Regular Here wants help with system for a buddy $3500

vibhas

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Hey, my buddy from a game's got a massive budget, and I'd like people to give suggestions for the build i've gotten here:

Approximate Purchase Date: Within 1 month.

Budget Range: Before rebates: 3,500$

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Watching Movies, Surfing the net.

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts:
newegg.com
http://stores.tomshardware.com/home_comp.php

Country of Origin: United States.

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: No preference I would just like a great computer that can play crysis/crysis 2 on good settings.

Overclocking: Maybe: If it shortens the computer life I wouldn't want it, although if it doesn't really matter I wouldn't mind having an overclocked pc for better gaming.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe: if it increases gaming performance I wouldn't mind having it.

Monitor Resolution: Any, if possible I would like to have dual monitors.

Additional Comments: LED lights, sound doesn't bother me, would love red or blue lights on the computer and also pc linked to tv monitor or a second pc monitor would be nice i've never had it and would love it.


Processor & Memory (COMBO): http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.623054 i7 2600k and 2x4gb of patriot viper xtreme series. $368AR, plus free game.

Other option for memory: 2x $30 1600MHZ corsair vengeance ($60 total for 8gb)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145348 and get a $20 off combo deal for the graphics+processor.

Motherboard and HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128478 UD4+ samsung spinpoint. $220

SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148349
$485 for 256GB. Might consider OCZ vertex 3 ($40more).


Graphics: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125364
Overclocked gigabyte GTX 580 cards. $980 for 2.


Monitors x2: http://www.frys.com/product/6417522?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
$800 for 2.

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371050
$110. Quality, 9.5 on jonnyguru. 900W should easily suffice with headroom for SLI 580.

Optical Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
$21. Maybe BD if he wants.

OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
W7 $100

Case and FANS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112253
Quality Lian Li case, nice LED blue fans that he likes. $200

Coolant: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118075
$80

Total: 3393.88 before rebates and shipping (with a $30 rebate card).
Overclocked GTX 580's, 2 top of the line 24" monitors, 256GB SSD, 8gb of 1600MHZ CAS8 RAM and the best gaming processor with a 9.5/10 psu, powered by windows 7 HP 64bit.

Yes, i'm a regular here so i know about the $2000~ and reinvest blah blah blah rule. But this guy wants the best and is prepared to pay for it. He already has an i7 930 so keeps up to date with new tech. (He wanted an i7 980X, and was prepared to go to $4000 for it).
 
Solution
Thanks to Toms we all now know that paying extra for the NF 200 boards is a total hose job, so with that knowledge let's go for looks and performance.

Colors that match...black ftw with hints of red. Let's give this sucka a mean look. grrrr

Dual factory over clocked gtx 580's in SLI...these ones have great cooling and can be pushed even more. That red LED Zalman cpu h/s is ranked in the top 10 on Frosty Tech, 1866 RAM that matches that board...and btw that board has great spacing. 256GB SATA III SSD, top of the line fully modular Enermax psu, and the #1 gaming monitor out there atm.... LED 120mhz 2ms Nvidia 3D BenQ.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225 $189.99 - $179.99 after mail-in rebate FREE...
Thanks to Toms we all now know that paying extra for the NF 200 boards is a total hose job, so with that knowledge let's go for looks and performance.

Colors that match...black ftw with hints of red. Let's give this sucka a mean look. grrrr

Dual factory over clocked gtx 580's in SLI...these ones have great cooling and can be pushed even more. That red LED Zalman cpu h/s is ranked in the top 10 on Frosty Tech, 1866 RAM that matches that board...and btw that board has great spacing. 256GB SATA III SSD, top of the line fully modular Enermax psu, and the #1 gaming monitor out there atm.... LED 120mhz 2ms Nvidia 3D BenQ.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225 $189.99 - $179.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194081 $209.99
ENERMAX REVOLUTION85+ ERV1020EWT 1020W (Peak 1120W) ATX12V / EPS12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.632608 $284.98
GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD4-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070 $314.99 FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118075 $79.99 FREE SHIPPING
ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-R 135mm Long life bearing CPU Cooler Red LED

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148349 $484.99 FREE SHIPPING
Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533 $89.99 FREE SHIPPING
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125364 $489.99 FREE SHIPPING
GIGABYTE GV-N580UD-15I GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125364 $489.99 FREE SHIPPING
GIGABYTE GV-N580UD-15I GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 $20.99
ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 $99.99 FREE SHIPPING
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit English 1-Pack - OEM

http://www.frys.com/product/6417522?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG $399.99
BENQ XL2410T 23.6" LED Backlit Monitor (NVIDIA 3D Ready) 120Mhz 2ms gaming monitor

