Advice on which system to get

The best choice would be the 5870. RAID offers little benefit for gaming. It will speed up level loading, but there will be no fps difference.

The cheapest way to get more fps is to buy a better graphics card.

Ouch agreed : the sheer gulf in frames going from 5750 to 5850 speaks for itself and gaming rigs dun need 8GB RAM hehe Lastly SATA 6GB/S only for SSDs not mechanical drives....

wow, thats a problem. are u building these yourself? totally forget about those raptors, gets ssd. nvmd, ibuypower. uhm, heres what id do:

ntel P55 Core i5/i7 Configurator
Case ( NZXT Tempest EVO Gaming Case - Black )
iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction ( None )
iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion ( None )
Case Lighting ( None )
Processor ( Intel® Core™ i5 750 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) )
iBUYPOWER PowerDrive ( None )
Processor Cooling ( Asetek 550LC Liquid CPU Cooling System w/ 120mm Radiator (Intel) )
Memory ( 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR3-1333 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand )
Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 - 1GB - Single Card )
Video Card Brand ( Major Brand Powered by ATI or NVIDIA )
Motherboard ( [SLI] MSI P55-GD65 w/ 2x Gb LAN )
Motherboard Add-on ( None )
Power Supply ( 750 Watt -- Corsair CMPSU-750TX Power Supply - SLI Ready )
Primary Hard Drive ( 64 GB Kingston SSDNow V Series MLC SSD - Single Drive )
Data Hard Drive ( 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s - Single Drive )
Optical Drive ( 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - [Lightscribe Technology] Black )
2nd Optical Drive ( None )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( None )
Meter Display ( None )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )
Operating System ( Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel) - 64-Bit )
Keyboard ( iBUYPOWER USB Keyboard - Black )
Mouse ( iBUYPOWER Internet Mouse - Black )
Monitor ( None )
2nd Monitor ( None )
Speaker System ( iBUYPOWER 2.1 Channel Stereo Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System )
Power Protection ( None )
Headset ( None )
MP3/MP4 Player ( None )
Video Camera ( None )
Warranty ( Standard Warranty Service - Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support )
Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) - No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )

thats a much better deal, try to match that exactly. you can always get more ram though.

Hmm does anyone second Ares pc setup? I have heard that AMD processors is better for gaming, (course i guess that is opinion that is just what i have heard recently) As for the RAM, i just want to make sure i am above spec for a while i dont want to have to add ram is only reason i was looking at 8gb. As for the Hard drive stuff, would anyone be willing to explain what the 64GB kingston drive does for me. I am less knowledgeable and just dont know how that works and the benefits that hard drive setup provides. Thank you for input Ares, will look into it. ALSO i didnt see that specific Motherboard when i looked on Ibuypower.com. Am i getting a Sata 3.0 or a sata 3.0 Raid?

ok, well for one, i meant to press the 80 gig ssd, the intel one, so you can change that if you would like. ssds are solid state drives, they are EXTREMELY fast, dont break nearly as easily, and are used for your os, and most important files. with a budget similar to yours, and ssd is optional, however a small one is always good. they are small, so you only put the things you want to load and boot super fast on them, like the os. and the i5 750 beats the amd 955 in gaming, i have the 955, i love it, but for some strange reason they are selling the 750 for cheaper than the 955. here, have a look:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/109?vs=88

as far as ram, 4 gigs is plenty, 6 gigs, IMO is the sweetspot, and 8 gigs is overkill. i have 8 gigs, i think the most ive every used is 50% of it, and i do some serious multitasking. good, fast 4 gigs is plenty for gaming. i also added in a gtx 460 1 gig. imo, its better value that the 5870, and it gives more or less 5850 performance, about 5% less. however, its also a lot cheaper, quieter, less energy, cooler, and so on, therefore, IMO, making it the better buy. however, if you really feel like u need more performance, go with the 5870. what resolution is your monitor, and what games do you play?

well my plan is to hook my pc up to my 42inch 1080P flatscreen. I am currently trying to get this pc setup to play Final Fantasy 14 here in september.

delete this post. My bad, i was looking at wrong setup. your setup has me at $1500, hmm so you really think i should have no issues with any of this for 4 years. I will be good to play for that long?

uhmmm, the build i linked was $1337...  

o, nvmd, yeah, about 1500 if u do the other ssd and stuff. and at 1080p, nah, not really. the 5870 is gonna be more powerful, the 460 is a bit more future proof, due to tesselation. good thing about the 460 is its much cheaper to add a second card, they are extremely overclockable, and dont use much power. 2 460s in sli cost roughly the same as 1 5870.

hmm, i wonder what i still have wrong then cause mine is at 1486 to be exact, well the 80gb is more then teh 64 kingston, that could be difference

But you would definitely say that a SSD is better then raid 0 1Tb 7200 rpm 64m 6.0gb/s dirves

Ya but the 5870 has me ya up there in price with a SSD drive and a regular 1 tb drive. Only way that was affordable in my setup was with just the 1 TB 64m 7200rpm 6.0gb/s. So is that acceptable? now that you know my total setup ( i appoligize for not mentioning that upfront) would you mind redoing a setup on ibuypower for best overall performance and future proof that keeps atleast under $1500 or even $1350-1400 if possible? Thanks again for help Ares

see what it does to the raptor? yeah, im pretty sure   although, if it were up to me, i would get an ocz ssd, they are generally the fastest.

wow raptor is dead, jesus that set up is out lol!

yeah, raptors cost about as much as an ssd, but those drives can only spin so fast. however, with ssds u get a lot less space for a lot more money, however prices are dropping. in my opinion, this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

is the best ssd for the money, as it goes at speed of 285Mb/s read, 275 Mb/s write, and the intel does 250 Mb/s read, and 70 Mb/s write. the ocz also has a better price per gig ratio. but i dont think they offer it.

