Help me out with a budget i7 setup?

[Illah]

Longtime AMD guy here, and haven't built a computer in 3+ years now. Anyway, it's about that time, and I'm just curious what you'd recommend for a budget i7 setup. I will likely not be gaming at all, this is mainly for a workstation environment.

$280: i7 920
$89: 3x2GB DDR3 1333 Cas 7 Patriot Ram
$??: Mobo (I'm clueless as to what is good in this department)

I already have hard drives, a 7800GT for video, etc.

Now I know these chips have gotten to be quite low power, actually taking less power than before. Would a 380W PSU be OK for all this stuff?

Also I don't plan much / any overclocking other than some really light tweaks. I don't have time to push it to the limit and test stability and all that. I'll probably just use the stock heatsink for now (sacrilege, I know).

--Illah

 

[Evilsizer]

ocing on stock wont happen at all, temps are way to high from what people are reporting...if your not ocing then any board will do. otherwise i would get the DS3R@209 currently on newegg. either that or watch for openboxes to pop up from time to time for more savings... i dont think 380watt would be enough for a i7 build, more like 450-500 range...

 

[Illah]

Yeah I want a good mobo - I don't plan to OC now but I'm open to it in the future. Figure for now I can run all stock and when I have time to kill I can get a better HSF and do what I need to.

Also forgot to mention, I want QUIET. I might get an aftermarket HSF just for that reason moreso than OCing.

--Illah

 

[dejo]

the gigabyte boards are very nice even the lower end ones. for the money on coolers the scythe mugen 2 can be had for 45 shipped.

 

[Illah]

Thanks - any other reccos besides Gigabyte? And good on the Scythe - I have a Ninja for my current AMD rig, looks pretty much the same. Dead silent, light weight, and good performance.

--Illah

 

[Badbonji]

Less power? You mean more? It has HT, which loads the cpu even more lol! I would go with either a Asus P6T, EVGA X58 or a Gigabyte UD4P, depends what your budget is really.

 

[deathman20]

You probably could use a 380W PSU for the setup if you don't have much in it. This is including fans, HDD's, optical drives, and USB devices and a lower powered video card but still that might be pushing it. No OC of course, and possibly turning off HT to drop power consumption.

Not to mention to make sure that the PSU has all the right connectors for the board which is the standard 24-Pin + at least a 4-Pin if not 8-Pin connector that is to the motherboard.

 

[N3buchan3zzar]

Any motherboard you choose will be fine. With overclocking removed from the equation just find the cheapest one with the options you must have on them. The cheapest is probably the UD3 or an open box.

I wouldn't trust your powersupply. Even if it seems to keep up wattage-wise, you really want an 8pin mobo adapter and some cushion so you are not peaking out any rails. For a pure workstation you shouldn't need a monster PSU but I refuse to use low quality PSU's, especially on higher end components, just doesn't make sense to me personally.

The i7 only gets really really hot under specialized stress testing(P95, OCCT, LinX) or under programs that can reach those levels of cpu utilization like full rendering software, video encoding, or F@H maxed out for example. *can't believe I'm saying this buuuttt*The POS stock hsf will be (barely)adequate for standard desktop use that will utilize the cpu at less than 50%. If you plan to do any video encoding for example, keep a good eye on your temps. If they get up into the 80's(core temps not socket, that will probably only be in the 40-60 range) or higher than get something aftermarket. Since you want quiet I recommend water. Even if you can handle loud I still recommend water. It's not as scary/hard as it sounds and if ever a chip truely benefited, I have to say this is the one without a doubt.

I personally got the DFI DK X58 mobo but OC'n was a priority. Plus they put multimeter reading points in easy access for me labeled an everything That's a necessity to me but probably of no real value in your case.
You will need a pci-e graphics card though as there are no X58's with onboard video...now that I said that though I expect two to show up in this very thread lol.