Knock Knock! Suggestion for i7 Rig :p

[arnold991]

Hi,

After reading forums, websites for 1 week I am still left with few doubts so posting a thread to clear my doubts altogether.

Please check the following configuration of my new i7 pc and suggest better alternatives. (No Phenom)

Only one request, please don't suggest anything priced 1-2k higher than the price of product I have selected and mentioned.

1) Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-EX58-EXTREME - Rs 21k

--> Any idea whether CPU Cooler I have selected will work with this MB ? Since it comes with 2 additional Passive Coolers near CPU.

--> If I use Water Cooling in future, will I have to do seperate cooling for both Northbridge (provided in MB) and CPU ?

--> Please suggest, any less than 10k Water Cooling Kit for 1366.

2) Processor - Intel CORE i7 920, S-spec: SLBEJ, D0 Stepping - Rs 15k

3) Memory - Corsair Dominator TR3X6G1600C8D, 6GB Kit (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 MHz - Rs 14k

--> If less than CAS 8 is there please tell me its price and no import idea, please.

4) Hard Disk - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12, ST31000528AS, 1 TB SATA, 32MB Cache - Rs 5.5k x 3

5) Monitor - Viewsonic VX2835WM 28" - Rs 28k

--> In that price, anything better than this since Viewing Angle not good and may create problem if multiple viewers watch movie on it.

--> Please, keep it more than 24".

6) Graphics Card - Zotac Geforce GTX 275 Amp! Edition, 896 MB DDR3 - Rs 18k

--> I was searching for Native HDMI Card (Powercolor 4890 is there but performs less than GTX275) than using a converter but got only Galaxy Tri-Fan Variant, which isn't easy to get moreover its too big and cover other slots also.

--> Does using DVI-HDMI Converter, makes any quality difference ? And whether HDMI gives more quality display than DVI ?

--> EVGA GTX275 FTW Edition, where to get one ?

7) Cabinet - CoolerMaster HAF 932 - Rs 9.4K

--> 3 HDD and min spacing b/w them, 2 Optical Drives, Water Cooling Compatibility needed Later - I thing more bays are needed.

--> So, please suggest a better alternative.

8 ) Power Supply Unit - CoolerMaster Real Power Pro 1000Watt - Rs 12k

--> I hope it will do fine with all the peripherals (Tri SLI Later) I have mentioned.

9) Blu Ray Drive - LG GGC - H20LK Blu-Ray Disk/HD-DVD Rom - Rs 7k

--> Best one with both Blue-Ray & HD-DVD capability, used everywhere at Toms. But, where to get one ?

10) DVD Drive - LG GSA-H55N - 1.2k

--> I think 22X is the fastest one available now. But, which is the best one available, exact model no ?

11) Keyboard - Microsoft Sidewinder X6, Logitech G15 V2 Gaming Keyboard Second Generation, 19.5" x 10.5" - Rs 4k, Rs 4.4k

--> Is G15 V2 available (released 2007) ?

--> Which one has Soft Keys like Laptops since I am used to them ?

12) Mouse - Logitech G9 Laser, Logitech G5 Laser - Rs 5k, Rs 2.9k

13) Sound Card - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer - Rs 5.5k

--> I have noticed new entrants (like Asus) have come but confused which one is best under 6k ?

--> And moreover, read somewhere that low version of Creative X-Fi are actually Audigy since they don't have the same Chip as higher variants. I hope Gamers Edition has.

14) Speakers - Altec Lansing MX5021E, 2.1, Logitech X-540, 5.1, Creative Inspire T7900, 7.1 - Rs 6.5k, Rs 6k, Rs 6.8k

--> Please suggest one available with remote as I am going to watch movies regularly.

--> Where one can get Harman Kardon Speakers ? I love the transparent Soundstick II but at 12.5k and only 40RMS than 90RMS of Lansing.

15) Printer - HP Photosmart C3188 - 5.5k

--> Any cheap Color Laser alternative ?

--> Are Laser more economical in the long run ? Their Ink cost ?

16) Input Device - Wacom Bamboo 4 "x 6 " Drawing Pen Tablet, Wacom Bamboo Fun 4 "x 6 " Drawing Pen Tablet, Wacom Bamboo 6 "x 9 " Fun Drawing Pen Tablet - Rs 4k, Rs 5.5k, Rs 8.5k

17) TV Tuner Card - Leadtek WinFast PVR3000 Deluxe - Rs 4k

--> Any better one which can be fitted in my MB ?

--> Can TATA Sky work with it ?

