Help with first build

[skysea76]

I'm in a dilemma, I think I can afford a i7 if needed, but it would be really nice to be able to just swap the processor in a year or so (which I could do if I used AMD). That's the first problem: I don't now how much of a pain in the a*# it is to use AMD, with the patched kernel and all. If the i7 makes it much easier, I'd be willing to throw in the extra cash (around 200$ I think). Second one is I want to get a Radeon HD 5870 (and a crossfire board, so that when they are dirt cheap I just get another one), but I don't know when (if ever) OS X will have drivers (kexts) for them. I'll post the parts I'm looking at. If some of them go out of sale (like a HDD or something), I would just get another one.

 

APEVIA X-SUPRA G-Type X-SUPRAG-BL Black / Blue Computer Case With Side Panel Window

Item #:N82E16811144218

 

cirago BTA-3210 Micro Bluetooth Dongle support Bluetooth 2.1

Item #:N82E16833242001

 

Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Item #:N82E16822136283

 

LOGISYS Computer CF120RD Red LED Case Fan

Item #:N82E16811999480

 

ENCORE ENLWI-NX2 PCI Wireless Adapter

Item #:N82E16833180058

 

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

Item #:N82E16817139006

 

OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory

Item #:N82E16820227478

 

MSI 790FX-GD70 ATX AMD Motherboard

Item #: N82E16813130223

 

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor

Item #: N82E16819103674

 

 

OCZ Obsidian 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory

Item #: N82E16820227495

 

 

Now for the i7 build:

 

 

LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM

Item #: N82E16827106289

 

XCLIO A380BK Fully Black SECC 1.0mm thickness ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

Item #: N82E16811103010

 

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Item #: N82E16822148337

 

ENCORE ENLWI-NX2 PCI Wireless Adapter - Retail

Item #: N82E16833180058

 

ePOWER EP-1000SC 1000W ATX 12V 2.0-2.2 / EPS 12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Power Supply - OEM

Item #: N82E16817101045

 

cirago BTA-3210 Micro Bluetooth Dongle support Bluetooth 2.1

Item #:N82E16833242001

 

LOGISYS Computer CF120RD Red LED Case Fan

Item #:N82E16811999480

 

Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail

Item #: N82E16819115202

 

ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Item #: N82E16813131386

 

OCZ 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3X1600R2LV6GK - Retail

Item #: N82E16820227501

 

That's pretty much it. I'm missing a monitor, a GPU (Radeon HD 5870), a keyboard and a mouse (that I know of). If there is anything else, please do tell.

What I need to know is:

A. Is it worth it to go for the i7? The uses I give to a computer are working (word processing, presentations, etc), media management, video encoding, some gaming (I don't care about using them on high or anything), very mild programming, etc. I don't need a extremely good computer, I just want one that will run fast, will encode a DVD to H264 in less than 2h, and will not lag in, well "normal day use". If 150-250$ will give me a 20% performance increase, I'll take it.

B. Are all these parts known to work "well" in OS X? By that I mean using as much vanilla stuff as possible.

C. Are there any parts that I could replace with a better/cheaper one?

D. Should I go for the 5870 or get a 4870? What I mean is, does the (x%) performance increase justify the 200$?

I'm open to any other comments.

[skysea76]

I did some more searching, and it seems that most of the (intel) parts are compatible:

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=161513

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=161513

So the questions are basically down to the GPU (which for cost and compatibility reasons I'm thinking of going with a HD 4870), the Bluetooth dongle and the WiFi card.

On the AMD side, I have not seen too much, mostly dead/incomplete/Leopard topics. The 5870 question has been highly discussed, but not solved.

[Nick14]

HD5870 will be supported but it will take a while as i did for HD4870 but i would recommend getting a 5870 and a cheap Nvidia 9x00 or something HD5870 for gaming and 9x00 for OSX

the wifi card might not work not sure never seen it being used for OSX so do abit reserch before buying it ,

if you want maximum vanilla then use I7 right and run Snow leopard becouse you need too patch every app you install if you got an AMD machine

[skysea76]

HD5870 will be supported but it will take a while as i did for HD4870

I know. The thing is I need a build that works immediately, and the only other GPU I have is AGP (so I can't use it in the meanwhile). I don't even have integrated graphics in my motherboard. And for the 250$ price difference, I think I'll go with the 4870. I like NVIDA more than ATI, but it costs more and the performance is only noted in games with things like Physics (from what I know), and all I need is good performance in everyday tasks. My only doubt is if the 4870 will not support future technologies; as far as OpenCL goes, I know it will work, but I don't now about other stuff.

[skysea76]

Please give me some feedback! I know I'm being an idiot, since I can "just use the search function" and find all or most of this. The thing is, I don't have the cash or time to screw up: I'm visiting the US for a short period of time. I have to arrive, build, test all parts, install OS X, disassemble, repackage, leave. I might have as little as 5 days for all this, so as I said previously, I need to purchase as soon as possible, so that everything is waiting on arrival. I just can't stand the prospect of being left with a i7 and no motherboard, for example. I'm also scared of this since its my first build, and I'm really a noob to this: two years ago motherboard meant "the board your mom uses to whack you" to me.

Thank your in advance for your understanding.

[skysea76]

@ Nick: I saw your edit, thank your very much.

I think I'm going to follow your advice, and get a 9600 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814125295). By the way: Do you know if i7 will be upgradable? What I mean is if there will be new processors for that socket coming out in a year or so, so that in two I can buy one. About the 9600... Could it be enough to maintain me until say a year, so that I can get the 5870 for less? I know I won't be maxing out Crysis on that, but just for some mild gaming (like COD6, Sims 3, etc) and normal usage. This would be cool, since I could save some good cash by doing so. I'm guessing it would bottleneck the rest of the system.

With the Wifi card, all I have to make sure is that it's chip is supported, right? I can't seem to find this (the chip, that is) even on google. I probably should go with a more known brand/model.

[Nick14]

@ Nick: I saw your edit, thank your very much.

I think I'm going to follow your advice, and get a 9600 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814125295). By the way: Do you know if i7 will be upgradable? What I mean is if there will be new processors for that socket coming out in a year or so, so that in two I can buy one. About the 9600... Could it be enough to maintain me until say a year, so that I can get the 5870 for less? I know I won't be maxing out Crysis on that, but just for some mild gaming (like COD6, Sims 3, etc) and normal usage. This would be cool, since I could save some good cash by doing so. I'm guessing it would bottleneck the rest of the system.

With the Wifi card, all I have to make sure is that it's chip is supported, right? I can't seem to find this (the chip, that is) even on google. I probably should go with a more known brand/model.

I7 will/should be upgradable as it's a pretty new chip

9600 should be enough to play those games at low/medium setting but don't expect high FPS

WIFI Look at the D-Link DWA-556 it should work perfectly

[skysea76]

Well, I have to model my build according to newegg's prices, so now I'm looking at a GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R, which -from what I've read- is even more compatible. The GT 220 seems slightly faster than the 9400 (I don't want to spend much), and the HDMI+DVI)+D-SUB is attractive. From what I have read the GT 220 1GB should work.

[Nick14]

Well, I have to model my build according to newegg's prices, so now I'm looking at a GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R, which -from what I've read- is even more compatible. The GT 220 seems slightly faster than the 9400 (I don't want to spend much), and the HDMI+DVI)+D-SUB is attractive. From what I have read the GT 220 1GB should work.

 

I'm not sure if GT220 would work but look at the HD4607,HD4650 or HD4550 from ATI they are compatible and cheap