I'm looking to build a quiet gaming system with longevity in mind. I have never build a computer from scratch, but I'm comfortable swapping out / adding components to existing machines. I clearly have a few days worth of reading to do to get up to speed on all the different options, but here is the game plan and questions I've got so far:
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: asap, most likely within the week
BUDGET RANGE: Probably 1000-1500 after rebates (see question below)
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, movies / media center, work (I'm assuming any gaming rig will cover my work needs)
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor (have a loaner 1680x1050 for a few months, then I might have to replace)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: anything reliable newegg, tigerdirect seem popular (no sales tax in NJ a definite plus)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: NJ-USA
PARTS PREFERENCES: none
OVERCLOCKING: Yes (if I'm going to relearn this stuff, might as well do it right)
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes
MONITOR RESOLUTION: currently 1680x1050, will likely upgrade to a 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 in the near future
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: prefer quiet machine with a decent upgrade path in the future
PLAN:
x58 motherboard with a Intel core i7 (not sure which one) and a large RAM capacity. Hopefully, when this current build starts showing its age, I can upgrade to gulftown or whatever the best chip is for the platform, max out the ram, and update the video cards for a decent refresh that is relatively cheap once intel moves on to another architecture, DDR-4, etc.
Questions:
In terms of price, how much extra bang for the buck to get moving the price range around...ie sub-1k, 1-1.5k, 1.5-2k, etc. I'm definitely not going above $2,000 but if I can save a bit without much of a performance hit or if a few hundred bucks will get me a lot more longevity, I have some flexibility with price.
I will hopefully start posting parts later today once I get a bit more reading done.
Thanks in advance for any help, it is much appreciated.
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: asap, most likely within the week
BUDGET RANGE: Probably 1000-1500 after rebates (see question below)
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, movies / media center, work (I'm assuming any gaming rig will cover my work needs)
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor (have a loaner 1680x1050 for a few months, then I might have to replace)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: anything reliable newegg, tigerdirect seem popular (no sales tax in NJ a definite plus)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: NJ-USA
PARTS PREFERENCES: none
OVERCLOCKING: Yes (if I'm going to relearn this stuff, might as well do it right)
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes
MONITOR RESOLUTION: currently 1680x1050, will likely upgrade to a 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 in the near future
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: prefer quiet machine with a decent upgrade path in the future
PLAN:
x58 motherboard with a Intel core i7 (not sure which one) and a large RAM capacity. Hopefully, when this current build starts showing its age, I can upgrade to gulftown or whatever the best chip is for the platform, max out the ram, and update the video cards for a decent refresh that is relatively cheap once intel moves on to another architecture, DDR-4, etc.
Questions:
In terms of price, how much extra bang for the buck to get moving the price range around...ie sub-1k, 1-1.5k, 1.5-2k, etc. I'm definitely not going above $2,000 but if I can save a bit without much of a performance hit or if a few hundred bucks will get me a lot more longevity, I have some flexibility with price.
I will hopefully start posting parts later today once I get a bit more reading done.
Thanks in advance for any help, it is much appreciated.