SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: 3D Animation (Maya2009x64), Photoshopx64, Audio Studio Equipment (running 10 channel I/O m-audio interface through Ableton Live), Video Games, Web Surfing, Media Center (with TV Tuner)
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, speakers, monitor...
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com
PARTS PREFERENCES: None (reliability is very important)
OVERCLOCKING: No SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes/Maybe
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Mainly need ASAP advice on the PSU (is 850w enough???). Wondering if 2x280's SLI is the way to go and if the PSU will support that. This is mainly a last minute check before I hit the checkout button, just making sure I'm not making any big mistakes that only one of you geniuses would notice
(Rosewill PSU is involved in a combo deal with a 3x2gb dominator pack and would save me around 11 dollars... I cant find reviews on the rosewill though)
+$85 in other random small stuff like thermal paste/bluetooth dongle, etc...
Comes to a total of $2,696.90 which includes tax, s/h, and 1 yr extended warranty on CPU, MB, and the VelociRaptor (warranties add on a total of 82 bucks.)
If you have time, i can even email you my wishlist so you can take a look at what it looks like on the newegg page...
(Combo with g.skill/psu saves 25. ram is a total of ~$140 cheaper, bringing total down to $2530)
with that amount, what should i upgrade first? GPU? Get 2x 285's??? Should I get the P6T delux? I want to get the most bang for my buck for under 2700 so im tryin to get as close as possible while still remaining reasonable about it...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] ir%201000W Go with this PSU. Trust me, NEVER skimp out on the thing that powers your entire computer.
Also, instead of 2 GTX 280's go with 2 GTX 275's. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130475)
They cost about 30$ less, so a total of 60$ in savings is good enough for the Better Power supply. Also, the GTX 275's outperform GTX 280's. The 280's are old, that's the reason for the price increase and they have a smaller amount of RAM (In sli, 2gbs vs. 896x2)
Maya isn't very good at using SLI... it can cause problems in OpenGL. Consider dropping the second graphics card and adding (if you don't have one) a second monitor. Drop the VelociRaptor and use a RAID instead. Add a blu-Ray burner if at all possible.
I'd drop down to GTX275s or bump up to GTX285s. The 280s aren't very good value.
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