New Rig for Quad Boxing - Advice?

[Akoko]

I've been quadboxing on a laptop this whole time and I'm extremely worried that it's going to explode. So I'm trying to build a desktop with NCIX with a budget around $1,800 Canadian. For memory, motherboard and CPU I have absolutely no idea what to pick (hardware newbie here). I've read so many reviews but they all seem to be saying opposite things, not to mention those reviews aren't necessarily relevant to multiboxers.

Anyone have any suggestions? This is what I've picked out so far, although I'm completely open to changing any of these items. I prefer to use only one or possibly two monitors.

Graphics card - from what I've heard it's not worth going GeForce because they are too expensive for almost the same thing and get really overheated.
XFX Radeon HD 5870 HD587XZNFV 1GB GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI DP DIRECTX11 PCI-E (http://ncix.com/products/?sku=52825&vpn=HD587XZNFV&manufacture=XFX)

Monitor
LG W2343T-PF 23IN 1920X1080 1080P Black LCD 5ms 30000:1 DVI VGA (http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=37490&vpn=W2343T-PF&manufacture=LG%20Electronics)

Keyboard
Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard Black Silver Programmable Backlit Keys USB (http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=21180&vpn=967929-0403&manufacture=Logitech)

Case
Fractal Design Define R2 Black ATX Mid Tower Silent Computer Case 2X5.25 8X3.5INT No PS Front USB (http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=51277&vpn=6900654&manufacture=Fractal%20Design)

OS
Windows 7 64-bit

CPU
My friend said that if you get an ATI card you should get an AMD processor since apparently they make drivers to complement each other. However, AMD seems to be getting killed on all the reviews, especially their AMD Phenom II X6 1090T and 1050T models. Is there any disadvantage to going Intel? How would you think the i7 860 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.8GHZ Hyperthreading (http://ncix.com/products/?sku=42498&vpn=BX80605I7860&manufacture=Intel) would perform for multiboxing?

Memory
I'm fairly certain I'll need 6 gigs of RAM. DDR3, probably. But how the heck do I choose between all these options (http://ncix.com/products/index.php?minorcatid=1303&subminorcatid=897)? Isn't the gain from having 'faster' RAM negligible?

Motherboard
I am just absolutely clueless on where to start for choosing a motherboard (http://ncix.com/products/index.php?minorcatid=107&po=0&ps=2). If I'm only using one graphics card, should I stay away from anything with the word 'Crossfire' in it? Would I conceivably need to use two graphics cards just to quad box on one or two monitors? The only other games I play are stuff like Mass Effect 2, L4D2, TF2, BlazBlue, etc. so nothing like Crysis.

Anyway, sorry if that was a lot of text for you to read, but I would truly appreciate any help. Everyone is telling me different things and I think my head is going to explode faster than my current laptop. I'd especially appreciate it if anyone could tell me if any particular part I chose is 'limiting' another one's performance, if you know what I mean, thus making it worth choosing a cheaper model.

EDIT: See my post further down for updated specs.

[MiRai]

CPU
My friend said that if you get an ATI card you should get an AMD processor since apparently they make drivers to complement each other. However, AMD seems to be getting killed on all the reviews, especially their AMD Phenom II X6 1090T and 1050T models. Is there any disadvantage to going Intel? How would you think the i7 860 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.8GHZ Hyperthreading (http://ncix.com/products/?sku=42498&vpn=BX80605I7860&manufacture=Intel) would perform for multiboxing?

Matching up AMD with ATi is definitely not a necessity...Intel/AMD with ATi/nVidia all work together [granted you don't try to put an Intel CPU into an AMD board and vice versa]. I would choose a 1366 socket processor (http://ncix.com/products/?sku=50913&vpn=BX80601930&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1016) over an 1156 socket just for the little extra horsepower. Still not necessary but the price difference is negligible. There is no disadvantage to going with Intel, that would be the processor manufacturer I would recommend at this time.


