Hello all,
I'm a software developer and long time PC hobbiest and I'm planning to build a new rig in April or May to replace my now-aging Dell Dimension XPS Gen 2.
My current setup has been surprisingly good, thanks in large part to a deal-link provided by this site in its review of the system three and half years ago. It was one of those rare deals that made building one's own system an economically unattractive idea, and like most rare deals, I haven't seen another once since.
Anyway, I'm about to begin my research on what parts to purchase for the new machine, and having been a long time reader of these forums, I thought it would be a nice idea to ask for some recommendations on what to buy.
I'm looking to spend between $2,500 and $3,000 on a top-notch machine, and I'm looking to focus mainly on gaming performance. This will be my dream-machine (but within reason of course,) and to keep things within the price-point I've set, I plan to transfer some parts over from my current machine, including:
- HARD DISKS: Internal RAID Array (2x250 Gig SATA 7200 RPM, Striped)
- HARD DISK: Backup Internal 60 Gig PATA Drive
- SOUND CARD: Creative XiFi Platinum Edition
- EXTERNAL DRIVES: Maxtor 250 and 300 Gig
- MONITOR: Dell 2001FP (although if there is extra $$ room, I may look at a widescreen)
- KEYBOARD / MOUSE SET - Microsoft
- SPEAKERS: Logitech 5.1
- FLOPPY DRIVE
- DVD 16x READER: (looking to replace my writer since it's not DVD- or DL compat.)
- OS: Windows Vista Ultimate
So, with those parts transfered, what should I buy to get the best bang for $2,5-$3K?
The only thing I'm committed to is a DX-10 graphics card, but I haven't looked recently to see what will be available when (aside from the 8800s out now.) I also plan to go the Intel Core or Extreme route unless AMD lets out some monster trick up its sleeve in the next two months. Aside from that, I'm open to all suggestions and ideas.
Many thanks,
Mark Roboff.
I'm a software developer and long time PC hobbiest and I'm planning to build a new rig in April or May to replace my now-aging Dell Dimension XPS Gen 2.
My current setup has been surprisingly good, thanks in large part to a deal-link provided by this site in its review of the system three and half years ago. It was one of those rare deals that made building one's own system an economically unattractive idea, and like most rare deals, I haven't seen another once since.
Anyway, I'm about to begin my research on what parts to purchase for the new machine, and having been a long time reader of these forums, I thought it would be a nice idea to ask for some recommendations on what to buy.
I'm looking to spend between $2,500 and $3,000 on a top-notch machine, and I'm looking to focus mainly on gaming performance. This will be my dream-machine (but within reason of course,) and to keep things within the price-point I've set, I plan to transfer some parts over from my current machine, including:
- HARD DISKS: Internal RAID Array (2x250 Gig SATA 7200 RPM, Striped)
- HARD DISK: Backup Internal 60 Gig PATA Drive
- SOUND CARD: Creative XiFi Platinum Edition
- EXTERNAL DRIVES: Maxtor 250 and 300 Gig
- MONITOR: Dell 2001FP (although if there is extra $$ room, I may look at a widescreen)
- KEYBOARD / MOUSE SET - Microsoft
- SPEAKERS: Logitech 5.1
- FLOPPY DRIVE
- DVD 16x READER: (looking to replace my writer since it's not DVD- or DL compat.)
- OS: Windows Vista Ultimate
So, with those parts transfered, what should I buy to get the best bang for $2,5-$3K?
The only thing I'm committed to is a DX-10 graphics card, but I haven't looked recently to see what will be available when (aside from the 8800s out now.) I also plan to go the Intel Core or Extreme route unless AMD lets out some monster trick up its sleeve in the next two months. Aside from that, I'm open to all suggestions and ideas.
Many thanks,
Mark Roboff.
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