First rig in years :D

[Sunny Sahota]

Hi everyone, this is my first post here at Overclockers.com. Loving this forum so far, full of everything any overclocker needs to know.

I'm looking to build my first rig, in over 2 years, at some point between now and Easter. This is what I'm looking at getting;

CPU:
i7 920/950/975? (My aim is for a ~4.5 GHz oc with watercooling)

Mobo:
Gigabyte GA-EX58-Extreme Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3

Memory:
Corsair Dominator GT 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-16000C8 2000MHz Triple Channel Kit

GPU:
Gainward GeForce GTX 285 2048MB PCI-Express Graphics Card

Monitor:
Iiyama ProLite E2710HDSD 27" Widescreen LCD

PSU:
Corsair TX 850W ATX SLI Compliant Power Supply

Case:
Coolermaster HAF 922 Case - Black

Storage:
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache
Western Digital Caviar Green 500GB SATA-II 32MB Cache

Sound:
Logitech S-220 2.1 Speaker System

Watercooling:
Open to suggestions, as I have never built a watercooling system before.


I have read up on the components required for a watercooling system, but would like some recommendations based on my aim of a stable 4.5GHz oc.
I have also read on the forum about the advantages of getting an i7 920 D0 and oc'ing that to 4GHz as opposed to getting an i7 975, but which one would allow me to achieve my aim with stability and the lowest temps?

I have not purchased this system yet, so please recommend any suitable changes to the list above. I will be using this system for FSX (CPU dependent), as well as for playing other games, web design, video editing and watching movies.

Thanks for taking your time to read this,
Sunny

 

[Nechen]

I can't comment on Watercooling but everything looks good except..

The monitor, I can't say I've ever heard of that brand but if its like that 28'' Hanns-G Monitor that was being sold for quite awhile then you're going to be sorely disappointed.

Given the price its going for they're probably using bottom of the barrel parts (Probably a ChiMei Corp panel) and I would said you'll probably be very unhappy with that monitor.

Its a bit smaller but I always recommend a 24'' Dell S2409W, same resolution and great color reproduction

 

[Sunny Sahota]

I can't comment on Watercooling but everything looks good except..

The monitor, I can't say I've ever heard of that brand but if its like that 28'' Hanns-G Monitor that was being sold for quite awhile then you're going to be sorely disappointed.

Given the price its going for they're probably using bottom of the barrel parts (Probably a ChiMei Corp panel) and I would said you'll probably be very unhappy with that monitor.

Its a bit smaller but I always recommend a 24'' Dell S2409W, same resolution and great color reproduction

That was a faster reply than I expected lol. So your advice is to ditch the monitor and go for something a little smaller but more reliable? Noted down.

Thanks.

Whats your view on the processors? 920, 950, or 975? For a ~4.5GHz oc? (Around about the 4.5 mark?)

 

[Nechen]

Wish I could say, I still have the previous gen E8400 which overclocks like a champ. Generally from what I've read the 920 is a great place to start but I would ask someone here who actually owns one lol.

And yeah if you ever see an LCD monitor thats 28'' going for $200-$300 you have to figure theres something horribly wrong with it.

Even if there isn't, the pixel pitch and response rate is probably horrible for a TN panel at that size

Heres a link to the dell I recommend (Couldn't find it on Amazon UK )
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-S2409W-24-Inch-Widescreen-Monitor/dp/B001TH7FAG

 

[Sunny Sahota]

Wish I could say, I still have the previous gen E8400 which overclocks like a champ. Generally from what I've read the 920 is a great place to start but I would ask someone here who actually owns one lol.

And yeah if you ever see an LCD monitor thats 28'' going for $200-$300 you have to figure theres something horribly wrong with it.

Even if there isn't, the pixel pitch and response rate is probably horrible for a TN panel at that size

Heres a link to the dell I recommend (Couldn't find it on Amazon UK )
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-S2409W-24-Inch-Widescreen-Monitor/dp/B001TH7FAG

I think I may have found the next one up:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-039-DE&tool=3

 

[Nechen]

Specs look the same but I can't find if it has an AUO panel or something else in it.

Hmmm

 

[NOVAA]

Don't buy Nvidia cards at the moment, either wait for the Fermi chips to come out, or just go with the 58xx line from Ati. The 285 retails for about $380, for $300 you can get the 5850 which will trade blows with it in all games, while running cooler and consuming far less power. Or for $20 more, you can get the 5870 for $400, which still runs cooler and consumes less power, but will beat the 285 in every benchmark.

 

[Marshmallow64]

I would just get the 920, you should be able to overclock it past 4.0 ghz no problem as long as you get the D0 stepping. If you really want to get 4.5 and up, then look into the 950.

Also the i7 930 is coming out sometime next week, so I would wait a bit to see if prices lower.

As Novaa pointed out dont get the 285, it is not worth it right now.