First time builder and first time poster here on afterdawn. I've been researching this for the past month now, and I'm itching to get my new baby in my hands. I'm glad to have people immensely more knowledgeable than me give me advice during this very confusing and very overwhelming process. Case:LIAN LI Lancool PC-K62 Black 0.8 mm SECC, Plastic + Mesh ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail CPU: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail MOBO: ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail Memory:OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Retail Graphics: SAPPHIRE VAPOR-X 100269VXL Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM CPU Cooler: XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail System Usage: I'm looking to build a PC that I will be able to upgrade in the future with little hassle. Currently I mostly just use my pc for web-browsing and the occasional gaming. I hope to have a machine that will pull me away from my console games for a change. I've never overclocked and i'm not 100% sure that I will, however as pc's are my off and on hobby, I might eventually breakdown and push my pc to the limit. Basically, I want a beast that will not limit me in the future if i decide to start delving deeper into the wormhole that is pc modification. My questions/concerns: 1.) I was going to get the OCZ platinum 6GB but I found a bundle with the OCZ gold and I didn't know if I would be able to tell a difference with the performance at this time. Also, I'm not 100% about the compatibility of the OCZ gold/platinum 6GB 1600 with my MOBO. 2.) Speaking of MOBO + Memory, can someone shed some light and finally give me a straightforward answer as to what the max supported memory is for the asus p6t, 12gb or 24? 3.) Is it worth the extra $$$ to upgrade to the Asus p6t deluxe v2? I was a little worried after reading a few post about failure rates of the deluxe ed. 4.) I'm still not 100% pleased with my case selection, being so new, I haven't seen any comprehensive reviews. I went with lian-li off a recommendation. Cases I'm somewhat interested in include: Apevia X-pleasure, NZXT Guardian, NZXT Tempest, Thermaltake Armor+MX. Things I like in a case: blue leds, blue chassis, side window, good airflow. 5.) And finally: Thermal paste? to use or not to use? and why? and where? Sorry for the long post, like I said this is a little overwhelming to me and I need all the help I can get. I can't wait to start building. Looking forward to your responses. Thanks.
Case: 8/10 - Lian Lis are excellent cases, it's a shame they cost twice as much as any other manufacturer for the same specification. CPU: 10/10 - the only i7 to buy Mobo: 5/10 - My maximum rating for Asus boards. RAM: 4/10 - Low voltage OCZ memory is always problematic. Stick with the normal OCZ stuff, or better yet use a more trustworthy brand like Corsair or G-Skill GPU: 10/10 - Excellent card with a good cooler PSU: 8/10 - a decent PSU, but 650W would be ample for your system. It's only likely to draw 360W ish at full load. HDD: 10/10 Cooler: 7/10 - the cheapest, and among the weakest and more fiddly of the tower coolers. Rivals from Noctua, Tuniq and Thermalright are better buys. if you want good airflow, the NZXT Tempest is the case to have. It is also well-equipped with the all important cliché blue LEDs. Thermal paste is recommended with aftermarket coolers, as the stuff provided often isn't great. Current favourites are Arctic Cooling MX-2 and OCZ Freeze.
Thanks for the response. I like the rating for each component. I was really set on the ASUS MOBO however I'm not really sure why. I guess I just read some good reviews of it. I decided to go with the 750w PSU in case i decided to run crossfire next time I upgraded. Any specific memory that you can suggest? I'm looking at 6GB but not sure about speed, latency, timings, and voltage. I haven't had time to do adequate research on ram yet. Do you think I even need an aftermarket cooler? Yeah deciding on a case seems to be the hardest decision yet. I like the NZXT Tempest for its cooling and big side window but i'm not crazy about the front. I wish there were more reviews on the Lian-li k62 dragon lord so I knew how it handled cooling. The case I wanted more than anything is no longer available in the color I want. (Apevia X-pleasure Blue) Also, what do you think about getting a gaming network card such as the Killer NIC K1 Gaming Network Card ?
The P6T is probably one of the better Asus boards for i7, but frankly buying an Asus boards these days is pot luck whether it'll still work in six months, it's safer to choose another brand - DFI, Gigabyte, MSI and Biostar all offer some good ones. The Biostar TPower X58A is a good rival to the P6T you chose. Going with a 750W PSU for future crossfire is a good idea (since it has the 4 power connectors required, the 650W only has two), but I tend to advise against people planning on adding a second card later. Typically by the time they get round to doing it, a new single card would be better value than buying another one of the existing card. Either go high end to start with, or sell the card when you want to upgrade later. DX11 products should be out by christmas. For memory, PC12800 is fine, but I would recommend Corsair Dominator memory instead of OCZ Gold, very reliable and compatible. An aftermarket cooler is only really necessary if you want your PC quiet, or if you want to overclock it. If you do want to overclock even a small amount, an aftermarket cooler for i7 is strongly advised, and they're not especially expensive. Typically Aspire/Apevia cases are pretty low quality, you're better off going with a quality product, and the NZXT is one such example. The Lian-Li case you chose is similar to budget cases like the Antec Three Hundred for cooling performance - acceptable, but not admirable. The NZXT does very well indeed. You can always add a pair of blue cold cathode lights to liven things up a bit. Killer NICs are one of the biggest scams in history. It's praying on people being gullible, really. Other than squeezing a tiny amount of extra performance out of your processor, they're pointless - and let's face it, with an i7 CPU power is in no short supply.
Thanks bud, that was a lot of help. I guess I'll wait on it for a few more days then make my purchase. I'll have to figure out which case I like the best.
