Hey all! My current system is a first gen Mac Pro, which I love. There are a bunch of games on the horizon that I'd like to play - The Old Republic, Diablo III chief among them. Taking everything else into account, I decided to keep my current Mac Pro as-is rather than flashing a PC card for use with these upcoming titles, and put myself in a decent upgrade position going forward. My plan is to keep the Mac Pro for general use, and spin up this PC whenever I feel like playing something.
This will be my first PC build, I've worked with Macs for years but have been out of the PC scene for so long that I was a bit lost coming back and looking over all my options. I was looking at the Ars Technica System Guide for guidance, but that is a bit outdated by now.
Approximate Purchase Date: Between now and early January - will be doing this as a gift to myself for Christmas.
Budget Range: $1000-$1200
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming. I'll be keeping my current Mac Pro for everything else.
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse (though I'm open to suggestions for a nice gaming mouse, I'm using a Logitech MX Rev for general use at the moment). I have a decent set of analog speakers, so as long as the mobo supports that I should be good.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: this is my first build, so I don't have much of a preference. I've ordered from Newegg before, and I like and trust them, but am willing to go to any reputable reseller. I suppose anyplace with a decent RMA process in case things go pear-shaped is fine.
Country: United States
Parts Preferences: About the only thing I am really leaning one way or the other on is that I'd like to use an Intel processor. I've read that an i7 over an i5 doesn't matter much for gaming, so whatever gets me the best bang for my buck.
Overclocking: Likely not at first, but perhaps down the line.
SLI or Crossfire: Again probably not at first, but it is something I am considering for down the line, unless a dual-GPU build gets me significantly better performance for the price than a single card build.
Monitor Resolution: My two current displays are a 24" DELL2407WFPHC and a 23" Apple Cinema display, both DVI. I'd like to run games at 1920x1200.
Additional Comments: My current Mac Pro is whisper quiet during general use. Given that I will keep that machine for general use, and only use this new build strictly for gaming, noise isn't too big a concern, so long as it doesn't drown out whatever game I'm playing. Given that I'm keeping both machines and plan on sharing the displays/speakers, recommendations for a good KVM switch that can also handle dual DVI monitors and analog input setups would be appreciated. They need not factor into the budget, I can go above to acquire these since they're not 'essential' - I can always swap cables manually until I can pick one up.
I'm aware that nothing lasts forever with regards to gaming, but a rig that will allow me to expand/upgrade for a few iterations would be welcome.
Thanks for your time, I welcome your suggestions.
This will be my first PC build, I've worked with Macs for years but have been out of the PC scene for so long that I was a bit lost coming back and looking over all my options. I was looking at the Ars Technica System Guide for guidance, but that is a bit outdated by now.
Approximate Purchase Date: Between now and early January - will be doing this as a gift to myself for Christmas.
Budget Range: $1000-$1200
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming. I'll be keeping my current Mac Pro for everything else.
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse (though I'm open to suggestions for a nice gaming mouse, I'm using a Logitech MX Rev for general use at the moment). I have a decent set of analog speakers, so as long as the mobo supports that I should be good.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: this is my first build, so I don't have much of a preference. I've ordered from Newegg before, and I like and trust them, but am willing to go to any reputable reseller. I suppose anyplace with a decent RMA process in case things go pear-shaped is fine.
Country: United States
Parts Preferences: About the only thing I am really leaning one way or the other on is that I'd like to use an Intel processor. I've read that an i7 over an i5 doesn't matter much for gaming, so whatever gets me the best bang for my buck.
Overclocking: Likely not at first, but perhaps down the line.
SLI or Crossfire: Again probably not at first, but it is something I am considering for down the line, unless a dual-GPU build gets me significantly better performance for the price than a single card build.
Monitor Resolution: My two current displays are a 24" DELL2407WFPHC and a 23" Apple Cinema display, both DVI. I'd like to run games at 1920x1200.
Additional Comments: My current Mac Pro is whisper quiet during general use. Given that I will keep that machine for general use, and only use this new build strictly for gaming, noise isn't too big a concern, so long as it doesn't drown out whatever game I'm playing. Given that I'm keeping both machines and plan on sharing the displays/speakers, recommendations for a good KVM switch that can also handle dual DVI monitors and analog input setups would be appreciated. They need not factor into the budget, I can go above to acquire these since they're not 'essential' - I can always swap cables manually until I can pick one up.
I'm aware that nothing lasts forever with regards to gaming, but a rig that will allow me to expand/upgrade for a few iterations would be welcome.
Thanks for your time, I welcome your suggestions.
Appreciate it!
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