This request started over in /r/hardware (original thread), and one of the many excellent people there suggested that I submit my problems here. Long story short, I have a couple of friends who do know how to work computer hardware giving me advice on setting up a new gaming computer. The original thread was a question about the quality of ASUS motherboards, but in the process of getting that question answered it became apparent that some of the suggestions made by these friends were excessively expensive relative to my budget. Please give me advice on what to do with this computer.
Approximate Purchase Date: Very flexible, sometime after Windows 7 is released, but probably not long after that.
Budget Range: $1000-$1500
System Usage (Most to Least): Gaming, more gaming, internet
Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor, hard drives, graphics card (see below)
Preferred Websites: No preferences - what would you recommend? I use NewEgg for examples.
Part Preferences: nVidia graphics, Intel i7 CPUs
Overclocking: Yes (aforementioned friends have promised me a tutorial)
SLI: Eventually (with my budget, I figure on starting with one card and getting a second eventually)
Monitor Resolution: 1200 x 1024 (a new monitor will come eventually, but not now)
Additional Comments: If at all reasonable, please explain why you make your recommendations. I understand about a quarter of hardware talk, and don't understand that I don't understand about half of it. =P
Re: graphics cards - given that DX11 is coming sometime relatively soon, I'm going to put buying a new card on hiatus for now. I'll wait until there are shiny new cards that can take advantage of whatever features it may offer, rather than splurge now on something which is about to become second-rate. I'll leave the section on graphics cards below to give you an idea of what my advisors have been thinking, but I'm likely to stick with my venerable GeForce 8800 GT.
The parts section is going to be in two parts. The first thing on the list will be what my friends have recommended. The second will be some ideas I've had about trimming back their enthusiasm and staying friendlier with my budget.
Operating System
Friends say: Windows 7 - it's the Second Coming of Digital Jesus.
I say: Windows 7 - it's gotten lots of good reviews, ranging from "it seems pretty nice" to the fanatical chanting that these friends were performing in its honor.
Really, everything I've read says that 7 is the way to go. So I probably won't be finalizing this thing until 7 hits the shelves.
CPU
Friends say: Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
I say: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
This seems pretty obvious to me - they went overboard on the CPU capability. The 920 looks to be much friendlier on my wallet for a fairly minimal reduction in capability. But, let me know what you think.
Motherboard
Friends say: ASUS Rampage II Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
I say: ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
I've heard that the Rampage II Extreme is amazing for overclocking, but for someone who doesn't play with hardware a lot and requires outside expertise to overclock his stuff, is it really worthwhile to invest in the R2E over the cheaper and still-lauded P6T Deluxe v2? (I'll ignore the ASUS debate that I started my original thread on reddit about, as it seems that my one friend is just biased.)
Memory
Friends say: G.SKILL Perfect Storm 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory Model F3-16000CL8T-6GBPS - Retail
I say: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ - Retail
I've heard that without massive and strenuous overclocking you can't really take advantage of memory speeds higher than 1600 MHz, and even that requires you to run up your CPU. I want the triple-channel, because it seems like it will help gaming, and if I'm getting i7 I really should get the memory to take advantage of it.
Graphics Card
Friends say: Recertified: EVGA 01G-P3-1280-RX GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
I say: Actually, that sounds pretty good.
I think that I'm going to hold off on getting a new graphics card until after Windows 7 hits, and we start seeing DX11-supported cards hit the shelves. Until then, I'll keep using my nigh-senile GeForce 8800 GT. Won't be spectacular, but I'll manage.
Power Supply
Friends say: No specific recommendations as of yet, other than the company PC Power & Cooling.
I say: PC Power & Cooling / Silencer / 750-Watt / Quad PCI-Express / SATA-Ready / Red Power Supply, 80Plus
I know fairly little about what makes a good PSU, but this seemed pretty nice. More than willing to be overruled on it, though.
Case
Friends say: COOLER MASTER COSMOS S RC-1100-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
I say: You're kidding, right? For $200, that case had better raise the dead and heal the sick.
It's a nice case and all, and I do understand that a good case is A) a worthwhile purchase, and B) probably expensive, but really? Is this case actually worth the money? Even considering that I'll probably use it for my next several builds, this thing seems overpriced. Still, I'm even worse qualified to talk about tower design than I am to figure out the rest of this stuff, so let me know what's what.
