Opinions on friends $5000 new build

[orangat]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby
Don't buy the expensive speakers, that's just stupid. Buy a $200 pair of headphones and everything will sound better than any speaker, plus you won't annoy your neighbors.

First $5000 is his budget so its not stupid unless he like wearing headphones everytime he needs to play games or listen to music.

Speakers are the most underrated component. All MM speakers with very few exceptions can't beat a cheap HT setup.

 

[leglez]

Originally posted by: V00D00
If you're going high-end, don't skimp on the optical drives. Plextor makes the best optical drives out there, hands down.

Get him a Plextor 16x Dual Layer Burner, and a Plextor 16x DVD-ROM. They have the best transfer rates on all types of media

A good TV Tuner would be the new ATi Theatre 550.

Do you have a link to the burner and the Dvd-Rom? I am on the Plextor store on Newegg and all they have is burners and no dual layer burners

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

leglez, if you trusted me before, trust me by telling you to listen to ribbon13.

Maybe give a dollar amount for the whole computer except the sound system (or even with the sound system since I'm sure ribbon13 will have some other suggestions for you) and he wont steer you wrong.

 

[leglez]

Wow the raid cards/controllers whatever are more than i thought they would be how much is the Lsi MegaRAID SAS 8408E suppose to be and whens it being released if its not going to be released for a few years got any other suggestions

 

[Some1ne]

1. The same as 6.
2. Opteron 175.
3. RAID5 with 3 WD4000YRs for the fscking win already.
4. BenQ DW1640 > All current NEC models.
5. Yep.
6. Yep
7. They may be good, but to frozen hell in a handbasket are they superior to 'just about anything'
8. Only 2GB of ram was listed Some1ne.

7. Correct, I should have quantified the statement by saying "as good as or better than similar solutions in the same price-bracket". Obviously audio hardware goes far above and beyond the klipsch 5.1 setup.

8. I could have sworn that when I viewed the link it specified 2x2 GB OCZ modules at a total cost of $600+, but I just checked and yes, it only specifies 2 GB of RAM total in a 2x1 GB config.

I'll grant the other points, though really, RAID-5 is happiest with 4 (or more, but the only way to accomplish that on a consumer-level NF4 board would be to make the RAID-5 span SATA and IDE, and I haven't seen any benchmarks regarding the performance hit related to doing that) drives, not 3.

Also, given the budget, I think a vapochill lightspeed LS would be worth considering. Put that on the Opteron 175 and overclock it like mad.

 

[JLGatsby]

Originally posted by: orangat

Originally posted by: JLGatsby
Don't buy the expensive speakers, that's just stupid. Buy a $200 pair of headphones and everything will sound better than any speaker, plus you won't annoy your neighbors.

First $5000 is his budget so its not stupid unless he like wearing headphones everytime he needs to play games or listen to music.

Speakers are the most underrated component. All MM speakers with very few exceptions can't beat a cheap HT setup.

For $5,000, his set up is most unimpressive.

Buy headphones and upgrade the processor and monitor.

 

[RussianSensation]

I realize SLI is a waste of money. But when you are considering 1 7800GTX 512mb at $700 US, might as well get 2x 7800GTs. They will blow the doors off for the same price. SLi is a waste of money for those who don't have money. If you do intend to get 1 videocard for gaming, it certainly should not be 7800GTX 512mb, since you can get better performance for the money. Otherwise just go with 1 7800GTX 256mb card for $440.

 

[orangat]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby

Originally posted by: orangat

Originally posted by: JLGatsby
Don't buy the expensive speakers, that's just stupid. Buy a $200 pair of headphones and everything will sound better than any speaker, plus you won't annoy your neighbors.

First $5000 is his budget so its not stupid unless he like wearing headphones everytime he needs to play games or listen to music.

Speakers are the most underrated component. All MM speakers with very few exceptions can't beat a cheap HT setup.

For $5,000, his set up is most unimpressive.

Buy headphones and upgrade the processor and monitor.

For $5000 you would think someone could be free from headphones or having to sit right next to the PC just to listen to music.

 

[Xyo II]

Edit = Empty post

I dont know..... I am just going to put what would be easiest for me.....

1. Fx-57
2. 7800 gtx 512mb
3. Corsair XMS Ram
4. PC P & C 510 sli
5. 3 x 250 GB HDs, 76 GB Raptor
6. 2 x 2045 dells (or one)
7. Motherboard of your choice
8. 2 x benQ drives
9. TvBox9
10. Thermaltake Tai-chi w/ Bigwater se
11. Windows

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Originally posted by: Einstein Element
Edit = Empty post

I dont know..... I am just going to put what would be easiest for me.....

1. Fx-57
2. 7800 gtx 512mb
3. Corsair XMS Ram
4. PC P & C 510 sli
5. 3 x 250 GB HDs, 76 GB Raptor
6. 2 x 2045 dells (or one)
7. Motherboard of your choice
8. 2 x benQ drives
9. TvBox9
10. Thermaltake Tai-chi w/ Bigwater se
11. Windows

I stopped reading right at "1. FX-57"...

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: 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

disgusting

 

[leglez]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: 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

disgusting

I give you an A for attempt

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I haven't really been paying attention... are there 512mb 7800gtx benchmarks out yet? Do we know the price it's going to be?

 

[Some1ne]

I haven't really been paying attention... are there 512mb 7800gtx benchmarks out yet? Do we know the price it's going to be?

The link ( http://forbidden-portal.com/pcbuild2.htm ), which appears to get periodically updated, implies a price of $650 for it, although there's no link for the card specified unlike most of the other items.

Also worth noting, the total cost of the PC has dropped substantially as a number of the recommendations made have been adopted, and ~$1800 in fairly high-end audio equipment has been added.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Some1ne

I haven't really been paying attention... are there 512mb 7800gtx benchmarks out yet? Do we know the price it's going to be?