18) UPS - APC BR1100VA 660Watt - Rs 6.5k

--> Does UPS need to do same Watt as Power Supply ?

19) Webcam - Logitech Quickcam Messenger - Rs 1.7k

20) Thermal Compound - Arctic Cooling MX-2, 4 gms, OCZ Freeze - Rs 400, Rs 475

--> Which one among the two and won't spill over like Arctic Silver ?

21) CPU Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper N620, - Rs 3.3k

--> Same query as MB one ?

22) RAM Cooler - OCZ XTC Cooler - Rs 1.1k x3

23) Cooling Fan Upgrade - Scythe S-Flex SFF21F 120mm 1600rpm - Rs 850 x3

26) Headphone - Rs 3k

--> Please suggest, I have no idea.

I hope you guys will clear my doubts.

Waiting for reply,
'Arnold'

PS: Pardon me for any formatting error since using mobile.

[dOm1naTOr]

[surinder]

Sound card ASUS xonar DX @4.6K and for speakers why not a Logitech Z5500 @18K specially when you are going to watch blue ray movies on your system.

[desiibond]

stop writing essays for configuration checking!!! It's very difficult to read.

[j1n M@tt]

^^+1, I read only the heading

[raj_v1982]

:faint:

[dOm1naTOr]

all are good
get em w/o question

[arnold991]

@ surinder: bro, any idea of price of D2X because I think Essence is headphone dedicated card.

@others : guys, c'mon answer at least one or two points if not all. I know its rather long but your help is what I need.

[dOm1naTOr]

EVGA X58 classified is more robust than Gigabyte mobo.
and bout the card, Galaxy GTX 275 too is a dual slot even if it got 3 fans. And i doubt if it can run all games at max on a 28" screen which wud be 1920*1200 or 2560*1920.
Better get GTX 275 SLI.
Galaxy one got gr8 cooling compared to reference cooling. You can also look for Palit GTZ 275 dual sonic, which too has a gr8 cooler.

DVDRW, get samsung sata 22X burner. No model no. necessary as there seems only one model of samsung at 22x sata.

For speakers, Logitech Z5500 digital is way better and suits ur system.

And bout cooling fan, CM 120mm 90CFm LEDS fans are good. its bout 1800rpm. costs 500 shipped.

[arnold991]

@dominator: why you were mum when you know so much ?

Anyways, all your suggestion noted. What about Cabinet, is it better than Thermaltake Armour Series n acc. to my requirements ?

One more, what about Monitor ?

[desiibond]

1) Get mobo in the range of 16k and put that 5k for GPU or other components.
2) i7 920 is perfect
3) There is no visible performance difference between 1333MHz and 1600MHz. And price difference for 6gig is around 6k.
4) Go for WD Black series harddrive. Blazing speeds.
5) If you are ready to put 28k, how about Dual Dell 2409W?
6) by saving 10k-12k above, you should be able to get GTX285 or HD4870 X2

Speakers: creatvie ones suck these days. Go for LOgitech X-540 for 5.1 or AL MX-5021 for 2.1

[surinder]

Originally Posted by arnold991

@ surinder: bro, any idea of price of D2X because I think Essence is headphone dedicated card.

@others : guys, c'mon answer at least one or two points if not all. I know its rather long but your help is what I need.

Asus xonar DX2 should cost you around 9.5K.

[surinder]

For quality headphones Sennheiser HD 4xx series fits in your budget.

[arnold991]

@surinder: dx2 is out of range. I hope DX is better than X-Fi gamer.

Thx for headphone advice. I was also thinking of the same make.

@desiibond: Actually, I was saving money for Gtx 3xx series.

[desiibond]

still you can save on mobo+RAM, get GTX275 now (which can easily max out all the games at FullHD and when the time comes, upgrade to GTX3xx

[ashu888ashu888]

Originally Posted by arnold991

1) Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-EX58-EXTREME - Rs 21k

--> Any idea whether CPU Cooler I have selected will work with this MB ? Since it comes with 2 additional Passive Coolers near CPU.

--> If I use Water Cooling in future, will I have to do seperate cooling for both Northbridge (provided in MB) and CPU ?

--> Please suggest, any less than 10k Water Cooling Kit for 1366.

