Opinions on friends $5000 new build

[leglez]

My friends parents told him to have me find him a nice custom built pc for him for under $6000 and they would buy it for him and anything over he has to pay for (yes he is rich) so what do you guys think of this please make suggestions also he wants a TV Tuner with composite in and out so that he can hook his ps2 up to his computer then have it going out to his TV so he can record games also what should i get for it as far as cooling and also the reason for the 2 hard drives is because he will be putting OS's, Applications, and games on the raptor and everything else on the SG

here is the link

 

[rafal]

Thats cool. I got the Alienware Aurora, and it also cost me a lot. I love it though. The specs are quite similar to mine, though I don't think there is a need for a raptor. Maybe he should get the ATI X1800 card, or at least get the two eVGA overcloced 7800's GTX's. I got those. And also he should get liquid cooling.

 

[Crescent13]

Get a 30" apple cinema display
2 512MB 7800GTX's
Dual Core 939 Opteron (People have been getting mad overclocks with those)
DFI LanParty Expert board (I don't rember the excact number)
NO RAPTOR!!! Seagate 7200.9 instead

 

[Crescent13]

Originally posted by: rafal
Thats cool. I got the Alienware Aurora, and it also cost me a lot. I love it though. The specs are quite similar to mine, though I don't think there is a need for a raptor. Maybe he should get the ATI X1800 card, or at least get the two eVGA overcloced 7800's GTX's. I got those. And also he should get liquid cooling.

Don't get Alienware man.

Rafal, your 5000$ alienware PC is about the same as a 3500$ pc built yourself.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I'd be getting a $1000-ish display, a $2000-ish sound system and whatever's left on the computer itself.

Are you sure they want to spend so much on bleeding edge stuff that's going to depreciate really quickly?

I guess it doesn't matter if they have money to just throw away, but you could spend half that much and get a very similar performing system as far as fps goes. The money saved could go into the display and sound system that could be enjoyed for years to come and hold value much better compared to the core components.

 

[Hacp]

2X Dell 2405s (2 screens are better than one )
Creative Fatality sound card
DFI SLI mobo
2x 7800GTX 512MB
2GB of OCZ Platinum ram
Logitec MX1000/ some wireless keyboard
4x 400MB Seagate 7200.9 in raid 5
AMD Opteron 170


You could probably get more stuff. Maybe 3 monitors for Extra mointor goodness?

 

[Alexstarfire]

Man, I'd get him some POS Dell yet charge him like $4000 for it. Just keep the rest of the money for yourself.

Ok, on a more serious note the Dual-Core Opterons do sound nice and I have also heard about some mad overclocks just on stock cooling. Anyways, I would get 1 or 2 512 MB 7800 GTXs, depending on the price really. Pretty much everything you mentioned, except just run a RAID setup on like 2 500 GB HDDs or something. Since this guy obviously doesn't care about money I'd also put it a really nice peltier cooling system. With all that he could get some serious scores.

 

[calam63]

imo the speakers suck - i bet a set of logitech/klipsch would be better

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I don't know if there's anything with component input yet for your computer.

What is he hoping to accomplish by recording PS2 games? I guess I just don't see a use for it myself.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: calam63
imo the speakers suck - i bet a set of logitech/klipsch would be better

Those gigaworks are rebadged cambridge soundworks and are quite good for computer speakers. (not that you can't do better as I suggested)

 

[imported_rod]

Build a $2000-$3000 PC, $1000 on sound and buy a big a$$ DLP projector instead of (as well as?) a screen.

RoD

 

[xanis]

Whoever said that "money can't buy happiness" lied to you. Horribly. Case-in-point:

DFI LanParty nForce4 SLI-DR ($187)
AMD Opteron 165 Dual-Core ($350)
2GB OCZ Platinum EB RAM ($302)
2 BFG GeForce 7800GTXs ($1000)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 500GB ($371)
Creative X-Fi Elite Pro ($398)
Antec P180 Mid-Tower Case ($115)
Seasonic 600W Power Supply ($125)
2 Apple Cinema 30'' Displays ($2600)
Coolermaster Aquagate WC Sys ($125)

Total: $5573 USD

This may just be the beast of all systems...

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Xanis
Whoever said that "money can't buy happiness" lied to you. Horribly. Case-in-point:

DFI LanParty nForce4 SLI-DR ($187)
AMD Opteron 165 Dual-Core ($350)
2GB OCZ Platinum EB RAM ($302)
2 BFG GeForce 7800GTXs ($1000)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 500GB ($371)
Creative X-Fi Elite Pro ($398)
Antec P180 Mid-Tower Case ($115)
Seasonic 600W Power Supply ($125)
2 Apple Cinema 30'' Displays ($2600)
Coolermaster Aquagate WC Sys ($125)

Total: $5573 USD

This may just be the beast of all systems...

I'm not sure I agree with your $400:$0 ratio of soundcard to speakers.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Don't waste so much money on the internals of the computer. Get stuff that won't depreciate in value much, like speakers and monitors.

