• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

mATX Build

Slªde

Weaksauce
Joined
Jul 8, 2003
Messages
114
Had a thread awhile back but my needs have changed, some were understated to begin with, and I have done a lot of research since then. Planning to buy soon.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web browsing, torrents, maxed gaming (including cpu/resource hog MMOs), music production. Will keep system for at least 2 years.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
No budget, but do not like to waste money. Some of my owned or planned parts I would call extravagant already (SSD, case, sound card).
3) Where do you live?
Portland, OR - no drive to Microcenter or Frys. Plan to buy online - 11/25 10% cashback at Newegg looks good.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU, Mobo, RAM, Case, CPU Cooling, Fans
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
see below
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes, but I don't know to what degree. Probably the most I can without having to figure out voltage/timing issues.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
22" 1680x1050
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Newegg 10% cashback on the 25th seems like a good time to buy most parts
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
mATX - I'll have 2 HDs (not in Raid), one PCI_Ex16 2.0 video card and one PCI_Ex1 sound card. No Crossfire ever planned. No other 'features' come to mind.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Yes, Win 7 x64 Ultimate


REUSING:
Monitor - $0 - 22" Dell 2209WA monitor, 1680 x 1050
Video Card - $0 - MSI 4850 512mb DDR3 -- for now..
Hard Drive (Storage) - $0 - Samsung Spinpoint F1 750gb 7200rpm
Sound Card - $0 - Asus Essence STX (pci-e x1)
DVD drive, keyboard, mouse, speakers, headphones, etc.

ON THE WAY OR ALREADY HAD NEW:
Power Supply - $0 - Corsair HX620W
Hard Drive (OS/Apps) - $404 - Intel X-25M G2 160GB
Operating System - $0 - Windows 7 Ult x64

REMAINING PIECES / POSSIBILITIES:
CPU - $290 - i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W
Mobo - $105 - GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD2 LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX
RAM - 4GB. G.Skill Ripjaws? What timings and speed do I need?
Case - $180 - Lan-Gear Da Box mATX, unreleased
Extra Fans - ??? - optional fans 1 x 92mm, 1 x 60mm, 1 x 140mm
CPU Cooler - ???
Thermal Paste - ???
HD Bracket -
Video - I suspect a 5850 may be in my future when cheaper, if not right now. Unsure..


Thoughts?

.
 
Drop the i7 860 and go with this CPU instead:
$240 - Intel Xeon X3440 CPU

Only 270Mhz slower but $50 cheaper.

RAM wise, timings don't really matter. DDR3 1600 will be fine. Make sure that voltage is 1.65V and below.
 
The lower turbo boosts (which I assume I would be using despite some OC) wouldn't be a problem? Would (Xeon + AM Cooler + Nice OC) > (860 + Stock + Small OC)?
 
Slªde;1034944159 said:
The lower turbo boosts (which I assume I would be using despite some OC) wouldn't be a problem? Would (Xeon + AM Cooler + Nice OC) > (860 + Stock + Small OC)?

Not a problem. Xeon option would be better.
 
Back
Top