To cross fire, or not to cross fire in a ibuypower...

[yodii777]

Dear Sirs or Madams,
I love this forum because because I almost always get the help i need when I am stuck on something, so let me first thank all the members, and in particular any member who choose to help me in my current conundrum. Very soon I intend to purchase a custom machine from iBuypower. I have picked the LAN Warrior ii. I am set upon having the AMD 1100t black edition cpu. My overall goal is to purchase the most important components and up front and then over the course of the 5 and a half months upgrade it to the specs I need. This has left me at some what of a impasse as to what else to get. I need to keep it to $1200. My purpose for the machine is serious 3D modeling and animation, that means rendering a lot of 3d max. Also I work with XNA trying, if not very successfully at the moment, to make serious games for the Xbox 360 and windows mobile. Therefore i need to be able to debug ooc visual c#/c programs and have the results display in real time at resolutions at or above 720p. I also run Ubuntu for a few projects. Finally I game a lot so i want a system that will stun in that area for a while. My problem and question is this: I will have to work with what ever i get now for few months so considering my needs and the fact I want this to eventually upgrade this machine to the max, should I do a cross fired gpu configuration? I don't have the space for more than one monitor, and I'm not sure beyond the gaming benefits what 2 cross fire cards would do for me. I understand that in games cross fire cards will render alternative frames and increase overall quality significantly. I have been told however that that doesn't necessarily transfer to other apps, in essence its a bunch a hoop la and one card will do unless(and in fact even if) I want a to run 2 or more monitors. It makes big difference in the price and the amount of ram I can buy at first, 8 gigs as apposed to 16... I am looking at all cards between the ati 5770 and 6870, and any permutation of cross fire thereof. I hope that helps clarify. Opinions, facts, experiences with ati crossfire and ibuypower whole heartily welcome.
cheers and thanks
S.C.A.

 

[Deleted member 362816]

I think i may be wrong but bulldozer is supposed to release in june or so i would really wait for that.

Well for what it matters ibuypower and cyberpower are right across from each other lol and they have the same support team unless those peoples names "daniel lee" are that common. for 1200$ if you took some time read some guides and built your own you will get alot more and be happier since you can get on sale times.

 

[borisof007]

If you're doing 3d modeling and animation, aren't you going to want ATI's Firepro cards?

 

[jjb8675309]

yeah and furthermore you will get way more for your money if you build it yourself, if you know how to program, I'm sure you could assemble a rig, also I agree, I would wait for a bulldozer build or go for a sandy/ivy bridge build, especially with your budget...

 

[yodii777]

"yeah and furthermore you will get way more for your money if you build it yourself, if you know how to program, I'm sure you could assemble a rig, also I agree, I would wait for a bulldozer build or go for a sandy/ivy bridge build, especially with your budget..."
-jjb8675309

"...if you took some time read some guides and built your own you will get alot more and be happier since you can get on sale times."
-cia24

Thanks, for the replies. I have a few issues with my hands from a medication I took a long time ago, it makes assembling things a bit frustrating. However within the last few years with the help of a Dvorak key mapping, and learning to program, i have improved both the dexterity, and the coordination in my fingers.
So I the suggestion to build my own rig is one I will seriously consider.
A few of my friends have bought nice rigs from iBuypower, and the machines have been really sound for them. That is the reason I chose to investigate; iBuypower, Cyberpower, Newegg, Tiger Direct, Digital Storm, Micro Center and a few other online and physical stores. I read a few forums on CPU's and decided that at my budget, and because I like AMD, a x6 would be my CPU choice. From there, after comparison shopping, and with considerations of my friend's praise of iBuypower, I picked the LAN warrior II.
I am a senior mechanical engineering and mathematics, double major. When i started programing, it was with matlab, then mathimatica, then c++, and visual basic just recently. It's funny, but I didn't know I wanted to make games until recently when I took a 3D design class. In the middle of it i was playing through Mass Effect 2, and Gears of War 2, and it just hit me like a ton of bricks. Now, I most of the way through two degrees that don't have a ton to do with what I am dead set on pursuing as a career lol, but i am soldiering on any way.
Suffice it to say I have been working on a beefy laptop for two semesters now, and am ready to get a desktop that can have enough hp to double as a poor-mans workstation. I don't have a lot of space in my office, so the mid tower LAN warrior II (http://www.ibuypower.com/Info/lan-warrior-2.aspx) really appealed to me. I hear what every one is saying about building your own rig, and I am definitely gonna look into that, but I really think that having it built for me, while 1 to possibly 3 hundred dollars more expensive, may actually be better for me considering my disability with my hands... Any other thoughts, comments, or feed back welcome and always appreciated.
Cheers and thanks,
S.C.A.

 

[Supermuncher85]

Although I don't usually say "wait" in this case I would. Bulldozer is literally a month away.

 

[yodii777]

Best answer selected by yodii777.