No clue, but time to start learning

Hi all,

Ive never been the DIY type when it came to computers. It was easier to have a system put together it seemed. Things are different now there's more support now so I figured hey I can do this myself. So that's why I'm here.


So im slowly upgrading my hardware which is a mix of old stuff and even older stuff. My concerns are cost, and basically doing it right.

So what I have currently

Win 7 64bit
Old I7 920 stock
Old MSI x58m mobo
Ram 4gb
Older still Nvidia 8800 Gts (she has served me well over the years. but when the only graphics settings lower then what it is best at is screen shots its time to retire lol).
Older PSU N Spire 750w (I couldn't find specs on it)
RAIDMAX SMILODON Case (I guess its decent they still sell it 4 years later)


Whats in the mail.

EVGA 02G-P4-3660-KR GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB 192-bit
CORSAIR HX Series HX750 750W

I ordered the GPU before I found the forum, but I see it has a decent review here so im actually glad I went in a good direction.
And after learning a bit more on PSUs I decided to go with the corsair. I didnt want to trust the N spire. The stories of cheap PSU failures etc scared me.

Anyways folks, any advice on what I should do next would be great.

Im on a budget and I know my "old" stuff might not be the best for 660 but does anyone see any major issues at this point?

to OCForums!

No major issues.

The i7 920 and X58 board are still good pieces of hardware. What's your RAM configuration? 2x2GB? X58 supports triple channel so 3 or 6 RAM sticks would be best for that system; although the performance increase wouldn't be enough to notice.

What do you use the PC for? Gaming? If so, how many monitors do you use and what's their resolution?

Thanks for the welcome.

Yeah its 2x2Gb is how I have it set up.
Im using it mainly for gaming, I was into the consoles the last few years. Nothing beats PC RTS titles and World of Tanks has me addicted.

I'm not running dual monitors (kinda) They are 10 ft apart so I use on or the other. My "main" screen is 1440x900 (its a old 19 inch syncmaster). I also use a 40 inch for watching netflix etc. 1,920 x 1,080

I'd grab a similarly speced 2GB stick of RAM for a total of 6GB, that way you can take advantage of triple channel. And an aftermarket cooler as well, a nice one should get you to 4GHz+ with that 920. That, combined with the 660Ti, should last you well into the future at that resolution.

I will put the ram on the soon list. I looked in the cooling forum. Some of it was over my head, with all the water cooling.

Would changing out the stock fans in the case really make a difference? Or should I focus on going with the water cooled eventually?

No need for water...only if you're really into it. It would involve some tinkering and learning and dangers too. Get a GOOD aircooler, like the Phanteks, Silver Arrow, NH-D14, True Spirit 140 or the NZXT Havik 140. Those should perform similarly to a Corsair H100 without the extra hassle and leak danger, but not quite like a custom water loop.

ivanlabrie said:

No need for water...only if you're really into it. It would involve some tinkering and learning and dangers too. Get a GOOD aircooler, like the Phanteks, Silver Arrow, NH-D14, True Spirit 140 or the NZXT Havik 140. Those should perform similarly to a Corsair H100 without the extra hassle and leak danger, but not quite like a custom water loop.

Click to expand...

Just make sure if you get a large air cooler like mentioned here that it will fit in your case.

thanks guys, I'm waiting for UPS to show up with my goodies. Once I get it all onboard I will have to see what space I have left. I should have enough but after looking at a few pics of them. It looks like things will be tight.

thanks for the info