What's coming up in the next 3 months?

[PsychoPsonic]

My aged socket 939 rig w/ 7k-series Nvidia SLI cards has served me well, but it's time for an upgrade.

Looks like i7 is the current hotness.

Is there anything on the horizon in the next 3 (or maybe 6) months that I should wait for to get more bang for the buck, in terms of RAM, mobo, processors, video cards?

System would be used some for gaming but mostly office productivity and some audio production.

I also need to upgrade from my 19" Hitachi CM771 CRT monitor, but I've been unimpressed with most LCDs I've seen. My desktop runs at 1600x1200; I guess I'd go to 1920x1200. I need ultra-crisp, bright images with no pixelation/blurring and no lag, and as close to those deep CRT blacks as I can get. What are my best options? I'd be willing to spend extra on the monitor to get a really good one. I've actually considered trying to source a 22" CRT so I won't be disappointed.

I expect I'll probably go with a system-builder as I did with the 939 rig (Cyberpower)--no real issues, and it's been solid throughout its life. I don't have the time or the current expertise these days to try to home-build and test. I know, I'm a clueless noob (despite being in this hobby since the early 80s.)

My current leanings:

i7 950 on an EVGA X58 mobo, Coolermaster V8
Antec Quattro 850W (overkill if no SLI/CF?)
6GB 1800 MHz HyperX RAM
GTX 295 video (2x4890 crossfire?)
300 GB velociraptor boot drive (or solid state? What's the real-world performance difference?)
large storage drive, capacity and make/model undecided
--non-RAID setup
20X lightscribe DVD drive
Blu-Ray drive
XtremeGamer sound
Vista home premium 64
Undecided on case (input requested; mid-tower preferred, could go full tower for right case)

The monitor is where I need guidance, as LCD is totally new for me, unless you convince me that my instincts are right and that I need to avoid disappointment and go with the biggest CRT I can still find. Could go as high as 26" LCD, but quality is more important than size.

Thanks in advance for your feedback, everyone!

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Go for the Intel X25-M Solid state

 

[yh125d]

Step down to the i7 920. Don't pay $300 for the extra 400mHz, just overclock the i7. Easy and simple

I'd go for either a 4870xs or 4890's in crossfire. 4890's should be within a few % of GTX295 while costing ~150 less. 4870x2 would be closer to ~10% slower, but still much better bang/buck than GTX295

850w is definitely overkill. 4890 crossfire would be the most power demanding setup of those mentioned, and for that you'd really only need about a quality 650w. Just be sure that whichever you get has enough of the right pci-e connectors

As far as hard drives, I'd personally stay with normal drives like the Samsung spinpoint f1 1TB or WD caviar black 1TB. I have two sammys and they're plenty fast for me. However you seem to have a bit more money to spend so you might want something faster. IMO, raptors aren't really worth it. I'd either stick with conventional drives or go straight for the big daddy SSD's, like the intel's or vertex drives

Just get a single blu ray drive imo. I have the LG one and I love it. Unless you just need the second DVD drive

Onboard sound is fine these days. Great even

For case I highly recommend the Antec 300. Small outside but big inside, great airflow, filters in the front, good looking, cheap, well built. I have nothing bad to say about it

I have the Asus 23.6" 1080p LCD, and I love it. However, it is a cheaper model and probably won't have satisfactory blacks for you, so you may want to look for a non-TN lcd

 

[vj8usa]

Originally posted by: PsychoPsonic
Is there anything on the horizon in the next 3 (or maybe 6) months that I should wait for to get more bang for the buck, in terms of RAM, mobo, processors, video cards?

Maybe Lynnfield (CPU)?

 

[AshPhoenix]

If you're willing to wait, DX 11 cards will be available around October / November 2009

 

[PsychoPsonic]

Thanks for the input, folks.

I was thinking of a SSD for a boot drive... probably a better option than the raptor, from what I'm reading. I wouldn't mind a smaller case, either; I was thinking of maybe the Antec 900, but if the 300 will do it in a smaller (possibly quieter) footprint, then so much the better.

Saving $300 sounds good--920 it is. I can probably deal with the one blu ray drive; I've always had 2 opticals, but honestly don't really need the 2nd one... just enables half as much disc-swapping.

It sounds like the Bloomfields are the chips that will really represent the next big step up, or am I wrong?

I can probably wait on DX11 cards, as the games won't be available for a while and early-rev cards tend to be expensive, buggy, and soon eclipsed by cheaper, more muscular models.

This monitor thing is driving me nuts. I'm really thinking of punting and either keeping my 19" CRT or trying to find a refurbed 24" wide Sony or HP. I just get the feeling LCD isn't going to satisfy me for one reason or another, depending on panel type. Samsung's got their LED TVs out now... wonder how long until LED monitors start showing up?

Thanks again for the comments!

 

[Slugbait]

Originally posted by: PsychoPsonic
It sounds like the Bloomfields are the chips that will really represent the next big step up, or am I wrong?

I believe that the Bloomfield is the newer i7 950, 975 EE, and the single-socket quad Xeons. The 950 has a locked multiplier and only two memory multipliers, but it's a lot cheaper.

I have two F1 drives, and am quite happy with the price/performance ratio compared to the Velociraptor...the P/P ratio between the Velociraptor and MLC-based drives is still way too wide for my tastes.

 

[PsychoPsonic]

Thanks for your comments, Slugbait.

Do you have those F1 drives in a RAID array?

 

[Slugbait]

No