Future Build

I plan on building a computer some time soon and it will be my first build currently I have something thrown together can you guys see if everything is compatible. The budget is $3000 with accessories and all.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130493( 2 perhaps? ) GTX 280 Super-Clocked

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188049EVGA X58

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115211Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817379009ZALMAN ZM1000-HP 1000W

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152119SAMSUNG F1 RAID HE103UJ 1TB 7200 RPM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145220Corsair 6GB RAM

Sorry if links are mixed up

Also if any one can recommend some building guides.

Seen as though you are new to building PCs, I just wanted to ask you a question. Are you one of the people that want to pay extra to get the best of the best? Or are you happy with a little bit slower PC, but a fair bit cheaper? Either are fine, but I just wanted to let you know that the i7 is a bit of a bragging rights processor. It has similar performance to the 920 in games, which is a lot cheaper, but the i7 a bit more powerful in applications. However this increase in performance costs you a fair bit of money. The processor is the fastest, but for games you can get the cheaper alternative, saving about £100, with only a loss of probably 1 or 2fps if that, as your graphics card is what determines your fps, not your cpu. Once you pass a certain mark the extra performance costs a lot more, as people who want the bragging rights of the best processor or best graphics card will pay that extra money. So if you want the best, get the i7, if not get a better price/performance cpu such as the 940 and a better price/performance graphicscard such as a 4890. Personally I like price/performance, a 940 is plenty for me. It's up to you though, I'm just saying that the i7 is expensive for what you get and wanted you to be aware of that, as many people are quick to recommend the i7 as it is the best, without reccommending amd too.

EDIt - Sorry I didnt see which i7 you had chosen. That one is very expensive, personally, I would reccomend buying a cheaper cpu and then in a few years time when you need a better one, upgrade as you will have the money to. But if you get that cpu you will get a bit better performance but at a massive cost and your pc wil be vey expensive with little to gain from it. You would gain more from upgrading regularly with newer hardware than from buying the best of the best.

Seems like a nice build overall. A couple of points: The Zalman PSUs are huge (literally HUGE), make sure your case can fit it (don't forget the cablemanagement issue since Zalman uses sleeved cables which are quite hard to bend) I struggled to fit my Zalman 850w in a Lian-Li Fulltower case. Consider going with the i7 920 instead of the 950,u can just OC the cpu up to 3 GHz and save substantial bucks. Go for the GTX285 (or the 275 whichwill outperform the 280 with a little bit ofOC)instead of the of the 280, the 280 is older and slower. Get another card only if u plan to game at resolutions higher than 1680x1050.

I want the best for for what I can use as my last desktop fried last November.

I have an HDTV so the native resolution is 1900 x 1080 and I definitely don't need overkill so Performance for a lower price

hmm thanks but is there anything cheaper like a regular i7 but with more power then one considering it's at 2.66 ghz

Also I should probably find a smaller PSU especially since it won't use 1000W any recommendations

Realized I do not have a sound card; suggestions?

I have remodified my build and I definately need help with the sound card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188039http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145220http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152119http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102840http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136144
Sorry everythings screwy I copied and pasted from excel....

Item list:

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer CaseCORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - RetailIntel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - RetailEVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8 ) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - RetailCORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1333C9 - RetailSAMSUNG F1 RAID HE103UJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - RetailSAPPHIRE Toxic 100269TXSR Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - RetailLG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

I don't think you need a sound card unless you plan super hi-fi sound system, or you do a lot of input to your system. That mobo has a 8 channel built in output, allowing you to do full surround sound!

Overall I think that the system is a great build and should be a lot of fun.

ah I was wondering what that was about and it s cheap too reason I was using Excel was to keep price

$1,392.43 :D cheap for it's performance

but is every thing compatible or are there parts that I should switch out for becuase I was planning on OCing the whole system atleast the i7 core to it's extreme bretheren for $800 less

It looks pretty solid to me. When you OC I would look at getting a good heatsink + fan, and some more case fans to move the air around better, but you should be able to pull of a small OC on a stotck setup.

Is Liquid Cooling any good? Especially considering it is my first time but... How many fans do I need considering the OC may be a little hot

I perfer to have a fan or two on the front for intake. A fan on the side blowing down on the mobo. A large high output fan blowing out on the back. The problem is you never want to have more air going in than you do going out. It create's a pocket of air that just heats up. Think of it like a stream. The water that is not moving very fast and pooling gets much warmer than the water moving quickly by. Crude example but i'm sure you get the point.


Just re-looked, your getting the Antec 900. It has a large supply of fans, I say you just play with it and worry about ordering some more later if it runs to hot. Liquid cooling can be tricky, and expensive. Unless you plan on doing a massive OC than I would just stick with air cooled for now and worry about liquid maybe down the road.

Nvm I get a heat sink fan combo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

BTW: The OC will probably max at 3.5 ghz I've read some TomHardware benchmarks and I've found a system like this that inspired me to build this

Is that everything I need?

Should I upgrade to more RAM for OC