So, there's the whole sordid deal. What should I do? Are any of these hardware bits worth my time? What should I keep, what should I lose? Please, let me know - I'm kinda counting on you guys, as disinterested sensible moderates, to save me from being lost in the wilderness of computer hardware.
Approximate Purchase Date: Very flexible, sometime after Windows 7 is released, but probably not long after that.
Budget Range: $1000-$1500
System Usage (Most to Least): Gaming, more gaming, internet
Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor, hard drives, graphics card (see below)
Preferred Websites: No preferences - what would you recommend? I use NewEgg for examples.
Part Preferences: nVidia graphics, Intel i7 CPUs
Overclocking: Yes (aforementioned friends have promised me a tutorial)
SLI: Eventually (with my budget, I figure on starting with one card and getting a second eventually)
Monitor Resolution: 1200 x 1024 (a new monitor will come eventually, but not now)
Additional Comments: If at all reasonable, please explain why you make your recommendations. I understand about a quarter of hardware talk, and don't understand that I don't understand about half of it. =P
Re: graphics cards - given that DX11 is coming sometime relatively soon, I'm going to put buying a new card on hiatus for now. I'll wait until there are shiny new cards that can take advantage of whatever features it may offer, rather than splurge now on something which is about to become second-rate. I'll leave the section on graphics cards below to give you an idea of what my advisors have been thinking, but I'm likely to stick with my venerable GeForce 8800 GT.
The parts section is going to be in two parts. The first thing on the list will be what my friends have recommended. The second will be some ideas I've had about trimming back their enthusiasm and staying friendlier with my budget.
Operating System
Friends say: Windows 7 - it's the Second Coming of Digital Jesus.
I say: Windows 7 - it's gotten lots of good reviews, ranging from "it seems pretty nice" to the fanatical chanting that these friends were performing in its honor.
Really, everything I've read says that 7 is the way to go. So I probably won't be finalizing this thing until 7 hits the shelves.
CPU
Friends say: Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
I say: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
This seems pretty obvious to me - they went overboard on the CPU capability. The 920 looks to be much friendlier on my wallet for a fairly minimal reduction in capability. But, let me know what you think.
Motherboard
Friends say: ASUS Rampage II Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
I say: ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
I've heard that the Rampage II Extreme is amazing for overclocking, but for someone who doesn't play with hardware a lot and requires outside expertise to overclock his stuff, is it really worthwhile to invest in the R2E over the cheaper and still-lauded P6T Deluxe v2? (I'll ignore the ASUS debate that I started my original thread on reddit about, as it seems that my one friend is just biased.)
Memory
Friends say: G.SKILL Perfect Storm 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory Model F3-16000CL8T-6GBPS - Retail
I say: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ - Retail
I've heard that without massive and strenuous overclocking you can't really take advantage of memory speeds higher than 1600 MHz, and even that requires you to run up your CPU. I want the triple-channel, because it seems like it will help gaming, and if I'm getting i7 I really should get the memory to take advantage of it.
Graphics Card
Friends say: Recertified: EVGA 01G-P3-1280-RX GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
I say: Actually, that sounds pretty good.
I think that I'm going to hold off on getting a new graphics card until after Windows 7 hits, and we start seeing DX11-supported cards hit the shelves. Until then, I'll keep using my nigh-senile GeForce 8800 GT. Won't be spectacular, but I'll manage.
Power Supply
Friends say: No specific recommendations as of yet, other than the company PC Power & Cooling.
I say: PC Power & Cooling / Silencer / 750-Watt / Quad PCI-Express / SATA-Ready / Red Power Supply, 80Plus
I know fairly little about what makes a good PSU, but this seemed pretty nice. More than willing to be overruled on it, though.
Case
Friends say: COOLER MASTER COSMOS S RC-1100-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
I say: You're kidding, right? For $200, that case had better raise the dead and heal the sick.
It's a nice case and all, and I do understand that a good case is A) a worthwhile purchase, and B) probably expensive, but really? Is this case actually worth the money? Even considering that I'll probably use it for my next several builds, this thing seems overpriced. Still, I'm even worse qualified to talk about tower design than I am to figure out the rest of this stuff, so let me know what's what.
So, there's the whole sordid deal. What should I do? Are any of these hardware bits worth my time? What should I keep, what should I lose? Please, let me know - I'm kinda counting on you guys, as disinterested sensible moderates, to save me from being lost in the wilderness of computer hardware.