No budget multimedia/gaming rig build.

[Viceroy]

This build's ultimate purpose is to be used for mainly for gaming and multimedia downloading/burning/ripping/playback. I have stated that this build has no budget restrictions. This is true, however that is not to say that I am willing to spend excess amounts of money for hugely diminished returns on bleeding-edge merchandise. I am satisfied with the product that is currently at a great value but is not underpowered. For instance, my CPU of choice is the i5 750. It is slower than a system built around an i7 920, but also a couple hundred dollars cheaper. It is more expensive than an AMD Phenom II 965, but is also much more versatile and outperforms it in every area except for gaming, where it usually ties.

I'll begin showing the parts I currently have in mind, along with justifications. Give me your thoughts and be sure to make suggestions wherever you believe a change would be optimal.

Potential purchases

CPU - Intel Core i5 750 Processor - 2.66GHz, LGA 1156, 8MB L3 Cache
$212 taxed/shipped

OR

*New* CPU - Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache
$275 taxed/shipped through Ebay

This is a tough decision to make and one that I keep coming back to time after time. I've seen a few benchmarks that show that HT only bogs the 860 down in badly-threaded apps, yet I've seen others that consistently show at least a small improvement in every app from gaming to practical. In order to make this decision I would like to know if I'm going to be missing anything by going 860 instead of 750, which would seem illogical to me as the 860 has everything the 750 does, and then some. At least that's how I think.

*New* Mobo - GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD4P Intel P55 Core i5/i7 Socket 1156 PC3-16000
$163 taxed/shipped
From what I've seen, motherboards are not that different from model-model. It needs to have interface compatibility with the hardware I would be using, but other than that, what is there? "Auto-overclocking?" Pff.

*New* GPU - Radeon 5850
$270 taxed/shipped

OR

*New* GPU - Radeon 5870
$389 taxed/shipped

I think the only logical choice here is to pick from either the 5870, or the 5850. I would like to see benchmarks for the 5850 to decide if it is worthwhile or not to make the 120 dollar jump to 5870. Obviously, your opinions and insight are also welcome.

RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
$97 taxed/shipped
Seems k but tell me if you find something cheaper/better.

*New* HDD - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
$87 taxed/shipped
Spinpoint F3's are supposed to be the fastest 7200rpm's around. According to benchmarks they beat the Caviar and are at a similar price point. I would consider purchasing smaller drives and running them in RAID, but I will need to see some (recent!) professional articles on the subject before I make that decision. I do not think I will be buying an SSD until the compatibility issues with Windows 7 have been fixed.

*New* Case - NZXT m59
$50 taxed/shipped
I ****ing LOVE the way this one looks, but apparently it has functionality issues from being too small. If there is any way around this issue then I would very much like to get this case. The 50 dollar price isn't hurting anything, either. :p

OR

*New* Case - COOLER MASTER HAF 922
$94 taxed/shipped
Quality case from a quality company, I just don't like the way it looks very much. But if the functionality of the case is good enough I would bite the slight discomfort and get it.

OR

*New* Case - Antec 300 Illusion
$82 taxed/shipped
I like the looks, and it is a functional case.

*New* ODD - Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD/CD Rewritable Drive
$36 taxed/shipped
This one does everything but Blu-ray. If you can find me a better one or a cheaper one, chime in.

Keys - Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard
$50 taxed/shipped
Keyboard needs to have backlighting and keys must have a noticeable depression. I was looking at some Saitek Eclipses but I think the G11 beats them down.

$965-$1191 total

Recently completed purchases

PSU - OCZ OCZ700MXSP 700W SLI/CrossFire Active PFC Power Supply
$50 taxed/shipped

VDU - Dell UltraSharp U2410 24 inch 1920x1200 6ms 1000:1 HDMI/DVI/VGA/DisplayPort Widescreen LCD Monitor
$524 taxed/shipped
Really phat screen with badass features and picture. Demands high-power GPU so I can take advantage of its awesomeness.

Audio A - Altec Lansing BXR1121
$20.00 taxed/shipped
If you haven't heard these before then you are missing out. For the quality of sound I can't believe they only retail for about 25 dollars.

Audio B - Razer Carcharias
$46.00
Found one on sale, so of course I was all over that *****.

Mice -
Razer Lachesis
$33 taxed/shipped
Logitech G9
$55 taxed/shipped
Razer Salmosa
$27.00 taxed/shipped

$709 total

And that's it for the potential purchases for now. Please give me any opinions you have-no change is too small. I've spent a lot of time on this build because I want it to be as perfect as it can be, so please spare no detail. I am all-ears.

Thanks a bunch :)

~Viceroy Trepanation

[Viceroy]

I just gave the OP an update. I'll be back to respond tomorrow evening.

[Viceroy]

bump?

[dbee]

U say you will be doing ripping, you should either get the i7 920 or 860, both for there Hyperthreading capabilities. Only real difference i know if is the 860 uses dual channel memory instead of the 920's tri channel which does not make a huge difference. 860's have not been out very long, while a i7 920 D0 stepping has a great reputation. Either or will do the job. Another thing is the i7 920 can give you 6 dimms per mobo for 12 gigs of RAM if u need it , while the 860 provides 4 to give u 8 gigs- both are plenty sufficient.

You can do a i7 920 at MC for $199. Just dont get the i5...

[dbee]

QPI, Integrated Memory, PCI Express, And LGA 1156 - Review Tom's Hardware : Intel Core i5 And Core i7: Intel?s Mainstream Magnum Opus

That may be useful to you.