G
Guest
Guest
This is my first post on the boards here, but I'm a frequent reader. Always love the articles at Tom's. So, hello.
I'm going to be putting together a new system near the end of October and wanted to see if I could get any tips or advice on selecting the right hardware for now. I've been reading lots of reviews from different sources over the past few weeks and have probably configured half a dozen different combinations in that time. Some of the tougher decisions were deciding to go either SLI compatible or XFire and DDR3 or DDR2. I'm sticking with Intel, that's what I've always used.
I've built a few computers in the past (including the one I'm using now), but have no overclocking experience, which is something I'd like to get into with this build. That's a subject for later though.
Onto the build... I'll be using this for work and gaming.
For work, my primary concern is 2D Painting (Photoshop, Painter) and secondary to that is some 3D (Maya and Zbrush mainly). I got a 21" Cintiq a few months ago so about 90% of everything I do for work is now on the computer.
Gaming -- Flight Sim is probably priority one, but I also play a handful of FPSs and MMOs when I have the time.
I'll be using the Cintiq as well as a 24" Acer and would like to be able to plug in to an HDTV as well since there's one in the vicinity. Not sure of the size of the HD, but it's not huge, maybe 34" or 36".
Should also mention that I plan to run a 64bit Vista OS, but not sure if I wanna get Home Prem. or Ultimate.
----------------------------------
Case:
Cooler Master RC-1100 Cosmos S
Motherboard:
ASUS Rampage Formula
Processor:
Intel Q9550, Newegg has it for about $20 less, but this one comes with a game.
Cooling:
Xigmatek HDT-S123. And the retention bracket for this
RAM:
Corsair Dominator 4GB PC2 8500. Planned on 2 kits of this.
Hard Drives:
WD VelociRaptor 300GB OEM. For apps.
and
WD Caviar Green 1TB OEM - For Storage
Video Card:
Diamond Radeon HD 4870 X2
Sound Card:
Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty Pro
Power Supply:
Corsair 1000W 80Plus Modular - Will this be enough if I want to upgrade to a second HD 4870 X2?
DVD/R Drive:
Sony DVD+R with Lightscribe
Blu-Ray Player:
LG Black 6x Blu-Ray/HD DVD & DVD+R Combo
Card Reader:
Rosewill USB 2.0 Card Reader
--------------------------------------
Beyond that, I have some accessories selected for networking, game pads, headset, etc. But right now I'm just concerned with the computer itself.
Any advice or warnings about this configuration would really be appreciated. Like I said, I've done a bit of research over the last couple of weeks and this is what I've come up with for the amount I'm willing to spend, but I know there are plenty here with more experience than me and maybe you can be of some help.
Thanks.
I'm going to be putting together a new system near the end of October and wanted to see if I could get any tips or advice on selecting the right hardware for now. I've been reading lots of reviews from different sources over the past few weeks and have probably configured half a dozen different combinations in that time. Some of the tougher decisions were deciding to go either SLI compatible or XFire and DDR3 or DDR2. I'm sticking with Intel, that's what I've always used.
I've built a few computers in the past (including the one I'm using now), but have no overclocking experience, which is something I'd like to get into with this build. That's a subject for later though.
Onto the build... I'll be using this for work and gaming.
For work, my primary concern is 2D Painting (Photoshop, Painter) and secondary to that is some 3D (Maya and Zbrush mainly). I got a 21" Cintiq a few months ago so about 90% of everything I do for work is now on the computer.
Gaming -- Flight Sim is probably priority one, but I also play a handful of FPSs and MMOs when I have the time.
I'll be using the Cintiq as well as a 24" Acer and would like to be able to plug in to an HDTV as well since there's one in the vicinity. Not sure of the size of the HD, but it's not huge, maybe 34" or 36".
Should also mention that I plan to run a 64bit Vista OS, but not sure if I wanna get Home Prem. or Ultimate.
----------------------------------
Case:
Cooler Master RC-1100 Cosmos S
Motherboard:
ASUS Rampage Formula
Processor:
Intel Q9550, Newegg has it for about $20 less, but this one comes with a game.
Cooling:
Xigmatek HDT-S123. And the retention bracket for this
RAM:
Corsair Dominator 4GB PC2 8500. Planned on 2 kits of this.
Hard Drives:
WD VelociRaptor 300GB OEM. For apps.
and
WD Caviar Green 1TB OEM - For Storage
Video Card:
Diamond Radeon HD 4870 X2
Sound Card:
Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty Pro
Power Supply:
Corsair 1000W 80Plus Modular - Will this be enough if I want to upgrade to a second HD 4870 X2?
DVD/R Drive:
Sony DVD+R with Lightscribe
Blu-Ray Player:
LG Black 6x Blu-Ray/HD DVD & DVD+R Combo
Card Reader:
Rosewill USB 2.0 Card Reader
--------------------------------------
Beyond that, I have some accessories selected for networking, game pads, headset, etc. But right now I'm just concerned with the computer itself.
Any advice or warnings about this configuration would really be appreciated. Like I said, I've done a bit of research over the last couple of weeks and this is what I've come up with for the amount I'm willing to spend, but I know there are plenty here with more experience than me and maybe you can be of some help.
Thanks.