Wanting to build a very high-end PC soon, need suggestions.

[LW07]

Edited for the questions:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
My PC will be used for heavy gaming(Crysis like games) and web browsing.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread. $2000-2500

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from. The United States

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.

Prefer Nvidia since I have had better luck with their GPUs, my only ATI card, an X1900XT, ran very hot when i had it and died after 2 and a half years. May be willing to try their 5800 cards, may even get 2 for Crossfire.

Really eyeing the Intel i5/i7 CPUs, but unsure if the 1156 socket will be like socket 754 of old where it was supported for a little while then dropped

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Building from scratch


7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Stock Speeds

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
1920x1200

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Around Christmas

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: LW07
As the topic says, later this fall or winter when the new video cards come out(I may wait for Nvidias) I want to build a super-fast high end PC. No, I don't want a $500-1000 CPU or anything, thats crazy when I can get a $200-300 CPU that gives 95% of the performance, but I do want one that is super fast and has SLI or Crossfire.

Preferrably going to wait on Nvidia's GT300 since in my experience and from what I read, ATI cards run really hot.

What are you planning on doing with the system, and what size monitor do you have/will you be buying?

If you are getting a 30" monitor (basically the only thing that makes sense considering the power of the GPU you are looking at), then that is half of your budget right there.

So, now we are talking about a $1000-1500 system. If you already have the monitor, then that will help a lot. That ATi 5000 series, or nVidia GTX300 series card is not going to be cheap.

 

[Mr Fox]

Originally posted by: LW07
As the topic says, later this fall or winter when the new video cards come out(I may wait for Nvidias) I want to build a super-fast high end PC. No, I don't want a $500-1000 CPU or anything, thats crazy when I can get a $200-300 CPU that gives 95% of the performance, but I do want one that is super fast and has SLI or Crossfire.

Preferrably going to wait on Nvidia's GT300 since in my experience and from what I read, ATI cards run really hot.

You have kind of ignored the Protocol that is outlined above....But


What do you have as far as a display that can make use of such Hardware ????

I would wait to see how the "Card War" sorts out

Look at this thread....

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2336337&enterthread=y


Then add a Pair Of SSD's

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820167016

 

[LW07]

Oh, forgot to mention i'll be using a monitor i have.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...oduct&id=1218068508257
This is the monitor I plan to use, a 23" HP. Not the best, but I definitely like its picture quality for the price, and I don't have the space for a huge 50 inch monitor.

 

[deputc26]

If you are not overclocking then i7-860 is the best choice by far.

CPU (i7-860) mobo (MSI P-55) RAM (4gb Patriot DDR3 2000) Combo deal, $575

The only time that my computer has perceptible lag is when launching programs or heavy internet pages (I never encode), can't speed up my internet connection but an SSD will cut program launch lag by a country mile. The storage sub-system is the most frequent system bottlenecker so I suggest an amped storage system.

Intel/Indilinx based SSD for OS and heavy progs. 80gb ~$230 (currently Intel drives have inflated prices but they'll come back down)

For bulk storage, the biggest fastest consumer HDD ever (though just using a Tb drive would make a lot of sense I got to burn your budget somewhere)
2Tb Caviar Black. $299, Will be cheaper by the time you're buying.

Cheap Blu-Ray plus DVD/CD burner $60
Antec 850w psu and P.193 case$265

GFX: wait for GT300 ~$500
+ your $250 monitor

$2180 total though could easily trim $500 off by getting cheaper but not necessarily slower components.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

I haven't been reading benchmarks of the new i5 and i7's, so maybe someone can explain: Why get an 860?? I'd rather have a 920 with triple channel and a tried-n-true motherboard. I'm spending more than $2000 on mine and only getting a 920 ($300 sound interface, $200 Win7, $100 surge strip $350 in the case and PSU, and then $50 in taxes)

Get 3 WD Black 1TB and RAID them for $300 instead of one 2TB drive.

deputc26 - Where do you see an 80GB SSD of quality for $230?

The Enermax Revolution 85+ and Cooler Master ATCS 840 are better than the P193 and Antec CP-850. I was going to get the P193 before I saw the ATCS. It would cost you ~$150 more for the two though. http://www.jonnyguru.com/modul...iews&op=Story&reid=150 If you have extra money, always put it in the foundation of your system. One of the most important components in your system is the PSU.

add some IC Diamond 7 ($12 shipped)

(for I, the 9% tax from newegg, needs to be accounted for, too.)

 

[deputc26]

Personally I'd take the 920 too but the OP does not OC so 860 wins. In regards to the mobo I don't think it is too much to expect a new mobo to perform flawlessly for the OPs needs as he will likely not be the one to uncover new bugs if he is not OCing/tweaking.

