"Emmett": An i7 1366 Build Journal

[Cloudbreaker]

Chapter 1 - Introductions​

Greetings to everyone, and thank You for looking!

For those few who I have bumped into, and for all the great information found, I would like to thank and brag about OCF. Without sites like this, a lil' electrical tape, and passion, builds like those seen here would be too few and far between.

As many before me, I myself will be constructing an Intel system in this i7 era. For those of Us who either have demanding careers, lil' ones to look after, or significant others to contend with, I believe We find agreement with the pains of strategically arranging time, money, and effort in such endeavors. This is my time. The Mrs gave me the go-ahead. I am putting myself at "T Minus 1 Month" to purchase. So, let Us get to the facts:

THE GOAL

* Stability! (The best components / assembly work should equal a fair end result)
* Longevity ("Emmett", as in Emmett L Brown - Back to the Future: I am hoping for "Future-Proof")
* Completeness (A do it once, do it right / set it and forget it approach)

THE TARGET PACKAGE

CPU Intel i7 950 3.06 (OC to 3.8-4.0, 75c or less)
HSF Thermalright Silver Arrow (Twin Tower / Twin 140mm)
Motherboard ASUS P6X58D-E LGA 1366 (SATA 6 / USB 3, CF)
RAM Corsair XMS3 6GB Triple Channel DDR3 1600 Cas 7 (Timing to 7-7-7 20)
OS HHDOCZ Vertex II 90GB 2.5" SATA2 SSD (285 Read / 275 Write)
Storage HHD Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200RPM SATA
GPU Sapphire Radeon 6970 2GB 256b DDR5 DX 11
PSU Corsair 850HX Silver Cert Modular
Optical ASUS DRW 24x DVD Writer (SATA)
Chassis Lian Li Lancool PC-K62 Advanced Mid Tower (Mod City!)
Fan Control/Multi-Panel Akasa All-In-1 v2 (3-fan control, 3 USB2.0, Firewire, eSATA, Audio I/O, Mem Card Reader)
Input Logitech MK550 Wireless RF Ergonomic Wave Keyboard/Mouse
OS Windows 7 Home Premium (Retail)
MonitorASUS VH242H Black 23.6" HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor
Wireless TP-Link Wireless 802.11b/g/n PCIe Card
Extras Fan Y-Splitters, PWM Y-Splitter, Fan Extensions, 8pin Extension, HDMI Cable, 20' TechFlex F6 1/8" Sleeving (for fan/IO/Sata), 5' 1/4" Heat Shrink, 15 3/4" x 3/4" Zip Tie Mounts, 20 Black 4" Zip Ties, Yate Loon Blue LED 140mm (Front Intake Mod)

[ For those who are not familiar with any/all of the above items, I have included a link to each item, in order of appearance, for Your researching convenience. ]

CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115211
HSF http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/cpu/silver_arrow/product_cpu_silver_arrow.html
Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...41&cm_re=Asus_P6X58D-E-_-13-131-641-_-Product
RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145286
OS HHD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227611
Storage HHD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
GPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102915
PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011
Optical http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204R
Chassis http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112239
Fan Control/Multi-Panel http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=25414
Input http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126195
OS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116716
Monitorhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052
Wirelesshttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704059
Extras http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189063, http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=24972, http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=26878, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812201020, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812270004, http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...ck.html?tl=g35c175s1159&id=NkqAV99U&mv_pc=744, http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...ducts_id=205:065e742e8fd06446649996b1ada7672f, http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=20352, http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...ducts_id=182:246ec64d37e09148f0d0244bb71b58f8, http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8...ED_Fan_D14SL-124B.html?id=NkqAV99U&mv_pc=1536

THE RESTRICTIONS

* Financial (Complete, w/ shipping MUST be </= $2,200 US)
* Functionality (I am NOT Industrial Light & Magic, and won't kid myself)
* Footprint (With a picky Mrs in the house, this thing cannot look "loud")

:wackosmil ... I agree: That is alot of information to look at. I am hoping that for many of You, some of the above are considers more as warm blankets than strangers knocking at Your door.

