Timeline: I'm willing to wait a few weeks but no more than a month for the best mobo/chip, ram, and video card combo i can get.
Budget: My budget is around ~1-1.5 k but am willing to spend a bit more or less for the best bang for the buck. I usually upgrade my computer every 2-3 years for the past 10 years.
Current System: My current system is a P4 2.4 ghz radeon 9800 pro with a gig of mushkin DDR2 pc 3200 ram. I have a widescreen 24" dell 2407 monitor. I ordered the Lian Li pc-767 case and Antex Neo HE -550W PU in anticipation of getting a dual video card setup from monarchcomputer.com.
Purpose: I want to play Oblivion with high settings. This is the main reason I want to upgrade my computer. The game lags terribly with my current rig. Games that run decently atm but would like to see higher settings for: HL2, WoW, Heroes of M&M 5, and any other good fps that will come out in the near future.
I also occasionally do some video recording/editing(I use gamecam and vegas to sometimes make video game movies) and do a lot of data dvd burning/transfering like burning anime on dvd then copying it back on my hd when I want to watch it. I'm planning on upgrading my HD as well in the near future.
Interested In:
The conroe seems very promising but I think intel will squeeze them out slowly in order to artificially raise prices. Basically... I want a conroe but I doubt they'll be affordable because of their demand at the high end sector. I've never known Intel to not take advantage of things like that. For this reason I've been eying the Athlon x2 AM2 chips.
I'm not sure whether to get SLI or Crossfire configuration. I've always bought ati video cards in the past but all I care about is playing at high settings for the best bang for the buck.
Overclocking is something I'm willing to do if it's stable and quiet with the higher voltage settings. Liquid cooling options seem innovative but for the price and hassle. Since I am not getting the ultra high end system it probably won't be worth it for me atm although I am not ruling anything out.
Arguments I'm looking for:
Conroe vs Athlon X2 AM2 for best bang for the buck.
SLI vs Crossfire for best bang for the buck.
Your favorite Ram suggestions for OCing for best bang for the buck.
Cooling options that won't hurt my ears. I live in CA so I'd prefer not to make my CPU a room heater.
Popular mobos with the best options for any of the above configurations is welcome.
Any suggestions for system rig configurations are welcome. So far I've been browsing these forums for a lot of good system rigs. I've also visited some websites like http://www.atitech.com/technology/crossfire/certifiedconfigs.html but all their higher end configurations include a AMD Athlon FX-57 which doesn't seem realistic for someone on a budget.
Budget: My budget is around ~1-1.5 k but am willing to spend a bit more or less for the best bang for the buck. I usually upgrade my computer every 2-3 years for the past 10 years.
Current System: My current system is a P4 2.4 ghz radeon 9800 pro with a gig of mushkin DDR2 pc 3200 ram. I have a widescreen 24" dell 2407 monitor. I ordered the Lian Li pc-767 case and Antex Neo HE -550W PU in anticipation of getting a dual video card setup from monarchcomputer.com.
Purpose: I want to play Oblivion with high settings. This is the main reason I want to upgrade my computer. The game lags terribly with my current rig. Games that run decently atm but would like to see higher settings for: HL2, WoW, Heroes of M&M 5, and any other good fps that will come out in the near future.
I also occasionally do some video recording/editing(I use gamecam and vegas to sometimes make video game movies) and do a lot of data dvd burning/transfering like burning anime on dvd then copying it back on my hd when I want to watch it. I'm planning on upgrading my HD as well in the near future.
Interested In:
The conroe seems very promising but I think intel will squeeze them out slowly in order to artificially raise prices. Basically... I want a conroe but I doubt they'll be affordable because of their demand at the high end sector. I've never known Intel to not take advantage of things like that. For this reason I've been eying the Athlon x2 AM2 chips.
I'm not sure whether to get SLI or Crossfire configuration. I've always bought ati video cards in the past but all I care about is playing at high settings for the best bang for the buck.
Overclocking is something I'm willing to do if it's stable and quiet with the higher voltage settings. Liquid cooling options seem innovative but for the price and hassle. Since I am not getting the ultra high end system it probably won't be worth it for me atm although I am not ruling anything out.
Arguments I'm looking for:
Conroe vs Athlon X2 AM2 for best bang for the buck.
SLI vs Crossfire for best bang for the buck.
Your favorite Ram suggestions for OCing for best bang for the buck.
Cooling options that won't hurt my ears. I live in CA so I'd prefer not to make my CPU a room heater.
Popular mobos with the best options for any of the above configurations is welcome.
Any suggestions for system rig configurations are welcome. So far I've been browsing these forums for a lot of good system rigs. I've also visited some websites like http://www.atitech.com/technology/crossfire/certifiedconfigs.html but all their higher end configurations include a AMD Athlon FX-57 which doesn't seem realistic for someone on a budget.
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