I've been wanting to do a custom build for a few years now but my budget hasn't been cooperating, Finally I see some light and after doing tons of research it looks like it is a good year to have the extra money with the great memory prices and all the new hardware that is either out or coming soon. My problem is I am having a real hard time narrowing down my build and I thought some good advice might help. I feel a long post coming on and I apologize in advance for that, but I figure the more you know about my needs the more you might be able to help me.
I like to call myself a gamer, however my system now and past systems say otherwise. I tend to struggle a bit financially and my computer upgrades have always been whatever I can do to "get by" (in particular my graphics cards). Although I must admit my computer knowledge is a lot higher now then it has been in the past and I can never see myself settling for a quick run to Staples to buy the laughable Radeon x300se. As you can imagine my graphics settings are quite low in nearly all semi-new to new games to be able to play at a decent framerate. It's at the point now where I can't even try the best games on the market right now. Thank god for my xbox 360. Which brings me to my first dilemna- my monitor.
When I do my build, I am planning on upgrading to a 24" monitor for a couple of reasons. 1. I like the idea of having a native 1080p resolution since my xbox will be connected to it as well. 2. I am currently in school for programming and web design and I am thinking the extra real estate will come in handy as I get farther along. I am currently on a 19" running at 1280 x 1024. I am not completely sold on the 24" but am almost positive I want at least a 22" so any advice you can spare here might be useful to me. I know this is not the "monitor section" of the forums, but it certainly falls hand in hand with my main concern- graphics card(s)
Taking into consideration my present and past computers, I know just about anything out there would be a HUGE upgrade for me and could easily put a smile on my face with even the 8600gt(although not an option I am considering). My main concern is the 1920 x 1200 resolution and what will truly make me happy after the initial bliss of just having a good system wears off. Also while my budget may be a little looser now while my school is paid for, that may not be the case after a year or two so I am a little scared of an SLI setup. I am willing to spend approx 1500$us and assuming I go with good memory, Processor, and motherboard, what gpu setups would you suggest and why? I am currently considering the 8800gt512, 8800gt 512 SLI, 9600gt, 9600gt SLI, and the 8800 gts(g92). Excluding Crysis, I would love to have most of the eye candy and will probably stick exclusively to EVGA cards so I can step up if the 9800 series is viable from a price performance standpoint. Here is a general idea of what kind of setup I am looking into now so you can chime in on the "off topic" parts if you see something that you might want to add feedback too.
Case - antec900
PSU- depends on GPU setup
CPU- 3.0ghz Wolfdale E8400
memory- Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
perhaps 4gb, still trying to decide on the 64bit os or not. Also due to the lack of reviews for the DDR2 1066(PC2 8500) I havent decided if this may be better for me to utilize the higher FSB I can probably achieve with my board and processor
mainboard- suggestions for a single gpu solution would be welcome otherwise probably the 680i or 780ichipset
I have some experience OC'n although I am hardly an expert. I am comfortable doing the research though so OC'n is certainly an option.
With all this said, I would certainly be grateful for any qualified advice. Thank you in advance =)
edit: the 1500$ budget is a rough estimate and does not include the monitor
I like to call myself a gamer, however my system now and past systems say otherwise. I tend to struggle a bit financially and my computer upgrades have always been whatever I can do to "get by" (in particular my graphics cards). Although I must admit my computer knowledge is a lot higher now then it has been in the past and I can never see myself settling for a quick run to Staples to buy the laughable Radeon x300se. As you can imagine my graphics settings are quite low in nearly all semi-new to new games to be able to play at a decent framerate. It's at the point now where I can't even try the best games on the market right now. Thank god for my xbox 360. Which brings me to my first dilemna- my monitor.
When I do my build, I am planning on upgrading to a 24" monitor for a couple of reasons. 1. I like the idea of having a native 1080p resolution since my xbox will be connected to it as well. 2. I am currently in school for programming and web design and I am thinking the extra real estate will come in handy as I get farther along. I am currently on a 19" running at 1280 x 1024. I am not completely sold on the 24" but am almost positive I want at least a 22" so any advice you can spare here might be useful to me. I know this is not the "monitor section" of the forums, but it certainly falls hand in hand with my main concern- graphics card(s)
Taking into consideration my present and past computers, I know just about anything out there would be a HUGE upgrade for me and could easily put a smile on my face with even the 8600gt(although not an option I am considering). My main concern is the 1920 x 1200 resolution and what will truly make me happy after the initial bliss of just having a good system wears off. Also while my budget may be a little looser now while my school is paid for, that may not be the case after a year or two so I am a little scared of an SLI setup. I am willing to spend approx 1500$us and assuming I go with good memory, Processor, and motherboard, what gpu setups would you suggest and why? I am currently considering the 8800gt512, 8800gt 512 SLI, 9600gt, 9600gt SLI, and the 8800 gts(g92). Excluding Crysis, I would love to have most of the eye candy and will probably stick exclusively to EVGA cards so I can step up if the 9800 series is viable from a price performance standpoint. Here is a general idea of what kind of setup I am looking into now so you can chime in on the "off topic" parts if you see something that you might want to add feedback too.
Case - antec900
PSU- depends on GPU setup
CPU- 3.0ghz Wolfdale E8400
memory- Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
perhaps 4gb, still trying to decide on the 64bit os or not. Also due to the lack of reviews for the DDR2 1066(PC2 8500) I havent decided if this may be better for me to utilize the higher FSB I can probably achieve with my board and processor
mainboard- suggestions for a single gpu solution would be welcome otherwise probably the 680i or 780ichipset
I have some experience OC'n although I am hardly an expert. I am comfortable doing the research though so OC'n is certainly an option.
With all this said, I would certainly be grateful for any qualified advice. Thank you in advance =)
edit: the 1500$ budget is a rough estimate and does not include the monitor
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