Bouncing a few ideas around ...

[DogFromDuckhunt]

Alright, I'm finally ready to upgrade from my old rig (2400+, 9700 Pro, etc...) and I'm looking to spend somewhere around $1000-$1500 on just the rig itself and then I'll purchase the monitor(s). I want something that will last - as you can tell from my last rig, I tend to overspend somewhat and upgrade only every few years. I think I've got most things figured out, but I always like to bounce a few ideas off of people and see if there is something I might not have thought of yet.

Few notes from the sticky:

1. Will be doing a good bit of gaming, and possibly watching Blu-Ray movies on it - minimal video editing.
2. Budget - Ideally I'd like to keep it around $1200 or so before I purchase the monitors, but I'd be willing to go up to $1500.
3. Will be buying from Cali (suggestions for places out of state so I don't have to pay sales tax = +++ )
4. I don't have any strong brand loyalty. I've always used WD for HDD's and Asus for Mobo's, but that's because I have never really had an issue with them. If there's something better I don't mind using it.
5. Read many threads and many reviews/comparisons. Right now I'm mostly just trying to toss out there what I'm thinking and see what other suggestions I might get back.
6. I will end up overclocking eventually, whether or not I decide to do it out of the box or wait a bit is still up in the air.

And now, on with the show:

CPU - E8400
Mobo - Asus P5K-E
RAM - OCZ 2 x 2GB 800mhz
HDD's - Raptor 150gb (OS/Programs) and Caviar 500gb (storage)
PSU - OCZ 780w - Little pricey, and probably overkill slightly so any suggestions would be appreciated.
DVD Drive - Lite-On Blu-Ray

GPU - Up in the Air (8800GT, maybe 8800GTX or 9800GT?)
Sound - Probably going to stick with onboard for the time being. If I feel a need down the line I'll look into it then (definitely not getting a Creative card though ).
Case - Up in the Air (would like to keep it around $100, needs a mobo tray and no front door)
CPU Cooler - Up in the Air, but I'm thinking Zalman.
DVD Burner - Have one.

Anyone especially happy with an Abit or Gigabyte mobo that would be cheaper with same/more features that I should consider? Different PSU? Different HDD's?

 

[DogFromDuckhunt]

Still looking for someone to bounce a few ideas off of , but in the meantime I think I've made a couple more decisions.

ZEROtherm BTF90 for the CPU cooler.
Corsair 520w for the PSU.
Gigabyte DS3L for the mobo.
Lian Li 60B - Ideally I wanted to spend roughly half of that on a case, but I'm having a real tough time finding a nice, simple case that doesn't look like utter crap. Any suggestions here would be much appreciated.

I'm considering going with WD 640gig instead of the raptor as well to save a little cash. Also I'm going to cut out the Blu-Ray drive since I don't really think it's something I need right now. I'm probably going to take the extra money I'm saving from cutting those down and getting a 9800 GX2.

 

[PurdueRy]

One word of caution, don't go to newegg for the power supply. They are significantly higher there than, say, ZZF or sometimes buy.com

 

[Jax Omen]

Get one of the new 320GB-per-platter HDDs and dump the Raptor, it's loud and it's no faster anymore.

 

[Ketherx]

I'd get something else rather than a lite-on for a blu ray drive. Here's a pretty cheap one from LG for $180: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827136133

It has HD DVD support too, so if you find dirt cheap hd dvds, you can watch those as well.

 

[semisonic9]

I like the Centurion 590, myself. For $70, it's reviews are stellar and it seems to solidly out-perform cases costing 2x as much. Note that the fans shown are optional, and you can turn off the LEDs. The case itself has excellent air flow and dust screening.

 

[semisonic9]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
One word of caution, don't go to newegg for the power supply. They are significantly higher there than, say, ZZF or sometimes buy.com

This is good to know.

~Semi

 

[angry hampster]

Incredible deal on a great PSU:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...ctCode=10006237&ps=hw2


I have the 650w variant. It's extremely quiet and cool. It's gotten amazingly positive reviews as well.

Also, I'd avoid that RAM. Those weird heat spreaders look like they might get in the way of a good CPU cooler.

 

[Ketherx]

That PSU is extremely cheap!

 

[DogFromDuckhunt]

Thanks for all the responses. This is why I always post threads like this - there's always something somewhere I've missed that someone else has seen. I hate purchasing something and then finding it an hour later on another site for cheaper.

Originally posted by: Jax Omen
Get one of the new 320GB-per-platter HDDs and dump the Raptor, it's loud and it's no faster anymore.

Yeah, I think that's what I'm going to do. Save's me a bit of coin too!

Originally posted by:
Also, I'd avoid that RAM. Those weird heat spreaders look like they might get in the way of a good CPU cooler.

I was wondering about that, but I figured I'd give them a shot. I'll probably see what else around that price point I could get. G.Skill, Geil or Corsair maybe? Any suggestions?

PSU looks good and saves me more money, woohoo.

I think I'm going to just use my DVD drive and my DVD DL +/- R/RW PATA drives for now. I'll probably upgrade to SATA drives down the line, but right now I just know that I wouldn't use the HD-DVD or Blu-Ray capabilities so I might as well wait until I really feel I need them (in which case they'll probably be even cheaper and might even be burners).