Building high-end computer with $2000-$2500 budget.

[Maddogg218]

About a month or so ago I made the same topic. I got some good advice, and now that I'm actually getting the money soon I'd like all your opinions on what parts to get again (As I know, technology moves fast).

The keyboard, mouse, subwoofer,speakers and possibly the CD/DVD drives will probably be salvaged from my current computer. The monitor i'm looking to get is a Dell 2405FPW (What good is l33t graphics if you dont have a monster resolution to see them on?).

I'm pretty new to building computers, so I'm probably getting my brother's co-worker to help me build it.

This is definitly going to be a computer built for gaming.

P.S. I know I dont need nearly that amount of money to make a high-end computer, however that is how much I want to spend.

 

[Kaido]

If you want to go an easy route, buy a Dell then add in aftermarket parts. You can get a nice dual-core Pentium at 2.8ghz with a 24" 2405fpw for a pretty good price, then add in a couple gigs of Corsair ValueRam at $70 a pop, a nice video card, and a Raptor 150 to really make the system scream. However, if you want a really sick computer, I'd advise going with an Athlon. More build work, but a better product in the end. The 24" monitor will automatically take away $800 from your budget.

 

[sygyzy]

I am sorry, what is your question?

 

[Bobthelost]

Gaming eh?

2x 7900GTX in SLI ~ $1000
Opteron 170 ~ $350
A8N32 ~ $200
2GB PC 500 $200
Raptor 150 $300
600W Enermax liberty PSU (other brands are possible, hell get a PCP&C if you like the sound of vacumecleaners!) ~$150

There, a mere ~$2200 or so! But it's hard to beat that for gaming.

Edited to correct pricing.

Additional bits include: Either good headphones ($100) or good speakers ($300+) and an XFI of some sort ($lots)

 

[Howard]

What speakers are you using?

Are you willing to overclock?

What are the noise requirements?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

if you dont know much about computers then what would u do with the high end parts? would u even know how to config the settings to optimize your system? cuz it'd be pointless to have crossfire 1900xtx's if you dont even know what aa & af is. do some homework first before u spend 2.5k

 

[Maddogg218]

I should of been more specific, im new to hardware. I know what anti-aliasing and antiwhatsitcaleld filtering. Things dealing with software I can deal with.

As for noise, quiet as possible.

Overclocking I see myself turning my computer into a blaze of wasted money.

Speakers are some generic ones that came with the Dell I have now.

As for my question, I said "I'd like all your opinions on what parts to get again"

 

[Maddogg218]

Oh now I remember, Anisotropic Filtering

 

[LittleNemoNES]

Opteron 170 is NOT $300...I wish!

Just got mine for a low $365

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Maddogg218
I should of been more specific, im new to hardware. I know what anti-aliasing and antiwhatsitcaleld filtering. Things dealing with software I can deal with.

As for noise, quiet as possible.

Overclocking I see myself turning my computer into a blaze of wasted money.

Speakers are some generic ones that came with the Dell I have now.

As for my question, I said "I'd like all your opinions on what parts to get again"

Burning parts has never been a valid concern when safely overclocking. Where did you get this idea?

 

[Throwmeabone]

Originally posted by: Maddogg218
I should of been more specific, im new to hardware. I know what anti-aliasing and antiwhatsitcaleld filtering. Things dealing with software I can deal with.

As for noise, quiet as possible.

Overclocking I see myself turning my computer into a blaze of wasted money.

Speakers are some generic ones that came with the Dell I have now.

As for my question, I said "I'd like all your opinions on what parts to get again"

Gross. Get rid of those ****** speakers and get some nice ones. Make room in your budget for a nice keyboard and mouse too, those are what you interact with when you use the computer so you want them to be nice.

 

[Tig Ol Bitties]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
Gaming eh?

2x 7900GTX in SLI ~ $1000
Opteron 170 ~ $300
A8N32 ~ $200
2GB PC 500 $200
Raptor 150 $300
600W Enermax liberty PSU (other brands are possible, hell get a PCP&C if you like the sound of vacumecleaners!) ~$150

There, a mere ~$2150 or so! But it's hard to beat that for gaming.

Nice Rig recommendation, Id be stoked with that :thumbsup:

Add a stacker 830 case and maybe a water cooling kit, and you'd be set for years.