The link ( http://forbidden-portal.com/pcbuild2.htm ), which appears to get periodically updated, implies a price of $650 for it, although there's no link for the card specified unlike most of the other items.

Also worth noting, the total cost of the PC has dropped substantially as a number of the recommendations made have been adopted, and ~$1800 in fairly high-end audio equipment has been added.

Well, I have actually taken note of that seeing as it was my suggestion and I talked over PM to leglez for quite a while last night about it. Was it like half an hour or so?

 

[Some1ne]

Oh, and just noticed that the WD Raptor has been replaced with a 15K RPM SCSI drive, but I don't see a SCSI controller card anywhere in the list. You do know that you can't use the SCSI drive without a controller, right, and that consumer-level boards do not come with integrated SCSI controllers like they have integrated IDE and SATA controllers?

I'm not going to pretend to know anything about SCSI drives, but here is the cheapest PCI controller that supports that flavor of drive (68-pin):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16816123102

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

leglez, I just went through the sound system pricing you quoted.

The shipped price from plasmadocs for the 5.1 package we talked about is
$1485 without the receiver. Does that agree with what you're thinking?

On ebay, looks like refurb 330s are going for about $360 shipped from Harmanaudio.

So $1845 for the system without wiring stands etc.

Have you talked more to your friend about that yet? Does it seem like something he would want to do.


For the people commenting on the expensive sound system here, this is my reasoning:
If we take about $1000 out for the monitor, we're looking at $5000 possible for the computer including sound.

The early planned configurations called for pretty much a $4500 computer and a $500 speaker system.

I think it makes more sense in the long run to spend less on the computer itself ($2500 or so?) and spend more on the sound system.

Right now a $2500 computer will play anything you throw at it.

A couple years down the road you could make affordable upgrades to it (probably just videocard) and still play everything out there.

Skipping expensive cooling, $1000+ on SLI, and a really expensive CPU leaves room to invest in something that's going to hold its value better.

Right now a computer that was built last year with an FX-55, and SLI 6800ultras would still be a great computer, but new desireable dual core CPUs are out, and a single $300 7800gt can beat 6800ultra SLI in some tests. Right now instead of spending a couple grand on the videocard and CPU, I'd suggest getting something more affordable.

I don't think it makes sense to get the best out there even if you are rich.

Ok, so what to do with money not spent on the bleeding edge? Being soundman I think an audio system makes sense. Yeah, you can get a good set of headphones too, but a great sound system is something you can enjoy too.

Even the best component on a computer is only going to last a few years (I'm talking expensive items, not floppy drive etc.)
Spending a lot on the monitor and sound system are two things that should last a long time.
Audio technology is pretty static. 5 years down ther road you're probably not going to be able to do much better than a current HT system at a given price.

A nice set of speakers will serve the user well for many years, be enjoyable for social situations as well, serve hometheater duty as well, wont become obsolete in the forseeable future, and he'll be able to sell it a few years down the road if for some reason his priorities change.

 

[V00D00]

Here's one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827131356

 

[w00t]

I would go with another case that is just too much money to spend on a case.
get a seasonic S12 600W better than that psu and quieter check out toms hardware stress test this one beat it
get some real water cooling coustom take the time and pick out all the stuff ( gpu block, cpu block, pump, tubing, raditor, fan )

 

[Xyo II]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb

Originally posted by: Einstein Element
Edit = Empty post

I dont know..... I am just going to put what would be easiest for me.....

1. Fx-57
2. 7800 gtx 512mb
3. Corsair XMS Ram
4. PC P & C 510 sli
5. 3 x 250 GB HDs, 76 GB Raptor
6. 2 x 2045 dells (or one)
7. Motherboard of your choice
8. 2 x benQ drives
9. TvBox9
10. Thermaltake Tai-chi w/ Bigwater se
11. Windows

I stopped reading right at "1. FX-57"...

whoop-dee-do. if he has this kind of money, he can buy the next dual-core when it comes out and sell the fx-57.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: w00t
I would go with another case that is just too much money to spend on a case.
get a seasonic S12 600W better than that psu and quieter check out toms hardware stress test this one beat it
get some real water cooling coustom take the time and pick out all the stuff ( gpu block, cpu block, pump, tubing, raditor, fan )

errr, they're gonna spend $6000 for the kid's pc. and you're complaining that the case is too expensive? lol

 

[Mik3y]

Originally posted by: Tangerines
I agree, don't buy SLI'd video cards. The performance gains are minimal at best.

I agree with you about how SLI is a waste of money, but minimal performance gains? Not true at all. Expect an 80-90% increase in fps and performance at best.

 

[eXx08]

Why doesn't he just get a Dual Opteron Dual-Core Server?

 

[Some1ne]

Because that would require a dual socket-940 board, which would require registered RAM, which would be more expensive and less fast for gaming?

 

[leglez]

Here I just noticed the most used one was $649 so thats what i put its suppose to come out tomorrow so we'll see.

Thanks for the link to the SCSI Controller are there any Controllers that have SCSI and Raid5 in one card?

Yea i talked to him he said he was fine with the price going over "A Little" i guess to him a little is $1000 cause he said just dont make it more than $7000.

I think this is a DL but can someone confirm it i would rather have a black one then a white so it blends in with the case.

Also whats a good Dvd Rom?

$229 isn't a lot for a good case IMO.

Yea i have now changed the PSU to the seasonic cause i have been noticing people saying it is good.

Do you happen to have any links to places that tell you what all you need for a watercooling setup, good brands, how to set it up, ect...

Yea im just going to stick with 1 7800GTX 512 for now and if he must have more then i will upgrade later.