SAmalathion
Member
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
I'm interested in gaming competitively and I mostly play l4d2. Future-proofing is a significant, but not huge (maybe 20%) concern. I'm the guy who puts all the graphics on the lowest settings first thing after installing a new game: I want the highest framerate possible. Additionally, I use chess engines to analyze my tournament games, but I already know that the chip I have picked out is excellent for that. However, chess engines will account for why I am serious about maximizing the number of cores, within my budget.
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
My budget is about $800. I will consider being flexible if I can get something hugely better by putting in another $100 or so, but that would be a firm limit.
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Buying parts in California. Newegg charges me sales tax; Amazon, Tigerdirect do not.
4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
I'm not hugely loyal to Intel, but I get the sense that the wind has been blowing in their direction for a few years. I am very loyal to nVidia for their linux driver support; I will, at some point, be dual-booting linux on this system.
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
I'm going to be recycling some parts: case, PSU, PCI-e sound card, and hard drives. The rest (mobo, chip, vga, ram) are new.
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
I've read some articles on anandtech and tomshardware, but haven't paid close attention to guides in this forum. Sorry.
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Default by default (lol?), but if you tell me that overclocking is easy and safe, I will likely try it. Most fps possible within the budget, remember.
8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
Usually lower resolution. I wouldn't mind some flexibility on this, as I do play single player games occasionally, but it is not a priority.
9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
I plan to pull the trigger this month, maybe mid-January at the latest.
10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.
Do your worst!
Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366 Desktop Processor - $294.99
Corsair TR3X6G1333C9 XMS3 6 GB 3 x 2 GB PC3-10666 1333MHz 240-Pin DDR3 Core i7 Memory Kit - $74.99
Gigabyte LGA1366 SATA3 ATI CrossFireX ATX Motherboard GA-X58A-UD3R - $190.99
EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX 460 SE (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - $159.99
Total: $720.96
Concerns: The mobo is out of stock on Amazon, but I don't know of any reason to expect a long wait. But do I really need that exact model? Alternatives? Also, the video card is on Newegg, hence sales tax of $13, but there weren't any comparable deals. Other input?
I'm interested in gaming competitively and I mostly play l4d2. Future-proofing is a significant, but not huge (maybe 20%) concern. I'm the guy who puts all the graphics on the lowest settings first thing after installing a new game: I want the highest framerate possible. Additionally, I use chess engines to analyze my tournament games, but I already know that the chip I have picked out is excellent for that. However, chess engines will account for why I am serious about maximizing the number of cores, within my budget.
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
My budget is about $800. I will consider being flexible if I can get something hugely better by putting in another $100 or so, but that would be a firm limit.
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Buying parts in California. Newegg charges me sales tax; Amazon, Tigerdirect do not.
4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
I'm not hugely loyal to Intel, but I get the sense that the wind has been blowing in their direction for a few years. I am very loyal to nVidia for their linux driver support; I will, at some point, be dual-booting linux on this system.
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
I'm going to be recycling some parts: case, PSU, PCI-e sound card, and hard drives. The rest (mobo, chip, vga, ram) are new.
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
I've read some articles on anandtech and tomshardware, but haven't paid close attention to guides in this forum. Sorry.
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Default by default (lol?), but if you tell me that overclocking is easy and safe, I will likely try it. Most fps possible within the budget, remember.
8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
Usually lower resolution. I wouldn't mind some flexibility on this, as I do play single player games occasionally, but it is not a priority.
9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
I plan to pull the trigger this month, maybe mid-January at the latest.
10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.
Do your worst!
Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366 Desktop Processor - $294.99
Corsair TR3X6G1333C9 XMS3 6 GB 3 x 2 GB PC3-10666 1333MHz 240-Pin DDR3 Core i7 Memory Kit - $74.99
Gigabyte LGA1366 SATA3 ATI CrossFireX ATX Motherboard GA-X58A-UD3R - $190.99
EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX 460 SE (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - $159.99
Total: $720.96
Concerns: The mobo is out of stock on Amazon, but I don't know of any reason to expect a long wait. But do I really need that exact model? Alternatives? Also, the video card is on Newegg, hence sales tax of $13, but there weren't any comparable deals. Other input?