 

[JEDIYoda]

600W Enermax liberty PSU (other brands are possible, hell get a PCP&C if you like the sound of vacumecleaners!) ~$150

There is no truth to that statement.....hell get a PCP&C if you like the sound of vacumecleaners

Just ask those of us who have the PC Power & Cooling PSU`s....
Also its fairly common knowledge now that the newer PC Power & Cooling PSU`s have for lack of a better word a sensor or a fan speed regulator that adjusts the fan speed according to the temperature inside the PSU......thus you don`t get your fan spinning at max rpm`s 24/7.
Also I have been told if you own one of the older PC Power & Cooling PSU you can return rgw PSU and for a nominal fee thewy will add the sensor to your PSU......

Also I have never ever read a bad review of a PC Power & Cooling PSU!!

But what needs to understood is they are essentially an industrial PSU.
Also I am told at present time they are back logged due to keeping up bulk orders by other companies!

Some people give PC Power & Cooling a bad rap but lets be realistic.....noise isn`t an issue for most industrial uses and or otyher uses such as hospitals and such.
I just bought my 2nd PC Power & Cooling PSU about 3 months ago and it is quieter than the first one I bought!

Then people complain about the price.....again its the people who don`t or have never or can`t afford to own one who complain.

The analogy is why use a PC Power & Cooling PSU when a simple Fortron or Enermax ,,etc...will do?

Well lets see....why drive a SUV to work when a simple 2 door KIA will do???

Same analogy......same responses....

So the bottom line is to each his own.

Then you have people like BobtheLost who has never owned a PC Power & Cooling PSU so he actually knows nothing more than what he reads about a noise issue!!

You might even say his harping is starting to sound like a vacuum cleaner!!

Have a nice day!!

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
Gaming eh?

2x 7900GTX in SLI ~ $1000
Opteron 170 ~ $300
A8N32 ~ $200
2GB PC 500 $200
Raptor 150 $300
600W Enermax liberty PSU (other brands are possible, hell get a PCP&C if you like the sound of vacumecleaners!) ~$150

There, a mere ~$2150 or so! But it's hard to beat that for gaming.

perfect


OP, you yourself mentioned that time goes by fast in the computer industry so it's changed a bit compared to last month...if you know this, why are you spending all your money on this one build? why not spend $1700 and upgrade with the remaining $800 in a year?

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Maddogg218
I should of been more specific, im new to hardware. I know what anti-aliasing and antiwhatsitcaleld filtering. Things dealing with software I can deal with.

As for noise, quiet as possible.

Overclocking I see myself turning my computer into a blaze of wasted money.

Speakers are some generic ones that came with the Dell I have now.

As for my question, I said "I'd like all your opinions on what parts to get again"

Spend most of your money where the return on investment will be highest. CPUs and video cards become outdated in a very short period compared to things like monitors, mice, keyboards, and speakers.

Seriously, get yourself a nice PC sound system (discrete sound card, amplifier + headphones/receiver + speakers). What monitor are you using right now? If you've got your heart set on the 2405FPW, you'd have to spend over $1000 on video cards alone to be able to play at decent frame rates at its native resolution.

EDIT: The 2405FPW has a function that allows you play at smaller-than-native resolutions at no loss of quality due to stretching, but you do have to deal with black bars, like on certain TVs playing movies.

 

[Maddogg218]

Make room in your budget for a nice keyboard and mouse too, those are what you interact with when you use the computer so you want them to be nice.

Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard ( I cream my pants over LCD screens) and Razor Diamondback mouse.

Speakers, while I may do a small upgrade, due to other people being in this room with a massive stereo set, I dont see a big need to go over-the-top with the sound system.

Video card/dual video cards are kind of top priority. And I really would like that 24" monitor.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
if you dont know much about computers then what would u do with the high end parts? would u even know how to config the settings to optimize your system? cuz it'd be pointless to have crossfire 1900xtx's if you dont even know what aa & af is. do some homework first before u spend 2.5k

QFT

 

[Maddogg218]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
Gaming eh?

2x 7900GTX in SLI ~ $1000
Opteron 170 ~ $350
A8N32 ~ $200
2GB PC 500 $200
Raptor 150 $300
600W Enermax liberty PSU (other brands are possible, hell get a PCP&C if you like the sound of vacumecleaners!) ~$150

There, a mere ~$2200 or so! But it's hard to beat that for gaming.

Edited to correct pricing.

