Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: by end of year (to take advantage of Black Friday sales)
Budget Range: Around $1500 or less
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Creative Suites 6, Photo editing, some gaming. I also run Virtual Machines and multitask .
Are you buying a monitor: I will be using the dual monitors I already have
Do you need to buy OS: Yes, Windows 7 Home Premium (can use my student discount for this)
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, amazon.com, have CDW, Tiger, and MicroCenter locations in the area
Location: City, State/Region, Country - Antioch IL US (near the Wisconsin border)
Parts Preferences: by brand or type: prefer Intel Processors, and Nvida video cards due to past issues with ATI/AMD products
Overclocking: No
SLI or Crossfire: No
Your Monitor Resolution: 1440x900 on both monitors
Additional Comments: Creative Suites 6, Virtual Machines, I play games, but not high-end online games, the most I would get is the upcoming new version of SimCity
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I have no real issues with my current computer, but I cannot find one that meets my needs and wants currently on the market. Want to have room to upgrade if needed later on.
Processor:
Intel Core i7-3770S Quad-Core Processor 3.1 GHz 8 MB Cache LGA 1155 - BX80637I73770S
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-3770S-Quad-Core-Processo...
The pros and cons of going with an i5 processor?
Graphics Card:
EVGA GeForce GTX670 FTW 2048MB GDDR5 256bit, Dual Dual-Link DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, 4-Way SLI Ready Graphics Card Graphics Cards 02G-P4-2678-KR
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Dual-Link-DisplayPort-Graphi...
I have dual montiors that both connect to HDMI. Since there are no dual HDMI cards, I use an adapter to use the DVI for one of them. I have found that dual DVI + HDMI is configured better to allow for the adapter.
Motherboard:
ASUS P8Z77-V LX LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-P8Z77-V-LX-Intel-Motherboard...
Memory:
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10)
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-Desktop-Memory-...
Power Supply:
Raidmax 850W 80 Plus Gold ATX12V/EPS12V Active PFC Power Supply RX-850AE
http://www.amazon.com/Raidmax-ATX12V-EPS12V-Active-RX-8...
Fan:
Raidmax 850W 80 Plus Gold ATX12V/EPS12V Active PFC Power Supply RX-850AE
http://www.amazon.com/Raidmax-ATX12V-EPS12V-Active-RX-8...
Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Internal Desktop Hard Drive Bulk/OEM - WD1002FAEX
http://www.amazon.com/Raidmax-ATX12V-EPS12V-Active-RX-8...
SSD:
SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5-Inch 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7PC128B/WW
http://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7PC1...
DVD:
Asus 24xDVD-RW Serial ATA Internal OEM Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black)
http://www.amazon.com/Asus-24xDVD-RW-Serial-Internal-DR...
Case:
Cooler Master HAF 912 - Mid Tower Computer Case with High Airflow Design (RC-912-KKN1)
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-HAF-912-RC-912-KKN1...