CPU - Opteron 165 and overclock like crazy
Motherboard - DFI Lanparty Expert
RAM - 2x1GB OCZ Platinum (not the uber-expensive stuff)
Video Card - 512MB 7800GTX (no need for SLI, single card is enough to play anything)
System Hard Drive - 1 x 74GB 15,000RPM SCSI drive
Storage Hard Drives - 3 x 400GB Seagate 7200.9's in RAID 5 with additional SATA RAID 5 controller card (PCI-Express)
PSU - PC Power and Cooling 510W SLI
Case - Some really nice alluminum case
Sound Card - Creative X-Fi Platinum (Elite Pro is useless, only for professionals who work with audio)
DVD Burner - BenQ DW1640
DVD ROM - Cheapest one you can get
Display - 2 x 2405FPW
Sound System - Spend whatever money you have left on this.

That's the best setup you can buy for the money. Dunno how much it is, but your friend should be able to afford it...

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I would spend something like $3000 and save the rest...

 

[leglez]

Ok thanks for the quick replies Im now making a new list here.

I can't seem to find the 512 7800GTX on newegg anyone got a link?

Also anything with a (2) next to it that is the quantity im getting like the Graphics cards monitor and ram.

Also how much is the 30" apple monitor?

Whats the difference between the asus and dfi anyone got a link to the dfi?

Whats wrong with the Raptor?

I dont want to spend $1,000 on the monitor because he wants dual monitors and that would me $2,000 on the monitors.

Any suggestions for a better sound system?

Is wireless good when it comes to gaming? He is really into online gaming.

I would put them in raid5 but i am clueless about raid anything.

Would i notice much of a difference between the Opteron 170 and 175? 2.0GHZ and 2.2GHZ.

He wants to record his ps2 because he plays online on it a lot and wants to make videos of some games he plays. (i have seen some videos people make of the games he plays they're pretty cool)

Yea i was thinking about DLP but i have heard that the bulbs in projectors dont last long and that they are $200-500 to replace and his parents are just paying for the initial setup nothing else.

With that water cooling kit is it possible to change the tubes to clear ones and put like blue die in the water?

 

[SoylentG]

I'll custom build him a case, and even customize it to his personal wants. I'd make a unique machine, that is the absolute best out there for $5000. I've got no problems at all doing that. Hell, with the overhead I'd make, I'd probably be willing to deliver it! xD

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

He's getting a $5000 computer and he's worried about a couple hundred dollars every few thousand hours of use?

512mb 7800gtx isn't out yet

Raptor isn't good cost/performance ratio. Check out the latest storage roundups at the top of the site for newer sata2 drives. (look at real world performance benchmarks)

There are plenty of sound system suggestions. It depends on how much you want to spend on it.
Is this going to be something he's planning on using for the tv and gaming also for sound? If he's going to use it a lot it seems to make sense to me to spend more on the sound system.

 

[leglez]

When does the 512MB 7800GTX come out and is it compatible with SLI? Whats a good DLP Projector and probably about $700-$800 for the sound system.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

$5000 on a PC is just retarded, so at least compensate for that by buying dual 2405 FPW's. They're big monitors for a pretty good price (you can get them for about $800ish if you look around). Just get the Opteron 165 and overclock it. RAID is really easy to use, and RAID 5 is awesome.

 

[xanis]

yest the 7800GTX will be sli-compatible, it is stil lbased in the same chipset as all of the other nvidia sli cards

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: leglez
When does the 512MB 7800GTX come out and is it compatible with SLI? Whats a good DLP Projector and probably about $700-$800 for the sound system.

Soon for the 512. Should work with SLI just fine. I think SLI in general is a waste. Get a single fast card now and get a single faster one down the road.

You're not going to get a great res DLP projector for cheap. A 512 7800gtx (and especially SLI ones) will be wasted on a 480p or 576p DLP.
A 6600gt is plenty to play fairly new games at native res or 720p.

$700 to $800 for the sound system there are a lot of options.
Something like dayton 12" sub $120
budget receiver $200
Then spend the rest on speakers. Refurb jbl northridge series etc. (best to demo before deciding what to buy)

This would be a stretch for your budget unless your guy really liked the idea, but $1500 to $2000 will really get a sound system that will be very good. 5.1 with a great sub, nice receiver, and good speakers.

 

[soccerballtux]

tell him to get a 2500$ PC now (it will do everything he needs/wants more than adequately)
and then in 5 years get another 2500$ pc.

 

[leglez]

Anyone have a link to the DFI Lanparty Expert mobo? i cant find it on newegg.

Any idea of when the new 7800GTX comes out? Days?Weeks?Months?

Any links to guides on setting up raid?

Wheres a good place to get pc audio?

Also im not too good with graphics and resolutions and all that so do you have any suggestions for a monitor with a 512mb 7800GTX

Also if i go with raid what should i do i want at least 70GBs on 1 hdd for apps and OS's and then i want that 500GB for storage

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Good place for PC audio - pick something out that you want to get and then search for wherever has the cheapest.

Anything beyond Promedia / Gigaworks / z-5500s aren't going to be computer speakers.