I'm referring to Intel's 80gb G2 which is currently impossible to find for $230 but as supply goes up (assuming it will) the price will have to trend towards MSRP and will almost certainly get there by Christmas.

I agree your case/psu are better but I don't think they're worth the extra $, they aren't to me in any case.

Really though it is sort of a moot point as OP intends to build it around Christmas and much will have changed by then.

edited: for broken link.

 

[ScorcherDarkly]

I'd say get a i7 920 and re-evaluate if you're going to OC or not. The 920 is extremely easy to OC, hardly any work involved in it, and you'll get boatloads more performance out of it when you do. An SSD drive is a must with that budget. Which graphics card is sticky since you're not going to be building for a couple months and the market is going to change a lot by then. I think its pretty unlikely the GT300 will be out by then, so if you're an nVidia fan you could go with a 295 now. For gaming don't forget about a good set of speakers/headphones too. You should have enough in your budget to afford some good ones.

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: LW07
This is the monitor I plan to use, a 23" HP. Not the best, but I definitely like its picture quality for the price, and I don't have the space for a huge 50 inch monitor.

Some of the posters were asking about your monitor because they want to know the resolution that their recommendation of graphics card is going to have to drive. It doesn't matter if it is a super-fine pitch 19"display or a blocky huge-pixel 50"TV.

That 23"HP is 1920x1080, so a pretty standard res for a modern graphics card (1GB buffer per GPU etc).

 

[aigomorla]

Is that budget with monitor, keyboard, OS, and all the other accessories attached?

2000 dollars is a big budget... i would personally look at a high end i7 setup.

High end would be something like this:

W3520 or a i7 920 D0 <--- make sure its a D0, because u say u wont overclock, but once u find out how simple it is, you'll thank me....

Motherboard: I would look at the high end ones. Im currently on a Classified 759, however theres the 760 and other versions. I like the classified personally.
Giggy X58A series which is gonna come out with 24 phase power seems also very yummy.
If you dont need 12GB of DDR3, then the foxconn bloodrage is another yummy board.

As for GPU's:
The ATI 5870 is definitely something to look out for. You might even be able to fit 2 in your budget.
Im personally waiting to see what the GTX300 has to offer.

Storage:
People are gonna tell ya SSD. I personally havent seen any benifit off them vs. running raptors in raid.
Do you honestly think you'll notice the speed difference expecially when the ICH10R is speed limited and without a dedicated controller?
Maybe im just getting too old.. >.<
I would weight out how much data you like to whore.
Remember SSD's can never be full or you lose performance up the butt,
and SSD's are very small in storage unless u want to get to really expensive SSD's which will blow your entire budget.

Ram:
If your grabbing a 920, i would recomend u finding at least 1600mhz raited ram.
I doubt your gonna go into 4ghz + territory, and 1600mhz ram would fit in a nice sweet spot for value vs cost.
My personal favorites are gskill tridants and corsair dominators.

PSU:
SLI or Xfire = try to get at least a 750W class or higher.
Make sure u hit up our psu subsection and ask for recomendations on a QUALITY PSU.
The PSU is so overlooked which i find very funny.

The PSU is the 1 part in your entire computer that can take the entire computer with it, if it ever should go bad.

Im sure others will pop more recomendations in...


Wanna watercool it too?
Can i tempt ya with this picture?
http://i125.photobucket.com/al...la/Haruhi/IMG_1385.jpg

Sorry i had to ask....

 

[sunshinetechnology]

Originally posted by: LW07

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Around Christmas

Pointless to spec a system now if you're not building it until christmas. Everything will have changed by then.

Examples:

6 core i7 Socket 1366 might be out.

i7 socket 1156 might be out with the 9 series

Nvidia GT300 might be out

ATI 5870 might have dropped in price, or 5870x2 might be out.

SSDs might be a lot cheaper.

Or, you might have blown half your budget on xmas presents

 

[imported_Mills]

Pointless to spec a system now if you're not building it until christmas. Everything will have changed by then.

Agreed. Late '09 / Early '10 has Gulftown CPUs (which will supposedly work with current X58 boards), and maybe GT300 on the horizon. Also the 5870 dual GPU card is supposed to launch before then as well I believe.

Prices will probably be much different as well, like he said.

If you wanted a basic idea, top range system would be an i7, x58 board, 2x5870, 6gb RAM, and maybe a raid-0 of SSDs which would be about $2000, leaving you $500 for case, specialty sound, OS, tax, shipping, etc.

Good luck, wish I had that big of a budget!

Mills