Hi all,

I'm looking to create my first computer and plan to use it for media (viewing), gaming (mainly rts, eve, and a bit of FPS) & internet. I've spent the past few days reading as much info as I can gather on rig setups and plan to do most of my shopping at Newegg.ca. I plan on installing 32 bit XP (I already have it) until Windows 7 is out then I will go to 7 64 bit. I am open to the idea of upgrades as I am under budget (I'm looking to hover around $1500 CAD). I've looked up many other builds with similar requirements, and I've decided I'd like to build mine around a Core I7 920 processor. However, I'm mainly concerned with compatibility and the effectiveness of some of my parts.

I already have a 22" monitor which I would like to run my games on @ full resolution. Thus I've (hopefully) selected components to support it, as well as possible SLI in the future. I've also read the site's beginner guides to building a comp, but I'm more afraid of the process that comes after the mechanical parts are put together o.0

What I have so far

Case: Antec 900 - $115

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P.....6811129021

CPU: Core I7 - $320
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P.....6819115202

Mobo: Asus P6T Delux - $340
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P.....6813131365

PSU: Corsair CMPSU 750W - $115
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P.....6817139006

Video: EVGA GTX 260 core - $212
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P.....6814130434

Memory: CORSAIR XMS3 6GB SDRAM DDR3 1600 - $125
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P.....6820145222

Optical Drive: Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD etc.. - $36
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P.....6827118030

Hard drive: I'm all ears. I was thinking maybe 3 drives: one for OS, one for games, another for media (or use an external for media). I also came across a few posts talking about SSD, and I was contemplating maybe getting a decent size HDD (500gb about) for now, and when windows 7 comes out, buy an SSD to host it and any other components that would need to be on the same drive.

Sub-total: $1263
Current mail-in rebates: $60

Total: $1200 CAD

Cheers,
Flo

I have 2 small comments...

First, the motherboard says it supports RAID. If so, RAID generally outperforms a single SATA drive. Two Velociraptors, in a RAID 0 configuration will give you both size and speed, however, this will cost you about $450 more. Other choice would be this 32MB Cache drive and 2 would run under $200 and create a 500GB drive you could partition.

The other part I'd consider is the PSU. If you intend to go SLI, it could be low. Most multi-display systems could use more power, depending on card and memory on the card. The video card you've selected states a minimum PSU of 500W's so 2 of them might not work with the PSU you've selected. The 1,000W's are expensive, but at least think about the 850W, may not be enough, but it has a better chance than 750W's.

Irv S.

Scott, I just took a 32MB drive, all are reasonably priced compared to a 10,000 RPM drive. 2 drives with large cache will do almost as well if run RAID 0. RAID 0 presents its own set of 'problems'. Of the 4 computers I use, only one is RAID 0. One of the others had RAID 0 and one drive died. RAID 0 systems should have the same size and type drives for the configuration. When one drive died 4 years later, well, it was either buy 2 or revert to normal SATA at 1/2 the size. It took over a day to revert and restore. Don't forget, either of the RAID 0 drives fail and you've lost the partition(s).

Unfortunately, the last 2 hard drives that have failed have been WD's... so I'm a little skittish on them right now. My wife and I each use our computers heavily and do leave them on all day usually. They are on UPS's though so line surges are not a problem. Still, I've had 2 in my old system die, once under warranty, and both were WD's. My wife's HP so far hasn't had a drive die, but the Sony she had prior (and is now on the LAN as a backup and storage device) did lose a WD drive.

The drive you selected is OEM, and that might mean no mounting screws or cables/connectors. A better CHOICE might be the GREEN RETAIL package, a little cheaper, might come with all the needed h/w, and it uses less power.

PSU, wel l, some of that stuff is worst case too. Bigger problem is that the PSU is PFC, Power Form Corrected. According to APC's White Paper, that type of PSU needs a 25% margin in a UPS as it can draw that much more on boot-up. The video card is not the biggest around, I've seen some 2GB's card with fast GPU's that can really suck the power in.

This new Dell I have is an Intel I7 920 with 8GB's of memory and an ATI 4870 1GB card. According to ATI that card only needs 160W's max.? I had an APC XS-1000 (600W UPS) on the system for awhile. With an LCD display hooked up to the UPS, the UPS reported only 215W's draw. This system has a PFC PSU as well. LCD's usually are estimated at 100W's and the system has a 470W PSU. Why the UPS reports so low, I don't know?

Now recall I said 'had' for the APC unit. It was/is a BACK-UPS series, the home 'type'. The waveform could NOT keep the PFC PSU on-line and the system dropped power. I went and purchased an APC 'server' type unit, SUA1000 (also a 600W), refurbished to support the system. These new are almost $500, ridiculous for a home (we just use a computer, games, surf, etc., no work) system. PFC PSU's require that type of waveform output to get the latest STAR compliance rating it seems. Some on the Dell boards have used Corsair PSU's to replace the Dell PSU's and they appear to work fine with the 'home' UPS systems though?

Scott, UPS's are very good to have, especially if you live in a bad weather zone and experience frequent brownouts and power drops.

Older OS's were more prone to damage (W9x, Windows 3.x, DOS) as they held open the FAT tables and directories. Mind you, modern OS's can do that too, especially RAID systems. Check your drive properties. You can 'improve' performance with 'late writes'. That is the OS returns a completion code of 0 to an application and does the write 'later'. Normal execution would be the app issuing the write, the OS does the write, and then sends back the resulting RC. Have the power drop at the 'right' time when files are open or in the process of being written, you could lose some data. If it is the $MFT, Registry, or a directory structure, you could have a non-bootable system... Odds of it happening, slim, but when it does.... Shutdown is there for a reason, so ALL files can be closed before the system turns off.

I call a UPS 'cheap insurance'. As is side benefit, they all have good surge protectors build in.