CHAPTER 1 GOAL

I would Love to get a PCI sound card. A larger SSD. Heaven forbid - a game?

I would hate to get RAM that some know to have tried-and-true problems. Get a GPU that is not reference. Finish the build, and look at the $20 spent on fan cables and sleeving I didn't need. And oh, the BSOD!

After talking to a couple of OCF'ers, I was prompted to post my build, as detailed from start to finish, as a way of returning the favor of the knowledge I am still collecting here. In my humble opinion, the choosing of daggers is always the first step.

As stated above, I am all-but-bent on a one-day purchasing craze one month from now. If anyone has any knowledge of great deals on any of the above items, or would like to share any positive / negative stories about any of the above items, ...or could suggest any revision to the above "Emmett Build", it would be greatly appreciated. Our learning is never over, and we all can at least try to do better than our last endeavors.

Thank You, and keep any feedback / support coming. And please - stay tuned as I will invite all to see my successes (and failures) with my 2011 Intel Build - "Emmett".

 

[bda1967]

It looks like a nice build IMO. You are looking for "future proof" though and Sandy Bridge has already eclipsed LGA 1366 and LGA 2011 is due to come out this year along with AMD's Bull Dozer chip. You're never going to build a rig that's future proof but I would not start a new build on last year's technology. My advice would be to wait for the new chips to come out this year or build a LGA 1155 system when the SB MB's come back out in a few months.

I like my 6970 so that's a good choice. Not sure about the monitor though. I would go with one with a higher resolution like 1920 x 1200 and a faster response time if you are a gamer. I like the 16x10 aspect ratio better than 16x9 personally. You could get Win7 64 bit Ultimate OEM system builder's version for the same price too.

 

[Venomos1996]

Looks really nice.... I have a quick question... Why a Spin-Point drive? for a few more bucks you 'could' upgrade to a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533 .... 64Mb cache on that thing....

Not knocking the Samsungs, just heard of alot of failures on those... Just food for thought..

Do you currently have a wireless router somewhere already? Just curious why the wireless card was there but there isn't a router in there....

Nice build tho

 

[Cloudbreaker]

Thank You all very much for Your quick-ish interest. Finding anyone who would more than "pfft" off a 1366 Build Log in the SB Era has become hard. I would like to continue the conversation, if I may:

Q: Why Not Sandy Bridge 1155 Socket?
A: 1) Availability: You simply CANNOT purchase 1155 Mobos or CPUs at this time. 2) Although I have seen multiple benchmarks on the following, but I still feel as though I would be sliding down from Triple Channel to Dual Channel and from x16/x16 to x8/x8. 3) I really am uneasy with the recall so soon after launch, and believe that compared to my Dual @1.6Gh, both Sandy Bridge and 1366 will all but blow me away.

Q: Wait for Ivy / Bulldozer / SB?
A: Not so much. I have been waiting for a rig build since before last tax season, and I am learning more and more that You could wait an indefinite amount of time for "future-proofing", only to learn that yesterday's "future-proof" is today's "2nd tier". I want to order 02/15/11, build 02/23/11, and move on. Please, don't hate. My patience has just ran out.

Q: Monitor - Better Resolution, anyone?
A: I would LOVE for better resolution. But, I also want at least a 22" screen, HD, HDMI connectivity (no external speakers, yet), <$200 USD. Suggestions Welcome. ... Really, I order on Tuesday of this week. Suggestions really appreciated!

Q: A great build, but no Cavi Blacks?
A: I have done some research on this topic. I know that people find different information due to where they search, but I have found about the same failure ratio between the Blacks and the F3's. More consequential to my decision, more than one person complained about the Black's noise level. Notice no Delta fans in the build. Laughingly, if I want loud, I will wake up my son.

Q: Wireless PCI? Where's the Wireless Router?
A: Right above me, on the headboard. I'm good to go! Also, I HATE CABLES! Reference the money spent on excessive cable management, sleeving, wireless keyboard/mouse, etc. Just a personal choice, I guess.

