fleecejohnson

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Hi all,

I've been in the market for a $2,000 gaming rig for a while now, and while I was leaning toward an Alienware, I've become interested in Cyberpower -- seems like more bang for the buck, plus named components (which Alienware et al. don't seem to offer.

Would anyone be so kind as to take a glance at my specs (below) and give me their thoughts before I pull the trigger? Thanks VERY much in advance! :)

CoolerMaster Elite 310 Mid-Tower Case with See-Thru Side Panel
Intel® Core™ i7-960 3.20 GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366
(3-Way SLI Support) Asus P6T Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA RAID w/ eSATA,GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394a,&7.1Audio
12GB (2GBx6) DDR3/1600MHz Triple Channel Memory Modul
Sound Absorbing Foam on Side, Top And Bottom panels
Power Supply Gasket
Anti-Vibration Fan Mounts
Extreme OC (Extreme Overclock 20% or more)
Asetek LCLC 120 Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Extreme Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX275 1792MB 16X PCIe Video Card
XtremeGear SLI/CrossFireX Ready 700W Power Supply
2TB (2TBx1) SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HD
2x LG 22X DVD±/±RW + CD-R/RW Dual Layer Drive
Windows 7 Home Premium

Thanks for looking,
Evan
 

yannickhk

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Seriously?? Build your rig yourself. For 2 grand you can assemble much better than this ...
 

whatelsematters

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^^+1

build it yourself. you'll save money, have a much better system, and it's fun as hell. you'll be able to understand and fix your own technical problems and it's nowhere near as difficult as it seems.

if you want some newegg builds, i'm sure TH would be happy to oblige.
 
G

Guest

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Hey batuchka!





Now when it comes to high-end computers ($2000, etc), you buy the parts yourself. You get better Warranties and will save about $300~. Besides, parts can carry over into your next build and save you money (CD-DVD Drives, Cases, Power Supplies, Operating Systems, etc).



Now if you do purchase from CyberPowerPC, I say go with the ATI Radeon HD 5850 as that is great and will last for quite a while. Use promo code REPEAT to save 5% off your order. If the company doesn't take it, use promo code MYSPACE and save $30!








But let's see what we can get you for $2000 over at NewEgg.










CD/DVD Burner LITE-ON 24X (2x Award Winner) ($34)
Case: Antec 900 ($90 with promo code EMCYPYR23)
CPU: Intel Core i7 - 920 @ 2.66GHz (5x Award Winner) ($269)
Hard Drive: Western Digital 1TB ($100) (Best Brand)
RAM: Corair XMS3 12GB @ 1600MHz (Best Brand + Lifetime Warranty!) ($360)
Motherboard: EVGA E759-A1 (1x Award Winner) ($270 ($30 Mail-In Rebate!))
Power Supply: Corsair 850W (Best Brand by PC Magazine) ($140 ($20 Mail-In Rebate!))
Video Card: XFX ATI Radeon HD 5850 (Best High-End Price-Performance + Lifetime Warranty!) ($325)
Operating System: Windows 7 64-Bit ($105)




Grand Total (After Shipping + Taxes): $1,811.29
Grand Total (With Mail-In Rebates): $1,761.29





batuchka, I got you THE BEST NAME-BRAND parts money can get. There is no doubt this is a beast of a computer in every respect. Sites like CyberPowerPC, iBUYPower, and Alienware uses whatever parts they can get for cheap and pray they work for their Warranty period.




Look here batuchka. Let's say in 6 years you want to upgrade your PC. You now have a BANGIN' case (-$100), the Operating System (-$105), Lifetime Warranty RAM ($360~ for 12GB of DDR3!), and even a CD/DVD Burner. A lot of these things carry over and work fine. The only thing you'll ever replace will be your Motherboard, Video Card, and your RAM after forever.




Anything else I can help you with batuchka? Need clarification on something? :D
 

whatelsematters

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necromentia's build is far from the best bang/buck.

12gb of ram is way overkill, 4gb is the standard for gaming machines. do you really need a 3way xfire motherboard for almost 300 that doesn't support usb/sata 3.0? also, i am uncertain how he determined that HD as "best brand" since the samsung f3's are almost universally recommended over WD drives. i would definitely recommend either a HAF 922 or cm690 II case over that antec 900, also.

ask one of the build pros to put together an i7 build with a 5970 if you're building a gaming rig and you want max performance. if you feel like overclocking, you'll have plenty of money left over for a high performance cooler. or a huge monitor. or both.
 

yannickhk

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Yeah, he tends to get very excited with those awards and such.

Anyway, +1 for your recommendations.

