No-holds-barred-ballz-to-the-wallz computer for school

[scortiaus]

Long story short, I've been offered a (really really really) good job next summer. If I work hard I should make more than enough to pay for next years school, with plenty left over. I'm torn between a new computer, or a downpayment on a Mini Cooper. I've already got a good truck (97 Explorer) that is going strong so I think I'm going computer. The budget? $5000.

I've begun planning because I will have a very narrow span of time from when I finish my job to when school start (possibly less than a week), and this job (although it pays extremely well) will probably demand 10 hours a day 7 days a week. Can you see why I'm thinking ahead? Keep in mind this will be next July/August, so I'm thinking next-gen for the CPU and GPU. What I have in mind so far:

http://www.geocities.com/scortiaus/misc/computer.pdf

Of course, the motherboard, CPU and video will all be replaced with current-gen stuff.

 

[mwmorph]

come back then to ask. hardware moves too fast to decide now. none of those prices will be near accurate when july rolls around.

 

[hugekebab]

i know thisd is a pchardware forum but if you can afford it dont bother about the pc, get a car: it will affect your life more than a pc ever will, or even better get a ****** car and a medium pc!

 

[DaveSimmons]

Keep the truck, buy a $2,000 computer, put $3,000 into a savings account at INGDirect.com.

Paying an extra $2-3,000 will only get you a small jump in performance that will only put you at the top of the heap for a few short months.

The money in the bank will pay for upgrades or a whole new system later on. Or it could help you finish school debt-free.

 

[NeezyDeezy]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Keep the truck, buy a $2,000 computer, put $3,000 into a savings account at INGDirect.com.

Paying an extra $2-3,000 will only get you a small jump in performance that will only put you at the top of the heap for a few short months.

The money in the bank will pay for upgrades or a whole new system later on. Or it could help you finish school debt-free.

For the love of reason listen to this man.

 

[Akhen]

Originally posted by: NeezyDeezy

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Keep the truck, buy a $2,000 computer, put $3,000 into a savings account at INGDirect.com.

Paying an extra $2-3,000 will only get you a small jump in performance that will only put you at the top of the heap for a few short months.

The money in the bank will pay for upgrades or a whole new system later on. Or it could help you finish school debt-free.

For the love of reason listen to this man.

QFT

 

[Cooler]

Originally posted by: Akhen

Originally posted by: NeezyDeezy

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Keep the truck, buy a $2,000 computer, put $3,000 into a savings account at INGDirect.com.

Paying an extra $2-3,000 will only get you a small jump in performance that will only put you at the top of the heap for a few short months.

The money in the bank will pay for upgrades or a whole new system later on. Or it could help you finish school debt-free.

For the love of reason listen to this man.

QFT

In 6-12 months your new comps vaule will drop in 1/2 such is the way with computer hardware new things are always coming out.

 

[alimoalem]

yea, what all the above posters said. if you really wanna go all out, spend $3000 MAXIMUM and either save the rest or why not go on vacation? if you have a 70 hour work week, traveling for a bit won't hurt

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I have to agree that spending $5k is pretty insane.

Hard to believe you have a 4.5k computer spec-ed out and it doesn't even have SLI.
If gaming is your priority here, spending a lot more on the videocard / videocards than the CPU seems like it would offer more performance.

2gigs of ram is plenty for most people and you wont run into some of the issues 4gigs presents.

I'm not sure on the power requirements of the AM2 processors, but a $175 620 PSU is probably way overkill.

You could cut a lot back on this computer and get very similar performance.

 

[BOLt]

Originally posted by: Cooler

Originally posted by: Akhen

Originally posted by: NeezyDeezy

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Keep the truck, buy a $2,000 computer, put $3,000 into a savings account at INGDirect.com.

Paying an extra $2-3,000 will only get you a small jump in performance that will only put you at the top of the heap for a few short months.

The money in the bank will pay for upgrades or a whole new system later on. Or it could help you finish school debt-free.

For the love of reason listen to this man.

QFT

In 6-12 months your new comps vaule will drop in 1/2 such is the way with computer hardware new things are always coming out.

True story.

 

[sandorski]

Sorry, $5k is not enough for a ballz to the wallz PC.

 

[tw33ter]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
come back then to ask. hardware moves too fast to decide now. none of those prices will be near accurate when july rolls around.

 

[natep]

Is your PDF file in American dollars?!

Everything on it is way more than it actually costs. For example, the NEC 3550A is like $40.

 

[ribbon13]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
come back then to ask. hardware moves too fast to decide now. none of those prices will be near accurate when july rolls around.

Except maybe the monitor, case, powersupply, and burner?

I have to agree that spending $5k is pretty insane.

Tell me about it. I have clients that come to me with $20k budgets.

Hard to believe you have a 4.5k computer spec-ed out and it doesn't even have SLI.
If gaming is your priority here, spending a lot more on the videocard / videocards than the CPU seems like it would offer more performance.

True.

2gigs of ram is plenty for most people and you wont run into some of the issues 4gigs presents.

He will probably be running Vista considering when he'll be getting it, so the 'issues' aren't a factor.

I'm not sure on the power requirements of the AM2 processors, but a $175 620 PSU is probably way overkill.

It's an acceptable choice when your dropping more than $2k on the box alone.

Have you looked at the Gigabyte Aurora? Or the SLK3800? Either way, the next gen high-end Asus boards will likely also use heatpipe and not work properly in a Lian-li 1000/2000 series case.
Do you know for a fact the Zalman will even work with socket AM2s mounting?
Here's your RAM for $440 shipped. Good choice BTW.
Even with the cash, finding 512MB GTX isn't easy. And this part will DEFINATELY change by summer.
You'll probably want a better burner like a Plextor PX-760SA
I'd cut back on some otherstuff, cut the dell, and get a 37" 1920x1080 LCD. Work hard, play hard.

 

[foodfightr]

Get the new QUAD SLI from Dell.

May as well if money is no object.

 

[Meuge]

Motherboard: $150
Opty 170: $450
SI-120: $65 (w. Nexus Fan)
2x GTXs $800
2x VF700s $60
P180 $130
PSU $150
HDDs: 4x $120 = $500
Hardware RAID5 SATA w. 256MB RAM: $500
X-Fi: $150
Klipsch 5.1 Ultra: $250
AKG K-44 Headphones: $80
Samson Headphone Amp: $60
Logitech MX518/UltraX: $80
Westinghouse 37": $1600
--------------------------------
Rougly $5000

 

[rancherlee]

Build a 2000$ PC and put the rest away for an "emergency fund", Trust me....... could also be a start to a down payment on a house a few years down the road.

 

[qoou]

just get a top of the line dell.

 

[RussianSensation]

You can get 95% of this performance from:

Opteron 165 - $300
2 gig value ram - $150
R580 - X1900XT version - most likely $499
DFI mobo = $120

But anyways, this thread is not so relevant since you will not build until summer time. So please come back then for some advice. But it is generally not a good idea to spend $5000 on a PC. I could understand a good sound system and monitor because they will not be outdated that fast. However, you would be better off buying 3 $300 cpus every year for 3 years than buying $1000 top of the line and holding it for 3 years. Unless you can afford $1000 cpu every 3 years for $3000?

Also if you are a man and want a car that handles well, you would be getting Lotus Elise and not a mini cooper. Now that is money well spent.

 

[everman]

Definitly go for a ~$2000 pc and save the rest. 2k will buy everything you need. Don't get the mini either if you have a good vehicle, it'll cost a lot more overall.