Please, pweeeeez, keep as much input coming as You can. I haven't built a rig since the TNT2 / PIII days, so I am trying to fall up the steps...

 

[bda1967]

Didn't know your budget on the monitor so getting higher resolution, over 22" while under 2 bills will be tough. I found some at a local Microcenter for about $250 last month and the Egg has one for about $280 I believe but not any cheaper I'm afraid. EDIT: My 1366 system rocks so I hear ya on that.

 

[Theocnoob]

Didn't know your budget on the monitor so getting higher resolution, over 22" while under 2 bills will be tough. I found some at a local Microcenter for about $250 last month and the Egg has one for about $280 I believe but not any cheaper I'm afraid. EDIT: My 1366 system rocks so I hear ya on that.

Like the build.

Might I suggest Switching to the green team? I am SO fed up with the pathetic, clumsy driver implementation on my 6870 that after only 3 months, it will be taking a wild ride to the classifieds to be replaced by an Nvidia card.

GTX 560Ti 570 and 580 are what you should look at IMO. The 560Ti is the current "Holy crapp it does THAT much for $XX?" card.

I just built my friend a system with one. It cost the same as my 6870. Sort of like comparing a giant, angry bear to a hamster. It's that much better. Plus the drivers are intuitive and non-crappy, AND there's PhysX.
Some 560Ti only do HDMI via an adaptor, which IS included, but it is the SAME signal so don't worry. Even DVI via an adapter is really the same signal.

 

[Cloudbreaker]

The Green Machine?

I have looked around, and for a fair fight, it's;

"In this corner, weighing in at 2GB, fresh with a dual-bios and, improved tessellation, and Eyefinity, .... the AMDeee 6970-0000000000ooooo!"



"And, in this corner, weighing in at 1.5GB, packing the legendary PhysX and Cuda, the nVidia 570-000ooooooooooo!"



But, fellas, what's the real deal here? The 570 is slightly less expensive across manufacturers. But, is it worth the price reduction?

(A year ago, the 5970 was king. This is when I started my research. So, my eyes went to ATI/AMD. So, I really, REALLY don't know about nVidia much. Suggestions / Experience?)

Fanboys can surely find another thread to flame on!

 

[MattNo5ss]

The 5970 is still king

I like nVidia's drivers better, and I've just had a better experience with nVidia. Don't forget nVidia has "Surround" their version of Eyefinity. I'm using the HD6850 now for FW and I have to review the GPU after FW. I'll probably be going back to a 8600/8800 card when I'm done benching it though.

 

[Volumetrik]

23'' Acer display 1920x1080 for 190$ w00t?
Acer S231HLbid Black 23" 5ms HDMI LED-Backlight LCD

24'' Acer display 1920x1080 for 180$ w000t?
Acer V243HAJbd Black 24" 2ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD

 

[Cloudbreaker]

Can You Hear Me Now?

No Speakers = No Dice

But, Yay! People are actually responding to this thread! Overclockers is the shizzle! Copied and pasted the initial post onto a couple of Google-found computer forum sites, and nothing but fanboy crowing about SB or : Noctua's NH-D14 FTW or, ... you get the point.

Reminder: The purchase will be this upcoming Tuesday, after work, by around 5pm US Central Time. Please, any experience would be weighed appropriately. And, thank You all again!

 

[Theocnoob]

Here's the thing about the GPU-

BOTH make a GREAT car, ok? I'm not going there.

Do you want the one that actually stops when you want it to? Or do you want to be the guy out of control on the freeway about to hit a truck from behind because your GPU drivers suck?

ATI hardware = win
Nvidia hardware = win
ATI software = epic fail

And in this corner-- oops, no wait there's an underscan conflict in that game... Wait did I select the profile for this game already? What do you MEAN I can't override that option in the driver.. Where the hell is the setting for (everything) again?.. weighing in at 2GB, it's the 6970

A review of the 570, by a British person

The GTX cards tesselate just as well as AMD cards btw.

