This new build is going to replace my old Dell XPS 400. Ive had it since '05 and I think its finally due for an upgrade.
This build will be my first home-built.
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: May BUDGET RANGE: $1600-1700 USD
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: (e.g.: Gaming, Some Photoshop, Video Production)
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard. Mouse. Monitor. Sound Card (Creative SE)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: I perfer TigerDirect over Newegg, only because ive bought there before. I do here Newegg is an equal if not better service, so im willing. What I want to do is get all my parts from one website in one order.
PARTS PREFERENCES: Leaning towards NVIDIA, but im getting convinced with ATi as of late.
OVERCLOCKING: No on overclocking. I dont want to invest extra cash into overclocking, but if the parts are already good with overclocking, I may take that step.
SLI:No. Awkward at best for me, some games outright deny SLi.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: Not sure. Im getting a new 20' full screen monitor before this as a gift. I dont know the best resolution for that.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
+Gaming is the biggest use of the machine.
+Im hoping its at least future-proof for a few years. I am willing to put in a few more bucks for easier upgrades later on.
+Really want to have this machine run intensive games like Crysis, BFBC2, Just Cause 2 and Flight Simulator X on Max.
+Maybe asking for too much, but im looking towards stability. F@H all night would be nice if I dont have to worry about a small scale nuclear meltdown if something goes wrong.
Heres the Parts
Lite-On Internal DVD Drive $19.99 Nothing fancy here. Just need a reader.
Corsair i7 Dominator 6GB, Tri Channel 1600Mhz. $210 USD
Reviews seem generally positive, price is pretty nice. OCZ and others seemed to have less than favorable quality, so I chose this.
EVGA X58 SLI Mobo $279 Did research on this. Checked a few websites for reviews, seen some user video reviews. Has 3 x16 slots, which is a bit of an overkill, but I want to have the options. I think better boards exist, heres the nicest ive found for now.
WD 1TB Hard Drive, 7200RPM $95 1TB is dirt cheap. I have problems filling up my 300GB hard drive as it is, but I think 1TB will be best in the long run.
Intel Core i7 920. Apparently the i5 750 is trailing right behind it, but im comfortable with the 1.6K price right now. Ive been out of this market for years though, what do you guys think?
Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower 150$ Also good reviews. spacey, cool and ascetically appealing.
Ultra LSP 750 Watt PSU $80
Reviews are also positive, although I havent seen an "Utra" brand PSU before. Is this enough juice? Should I get a bigger PSU for later down the road instead? I dont want to skimp on this.
BFG GeForce 285GTX OC. $370
This is the most controversial part of my build. People say to go the ATi route, but I heard they have some crippling problems, like linux driver support on their cards. I really dont want to leave NVIDIA, but im willing if I can get a much better price/performance ratio. Also, im looking at the newer GeForce 470GTX coming out from NVIDIA at the same price as the 285GTX. Or I can get the competitor Radeon HD 5870 instead. God this is confusing.
Software:
Windows 7 64 Bit 100$
This all equals out to 1583 with shipping and handling stuff.
Hows the build?
This build will be my first home-built.
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: May BUDGET RANGE: $1600-1700 USD
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: (e.g.: Gaming, Some Photoshop, Video Production)
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard. Mouse. Monitor. Sound Card (Creative SE)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: I perfer TigerDirect over Newegg, only because ive bought there before. I do here Newegg is an equal if not better service, so im willing. What I want to do is get all my parts from one website in one order.
PARTS PREFERENCES: Leaning towards NVIDIA, but im getting convinced with ATi as of late.
OVERCLOCKING: No on overclocking. I dont want to invest extra cash into overclocking, but if the parts are already good with overclocking, I may take that step.
SLI:No. Awkward at best for me, some games outright deny SLi.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: Not sure. Im getting a new 20' full screen monitor before this as a gift. I dont know the best resolution for that.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
+Gaming is the biggest use of the machine.
+Im hoping its at least future-proof for a few years. I am willing to put in a few more bucks for easier upgrades later on.
+Really want to have this machine run intensive games like Crysis, BFBC2, Just Cause 2 and Flight Simulator X on Max.
+Maybe asking for too much, but im looking towards stability. F@H all night would be nice if I dont have to worry about a small scale nuclear meltdown if something goes wrong.
Heres the Parts
Lite-On Internal DVD Drive $19.99 Nothing fancy here. Just need a reader.
Corsair i7 Dominator 6GB, Tri Channel 1600Mhz. $210 USD
Reviews seem generally positive, price is pretty nice. OCZ and others seemed to have less than favorable quality, so I chose this.
EVGA X58 SLI Mobo $279 Did research on this. Checked a few websites for reviews, seen some user video reviews. Has 3 x16 slots, which is a bit of an overkill, but I want to have the options. I think better boards exist, heres the nicest ive found for now.
WD 1TB Hard Drive, 7200RPM $95 1TB is dirt cheap. I have problems filling up my 300GB hard drive as it is, but I think 1TB will be best in the long run.
Intel Core i7 920. Apparently the i5 750 is trailing right behind it, but im comfortable with the 1.6K price right now. Ive been out of this market for years though, what do you guys think?
Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower 150$ Also good reviews. spacey, cool and ascetically appealing.
Ultra LSP 750 Watt PSU $80
Reviews are also positive, although I havent seen an "Utra" brand PSU before. Is this enough juice? Should I get a bigger PSU for later down the road instead? I dont want to skimp on this.
BFG GeForce 285GTX OC. $370
This is the most controversial part of my build. People say to go the ATi route, but I heard they have some crippling problems, like linux driver support on their cards. I really dont want to leave NVIDIA, but im willing if I can get a much better price/performance ratio. Also, im looking at the newer GeForce 470GTX coming out from NVIDIA at the same price as the 285GTX. Or I can get the competitor Radeon HD 5870 instead. God this is confusing.
Software:
Windows 7 64 Bit 100$
This all equals out to 1583 with shipping and handling stuff.
Hows the build?