I'm upgrading from my four-year-old rig which had a good run. I'd like to keep it under $2000.
Parts I already have:
Keyboard/Mouse/Speakers/Other Accessories
HDDs (SSD for system) / Cd drive
The system will be primarily used for gaming. No idea what the next gen of hardware will bring, but I want to go as long as possible without seeing an FPS drop.
I really would like this to be SILENT or near-silent. If my computer sounds like a leaf blower I have failed. For this purpose I believe it would be better to get watercooling.
The main issue I'm having in trying to put together the parts is keeping my hardware in sync. If I get a 6-core CPU with 16 gigs of ram and a 660 TI video card, will that video card be holding me back? Will my motherboard support next year's video cards? Stuff like that. It'd be easy to take a $800 gaming rig and spend an extra $1000 on the GPU, but that's not smart.
Brands:
I have no real preference between AMD and Intel (I have had fine luck with both in the past), but I have heard that Intel is 'in the lead' right now.
I definitely want NVIDIA over ATI. My ATI cards have given me so many driver issues that I want nothing more to do with them.
I have had really bad luck with ASUS motherboards in the past as well, so I would want to go for a different brand.
Case:
Mid tower or full tower is fine. I like working on a full tower case, but I don't like carrying it around. I'm not sure which size better supports liquid cooling, but I wouldn't mind sticking with a full tower.
I'm also considering upgrading my monitor as well - I'm open to any suggestions about what kind of resolution would fit the power of my PC.
I don't need any software or anything other than a pre-formatted hdd.
I'm in the US buying these parts.
Parts I already have:
Keyboard/Mouse/Speakers/Other Accessories
HDDs (SSD for system) / Cd drive
The system will be primarily used for gaming. No idea what the next gen of hardware will bring, but I want to go as long as possible without seeing an FPS drop.
I really would like this to be SILENT or near-silent. If my computer sounds like a leaf blower I have failed. For this purpose I believe it would be better to get watercooling.
The main issue I'm having in trying to put together the parts is keeping my hardware in sync. If I get a 6-core CPU with 16 gigs of ram and a 660 TI video card, will that video card be holding me back? Will my motherboard support next year's video cards? Stuff like that. It'd be easy to take a $800 gaming rig and spend an extra $1000 on the GPU, but that's not smart.
Brands:
I have no real preference between AMD and Intel (I have had fine luck with both in the past), but I have heard that Intel is 'in the lead' right now.
I definitely want NVIDIA over ATI. My ATI cards have given me so many driver issues that I want nothing more to do with them.
I have had really bad luck with ASUS motherboards in the past as well, so I would want to go for a different brand.
Case:
Mid tower or full tower is fine. I like working on a full tower case, but I don't like carrying it around. I'm not sure which size better supports liquid cooling, but I wouldn't mind sticking with a full tower.
I'm also considering upgrading my monitor as well - I'm open to any suggestions about what kind of resolution would fit the power of my PC.
I don't need any software or anything other than a pre-formatted hdd.
I'm in the US buying these parts.
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