Total: $3,155.87 *not including shipping and mail in rebates

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PC-350-Collapsible-Microphone/dp/B0012XFDWO/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1303612524&sr=1-3 $179.95
Sennheiser PC 350 Collapsible Gaming Headset with Vol Control & Microphone Mute

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/noise-cancelling-headset-computer-gamer-headset-skype-voip_502141 <----- more info, specs, and pics of that headset

http://www.benq.us/products/product_detail.cfm?product=1775&pltag=49&ptag=104 <----- more on that monitor with all the specs, etc...

http://apcmag.com/first-look-the-benq-xl2410t-.htm <---- review on that monitor
 
Solution

vibhas

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Excellent, I'll update the rig, although I'm quite keen on keeping some things such as the HDD the same, the PSU (the enermax got 8.5 on jonny, reasonably high ripple brought it down) the same. Excellent find on the monitor.
 

vibhas

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any more help guys :)? This guy is keen to buy and just wants the best for his buck. Looks are important too
 

banthracis

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Looks are totally subjective, he's gonna have to decide exactly what he wants there. I mean, he can go all out and do MDPC-X sleeving, powdercoating, get a custom laser engraving on his side window, run a buncha LEDS everywhere...
Something like this for ex...
http://www.million-dollar-pc.com/systems-2009/murderbox/008/murderbox.htm
or this Lian Li
http://www.million-dollar-pc.com/systems-2010/pink-project-janik/037.htm

But yea, that's all up to him. We can't exactly tell him what he thinks looks good.

Couple changes I'd make is swap the PSU to a Corsair AX850, and go with 3 1080p IPS monitors instead of the 120hz ones, unless he specifically wants 3D gaming.
 

vibhas

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Yea, they bumped up the price of the 900W antec from 139 to 149, and took away the $30 rebate, so its $149 now instead of $110 (Where it was a steal considering the fact it got 9.5/10 at jonnyguru). I'm thinking of getting a diff power supply, but many of the parts really depend on whats going up that day tbh..
 

vibhas

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vibhas

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grimlan

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RAM to consider: G.Skill Ripjaws

1600mhz, cas latency 6, 6-8-6-24 timings. Vs that Corsair RAM you have listed you'd only get about a third of a frame increase. More for benchmarks and bragging rights but with this budget why not?

CPU: Keep what you got or i5 2500k is just as good.

Monitor to get: Alienware AW2310

I've read a few posts on some forums just doing a google search and it seems the Alienware wins vs the BenQ. If you check on Amazon the reviews for the BenQ aren't good either. There's a youtube too where the guy has both monitors and prefers the Alienware. The price fluctuates weekly from $400-$450 so be on the lookout if you decide to get it.

-I know he's not looking into keyboards but if you do go with that monitor consider this: Alienware TactX Keyboard

--Adjustable backlit LED colors and would look good with the monitor and a Alienware mouse pad, but it's overpriced and you could get a similar logitech one for cheaper just so you know.

SSD: Crucial RealSSD C300
Read - up to 355MB/sec
Write - up to 215MB/sec
MTBF - 1,200,000 hours
vs
OCZ Vertex 3
Read - up to 550 MB/s
Write - up to 525 MB/s
MTBF - 2,000,000 hours
Price - $65 more

Be sure to read the reviews for any possible issues that may concern you.

GPUs: GTX 580s 2way SLI

Casing to consider: COOLER MASTER HAF 922 BLUE

$100 cheaper than the case you have listed and has a lot more reviews, nearly all of which are good. And has a similiar blue lighting that your friend likes. It also comes in red if he prefers it (both are the exact same case just different lighting and one has a mesh side panel).

PSU: Do your research and make sure you get a quality unit; this is a piece you shouldn't worry about sacrificing a few extra bucks on for a good one.

Sound: If he's interested in headphones I've read nothing but good things for the Audio Technica AD-700s. If you ever have any questions about sound related topics ask at http://www.head-fi.org/


CPU Cooler: If your not overclocking you could find a good one for half of the price vs the one you have.

CPU Paste: Arctic Silver 5

Cheap solution to lower your CPU temp by a few degrees.


I recommend you check out the prices on Amazon as well, I've never had any problems purchasing from them.
 

grimlan

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Don't know if he purchased it already but just a heads up: Dell has a promotion going on where you can buy a $300 gift card and get a $50 gift card for free. You can't combine them on the same purchase however.