Well, 1st of all congrats to u for writing such a long mahabharat type essay and tat too from the COMFORT of ur mobile fone..lol.. (i pray for ur thumb dude)..lol..
===========

Now, IF u are NOT into overclocking scene, then tat mobo will be suitable for u if u wanna go for OVerclocking then EVGA X58 mobo priced at Rs. 22.7K (at www.theitwares.com) will be suitable for u : )

ALso, even if u are overclocking ur CPU (using a Evga X58 mobo) then also a Air cooling system, T.R.U.E (Thermal Right Ultra Extreme) for the lgs 1366 socket is more than sufficient, its only tat wen u OC ur processor to beyond 3.9ghz U NEED SUM SERIOUS WATER COOLING

as of now, i hv NOT seen any separate coolers for the North bridge, its only for the processors, wichever type of cooling tat must be (be it air or water)

2) Processor - Intel CORE i7 920, S-spec: SLBEJ, D0 Stepping - Rs 15k

Yup, core i7 920 is good for u

3) Memory - Corsair Dominator TR3X6G1600C8D, 6GB Kit (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 MHz - Rs 14k

This is good too, but always use the RAMs in Triple channel mode

4) Hard Disk - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12, ST31000528AS, 1 TB SATA, 32MB Cache - Rs 5.5k x 3

Instead, go for WD 1TB HDD priced at 5.1K

5) Monitor - Viewsonic VX2835WM 28" - Rs 28k

--> In that price, anything better than this since Viewing Angle not good and may create problem if multiple viewers watch movie on it.

--> Please, keep it more than 24".

U can go for DELL 2209WA 22" Ultrasharp LCD (e-IPS panel), not launched yet, but will be priced at around 15-16K at launch,

FOr a monitor above 24", u MUST hv a solid GPU (or even say, 2 GPUs in SLi configuration) as the reso will be massive, so be ready to spend on a really good (and i mean a really good GPU) say a gtx295

6) Graphics Card - Zotac Geforce GTX 275 Amp! Edition, 896 MB DDR3 - Rs 18k

Na na, if u gonna get a more than 24" lcd display, this card WONT be able to giv u tat gr8 resolution....get a gtx295 or say 2 x gtx280 or 2 x gtx275

7) Cabinet - CoolerMaster HAF 932 - Rs 9.4K

Get Cooler MAster CM 690, it has better air flow than HAF (price will be 4.4K),

(plz correct me if im wrong guys) but a Cabinet with water cooling slots/capabilites is jus NOT ,designed yet, we hv to customise it ourselfes, right ???

8 ) Power Supply Unit - CoolerMaster Real Power Pro 1000Watt - Rs 12k

a Trei SLi on jus 1000W and tat too a Cooler master brand ?? aah, u must be joking me... get a 1300W Tagan PSU (mode: tx1300)

UPS - APC BR1100VA 660Watt - Rs 6.5k

A tagan or a Corsair PSU will be an ACTIVE PFC PSU (wich will need a pure sine wave UPS) and since u wanna do a tri SLi (in future maybe) so get a 15ooVA rating APC SMART UPS range of UPS but tat wil lcost u around Rs, 17K (SMART UPS=Pure sine wave,... BACK UPS=stepped/modified sine wave ups from APC)

22) RAM Cooler - OCZ XTC Cooler - Rs 1.1k x3

If u get a RAM Cooler (be very sure) tat if u plan to use TRUE (air cooling for ur processor) the RAM jus wont fit into the 1st top slot.. so be careful wat u wanna buy, RAM cooler or TRUE (proc's air cooler)

23) Cooling Fan Upgrade - Scythe S-Flex SFF21F 120mm 1600rpm - Rs 850 x3

any 120 or a 140mm fan wud do, the Cabinet, CM690 comes witha front blue led fan adn a rear normal fan and has option for 3 more fans

=============================



Cheers n e-peace......

[arnold991]

@ashu888: thx for your time and a informative reply. I was writing the thread for the past many days.

MB: But that isn't the Classified X58 SLI MB.

Gigabyte provides Water Block for Northbridge and not for the CPU. So, my question was, how to do cooling for both CPU and Northbridge ?

HDD: Acc. to Chip June, I thought Seagate new 7200.12 has the best scores though I never checked for the performance of WD.

WD naming system of HDD confuses me ( Color naming ), hard to know which one is for performance.

Monitor: This is where I need really some advice. Please suggest anything more than 24" for less than 28k.

And don't worry about GPU, it will be upgraded later.

PSU: Confused more now, three suggestions and all suggesting three different make.

UPS: Big thanks for the advice here. In Pure Sine Wave range, is there anything less than 1500VA ? Since, 17k is little to much. Less than 10k would suffice.

Please put more insight into ACTIVE PFC PSU, Back UPS ?

Actually, Tagan & Corsair has 8-pin or only 6-pin PCIE connectors whereas some Graphic Cards require both. So, I selected CoolerMaster. Please correct me if I am wrong.

