Help on Friends build

[sucho]

Hey guys,

I know this is probably the Billionth computer build help request but i owe a friend so here it is. His budget is around $1500-$2000 and wants it to be for gaming.

CPU: Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield 3.2GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80601960

GPU: 2x EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

MoBo:ASUS P6X58-E WS LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Mem: Patriot Viper II Sector 7 Edition 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory Model PV736G2000ELK

PSU: COOLER MASTER Silent Pro Gold Series RSA00-80GAD3-US 1000W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARS 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

SDD: Corsair Force Series CSSD-F60GB2-BRKT 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Case: Thermaltake Spedo Advance Package VI90001W2Z Black 0.8 mm SECC Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Monitor: ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 20000:1) Built in Speakers

So what do yall think?

[stroyal]

In general, the i7 is not worth it, compared to a Sandy bridge CPU. Triple channel RAM is a waste of money also.
Sandy bridge is the same price, and has better performance than the i7-960. Look at the I7-2600/2600k
PassMark Intel vs AMD CPU Benchmarks - High End

The i7-960 has the same bench mark as the the less expensive i5-2500.

The power supply is way overkill, unless you are going for 3 cards in the future.
The Caviar green is for tree huggers. Low power, manufactured in a green way.

Here is a similar system
http://www.techimo.com/forum/pc-modi...nd-2000-a.html

Edit.
If you want to go with $1000 in video cards, I saw this the other day.
Introduction - AMD Radeon 6990+6970 CrossFireX / "TriFire" Review | [H]ard|OCP

They say it is the fastest, unless you go with 3 HD6970s

[sucho]

why is the triple channel kit a waste of money?

[stroyal]

Because dual channel increases speed very little, and triple channel has turned out just as disappointing.
More expensive board.
Memory has to be in 3s
If you search for benchmark comparisons, I believe you will find only 10% increased.

Dual was only about 5%


here is one
G.Skill DDR3 PC3-12800 Triple Channel memory review

[stroyal]

Besides, you would have to be crazy or rich, not to go with Sandy Bridge, and they don't have triple yet.

The cheapest old i7 to beat the $300 i7-2600 is the i7-970 @ $594