 

[Volumetrik]

^^ +1 Theocnoob has a point. ATI drivers keep crashing on me with my 5850.

 

[Theocnoob]

Certain lines from stories I know to describe my experience with ATI software:

You know what's in Room 101, don't you Winston?
Everybody knows what's in Room 101.

What's in Room 101, is the worst thing in the world.

"I've seen a snail crawl along the edge of a razorblade. The horror. The horror".

I trust Nvidia and their awkward, horrible public speaker CEO to take my personal computer gaming experience through the next several years.

OH- and more things use CUDA all the time. Nvidia cards can double as what would have been a supercomputer a decade ago. ATi no. Also PhysX

So

Physx
Cuda
Great drivers

vs

maybe 3 extra frames per second
Tylenol

 

[bda1967]

You know I've never had any software issues from ATI and I've had two 4870's a 5870 and now a 6970. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I did receive a 5770 that died after two days of use though.

 

[psionic98]

You know I've never had any software issues from ATI and I've had two 4870's a 5870 and now a 6970. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I did receive a 5770 that died after two days of use though.

But thats not software related!

I'm moving up to Nvidia once I get this 560 sold to my friend. (re-using my 5770 now) Tired of driver issues.. new releases help gain 1-2 fps in a game I'm already getting well over what my eyes need to be seamless.. thanks but no thanks.. especially cause instead of fixing everything it fixes 3 games, screws another 10 and just crashes on a select few!

I was all for ATI when I got my new rig even though it was the lowest-end component I picked up.. I was quite pleased when it oc'd well and played games well.. then I remembered my monitor is from a OEM gateway and had crap for resolution/response times.. its tax season.. time to update!

 

[Cloudbreaker]

We Don't Need No Wa'ta...



Great guys. This is really constructive.

Shall I edit out the first post, and rename the thread, "War of the GPU's"?

There HAS to dozens of other 570 vs 6970 threads out there - Flame on there, not here.

I draw, "Ivory Mask", "Circle of Protection - Green", and "Circle of Protection - Red".

 

[Venomos1996]

Hahahaha.. bringin Magic cards on in the thread.. LOL.....

Anyways, my original point was I've personally seen the Spin-points fail within a week so that's why I asked. Plus, double the cache for like a couple bucks more... I thought the Sammy's only had a 3 year warranty vs. the Blacks 5 year.... I'm not sure...

As for the wireless... you didn't include if you had one already, which is why I asked about the wireless card. I'm simply asking about 'if' you had one to hook into the net. I kinda assumed that but you never know... I hate wires as well, but they are a neccessary evil... i.e. power cords....

Monitor... can't really help you there... I got my 24" Westinghouse on sale at the BX for $249 in '09 soooooo... (has big resolution and can't remember right off the top of my head)

Ahhhhhh.... The dreaded Nvidia vs. ATI battle ... in the end there can be only ONE... And that is the ONE you choose.... I'm perfectly satisfied with my GTX 260 core 216 that's mildly OC'd ... I can run SC2 at HIGH so no worries there.... I'll prolly end up getting me a 570 but that's my personal choice ... I just can't handle the driver glitches for ATI cards....

That's all I can offer ya... Like I said... damn good build, comparable to mine, except for I have a 920 OC'd to 3.8 ....

 

[Theocnoob]

Great guys. This is really constructive.

Shall I edit out the first post, and rename the thread, "War of the GPU's"?

There HAS to dozens of other 570 vs 6970 threads out there - Flame on there, not here.

I draw, "Ivory Mask", "Circle of Protection - Green", and "Circle of Protection - Red".

Rule #1 of social circles- the new guy does not dictate policy.
That's how we talk here. We're leaning away from liking ATi these days.

Also, you can't use Magic only Warhammer or Starcraft attacks, and our time travel rules are South Park rather than Terminator or BTTF based.
You'll need a microwave, tape, a duck, and a wheelchair.