Got a nightmare on my hands...

[fxsttcb]

It's good to hear that phlux is going with the phlow!
(couldn't resist)

It really is not that hard to build it yourself, if you prepare yourself and your environment in advance.

Once you have selected all of your parts, download the latest drivers for everything. The included disk(s) may work fine, but usually are a few generations behind.

Block a day with that being the only priority. No distractions. Zero. Distractions create errors. Print Paxx's instructions for reference.

You will need a large enough, spotless, work table or bench.
Before I had an actual workbench dedicated to 'trons, I used a large table draped with a white bed sheet for cleanliness and tiny part visibility.
You will want to lay out everything and "mock" build it, by the manuals, without actually installing anything.
That will help you organize your manuals, fasteners, tools, and familiarize yourself! Organization phlows.

An extension cord, with 2 or more sockets, taped to a table leg can be used for power and especially grounding.
Get an anti-static wriststrap and figure out how long to make it's extension so you can reach every corner of your work area without removing it.
I wear one constantly. Before making an extension, if I took it off to reach for something, I often forgot to put it back on. Not good.
Do not remove anything from it's anti-static protection without being grounded.

Along with your local talent, there are plenty of us that can offer support here too...Don

BTW: MS has released Win 7 SP1 to disk. Rather than waiting for update D/Ls and installs, that should save a lot of time.

[vgbaron]

Hey Phlux! Good to hear you're going to build your own. You will not lack for help. Several things to be aware of though - static electricity and oil from fingers. Do not touch the contacts or sockets of the CPU and cards if you can possibly avoid it. Also when inserting the CPU into the socket be very careful - especially on the newer CPU's it is very easy to bend a pin. Also read up on thermal compound and how best to apply it. Too many new builders believe that more is better and it is not - a thin film is best - do your research and you should have no issue.

Good luck!

Vic

[phlux]

You guys are great, thanks for the tips and words of encouragement!

I plan on using close to the same config as I ordered the first time. The only things I'm changing are the case (PSU mounted on bottom for easier installation of the H70 radiator...hopefully), and I'm thinking of dropping the video card back to a HD 6870 1Gb from the HD 6950 2Gb I had originally. My logic on the video card is that the only gaming I'll be doing on this is FS9, at least until I see what MS Flight is all about, so the 6950 seemed like overkill and I wanted to shave a few bucks off the budget. Do you all think this might be a mistake?

The config will look like this...

Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
MSI X58 Pro-E LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield 3.2GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core
XFX HD-687A-ZDFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16
CORSAIR Professional Series AX850 850W
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Western Digital Caviar Black WD7502AAEX 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
CORSAIR Hydro H70 CWCH70 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler
(2) COOLER MASTER R4-L2R-20AC-GP 120mm Blue LED Case Fan 2000 RPM
Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner
Internal Media Card Reader

Thoughts, holes, red flags, etc.?????
Thanks again guys, I really appreciate the guidance.

[fxsttcb]

You have a plan! A good one at that!

Get your Flashlight out! The black interior of that case is DARK! No need for these!
It will cool good, has plenty of room, and decent cable management!!

Use the stock rear fan along with the H70's fan in push/pull for optimum CPU cooling. With the top fan close to the rear of the case, it is gonna be tight with the rad inside the case.

With no CPU fan circulating air around the RAM, Northbridge, etc., it may be worthwhile to put fans in the side of the case. They will assist the 120 up front with keeping intake air flow higher than exhaust, especially with the H70 push/pull and top fan exhausting.

Slight positive pressure also helps keep the interior cleaner...Don

[phlux]

Thanks Don, I'm writing all this down

So you don't think it's an err dropping back the video card?

[fxsttcb]

With the 6870's capability, I don't think you would notice any difference in FS9. I doubt you would notice much even in FSX. Multiple monitors=different story...Don

[phlux]

I do have two 20" monitors that are 1680x1050, but I only use one for my main FS9 screen. If I use the second one, it is for the GPS or radio stack only.

I have to wait until iBP gets my return and my refund is applied before I can pull the trigger on any parts, so I have a little time to play with my options and get opinions. I'm really liking my selections right now, but would it be worth my time to investigate switching to P67 and a i7-2600k? Other than the MB being limited to dual channel RAM I'm not really familiar with it's performance compared to the 960.....I love learning stuff.

[fxsttcb]

The 6870 should handle your config fine. I was refering to the Eyefinity 3+ monitor setup needing a little more horsepressure.

I'm dragging my feet with the P67 myself, because I really want to use a 4 monitor config. 3 for Fwd/L/R views and the 4th for Radios GPS etc.
I would prefer to have native multiple PCIe x16 slots which the P67 won't provide alone. The P67 only has 32 PCIe lanes to share with the Slots, SATA, and USB.
It needs an NF200 chip to increase that to 64 and allow more than a single x16 and x4 slot for video. So far I haven't found a Sandy Bridge NF200 board that has "x16, x16", x whatever support. I'd like to run a pair of 6970s X-Fired, using the Master for the monitor connections, and the slave strictly to help the Graphics throughput.

The i7-2600k(8 threads HT) is fast! So is it's little brother the 2500K(no hyper-threading). Fast enough to give the big boy$ in the i7 line-up a challenge.
The P67/H67 variants were released as the mainstream platform offerings.

If you aren't interested in SLI or X-Firing 2 cards, the faster Input/Output capability of the P67, and a 2600K, should equal or top what you can get with the 960.
The LGA1366 stuff will still outperform it in highly threaded, memory intense, ops though. Q4 the socket 2011, enthusiast platform, will cure that.

For general computing and gaming, it looks like the 2500K and 2600K are on top of the "Bang for the Buck" ladder right now...Don

[phlux]

Thanks for the info Don, my mind is now thoroughly blown

I think I'll probably stick with my initial configuration including the 6950 since I may want to add a third monitor one day and/or eventually get another card and run crossfire. Not to mention that's the config I would have right now had the BSOD issue not come up with my original purchase.

I could think about this stuff enough to feasibly change my mind fifty times between now and the time I order the parts. It's probably best for me to go with my first choice.

[phlux]

Alright, after refund and other assorted delays it's finally time to end the nightmare, and make the dream a reality...(again)..

I've made just a couple of changes from the original configuration. I decided to go with the HAF 912 case since it wasn't black on the inside and had a little more room (being my first build I figured I should try to make it as easy on myself as possible). I also dropped the MSI board and went with the ASUS Sabertooth to hopefully avoid any lingering compatability issues that may have caused my previous problems.

Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
ASUS Sabertooth X58 Motherboard
Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield 3.2GHz
XFX Radeon HD 6950 2GB
CORSAIR Professional Series AX850 850W
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) SDRAM DDR3 1600
Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
CORSAIR Hydro H70 120mm Cooler
Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner
AFT XM5U All-in-one USB 2.0 Card Reader
NZXT Sentry-2 Touch Screen fan controller

It will also have a 120mm intake fan in the front and two 120mm exhaust fans in the top, in addition to the two 120s setup in push/pull on the H-70 out back. (I do plan to overclock to my original goal of about 20% or so.)

Please share any and all thoughts on this....