Need help with an i7 build -$850

Hi guys, I'm at work but wanted to see what you guys can come up with to help me put together the parts for an i7 build by the end of the month. I've got my case already and I want to try to spend less than $850 but I can nudge that up a tiny bit if I have to.

Main games I'm looking ahead to are Elder Scrolls 5 and Battlefield 3. If you have some time I'm especially curious to see your recommendations for GPU and RAM. I've had better luck with Radeon cards but (Nvidia always crap out on me) but just throw whatever opinions you have at me. Thanks as always.

 

Well, first decision to make is which flavour of i7, I'd probably go with the 9xx series as the 2600K is $340 alone or so ATM. Second choice is obviously the motherboard, will you be eventually going Crossfire or SLI?

I don't know ATI at all so I can't help there but depending on your choices here will specify which power supply that you'll need, don't skimp on this. Memory should be good @ 4GB. I hope that starts you off well. Also, do you intend to overclock? Which case do you have?

 

Update- The main thing I'm undecided on still is the GPU. I really can't go above $250 for this and was hoping to find a good compromise of price/power to hold me over for another year. I need it to run BF3 and Oblivion later this year at the best possible performance. Anyone have any particularly obvious favorites?

 

Still need a GPU, the system is all assembled and the only other question I have:

does this board have wireless capability already built in?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...re=asrock_p67_extreme4-_-13-157-229-_-Product


Gigabit Ethernet via the Realtek RTL8111E- do I need to purchase something else before I can connect to my preexisting wireless network? If so, recommendations for a gaming system? Thanks

 

How much $ do you have left?

 

Can you please clarify is it just the case or PSU as well?

Otherwise clearly state case only (therefore HDD, RAM etc need to be considered).

As far as that ASrock mobo goes I would much prefer the Z68 version, considering that in another 3 years you may want to upgrade again and you will have a mobo that has CPU/IGP video out for a HTPC (no video card needed). The P67 doesn't have that option and "future" usage is a worthy consideration imho:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157250

You could consider something like:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.667376

This will do a lot for many years but no video out of CPU.

 

Thanks for the advice, I already bought the mobo and since I'll be using a separate GPU the onboard video was a non-issue for me. I'm very happy with the mobo so far and its reputed to have really good overclock potential so we'll see.

The other components are already in place so the only other advice I'm seeking is GPU. I won't be able to go higher than $230 and so far my instinct is the Radeon 6870. I've always had bad luck with Nvidia drivers and hardware so I'm a little biased and "Tom's Hardware" picked it for best $200 GPU in May. Any other contenders? I can go a little higher for something that will truly be worth it.

 

I really want to order tonight so I can finish my build early next week. Here are my two favorite options.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...apphire_Radeon_HD_6870-_-14-102-948-_-Product

OR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130597

run two of these in SLI mode (never done SLI and I'd buy one now and add the other one soon)- After rebate it'd be almost the same cost. Is one of these options markedly better than the other?

 

I'd go with the Sapphire card as it's PCI 2.1 compliant, and the EVGA card is only PCI 2.0 compliant. Lots more bandwidth in the Sapphire card.