Building a new system...stuck on decisions...please help

[cerberus82]

Alright, time to build a new system, however, decisions that were easy 2 years a go (nvidia and intel) are not so easy.

I usually build a rig with intels top or near top chip depending on $ vs performance ratio. Now im stuck with the decision of X58 vs 790i. Is getting the latest and greatest worth it, or will X58 go the way of rambus. SLI is important to me down the road, just have no use for it at the moment.

Also, combine this difficult decision with another problem im having. Nvidia vs ATI? My loyalty always lies with performance. However, with a few major shifts in technology and performance, kinda stuck in the middle.

In terms of price im looking to spend around $3.5k US for the rig. So any constuctive advice would be appreciated. X58 or 790i and depending on that answer i guess, Nvidia or ATI?

Thanks everyone, i know this has been hashed out over and over, just trying to make an informed purchase around my budget.

 

[Proximon]

790i should not even be on your radar. Did you think you needed it for SLI? You no longer need to choose.

At 3.5K there is no question about any other chipset beyond X58.
- Ability to have either SLI or crossfire
- The slowest i7 is still faster

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/257075-31-what-parts-choose

 

[cerberus82]

I intend on using this rig for video editing, high end gaming and photoshop and other cpu and gpu intensive purposes

 

[Proximon]

Well, there you go then.

 

[3lvis]

Ati's 4870x2 is the king of the GPU's ...but if your doing a lot of video transcoding you may want to check out nvidia's 280 gtx and Cuda.

 

[3lvis]

doubleposting meh.

 

[huron]

I agree - if your budget it $3500, there is no reason not to get an X58 and the newest processor and GPU. I am pretty sure you can get a killer rig well within your budget that will do exactly what you want it to do.