Final draft rig

[houdinii]

ok well i found out im eligible for student loans wile im in college (finally signed up for classes 1 year after graduation lol). so i finaly got a price limit instead of guest-a-mits its got to stay at 2000.00 plug and play screen and all.

i think i got the best i could for the money. i was going for top of the line without being overkill i don't want to top out the system but i don't want to have move than necessary.

case --- antec 1200

mobo --- giga ud5 or asus p6t delux v2 (im leaning towards giga though)

cpu --- i7 930

gpu --- sapphire 5770 vapor x

ram --- g skill ripjaws 6g (2g x 3)

hdd --- samsung spinpoint f3 1tb 7200rpm (raid 1 for homework)

psu --- antec tpq 850 (i want to be able to get better cards later and had to have modular i hate leftover wires)

hsf --- noctua nh - d14 (me and my roommate are in college so well both be using this computer like all day so its got to stay cool wile running like 12-14 hrs a day with lots of programs running at the same time.

cd/dvd burner --- lite-on 24x black sata w/light scribe

screen --- asus vw246h 24" 2ms lcd hdmi wide-screen

op sys --- windows 7 home premium

security --- bit defender 2010 backed up by free malewarebytes and free atf cleaner

mouse --- i already have, razer naga

keyboard --- ill just get a 20 dollar one from walmart



all this ended up 1800 on newegg. what do ya think i know i posted up a few but i kept getting different dollar amounts from the financial aid guy.

 

[batuchka]

You have to elaborate what are the main useage/tasks for the system : i can tell you for a $2k gaming rig it lacks sorely in the GPU department for Full HD

 

[houdinii]

well its mainly for schoolwork. i like to have as many programs as possible up to get things done faster.

im going for computer info tech (a.s) my first 2 classes are intro to programing and intro to operating systems. so i have no idea what ill need. ill be doing a lot of power point and research i know that.

but ya i plan on playing movies and playing games W.O.W, L.O.T.R.O, C.O.D, and FF xiv when it comes out but that's about it. i like to play on the best resolution possible and all the settings on high except shadows and all the frilly special effects i hate playing wow and not being able to see the boss because of 1 mage and 1 dk when spell is on high quality.





and is that all ill need to get it up and running i know i forgot thermal grease i found http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100008 any one know how good it is its got 401 reviews all 4 and 5 compaired to the others with 2 or 3 reviews and there mixed.

 

[houdinii]

nvm that last part about the grease i found a bunch of reviews and they all said the tx 3 by tuniq was better, harder to spread but better.

dont know how they new it was harder to spread i mean clamping on a hsf is the same thick or thin aint it lol.

 

[batuchka]

but ya i plan on playing movies and playing games W.O.W, L.O.T.R.O, C.O.D, and FF xiv when it comes out but that's about it. i like to play on the best resolution possible and all the settings on high except shadows and all the frilly special effects i hate playing wow and not being able to see the boss because of 1 mage and 1 dk when spell is on high quality.

With such a healthy budget and with a optimised config u should really be able to squeeze in a HD 5850...even a HD 5870 in there to be not disappointed due to being GPU lite for your games

 

[capt_taco]

1. You do not need to spend $160 on a case. There are literally dozens out there for $60 and under that will be just fine. The Antec 300, for example. Also when ordering online, given the size of cases, shipping can be a real bitch, and if it's "free" shipping, it's often built into the overall price. This is probably the one component that it really is worth looking for at a brick-and-mortar store.

2. The graphics card is a horrible weak link in that setup. For a "top-of-the-line" machine, you should be going 5850 or better.

3. $100 CPU coolers are also not really necessary. You'll do fine with something like this unless you have air circulation issues or you have a system that needs water cooling anyway: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=zalman+9500&x=0&y=0

4. If you go with an Intel CPU, you are paying a 40% premium for performance over AMD. There is nothing wrong with AMD processors, and there is a cheaper one with the same performance as the Intel equivalent at every level except the $1,000 ultra-ultra new end. For the same $300 price range you have, AMD's six-core 1090 will beat the dogshit out of an i7 930, or even the $500 i7 950.

5. Now that you're getting an AMD processor and a single video card that's as good as two 5770s, you can save yourself another $150 by ditching the $250 motherboard for one like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157191 or this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131647

6. Not sure how much your RAM costs, but I bet you spent $200 and could get the same thing for about $50 less. RAM is one component that makes almost no noticeable difference in performance as long as you're anywhere near the same ballpark. So getting the cheapest equivalent is going to be fine.

There, you just saved $400 and got a better machine. Think of how much booze you can buy with that.

 

[houdinii]

well for games anyway i see a lot of benchmarks showing the 965 beat out the 1090t or there about even but there's a $188 and a $305 processor so the x6 isn't all its cracked up to be from what iv read.

the 920 i7 and 930 (better version of 920 iv read) beat out both stock and blow them away overclocked.

if i switched from my cpu and mobo to an am3 x4 and ud5 mobo i save 207 so putting that 207 into a gpu means i can get a 5870 instead, but my ram was 165 to get ram for a am3 its like 200 so that means 5850 really.

and for games like wow and lotro and ff iv how much difference could there be between a 5770 and a 5850/5870. and could a 2nd 165 dollar 5770 later down the road close the gap.





im also thinking up upgrading later on if i keep the 1366 board and i7 in 2 years i can just pick up the 980x when its super cheap and bam major upgrade how do i know there not going to change the am3 later on.

this is just whats going threw my mind when i built it correct me if anything i said was wrong.

and if i order all that at once from newegg the shipping is 25 bucks total.