DVD burner: whatever ... 40 bucks
Case: CM HAF 932 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160&cm_re=haf_932-_-11-119-160-_-Product 159.98USD (thew HAF922 would be enough though)
CPU: Intel i7-930 (the 920 is being discontinued, this one is its replacement) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225&cm_re=i7_930-_-19-115-225-_-Product 294.99USD
HDD: Samsung spinpoint F3 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&cm_re=samsung_spinpoint_f3-_-22-152-185-_-Product 89.99USD
RAM: G-SKILL PI serie 3X2GB 1600 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335 179.99USD (there are others, just pay attention to the CAS latency)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128422 279.99USD Forget the EVGA, 3 way SLI is useless and it doesn't support USB 3 or SATA III .....
PSU: Antec TPQ-850 850W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371009 149.99USD
GPU: Sapphire Vapor X HD5870 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102872 479.99USD


Total: 1674.92USD without the mail rebates. Now, this would be a power house !! And you still have room to crossfire 2 HD5870 or to buy a new monitor and fancy gadgets :bounce:
 


Not really but could have addressed the TS (fleecejohnson) instead of me as am not in the market for a rig nor do i feel one should blow anywhere near $2k for a non encoding/rendering rig :lol:

Edit: Since no one asked - on what resolution TS gaming on by the way?
 

fleecejohnson

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I really appreciate your thoughts here. Truth be told, though, I just don't have the time, inclination or savvy to build my own from scratch. But it looks like I'd save some money if I bumped the processor down to a 930 (OC'ed), and upgraded the video to a 5870 (1GB). They only offer 6 or 12GB of RAM, so I'm a little torn there. 12GB seems like overkill and 6GB doesn't seem too future-proofed. Price difference is $200. Any thoughts on this 'new' config? :)
 

yannickhk

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Nothing is future proofed when it gets to computers dude. But ok, 6GB will be more than enough. And you're not downgrading with the i7-930, on the contrary. Also, change the MB that they suggested by the gigabyte that I've mentioned or ASUS equivalent (SATAIII and USB 3.0). Avoid the 3-way SLI ...

I can't stress enough that it would be WAY better to build your rig yourself. It is very easy and fun and it takes a few hours on a Sunday morning or a late evening ....
 

fleecejohnson

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Do you think I'd get much appreciable difference from 12GB RAM vs. 6GB? I hesitate to call it a gaming rig, as I'll be spending an equal amount of time with Photoshop, Lightroom, Dreamweaver and a dozen browser tabs and email running.

Several have suggested the 5870, which seems like a reasonable upgrade at ~$150 more than the GTX275.
 

fleecejohnson

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I'm running two 24" monitors, 1920x1200 and 1920x1080.
 

yannickhk

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I doubt you'd ever have the use of 12GB. I have 8GB of memory and it is already overkill. Unless you multi-task like crazy ....

The 5870 is a very good card. Although, with a 2K$, you might want to consider a HD5970 .... if you DIY ....

Check this post out:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareuk.inc&cat=13&post=279805&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=1&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0

Nothing complicated about building your own rig
 

fleecejohnson

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Yeah, I'm sure it would be better, but it just doesn't hold any of the allure that it might've in my younger days. I swapped out the power supply on my current rig a few months ago, and even thought THAT was a total pain in the balls. Back in college, I would be all over building my own...now I'm content to pay someone a few hundred for skill and patience that I no longer have.

In terms of the MB, most all of their offerings are 3-Way SLI, and they recommed something OC certified. But here's the list of options -- anything jump out as best? Thanks again for the help!

($20 off Mail-in Rebate) * Asus P6T SE Intel X58 Chipset CrossFireX Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA RAID w/ eSATA,GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394a,&7.1Audio [-47]

[CrossFireX/SLI] Asus P6TD Deluxe Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Support DDR3 LGA1366 ATX w/ 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA-II, RAID, 3 Gen2 PCIe, 1 PCIe X1, & 2 PCI (All Venom OC Certified) [+85]

GigaByte GA-EX58-UD3R Intel X58 Chipset CrossFireX/SLI Support LGA1366 DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA-II, RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI [-49]

(3-Way SLI Support) MSI X58 Pro-E Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFire DDR3 Mainboard [-52]

(3-Way SLI Support) Asus P6T Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA RAID w/ eSATA,GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394a,&7.1Audio (All Venom OC Certified)

(3-Way SLI Support) Asus P6X58D Premium Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3 FCLGA1366 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III RAID, 3 Gen2 PCIe, 1 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI (All Venom OC Certified) [+85]

($30 off Mail-in Rebate) * (3-Way SLI Support) GigaByte GA-EX58-UD5 Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Ultra Durable™3 Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA RAID w/ eSATA,Dual GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394a,&7.1Audio (All Venom OC Certified) [+72]

(3-Way SLI Support) GigaByte GA-X58A-UD3R Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Ultra Durable™3 Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 Dobly Audio, eSATA, GbLAN, USB3.0, 2 x SATA-III RAID, IEEE1394a, 4 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI (All Venom OC Certified) [+2]

($15 off Mail-in Rebate) (3-Way SLI Support) GigaByte GA-X58A-UD5 Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Ultra Durable™3 Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 Dobly Audio, eSATA, Dual GbLAN, USB3.0, 2 x SATA-III RAID, IEEE1394a, 4 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI (All Venom OC Certified) [+77]

($20 off Mail-in Rebate) (3-Way SLI Support) GigaByte GA-X58A-UD7 Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Ultra Durable™3 Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 24 Phase Power ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Dobly Audio, Dual GbLAN, USB3.0, 2 x SATA-III RAID, 4 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI (All Venom OC Certified) [+168]

($20 off Mail-in Rebate) * (3-Way SLI Support) EVGA X58 3X SLI LE Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA RAID w/ GbLAN,USB2.0,Dual IEEE1394&7.1Audio (All Venom OC Certified) [+13]

(3-Way SLI Support) EVGA X58 SLI Classified Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX DDR3 Mainboard w/GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394a,&7.1Audio (All Venom OC Certified) [+209]