i7 Upgrade Advice

[Syd]

I am mid build of a W/C set-up. The plan was to make the build with my current E8400/MSI MoBo and then upgrade to i7 later. However the legnth of time it has so far taken has led me to start thinking am I better off putting the existing system together in my now redundant Stacker as my 2nd system and actually going for the i7 now and watercooling that - rather than ripping the build to bits in 6 months time and doing it all again when I upgrade.........................

So this is where I am, I have looked at a couple of options and so far come up with this:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/EVGA-...-SATA-RAID-ATX

or

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=MB-154-GI

plus

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/6GB-(...-CAS-8-DHX-EPP

or

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/12GB-...-Heat-Spreader

12GB sounds sooo appealing

and the obligatory i7 920DO

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Intel...MB-130W-Retail

Quite honestly this is going to be an upgrade that I want to keep for quite a while - it would be nice to be able to upgrade the processor when the next generation come along, but with the experience I have had in the past I understand that that may not be possible

The main thing is that this machine is primarily for gaming with a little photo editing at 1920x1200 WoW and FPS - I will be running a w/c'd GTX285 with it until such a time as the DX11 hardware has been out and at a sensible price. I run Vista 64atm and will be changing to Windows 7 when it arrives.

What do you reckon guys and girls?

EDIT: Forgot to mention - I wiould like to be able to put a decent o/c on - 4GHZ would be where I would like to get to.

[GSte]

CPU looks fine of course, both motherboards are no doubt okay, I know the Gigabyte is, but not seen much about that EVGA..... aesthetically it's gorgeous though.

12GB will be overkill imo, nothing comes close to using my 6GB, and I do some photo editing too.... personally I'd get a £100 6GB kit, like the OCZ Reaper from OCUK, the Dominator is £20 overpriced imo.

[Syd]

CPU looks fine of course, both motherboards are no doubt okay, I know the Gigabyte is, but not seen much about that EVGA..... aesthetically it's gorgeous though.

12GB will be overkill imo, nothing comes close to using my 6GB, and I do some photo editing too.... personally I'd get a £100 6GB kit, like the OCZ Reaper from OCUK, the Dominator is £20 overpriced imo.

I agree it's the aesthetics of the EVGA that are drawing my attention - esp as my new build is based on black and white

However I have been doing some more research and the praise is very good for the Asus Deluxe and the Rampage II extreme................

[GSte]

Yeah, I love my P6T Deluxe, there was an issue with 6 sticks of RAM, but I think it's been sorted with a BIOS update now.

[Syd]

Yeah, I love my P6T Deluxe, there was an issue with 6 sticks of RAM, but I think it's been sorted with a BIOS update now.

What is the argument for spending the extra on the Rampage? - the reviews seem to state that the results from the deluxe are very similar.

[nibbler]

Deluxe is pretty much the dogs bollocks. Why bother with 12GB or ram though

[GSte]

What is the argument for spending the extra on the Rampage? - the reviews seem to state that the results from the deluxe are very similar.

Not much really other than the voltage measurment points and fancy power/reset buttons (which the P6T Deluxe still has, they just look different).... oh, and the Rampage has the add-in soundcard as well.

[Syd]

Deluxe is pretty much the dogs bollocks. Why bother with 12GB or ram though

Just sounded good! I suppose 6GB is pretty massive though.

Not much really other than the voltage measurment points and fancy power/reset buttons (which the P6T Deluxe still has, they just look different).... oh, and the Rampage has the add-in soundcard as well.

Ok so as I already have a Xi-Fi theres no real reason to spend another £50! If only it looked like that EVGA

[nightkhaos]

Syd, that motherboard from what I have read (the EVGA one) is also good in terms of overclockablity as well as looks. You will be happy with that board. The RAM you have chosen is also perfect, and will run fine at CAS 7 speeds if required. And of course, everyone knows the i7 920 D0 is easy to overclock, etc, etc...

Did I read the correctly, you are going to use water on this? Good show. I'll like to see what kinda speeds you can get. I would expect a stable 4.4GHz with a good loop.

[Syd]

Syd, that motherboard from what I have read (the EVGA one) is also good in terms of overclockablity as well as looks. You will be happy with that board. The RAM you have chosen is also perfect, and will run fine at CAS 7 speeds if required. And of course, everyone knows the i7 920 D0 is easy to overclock, etc, etc...

Did I read the correctly, you are going to use water on this? Good show. I'll like to see what kinda speeds you can get. I would expect a stable 4.4GHz with a good loop.

Can you point me to any reviews Night, I have only been able to find a user review (albeit quite a comprehensive one!)

And you think that the 6GB kit I pointed (or similar) to will be a good pairing, ace.

And yes you read correct - I will be water cooling it - but only CPU/GPU. I understand that it is not necessary to w/c the X58 mobos...............Well I hope not!!!!

[Pob255]

Off hand,

Dear god! that evga motherboard is sexy

Ok I'll admit you shouldn't go on a motherboard based on looks, but it all depends on what the goals of the build is.
As long as it's half decent and you're not going for overclocking records, it should be fine and will fit into your colour scheme well.

However the gigabyte GA-EX58-EXTREME has got the built in northbridge water block, which is a major plus.

Hard call


EDIT: PS syd review of the evga board here
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mai...58-sli-le.html

also here
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?p=6127850
He got a 920 D0 to 4.5ghz stable on air.

One negative about that board, 8pi EPS connector below the MOFETS not above on the edge of the board.
But not as low down as on the MSI p35 neo2

[Syd]

Off hand,

Dear god! that evga motherboard is sexy

Ok I'll admit you shouldn't go on a motherboard based on looks, but it all depends on what the goals of the build is.
As long as it's half decent and you're not going for overclocking records, it should be fine and will fit into your colour scheme well.

However the gigabyte GA-EX58-EXTREME has got the built in northbridge water block, which is a major plus.

Hard call

Yo Pob
Glad to see that Spork is completed - well done M8.

Re the Mobo's The Merits I am currently considering are:

EVGA is just so damn sexy
Asus Deluxe is such a known and reliable quantity

and TBH I think I can pass on the Gigabyte as most reviews state that w/cooling the mobo on an X58 is pretty unecessary for 4ghz o'clocks. Unless anyone knows any different.

I just wish I could find a decent review of the EVGA..................

[Pob255]

Just edited my post

Xbit labs didn't like it too much, to many issues with the BIOS doing odd things, adjusting stuff automatically.

Also spotted som,ething negative about the evga board, pci-e are x16 x8 x8 x4

[Syd]

Thanks for those links Pob

They are however a little worrying and lead me more towards the Asus - some more research is nedded me thinks..................off to read my pile of CPC's

[Syd]

Hmmmmmmmmm everything so far points to the Asus P6 Deluxe or the chaepy gigabyte

[Clunk]

Another vote for the P6T Deluxe.