Advice on a $1500 dollar system.

[SwitchY]

Hello everyone I am new to this site, my friend referred me here because he knows about my dilemma which is.. I cant seem to build a proper rig under 2000 canadian.

I am an engineering student and a pretty avid gamer too and was wondering what are some good parts to build a powerhouse rig that will cost about 1500 canadian. I have also never built a computer before........

I am looking at some of these parts for the rig.

Intel Quad core 9550 or better chip set ( not extreme 2, AMD 9000+ or I7 )
Nvidia 780i sli or better mobo
4870X2 DDR5 graphics or something good enough to handle L4D at max everything with no lag.
4 - 8 gigs of ram.

So basically I am looking for a rig that can no only handle CS 4 master, AutoCAD 09 and Micro station without lag but can also play game such as L4D and Crisis with high fps.


Thanks a bunch

 

[chookman]

For starters the Q6600, will be alot cheaper than 9550 and you wont notice much difference
780i for a crossfire card? no no no... Intel P45 chipset Asus P5Q
4870x2 might be overkill depending on your monitor... do you have a large res monitor to have to run your L4D at full?
Any brand name RAM within budget will be fine

 

[V3NOM]

If you have a 22" or less the 4870X2 is overkill. the 780i is also a no go unless you are sli'ing

just grab 2x2GB DDR2 kit now and maybe later get another 2x2... depends really. do you have any engineering CAD apps or anything that you need the extra RAM for?

also get a xigmatek HDT-S1283+backplate CPU cooler and oc!

 

[SwitchY]

As I said before I am new to all these things.

I will probably be getting a 22" or 24" widescreen moniter.

Any suggestions on cards that would be cheaper and preform about the same. Also I would get a really good graphics card that would play L4D with no lag or get 2 cheaper ones and SLI them. Any suggestions??

I have CS 3 Master, AutoCad 09, civil and Maya editions.

I was told to get Intel X48 Chipset (Dual CrossfireX ready, 2*PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot (x16, x16)

So ya.

But thanks for the help thus far.

 

[V3NOM]

If you aren't crossfiring (and even if you are in most cases) i would recommend a P45. the p45 is so good theres a couple of high end boards that are more expensive than some X48's running on it.

in case you didn't know, you can't SLI on a P45 or X48 just as you can't crossfire on a 780i or 790i.

for 1680x1050 i would say either a 4870X2 or a GTX 280 purely for max performance+some future proofing. Which is even better with the 4870X2 since you will most probably be able to crossfire it later with a next gen card down the road so no more throwing out or selling em, just more performance!

unfortunately nVidia doesn't have that option atm, unless you make it a dedicated PhysX card. Which would help enormously with CS4 i might add...

 

[SwitchY]

Well I am building a system through a local business.

This is what I have thus far.

Product Name Qty Unit Price Price
Intel Core™2 Quad Processor Q9550 2.83GHz w/ 12MB Cache
ILC: 735858197380 SKU: MX21274
1 $434.99 $434.99



Asus P5Q Deluxe w/ DualDDR2 1200, 7.1 Audio, Dual GB Lan, 1394, PCI-E x16 CrossFireX
ILC: 610839162574 SKU: MX21302
1 $264.99 $264.99



SEAGATE 500GB Barracuda 7200.11 SATA II w/ NCQ, 32MB Cache
ILC: ST3500320AS SKU: MX19181
1 $69.99 $69.99



Samsung SH-S223F 22x SpeedPlus™ DVD-Writer, SATA (OEM) Black
ILC: 729507941974 SKU: MX21243
1 $25.99 $25.99



HIS Radeon HD 4870 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, HDTV-Out, HDMI
ILC: 4895139000962 SKU: MX22022
1 $409.99 $409.99



Corsair TX 750W Power Supply w/ 140mm Fan
ILC: 843591000406 SKU: MX18779
1 $134.99 $134.99



Assemble Assemble Hardware + Load my O/S
ILC: BUILD_SYS_OS SKU: MX1617
1 $70.00 $70.00



ANTEC Nine Hundred Ultimate Gamer Case
ILC: 761345159005 SKU: MX14869
1 $129.99 $129.99



Corsair 4GB XMS2-8500D Dominator TWIN2X Dual Channel DDR2 Kit (2 x 2GB) w/ Airflow Fan
ILC: 843591000970 SKU: MX20277
1 $189.99 $189.99


I am not looking for a top of the line super beast, just something that wont be outdated in the next year or so. The 4870X2 card is 660 canadian and I was told it was overkill for what I plan on doing with this computer.

Do these specs work out fine??

Cost is about 1900 canadian

 

[chookman]

Thats a nice looking build...

But im sorry to say anything in the computer industry is outdated after "the next year or so."

 

[spathotan]

The prices on that motherboard, CPU and video card are ABSURD, even for Canadian. Good lord.

But as far as the components go, its fine.

 

[SwitchY]

See but if I were to order the parts online for a bit cheaper the cost of shipping would be about equal to me paying the above prices.

Also the 4870X2 DDR5 is 600 - 700 Canadian no matter where i look.
Bestbuy and Future shops have NOTHING but 1 Voodoo Blackbird 002 LT system which this system is half the price and just as good.

The Extreme 2 chipset is 1100 - 1400 canadian depending on the model but really if I were to just sit around my laptop and try to find new deals on everything I would not be getting a new computer WHICH I NEED for my next semester of engineering so I will take the wallet burn and just get it at those prices.

Where I live we only have 1 custom computer store which would be memory express.

 

[spathotan]

Have you checked out NCIX? Im assuming you have. http://www.ncix.com/

 

[V3NOM]

"Assemble Assemble Hardware + Load my O/S
ILC: BUILD_SYS_OS SKU: MX1617
1 $70.00 $70.00 "

What are you doing on this forum??

 

[SwitchY]

On the Memory Express website.

Also anyone know a good case 150 - 200 canadian that has more then 2 USB ports. My god every ANTEC and Thermaltake case only have 2 USB ports... i used like 6 on my old comp. ugh. Unless They have more and are only saying 2. But ya..... to nooby for my own good.

 

[SwitchY]

Oh also I accidentally clicked on that option by mistake, I will be building this myself but getting all the parts from that one store. MY BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[V3NOM]

^lol i just saved you $70...