Additional bits include: Either good headphones ($100) or good speakers ($300+) and an XFI of some sort ($lots)

That sounds good and all, but it doesnt facotr in the $800 monitor I want.

 

[Maddogg218]

 

[LOUISSSSS]

yea, get the 7900gtx in sli, it wont be a waste of money at all

 

[letsgetsilly]

It would be a disaster to spend that much money on a computer system and have bad speakers. Just get a simple 2.1 system AT LEAST. Trust me, it makes gaming so much richer.

I agree with advice on investing in the components will retain their value: Monitor, Speakers, Keyboard + Mouse. If anything, save a little money on your processor, HD, sound card, get a good video card non-sli, that's ridiculous. Save your money and upgrade again in 6-8 months if you must and pawn your last one.

Sooner or later (probably sooner) cards will be coming out that will out perform those 7900gts in SLI, and you'll feel sick having dropped $600 now, that's crazy.

 

[Howard]

I strongly urge you to settle for mid-range gaming performance in exchange for a one-time purchase of things you'll enjoy for many, many product cycles. Get a decent system for now with open upgrading options and get an awesome mouse, mousepad, and speakers (or headphones). If you listen to music at all (not including 128kbps-encoded MP3s) you'll wonder why you ever waited so long to get something decent to listen to music with.

I'm hesitant to suggest a system that can be upgraded at minimal cost in the future, because Conroe is coming out later this year and we have no idea what the next graphics performance leader will be (for the nonce, the 7900GTX and the X1900XTX are neck and neck, with the slight edge going to the 7900GTX). However, you can just wait until the next thing comes out and the 7900GTX and the X1900XTX drop in price.

I'll put something here later tomorrow...

 

[Cooler]

Originally posted by: Howard
I strongly urge you to settle for mid-range gaming performance in exchange for a one-time purchase of things you'll enjoy for many, many product cycles. Get a decent system for now with open upgrading options and get an awesome mouse, mousepad, and speakers (or headphones). If you listen to music at all (not including 128kbps-encoded MP3s) you'll wonder why you ever waited so long to get something decent to listen to music with.

I'm hesitant to suggest a system that can be upgraded at minimal cost in the future, because Conroe is coming out later this year and we have no idea what the next graphics performance leader will be (for the nonce, the 7900GTX and the X1900XTX are neck and neck, with the slight edge going to the 7900GTX). However, you can just wait until the next thing comes out and the 7900GTX and the X1900XTX drop in price.

I'll put something here later tomorrow...

Agreed if you can wait ~6 months then i would because if the current bench marks stands Intel will regain the gamming crown. And geting a CPU now that could be beaten as much as 40% in less then 6ths months is somthing you may regret later.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: Cooler

Originally posted by: Howard
I strongly urge you to settle for mid-range gaming performance in exchange for a one-time purchase of things you'll enjoy for many, many product cycles. Get a decent system for now with open upgrading options and get an awesome mouse, mousepad, and speakers (or headphones). If you listen to music at all (not including 128kbps-encoded MP3s) you'll wonder why you ever waited so long to get something decent to listen to music with.

I'm hesitant to suggest a system that can be upgraded at minimal cost in the future, because Conroe is coming out later this year and we have no idea what the next graphics performance leader will be (for the nonce, the 7900GTX and the X1900XTX are neck and neck, with the slight edge going to the 7900GTX). However, you can just wait until the next thing comes out and the 7900GTX and the X1900XTX drop in price.

I'll put something here later tomorrow...

Agreed if you can wait ~6 months then i would because if the current bench marks stands Intel will regain the gamming crown. And geting a CPU now that could be beaten as much as 40% in less then 6ths months is somthing you may regret later.

considering that the cpus of today, especially the higher end dcs, are more than adequate for gaming and just about every other aspect of computing (encoding they could use a boost, not sure how much encoding the op does) and the gpu is the weaker portion, i would wait, if you can to see what conroe will do to amds pricing. hell if amd drops their dcs, both x2s and optys down because the conroe is cheaper or equal in pricing but better performance and amd is risking losing market share we all win i know you will be running a higher resolution than i do, but with my P4 2.8C, opty 144 @ stock and opty 144 @ 2.5GHz bf2 looks the same on all. sure a benchmark tells me there is a difference but my eye can't see it since it is over 40fps in all cases.

in 6mos you may be able to build uber high machine of today for ~$1000. just something to think about. and just my .02