Ikrin

I've always wanted a high-end computer. I've been a laptop user, and have not had the liberty of even owning one that really offers much power. Other than the laptop that I now have for school, because it's necessary for the curriculum, my personal laptop is 4-6 years old, with a chipset that Intel won't even release an aero-capable driver for.

My budget is between $1,000-$1,500. I would really love to keep it in the low range, as I still have other expenses, being a student.

The parts that I am contemplating on getting
CPU: i7 920 D0/Xeon W3520 (hopefully batch B, hoping someone near a Micro Center can help)
MOBO: EVGA x58 3-way SLI Classified (got e759 for $435)/if you think it's not worth it, and want to recommend something better/less expensive, I could still cancel
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750HX 750W/maybe TX model (is this enough, or would the 850W models be better?)
RAM: Not sure yet
HDD: Not sure yet
Case: Antec 1200/any recommendations?
Heatsink: Prolimatech Megahalems Rev. B
Fans for push-pull: need to find link again
GPUs: Hoping to get 2xATI 5850/1xATI 5870
DVD Drive: probably some multi-drive, no blu-ray for now

I was leaning toward an i5, but I guess I just wanted the future-proof mobo etc. more, giving me more opportunity to expand later. I would appreciate any advice. Thanks!

lem

HDD: Try a solid state drive?
Case: HAF 932. IMO a better case for the bigger cards. You may have trouble moving hard drives when you have the big gpu's sitting in the way.

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Ikrin

I would like one, but I think that would take me quite a ways over my budget, given that I want to have one of those motherboards, as well as the card(s). I think I'll have to stick to regular disks right now.

lem

oh yea sorry i completely skipped all the preamble and went straight to the specs. =P

WD caviar blacks maybe? Apparently they're quite the drive. Maybe 2 for RAID 0.

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Ikrin

I'll probably go that way. I just don't know what size yet, since I need to figure out what the other components will be to determine how much more I want to spend. I've read that Samsung drives can be pretty good, despite their slower specs.

Ikrin

I can't beleve it. I just got ahold of an EVGA x58 e759. I hope I don't regret spending $435 on it. That's rather expensive.

lob3s

Thats alot of money, but I believe it will be worth it. If you decide to sell that mobo after a while, it will have good resale value due to its limitedness.

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gablain

2x5850 would be blazing fast

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BaMYouRDeaD

For the case, get an Antec 1200 or HAF 932. As for the PSU, 750 is little low x2 5850s in my opinion. If I were you, I'd get a good quality 1000+ watt PSU so I have plenty of room to expand and wouldn't have to worry about any limitations.

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Ikrin

I'll see what will fit into my budget. I would've thought that 1000W would be excessive, but I'll see what I can find. Moving from 750 to 850 is already a jump in expenses.