$1000 First New Computer in 6 years.

Hey guys. Last computer I bought was 6 years ago back in 2003. Recently came onto $1,000 dollars and I want to buy a new system!


APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Anytime from now to about a month from now.

BUDGET RANGE: $1000

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, 3D Modeling & Rendering, Multitasking

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, sound card, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg is where I typically buy my computer parts.

PARTS PREFERENCES: I have been ATI and Intel guy ever since purchasing my last computer. I chose intel because AMD lacked competitively back then and I had overhating/frying worries. I ruled out Nvidia in the past due to dishonest drivers among other things.

I have recently suffered much frustration with ATI video cards, with 3 ATI 9800 Pro's and one X1950 pro overheating or just failing on me. Do not want to deal with the hassle of another quickly dead card.

OVERCLOCKING: Most likely no.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024, 1600x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I would like a computer that can age well. I do not want it to live fast and die hard, but I do want it to be able to perform admirably for some time to come.

I would like to make extra sure I have a power supply that is capable of handling my system. I have had many issues in the past with people saying that my power supply isn't beefy enough.

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These are my current selections after some time. considering.

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129021

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136319

ASUS M4A79T Deluxe AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131363

EVGA 896-P3-1260-AR GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130370

OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341002

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBNQ - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231190

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ955FBGIBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103674

Current Grand Total is 996.92 including shipping.

The video card is something I cannot decide on. I don't know what I want to pick as it seems as difficult as it was for me back when I purchased my 9800 pro.

So helping me out with a good video card would be fantastic. I've been reading articles on things like 4770 crossfire and stuff, but newegg of course doesn't have any in stock. And I've also been wrestling with the problems of expensive video cards.

I honestly want something that is not super expensive, but good enough to handle games today and games into the near future.

Oh and Proximon. You mention both 4870 and 4850 in your post. Which do you think I should go for? The 4870 for not compromising, or the 4850 to manage to squeeze it all within my budget? I don't know how much if at all I can push beyond the $1000 mark.

I wasn't aware that the motherboard I chose was a crossfire board. I certainly didn't pick it for that. I simply picked a motherboard that would fit with the processor so that I could have DDR3 memory with that processor rather than the lower processor of its kind with motherboards that limit it to DDR2.

I have some friends suggesting I should opt for a more powerful video card. I'm not certain what my budget will be in the future to add another video card for crossfire addition.

Is there any wise way to modify my motherboard around to something just as good though maybe not crossfire oriented, and fit something in like a GTX 280 1GB?

Like maybe an ASUS M4A78-E AM2+/AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131368

Alright. I'm thinking of adding a 4890 in there. I feel ridiculous bouncing back and forth, back and forth on so many things, but I guess this is what I deal with when trying to get the best I can for a budget.

If I want to drop down my motherboard... to something a bit less deluxe, is this too much of a drop?

What I have now...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131363

to this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131366


It's a considerable price drop there. But I'm hoping it won't compromise too much and will still let me operate smoothly. Same company and all.


Doing so would leave me with this...



Which leaves me room to maybe bump up my hard drive to 1TB again, which is something I would really like to have. I do use a lot of hard drive space regularly, so it won't go wasted.

Grand total of $943.93



And does that power supply combo that was suggested, have enough power for the 4890 if it's 12v rails only have 25A?

Yes I agree on the motherboard downgrade. The GX will fit your needs, it's a very nice board. If it allows you to fit in the 4870 then it's well worth it. The difference in framerates in crossfire will be single digit, foing from FX to GX, but the improvement in framerate with the more powerful video card is major.

This card would be a good choice. Nice warranty and good service.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150352

This card SHOULD be good, but the reported temps seem a bit high:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102825

Hey guys. I really really appreciate your help. You were a great life saver!

I am going to confirm this final purchase today probably. I changed out the hard drive to a different one that was for less money that my friends said was considerably better from their vast experience with it.

Grand Total of 953.93

Looks good.