One more thing at Lamington Road, is there any better shop than Itwares to give better bargain ?

Waiting for your advice since I have take a decision in one or max two days.

[desiibond]

WD:

Black: high speed
Blue: mainstream market
Green: focus on green computing, slower

When you buy CPU water cooling kit, you should get all the accessories to setup waterblock

In Corsair, you need to pick SLI ready PSU. These will have two six pin PCIe connectors.

[arnold991]

@desiibond: bro, I saw Chip June and there is one more performance model of 1TB i.e. RE3.

[desiibond]

Western Digital RE3 is enterprise class HDD with reliability as the main design target. Should be lot more costly.

[ashu888ashu888]

Originally Posted by arnold991

@ashu888: thx for your time and a informative reply.

hey, not a problem dude.. since i hv the same Rig specs, so thought att i9 SHUD help other ppl out too..

MB: But that isn't the Classified X58 SLI MB.

Do not worry and Do not doubt the Evga mobo Dude, i tested Sli on it (using my friend's spare gtx280) and believe me it is stable but gets hot (as im on stock cooler) and NOT even on TRUE

Gigabyte provides Water Block for Northbridge and not for the CPU. So, my question was, how to do cooling for both CPU and Northbridge ?

Well, yup i understand ur question, but I dnt think there is any cooling for the north bridge...(as yet) BUT,if u hv got a proper cooling (be it Air or water) for the Processor, its more than enough..believe me..

HDD: Acc. to Chip June, I thought Seagate new 7200.12 has the best scores though I never checked for the performance of WD.
WD naming system of HDD confuses me ( Color naming ), hard to know which one is for performance.

ok, i do not doubt or question the scores of various HDDs, but even WD is the best and stable too.. but i leave tat HDD selection on u (but, if u ask me, go for WD)

Monitor: This is where I need really some advice. Please suggest anything more than 24" for less than 28k.

I think in this department, i will go for DELL Ultrasharp always..

And don't worry about GPU, it will be upgraded later.

Ok, then go for a gpu of ur choice, i think u wanna go for gtx275..

PSU: Confused more now, three suggestions and all suggesting three different make.

ok, on this i am Adament..lol. tat u get Tagan 1300W (if u wanna go for tri sli in future) model: Tagan BZ1300 pleaseeeeeeee..lol.. and its a ACTIVE PFC PSU, so it needs a Pure Sine wave UPS (i got APC, as i knw its the best and stable too)..

UPS: Big thanks for the advice here. In Pure Sine Wave range, is there anything less than 1500VA ? Since, 17k is little to much. Less than 10k would suffice.

Well, yup i too agree with u on tat steep price esp. of APC's Pure SIne Wave UPS


See, this link of all SMART UPS range of APC UPSes from 500VA to 3000VA but since u tell me tat u wanna Tri Sli or even SLi in future, then i think u SHUD go for a 1500VA SMART UPS range of APC UPS

a 1000VA wud be good, but i dunno if it can support Sli cards..
even if it does, there will be jus no Back up time (in case of a power failure)

Please put more insight into ACTIVE PFC PSU, Back UPS ?

Well,

APC has 2 types of UPSes,

1.) SMART UPS: wich are pure Sine wave UPSes
2.) BACK UPS: wich are modified/ stepped Sine wave UPSes

also, Corsair and Tagan PSUs are ACTIVE PFC PSUs and they require ONLY PURE SINE WAVE UPS

Actually, Tagan & Corsair has 8-pin or only 6-pin PCIE connectors whereas some Graphic Cards require both. So, I selected CoolerMaster. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Well, the 8 pin is actually 6+2 pin type of connector so jus dnt worry abt tat connection, those PSUes are designed keeping in mind all the connectors possible, even for future upgrades..

One more thing at Lamington Road, is there any better shop than Itwares to give better bargain ?

Waiting for your advice since I have take a decision in one or max two days.

theitwares.com is the BEST out there, believe me, even i surveyed 2-3shops and also Dealers, and he (theitwares.com guy) gave me the best price...
---------------


Cheers n e-peace.....

[arnold991]

@desiibond: thx for info. bro.

@ashu888: thx for reply bro.

Now, after reading few reviews, I am now thinking for Tagan 1300W or Corsair 1000W. Are both Modular ?

And please point me to the link of APC India website of your exact model no. of UPS.

Since, there are many Series under Smart-UPS. So please do this bro ?

Is it necessary that PSU Watt should be equal to UPS Watt ?