Memory
I'm fairly certain I'll need 6 gigs of RAM. DDR3, probably. But how the heck do I choose between all these options (http://ncix.com/products/index.php?minorcatid=1303&subminorcatid=897)? Isn't the gain from having 'faster' RAM negligible?
It can be overwhelming but I'll throw my 3 favorites out there which are Corsair, OCZ, and Mushkin [in no particular order]. If you're not going to be over clocking then I wouldn't worry a ton about it. Do know this though... memory comes with a set of numbers which looks like this:

8-9-9-9or


CL 9Typically, the lower the first number the faster your memory will be. Also, don't go buying DDR3 1600/1800/2000/etc RAM which will be a waste of money. I did a real quick search on a site I usually browse and i7's only officially supported 1066 back a year ago, I'm not sure that has changed. Here's the article (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/memory-scaling-i7,2325.html). They also have pretty charts throughout the article and their conclusion might add some insight.

Motherboard
I am just absolutely clueless on where to start for choosing a motherboard (http://ncix.com/products/index.php?minorcatid=107&po=0&ps=2). If I'm only using one graphics card, should I stay away from anything with the word 'Crossfire' in it? Would I conceivably need to use two graphics cards just to quad box on one or two monitors? The only other games I play are stuff like Mass Effect 2, L4D2, TF2, BlazBlue, etc. so nothing like Crysis.
Again there is a lot of person preference in this section. I like Asus boards myself, but I know some people that won't touch Asus boards with a 25 foot pole because they've had horrible experiences with them. This system I put together 18 months ago has a budget board made by Gigabyte and I'm sorta kicking myself now that I went that route. I wouldn't say you need to buy some top end board but at least get something middle of the road if not a little better than middle of the road. Then a board says 'Crossfire' or 'SLi' on it's ad that just means that it is capable of providing that technology to you. At this point I wish I had gotten a board that was SLI ready because I eventually did purchase 2 identical video cards and I'd like to play some games with higher video settings. Obviously we all know that SLI/Crossfire suck for multiboxing and that's just the nature of the beast. I, for one, like to future proof just a little bit. If I had the cash, I'd future proof a lot more though. :)

I realize I might not have answered your questions straight up but I just wanted to give a little insight. I will try and come back to this thread, when I have a little more time after some others have posted, and put some more info in here. Hardware choices among people can sometimes turn into a flame war though, everyone loves their favorite brand. :)

[alcattle]

I pretty much agree with Fenril, I know WTF???
the i7 920/930 are one of the best CPUs out, and since they use the 1366 socket, there is a better future for the MBs. 6 Gb will run you fine. Either Asus or Gigabtye have very good MBs. You are getting a top Graphics card, another good for a long while choice. Throw an SSD in the mix and you are good to go.

[Sajuuk]

I pretty much agree with Fenril, I know WTF???
the i7 920/930 are one of the best CPUs out, and since they use the 1366 socket, there is a better future for the MBs. 6 Gb will run you fine. Either Asus or Gigabtye have very good MBs. You are getting a top Graphics card, another good for a long while choice. Throw an SSD in the mix and you are good to go.

I may be wrong but I think the 980x/gulftown CPUs are the end of line for 1366. Sandy Bridge (the next architecture) will probably use a different socket.

[alcattle]

I may be wrong but I think the 980x/gulftown CPUs are the end of line for 1366. Sandy Bridge (the next architecture) will probably use a different socket.
Is that the 6 core CPU? I will look and see if I can find where I read about the sockets of the future

[Sajuuk]

Is that the 6 core CPU? I will look and see if I can find where I read about the sockets of the future

Yes.

[Akoko]

Okay, with you guys' advice I think I have narrowed down the choices a bit.

Monitor:

$184.99 LG W2343T-PF 23IN 1920X1080 1080P Black LCD 5ms 30000:1 DVI VGA Monitor
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=37490&vpn=W2343T-PF&manufacture=LG%20Electronics


Keyboard:

$85.44 Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard Black Silver Programmable Backlit Keys USB
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=21180&vpn=967929-0403&manufacture=Logitech


Power Supply:

$79.99 + 15 OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W ATX 20/24PIN SLI Ready Modular Cables 135mm Fan 80PLUS Power Supply
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=35456&vpn=OCZ700MXSP&manufacture=OCZ%20Technology&promoid=1016


Graphics Card:

$439.99 XFX Radeon HD 5870 HD587XZNFV 1GB GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI DP DIRECTX11 PCI-E Video Card
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=52825&vpn=HD587XZNFV&manufacture=XFX


