APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Waiting on press releases from AMD and Nvidia for DX11 cards. Following I will buy a current day GPU and later participate in either BFG's or eVGA's step-up program to move to the next generation.
BUDGET RANGE: $1800 CAD
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (FPS whore), HD playback, minor audio editing.
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Case and processor have already been purchased. I also have a SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeMusic which I am not sure what to do with. It looks like a lot of mobos these days have X-Fi onboard, would this discrete card still offer better quality and performance?
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Any Canadian website, I usually use shopbot.ca to find the best price and go from there. I will let price decide on who I deal with.
PARTS PREFERENCES: i7
OVERCLOCKING: Yes, definitely. Is 4 GHz a reasonable aspiration given this setup and with longevity in mind? Maybe 3.6 GHz would be safer, I will have to read further but any insight is appreciated!
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Most likely. This will depend on the next generation card performance. If two mid-high range cards top the flagship (2 x GTX275 > GTX295) I will be taking that avenue. Otherwise, I will pick up the flagship.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080. Ideally I would like to run Crysis and upcoming games at 1920x1080 with 4xAA and 8xAF with as high FPS as possible. With current generation cards this would be around 40 FPS at Very High Quality. Hopefully the next generation cards will kick that over 60?? Here's hopin'!
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Haha, well.. I bought an Alienware case off of eBay. Should get some laughs. I know I will get flamed, but that's why I picked'er up!
Here's what I'm thinking,
CPU: Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.66GHZ Bloomfield 8MB LGA1366 -SLBEJ-
HSF: Xigmatek HDT-S1283 Direct Touch 3 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 LGA775 S754 S939 S940 W 120MM PWM Fan
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=30012&promoid=1026
MOBO: ASRock X58 Extreme ATX LGA1366 DDR3 4PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 Quad CrossFireX Quad SLI Eup Ready Motherboard
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=42433
NOTE: I am unsure of this selection because of pricing and availability. I know it is a steal @ $170 south of the border, but the only Canadian seller is NCIX @ $226. I can pick up an ASUS P6T vanilla for $265.. recommendations?
PSU: Corsair HX 850W Power Supply w/ 140mm Fan
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX24569(ME).aspx
MEMORY: Open to suggestions.
GPU: I am really trying to pick up a DX11 card through a step-up program. What I am thinking is that I'll pick up a GTX275 for now, most likely from BFG as they have a 100 day step-up, and will then upgrade later to either the flagship or a SLI setup depending on benchmark performance.
NOTE: This is going to eat up a significant portion of my budget, I am aware that picking up either the next generation flagship or 2 x mid-range cards will cost me ~$700
STORAGE: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS,1000 GB,32 MB Cache
or
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS,SATA/300,1000 GB,32 MB Cache
or
Samsung Spinpoint F3
NOTE: Potentially running Raid 0 if I have room in the budget. I really have no idea when it comes to storage. I am going by the hard drive charts right here on TH and have been seeing the Samsung F3 getting quite a few recommendations.
Whaddya think fellas? I have been reading and re-reading articles for days and I think it's about time to pull the trigger.
Thanks in advance!
BUDGET RANGE: $1800 CAD
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (FPS whore), HD playback, minor audio editing.
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Case and processor have already been purchased. I also have a SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeMusic which I am not sure what to do with. It looks like a lot of mobos these days have X-Fi onboard, would this discrete card still offer better quality and performance?
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Any Canadian website, I usually use shopbot.ca to find the best price and go from there. I will let price decide on who I deal with.
PARTS PREFERENCES: i7
OVERCLOCKING: Yes, definitely. Is 4 GHz a reasonable aspiration given this setup and with longevity in mind? Maybe 3.6 GHz would be safer, I will have to read further but any insight is appreciated!
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Most likely. This will depend on the next generation card performance. If two mid-high range cards top the flagship (2 x GTX275 > GTX295) I will be taking that avenue. Otherwise, I will pick up the flagship.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080. Ideally I would like to run Crysis and upcoming games at 1920x1080 with 4xAA and 8xAF with as high FPS as possible. With current generation cards this would be around 40 FPS at Very High Quality. Hopefully the next generation cards will kick that over 60?? Here's hopin'!
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Haha, well.. I bought an Alienware case off of eBay. Should get some laughs. I know I will get flamed, but that's why I picked'er up!
Here's what I'm thinking,
CPU: Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.66GHZ Bloomfield 8MB LGA1366 -SLBEJ-
HSF: Xigmatek HDT-S1283 Direct Touch 3 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 LGA775 S754 S939 S940 W 120MM PWM Fan
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=30012&promoid=1026
MOBO: ASRock X58 Extreme ATX LGA1366 DDR3 4PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 Quad CrossFireX Quad SLI Eup Ready Motherboard
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=42433
NOTE: I am unsure of this selection because of pricing and availability. I know it is a steal @ $170 south of the border, but the only Canadian seller is NCIX @ $226. I can pick up an ASUS P6T vanilla for $265.. recommendations?
PSU: Corsair HX 850W Power Supply w/ 140mm Fan
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX24569(ME).aspx
MEMORY: Open to suggestions.
GPU: I am really trying to pick up a DX11 card through a step-up program. What I am thinking is that I'll pick up a GTX275 for now, most likely from BFG as they have a 100 day step-up, and will then upgrade later to either the flagship or a SLI setup depending on benchmark performance.
NOTE: This is going to eat up a significant portion of my budget, I am aware that picking up either the next generation flagship or 2 x mid-range cards will cost me ~$700
STORAGE: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS,1000 GB,32 MB Cache
or
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS,SATA/300,1000 GB,32 MB Cache
or
Samsung Spinpoint F3
NOTE: Potentially running Raid 0 if I have room in the budget. I really have no idea when it comes to storage. I am going by the hard drive charts right here on TH and have been seeing the Samsung F3 getting quite a few recommendations.
Whaddya think fellas? I have been reading and re-reading articles for days and I think it's about time to pull the trigger.
Thanks in advance!