new system build $2000

[cal8949]

im getting a pc together for my brother and im just wondering your opinion on it.

my budget for this build is $2000 give or take $100
im also trying to get the most future proof build
im trying to decide if i should get a 22 inch monitor or a 24. i feel the video card is'nt going to handle future games on the highest settings with a 24 inch
i need to set aside $250 for case, mouse, keyboard and speakers. im going to let my brother choose those. so theres really only $1850 - $1900 set aside for hardware

my wish list
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=12900067&WishListTitle=build

 

[dirtmountain]

Before spending $300 on a velociraptor check out these reviews of SSDs
http://www.guru3d.com/article/ocz-core-sata-64gb-solid-state-drive-review/
http://www.guru3d.com/article/silicon-power-32-gb-solid-state-disk-review
Get the bracket for the Xigmatek cooler (pushpin mounting sucks)
Personally i'd save the extra money from the Velociraptor or a SSD drive until they mature and get a HD4870x2

 

[Proximon]

Before spending $300 on a velociraptor check out these reviews of SSDs
http://www.guru3d.com/article/ocz-core-sata-64gb-solid-state-drive-review/
http://www.guru3d.com/article/silicon-power-32-gb-solid-state-disk-review
Get the bracket for the Xigmatek cooler (pushpin mounting sucks)
Personally i'd save the extra money from the Velociraptor or a SSD drive until they mature and get a HD4870x2

Yep.
+1

 

[jaragon13]

Nice choice on the Acer 24 inch and Xigmatek HS/F,but I recommend you get a 4870X2,you will have a VERY future proofed computer then.Just get two cheaper hard-drives and put them on RAID-0,that should do the trick nicely.

 

[random1283]

If your getting a Xigmatech HSF it might as well be the 1284 Achilles cooler with the proper mounting system.

 

[cal8949]

whens the predicted luanch of nehalem???

yeah the more i think about the raptor the worse deal it seams. and its either get an $300 harddrive or get a ssd and have no money left for a 4870x2

i would put the hard drives in raid but my experience with raid in the past has'nt been good. is raid more stable on newer boards? is it worth doing??

 

[cal8949]

for a 4870x2 i should get a higher watt powersupply right

 

[zenmaster]

You should be able to buy Nehalems and Mobos in Oct.

The Tray Price for the 2.66Ghz Nehalm will be $284, but exepct a premium at first, but likely not too large. Apparently Intel is have such good success building them that they moved up the release date a few months.

 

[bdollar]

+1 for the x2 in place of the velocirapter and either raid0 two wd640s. that will be plenty fast (probably no noiceable difference) and the better gpu will have you much more prepared for future games on your 24" monitor.

750w corsair is a great brand. that is enough for the x2. where you would have issue is if you had another in crossfire but if that was in the plan i wouldn't get a p45 board. so you would be spending more on x48 board and more on power supply and I don't think you need to do either. one x2 should treat you well for quite some time. by the time it isn't good enough nehalem will be more mature and probably you will want to do more than just upgrade your gpu. and quite honestly if you don't then just swap the x2 for whatever great single gpu is out at that point (p45 can do ati or nvidia so you will be fine to get the best you can afford).

 

[bdollar]

missed your comment about raid sorry. your performance off one 640gb will still be very good if you aren't comfortable doing a raid0 set up. the improvement of better gpu vs. really expensive hdd is the key. if you were all ready great everywhere else then the improvement from the velociraptor would be fine. but don't tone down your gpu to get that hdd.

 

[cal8949]

missed your comment about raid sorry. your performance off one 640gb will still be very good if you aren't comfortable doing a raid0 set up. the improvement of better gpu vs. really expensive hdd is the key. if you were all ready great everywhere else then the improvement from the velociraptor would be fine. but don't tone down your gpu to get that hdd.

well is raid really unstable or is that just from my old motherboard

do you think its worth paying the extra $20 for the ocz reaper memory compared to the ocz platinum?? they seem like the same memory but the reaper has a fancy heat sink. it seams that the ocz reaper will dissipate more heat and that heat is just going to get sucked in the cpu heatsink

also is it worth going to the asus Maximus II Formula for the xfi sound card and the better heatsinks. i would love to be able to have a good soundcard