Since 1500VA = Around 980Watt

What I need is backup time of only 10min to shut down the PC ? But I think if power consumption at times is more than 1Kw and electricity goes off then 1500VA UPS won't be able to take the load.

[ashu888ashu888]

Originally Posted by arnold991

@ashu888: thx for reply bro.

Now, after reading few reviews, I am now thinking for Tagan 1300W or Corsair 1000W. Are both Modular ?

yup, both are modular but tagan has LED lights with its PSU (which gets lit ON wen PSU is working) So it kida givs a cool effect, check core i7 thread in my siggy for pics on 1st page

And please point me to the link of APC India website of your exact model no. of UPS.

Since, there are many Series under Smart-UPS. So please do this bro ?

Is it necessary that PSU Watt should be equal to UPS Watt ?

here u go ---> http://www.apc.com/resource/include/...e_sku=sua1500i

this is wat i also hv, and NO, the VA rating is more important and NOT the wattage, so ur 1300W tagan PSU will work absolutely gr8 with this 1500VA UPS from APC

What I need is backup time of only 10min to shut down the PC ? But I think if power consumption at times is more than 1Kw and electricity goes off then 1500VA UPS won't be able to take the load.

naa, its not the case, infact, the UPS'
s battery gets charged up every time the UPS is in operation and even if electricity goes as soon as u power ON ur rig, then also u will get sufficient amt of back up time to safely shut down ur PC..
--------------


Cheers n e-peace...

[arnold991]

@ashu888: Indeed, your case looks great.

First, thx for keeping patience.

Can Smart-UPS of rating lower than 1500VA give 10min of backup to 1000Watt PSU ?

I think I won't be able to reach Tri-SLI since after release of GTX3xx, GTX275 will be out. And nVIDIA doesn't support great feature of Crossfire i.e. SLI of different range of graphic cards within the same family. Sad!

Any idea of Sound Cards ?

[desiibond]

Sound card:

ASUS Xonar DX
Creative X-Fi Titanium or XtremeGamer

[ashu888ashu888]

Originally Posted by arnold991

@ashu888: Indeed, your case looks great.

Thanx..

First, thx for keeping patience.

not a problem dude, come on..really

Can Smart-UPS of rating lower than 1500VA give 10min of backup to 1000Watt PSU ?

Well, to tell u really franky, i haven't tested tat duration of 10mins (on my very own 1500VA+1100tagan PSU) but yes, it gives a stable 7-8 mins of back up time so be rest assured...

I think I won't be able to reach Tri-SLI since after release of GTX3xx, GTX275 will be out. And nVIDIA doesn't support great feature of Crossfire i.e. SLI of different range of graphic cards within the same family. Sad!

Any idea of Sound Cards ?

yup right, for SLi u hv to hv the same level of GPUs

but, dnt worry so much further down the road dear, get the things tat are in ur budget adn enjoy ur rig,

as it is, its the companies strategy business to phase out (jus for utter competition and NOT keeping in mind, the emotions of users/buyers who spend so much on their rigs jus to see their components PHASE OUT by such companies) components

btw, no idea of sound card, but desiibond has already replied to ur query..

Originally Posted by desiibond

Sound card:

ASUS Xonar DX
Creative X-Fi Titanium or XtremeGamer

thanx for this desii, btw, wats the prices ??

as even i wanna get a sound card
-------------

Cheers n e-peace....

[desiibond]

xonar DX should costs around 3k and X-Fi XtremeGamer price is around 5.5k and Titanium should be around 7k if I am right.

Also, if you want kickass performance from sound card, check X-Fi Titanium Fatality Pro.

[amitash]

You have an amazing budget and its a sin not to go for a gtx295 with it...
Sacrifice the blu-ray drive, maybe one HDD or a smaller monitor and get the gtx295 and change mobo to evga x58 classified...youll end up with something like what i have.

[arnold991]

@desibond: Between Gamer and DX which one would you choose ?

Does both Titanium and Gamer have processor of X-Fi Series or Audigy ?

@ashu888: 1500VA can give only 7-8min of backup... oops

What is the cost of your UPS battery ?

After reading your philosophical dialogue once I thought not to buy the machine altogether. Lol, but you are certainly right bro.

I think Step Up/Down UPS would be suitable for me because there is lot of voltage fluctuation here but it also might be more costly.

@amitash: Nforce200 759 Classified aint available.

Between, do you have Logitech G15 V2 Gaming Keyboard (2007) Second Generation, 19.5" x 10.5" or old G15 (2005) ? How about its performance ? Does it have a soft keys like Laptop ?

[desiibond]

XtremeAudio is the one with audigy chip.

Pick Titanium.