At 64ish GB, an OCZ Agility 2 or Vertex 2 is the way to go. At 80 GB, Intel X25-M is about the only choice. At 120-128 GB, your options open up a lot, as the non-Sandforce controllers start to catch up.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2829 - Anandtech's SSD Relapse - slightly out-dated hardware recommendations, but an excellent article on understanding SSDs
http://techreport.com/articles.x/19162/1 - more recent overview of the market
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2010/07/08/ssd... - shorter overview of controllers with quick recommendations

in my build, instead of the intel 80 gig, try the corsair nova, thats faster, and should take the price down a bit.

the setup with the processor you suggested, the 1gb 5870, 4gb RAM, the 80gb intell ssd, and 1 TB sata, etc is 1558. that is $50 more then what i was hoping to spend, BUT how much difference would u say that setup vs just two raid 0 1 TB 7200 rpm, 64M and 6.0GB/s would be because that has me down to $1440. But if it is noticably much better and well worth the $110, i can do that you i just dont want to spend and not have noticed or seen the difference ya know

hmm ok, that did help. Is there any reason you didnt want the 1 TB 64M 6.0gb/s. you chose the 16m 3.0. Is the performance not noticable? cause for only $33 it seems like cheap upgrade. By the way, i really appreciate the insight

No 7200 rpm hard drive can even max out 3 Gb/s right now, much less 6 Gb/s. There's no reason to get that Western Digital drive right now, unless you have a serious aversion to either saving money, or other brands.

Velociraptors can sometimes burst above 3 Gb/s, but not for long periods. Some SSDs can sustain speeds that would make use of 6 Gb/s, but most are still not there yet.

right, no platter hdd can come close on a regular basis, and most ssds arent even there yet, but they are getting pretty close.

Ahh ok. hmm. lots to think about. Well i am not buying one for about 2-3months i am just trying to narrow down choice and prices to save up for and i greatly appreciate all the help.

AHAHAHA, 2-3 months??? thats way to far, by then a lot will change, new hdds, cheaper ssds, maybe sandy bridge (doubt it) gtx 475, loads of stuff.

hmm so if just look at spending $1400-1500 i should be able to piece together a really nice gaming pc that will last atleast 4 years-5 years? I would just look to similar pieces at current quality/price that was in the current build you made that was like 1500.

depending on when you buy it, yeah, pretty much. it wont be able to max out crysis 4, but it will be good. u can always overclock and add a second gtx 460 to it. although i do recommend building it yourself.

well, i am not so knowledgable in doing all that myself. i hate to spend $1500 on it and not do it right and break something ya know lol. I have heard hardest thing is Processor and heat sink.. but still. HOwever, if i did decide to figure it out. Where would you guys recommend buying parts and stuff from? I live in FL if that matters. How much do you think i could get the setup you came up with if i put it together myself, out of curiosity.

newegg all the way. best by far.

If you put it together yourself, you can either:
a) get better quality hardware/build for about the same price as an ibuypower build
b) depending on the build, spend anywhere from $100-300 less for the same quality

If you build on your own, generally the best prices & combo deals are found at newegg.com. At times, other retailers will be cheaper on specific parts, but on average, newegg will be the least expensive. They also have very good customer service. (Not that others don't as well.)

You certainly don't have to build your own if you don't want to, and you can take the recommendations given and attempt to apply them to a pre-built, but it's not always going to fit quite right. The reason regulars on this forum aren't usually interested in pre-built computers is because typically those businesses cut corners on some of the less-visible parts, such as the power supply, RAM, and hard drives. This doesn't make them bad people, but it does mean that the parts may not be as good as if you bought them yourself and built the computer on your own.

Now i am not clueless obviously, but most i have done is changed RAM and video card. If i were to build it up, how long would you say it would take to put everything together? just curious if it is a few hour thing or few day thing to do properly.

it takes me a hour- three hours depending on the build, it isnt very hard. 24 pins go into 24 wholes, blue goes into blue, its pretty easy.

3-4 hours, to be up and running, depending on how much you've prepared ahead of time (reading the motherboard manual, etc.).

If you've changed RAM & video cards, you can definitely set up an entire computer on your own. The CPU & HSF can be a little tricky, but it's not too much more complex than RAM/GPU. Just go slow, don't force anything that doesn't seem to work (take it out and double-check that it's supposed to go there).

cpu and hsf are actually pretty easy, match up the triangles, figure out the push pin sliding locking thingy for the hsf, and lock it in. aswell as applying thermal paste.

well if i am completely building myself i know i will need to install Windows 7 64bit myself. Is there anything other programming or updating or anything i need to do on any other parts? Also, are there kits that say everything needed? like i dont know if i am buying screws for mounting, and washers and all. LIke how small down in parts am i buying cause i dont know every little part to buy in a pc lol

ill give you a list of parts, it would have everything. and the only other software you would need is anything u want, like games and microsoft office.

Thank you ares, if you have free time or bored, i would love a build that you would get if you had the $1500 to spend and put together your self. If not, thats obviously cool because you have helped me out so much. Just would good to have something to compare best i can get now to know what to look for then when i buy it.

About the only thing you need is a small screwdriver.

The motherboard & case should come with enough screws & cables for everything you need for a basic build. You should only have to start buying cables if you are throwing in like 4 hard drives.

Wow, that setup does sound sweet. All of those parts come with all the screws i need to install everything?

yep, that comes with everything you would need.

Best answer selected by chance06.

cool. thanks for all the help ares.

sure thing. just keep in mind that as with anything, theres always the possiblity of malfunction, and a part arriving dead, or you killing it. btw, if you have a microcenter nearby, u can get the i7 for 80$ off.