooler ($39.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142

RAM: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ ($109.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225

DVD Drive: Sony 24x DVD±R --- DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW ($19.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118039&cm_re=Sony_Optiarc_24X-_-27-118-039-_-Product

Hard Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB (I already purchased two last week for $54.99 each)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Video Card: Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 5770 ($119.99 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125309

Power Supply (choice #1A): CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply ($139.99 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

Power Supply (choice #1B): CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-850HX 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply (same price as the 750W - $139.99 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

Power Supply (choice #2): Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply ($89.99 after rebate but sold out at the moment)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371025

Keyboard: Apple Aluminum Wired Keyboard ($49.99)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000V07N9U?ie=UTF8&tag=tonymacx86com-20

Mouse: Apple Magic Mouse ($69.00)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TLTGM6?ie=UTF8

Bluetooth: ASUS USB-BT21 USB 2.0 Mini Bluetooth Dongle ($12.99)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032EYZ34?ie=UTF8

Operating System: Mac OS X version 10.6.3 Snow Leopard ($29.00)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AMHWP8?ie=UTF8

Monitor: ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ASCR 20000:1 (1000:1) Built-in Speakers ($209.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236049
 
Hello! I'd like to say welcome to the forum, but you've been a member longer than me. :lol:

Congrats for stepping into the arena though, and committing to building a great machine. Hopefully you get it up and running with few issues. ;)

I'm a fan of OCZ, but the reviews for their RAM have been spotty lately. I think that the G.Skill is a good choice.

I don't think the 950 is worth it for the added cost, but that's just my opinion. Although, if you consider the added cost over the life of the computer, perhaps it's worth the speed bump. I suppose only you can determine whether it's a good 'value' for you.

I'd go with the Corsair PSU; I've only heard great things about the quality. I could be wrong here (would need to do more research), but I've read that it's actually worse to have a much larger PSU than you need. It's quite possible that with today's tech, that's not as much of an issue, but it's worth looking into.

I actually have this monitor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824236052

It appears to be nearly identical to the one you've listed here, with a slightly worse response time. I really like my monitor quite a bit. I think it really depends on the work you'll be doing. I'm not doing any work that is highly dependent on the accuracy etc. of the display, so my needs may be different for yours. I know many professionals that insist on the highest quality displays for their work, and if that's you, I may suggest looking at Dell's IPS displays. I'm a fan of Viewsonic's displays as well, always have been.

The rest of your hardware looks great. The only thing I can think that'd make it better (reasonably, at least) is a SSD boot drive. :D
 
Vendetta - thanks for the reply. I appreciate your comments.

I ended up buying the motherboard (GA X58A-UD3R) from Amazon yesterday morning using the Tonymac link. They had it for $179.99 and today it's back up to $209.99. I'm traveling near a Micro Center tomorrow and will pick up the i7 930. Then I just need to get the rest of the system ordered and start building it.

I read several reviews today on the IPS displays. I'm now thinking about getting the HP ZR24w 24-inch S-IPS LCD Monitor. I wasn't able to find any local stores today that carry these type of displays so I could see one in person. I went to Best Buy but they don't carry IPS monitors. I did though look at the iMac while I was there and realized how nice that display is. It definitely made me have second thoughts on my original selection. Does anyone have any experience with the HP monitor and care to share any thoughts on it?

I also decided to just go with the Cosair 750W power supply. This should be adequate.

The SSD's still seem expensive. I think I'll wait until they come down in price.

Again, thanks for the help.
 
The Fighting Saint said:
Vendetta - thanks for the reply. I appreciate your comments.

I ended up buying the motherboard (GA X58A-UD3R) from Amazon yesterday morning using the Tonymac link. They had it for $179.99 and today it's back up to $209.99. I'm traveling near a Micro Center tomorrow and will pick up the i7 930. Then I just need to get the rest of the system ordered and start building it.

I read several reviews today on the IPS displays. I'm now thinking about getting the HP ZR24w 24-inch S-IPS LCD Monitor. I wasn't able to find any local stores today that carry these type of displays so I could see one in person. I went to Best Buy but they don't carry IPS monitors. I did though look at the iMac while I was there and realized how nice that display is. It definitely made me have second thoughts on my original selection. Does anyone have any experience with the HP monitor and care to share any thoughts on it?

I also decided to just go with the Cosair 750W power supply. This should be adequate.

The SSD's still seem expensive. I think I'll wait until they come down in price.

Again, thanks for the help.

No problem!

The iMacs, and Apple's other display is an IPS display. I read awhile back that Apple and Dell actually used the same panels, but the enclosures were obviously different. I'd like to get an Apple display at some point.

Prices on the SSD are dropping a bit lately. You only need a 60-64GB drive to operate as the boot drive, and you can get a nice one for a little over $100. It was just a thought, but you can pop one in at a later date. ;)
 
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