CPU:

$309.99 Intel Core i7 930 Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.8GHZ 8MB L3 Cache 130W 45NM Retail Box
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=50913&vpn=BX80601930&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1016


Memory:

$229.99 Corsair XMS3 Dominator TR3X6G1600C8D 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 8-8-8-24 Core i7 Memory Kit
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34802&vpn=TR3X6G1600C8D&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1016


Motherboard:

$224.99 + 30 EVGA X58 ATX LGA1366 DDR3 3PCIE-16 PCI-E1 2PCI SLI SATA2 eSATA Dual GBLAN Motherboard
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34943&vpn=132-BL-E758-A1&manufacture=eVGA&promoid=1031


DVD Drive:

$29.99 LG GH22NS50 Black 22X SATA DVD Writer OEM
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=40435&vpn=GH22NS50&manufacture=LG%20Electronics


Case:

$109.99 Fractal Design Define R2 Black ATX Mid Tower Silent Computer Case 2X5.25 8X3.5INT No PS Front USB
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=51277&vpn=6900654&manufacture=Fractal%20Design


Hard Drive:

$74.99 + 20 Corsair Storage Solutions Nova Series 32GB 2.5IN SATA2 Solid State Disk Flash Drive SSD W/ Bracket
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=52887&vpn=CSSD-V32GB2-BRKT&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1016
and
$59.99 Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA2 3.5IN 8.5MS 7200RPM 32MB Hard Drive OEM *3YR MFR Warranty*
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=37232&vpn=ST31000528AS&manufacture=Seagate&promoid=1016


OS: $0 Windows 7 from MSDNAA (student distribution)


Please let me know if I am making any life-destroying horrific computer decisions before I send in the order! It's also slightly over budget but I'm not sure which component I should trim down on.

[Hivetyrant]

Looks like a pretty nice system to me, I can't see anything wrong hardware wise.

If you need to trim the dollars you can probably remove the SSD, they are awesome and can make a big difference in some things, but if you are only quad boxing then I don't see the point (can always upgrade later)
I run 6 clients quite easily on my 3 year old 400gig drive.

[Danash]

Well about getting back under your budget, if you utilize newegg to get your equip you will save alot. The CPU and MB alone @ newegg would save you 60$ Im sure the other component might save some as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150476&cm_re=XFX_Radeon_HD-_-14-150-476-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225&cm_re=i7_930-_-19-115-225-_-Product

(too tired to look em all up)

As far as your choice I just uopgraded my sys with that cpu and paired it with an old school graphics card and I get 60 frames high setting in dalaran while 5-boxin. Its amazing.

[alcattle]

Newegg =/= Canada also his prices are C$.

If you want to lower costs, look at the video card. A 5770 or 5790 will work as well and save C$100 or more

[MiRai]

Okay, with you guys' advice I think I have narrowed down the choices a bit.

[Computer Shopping List]

Please let me know if I am making any life-destroying horrific computer decisions before I send in the order! It's also slightly over budget but I'm not sure which component I should trim down on.
Looks good to me. Always be prepared that there may be a possibility of something being shipping to your location dead on arrival [DOA]. I've never had it happen to me [knocks on wood] but it can happen to anyone, it just doesn't happen very frequently. Also keep your main system pieced together and online so you can be ready for the other possibility you may need to hit some tech forums to seek advice on troubleshooting something that isn't working as expected.

Also when piecing this beast together, try not to scuff your feet across the carpet to build up static and then go play with all of your computer components. You can zap your own hardware and kill it on the spot or lower it's life expectancy. Not trying to make you nervous [because it doesn't seem to be a big deal these days], but you can help avoid this up by installing your power supply, plugging it in, and then touching the PSU chassis every so often to help discharge any static build up.

You should also kind of know about spreading thermal paste. I say 'kind of' because you don't really have to. :) Your processor will already come with thermal paste on it ready for you to install it [at least that's how Intel did it with their last generation CPUs]. In the event of an emergency [or an upgraded CPU cooler], you can just do a search on Google or YouTube for applying thermal paste, there are tons of results. In fact, your good buddy Linus from NCIX is willing to show all of us in this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRRWbQUqW1Y) from their site [even though it's from 2008]. :)