Help with building a new PC

MysticalRain

I'm planning I'm finally getting around to of putting together my own PC. As I haven't built one before, I'm looking for some general advice... specifically on what motherboard, memory and power supply to choose. I'm looking for something that would be compatible with the latest Intel quad core processors. I have an existing graphics card (Geforce 8800 GTS) which I plan on reusing for the new system.

The processor I'm looking for is something like this one:
Intel Nehalem i7 920 S1366 2.66GHz
http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=5CC9&CategorySelectedId=11147&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11147,50520

Dabs.ie have a bunch of S1366 motherboards here. But I'm not sure which one might be the best or what RAM should go with it
http://www.dabs.ie/productlist.aspx?NavigationKey=11143&NavigationKey=427800000&CategorySelectedId=11143&PageMode=1

I would need a fairly substantial power supply of at least 450 watts as the Geforce 8800 is a bit of a beast in terms of power consumpution and I will probably have 2 to 3 internal hard drives running off the motherboard.

Are there any other general things I need to be aware of/look out for? Common traps/pitfalls etc? Any help would be much appreciated.

allen175

i would say u need a 700W+ PSU.

I have the i7 920 with this board http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=5BRP&CategorySelectedId=11143&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11143,427800000

Its is amazing so easy to overclock! i have it at 3.3GHz with intels stock cooler on it.

I have this RAM aswell http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=406345 nice and fast!

I can't think of any problems at the moment.

MysticalRain

Nice one. That motherboard would be a good start. I googled the case you are using, and that seems like a good fit for me as well. Plenty of space for extra hard drives etc.

It might sound like a bit of a n00b question, but how do you know which type of DDR3 ram to put in it (1600Mhz, 1800Mhz etc)? Is just simply listed in the motherboard specs?

allen175

it doesn't really matter, there is just a difference in the speed, like the speed of a processor. i think the UD5 mobo can take up to 2000MHz+.

1333MHz and 1600MHz are the most populare among core i7 builds.

Here is my i7 PC for you to drool over :P http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=58660450&postcount=57

MysticalRain

Awesome stuff. Looks like there is plnty of room in there

allen175

there is abit too much room to be honest, but plenty of room for upgrades.

MysticalRain

Do you mind me asking how much it all costed you (minus the graphics card)?

allen175

em, i think it cost just over €950 for everything except the graphics card and sound card.

€800 for i7, mobo, ram and psu. and then €150 for the case.

MysticalRain

Sweet. That would be well within my price range.

allen175

very nice and good luck with the build!!

MysticalRain

Its is amazing so easy to overclock! i have it at 3.3GHz with intels stock cooler on it.

I've seen articles on the web where some people have managed to overclock this processor to up to 3.8 GHz. If I decide to push it that far, could somebody recommend me a good cooling solution? Preferably something relatively quiet. I'm assuming that the stock Intel cooler might not be sufficient for clock speeds that high.

I found this one on Dabs
http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=5DDP&CategorySelectedId=11258&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11258

MysticalRain

I found this one as well. It might be a bit of a squeeze to get into a Antec 900 case. But it seems to be highly recommended.

Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-005-NC&tool=3

allen175

yeah go for the noctua, i wish i had gone fot it, i have the coolermaster v8, but you really need a push and pull fan for the i7.