What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
- I plan to use my PC for web-based activities, basic productivity software applications for school, and also gaming. I do not plan to do any intensive video rendering or media editing outside of MIDI DJing.
What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
- Realistically ~$2500, but that?s fairly flexible. I paid an $800 premium on my last rig the first day S939 came out opting for a FX-53, 6900Ultra etc, but this time I want to get an 8/10 system to get a bit better value/$.
What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
- USA (NewEgg/ZipZoomFly etc)
IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.
- I?m a businessman and understand that such competition benefits the customer and pushes the envelope; however, when it?s all said and done I think this time that Intel has AMD beat and that NVIDIA out-stepped ATI. Also I feel that WD has always surpassed Seagate
If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
- I have my hard drives covered. I?m rocking a Raptor X (150GB) as my primary backed by 2 74GB Raptors (RAID 1 mirrored). I also have a Seagate FreeAgent Pro 500GB External. Also I?m going to run Vista 64 and hopefully get it through my University for $80 (to get my full expensive 4GB!)
IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
- I plan on overclocking fairly heavy, but still need stability so once again think around the 8/10 level.
WHEN do you plan to build it?
- I plan to build this summer. Specifically I want to wait until June 18th as the Intel pricings will drop a notch (ie. The E8500 will drop from $270 to $180), also the R700 and the GTX 200 will be released.
With that being said, here?s what I?ve planned. Keep in mind that I cycle computers down in my family so I don?t plan on using it for that long. I would like to plan games like Age of Conan and Starcraft II. I understand that there?s a premium on DDR3, but that?s for all early adapters and the next-gen Intel CPUs will require it anyways so I can cycle them down to new PCs I build. Also I want SLI because I plan to add another GTX280 (or maybe GTX260 if the benchmarks are close).
Part Model Price
Motherboard EVGA nForce 790i SLI $310.00*$30 rebate
CPU Intel Core Duo 2 E8500 3.16GHz $180.00 *after drop
Memory Corsair TWIN3X4096-1600C7DHXIN $460.00 *$40 rebate
GPU NVIDIA GTX 280 $600.00
PSU Cooler Master Real Power Pro1000 $200.00*$30 rebate
DVD Drive Lite-On 20x DVD+/-R w. Lightscribe $30.00
Case Cooler Master Cosmos S RC-1100 $250.00
Cooling Thermalright 120Ultra, HR-03, Fans $145.00
Total $2,175.00
I?m specifically looking for input on my RAM choice. It?s cheap on ZipZoomFly, but much more expensive on NewEgg and I?m not sure why (I X-checked the part #s too).
- I plan to use my PC for web-based activities, basic productivity software applications for school, and also gaming. I do not plan to do any intensive video rendering or media editing outside of MIDI DJing.
What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
- Realistically ~$2500, but that?s fairly flexible. I paid an $800 premium on my last rig the first day S939 came out opting for a FX-53, 6900Ultra etc, but this time I want to get an 8/10 system to get a bit better value/$.
What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
- USA (NewEgg/ZipZoomFly etc)
IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.
- I?m a businessman and understand that such competition benefits the customer and pushes the envelope; however, when it?s all said and done I think this time that Intel has AMD beat and that NVIDIA out-stepped ATI. Also I feel that WD has always surpassed Seagate
If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
- I have my hard drives covered. I?m rocking a Raptor X (150GB) as my primary backed by 2 74GB Raptors (RAID 1 mirrored). I also have a Seagate FreeAgent Pro 500GB External. Also I?m going to run Vista 64 and hopefully get it through my University for $80 (to get my full expensive 4GB!)
IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
- I plan on overclocking fairly heavy, but still need stability so once again think around the 8/10 level.
WHEN do you plan to build it?
- I plan to build this summer. Specifically I want to wait until June 18th as the Intel pricings will drop a notch (ie. The E8500 will drop from $270 to $180), also the R700 and the GTX 200 will be released.
With that being said, here?s what I?ve planned. Keep in mind that I cycle computers down in my family so I don?t plan on using it for that long. I would like to plan games like Age of Conan and Starcraft II. I understand that there?s a premium on DDR3, but that?s for all early adapters and the next-gen Intel CPUs will require it anyways so I can cycle them down to new PCs I build. Also I want SLI because I plan to add another GTX280 (or maybe GTX260 if the benchmarks are close).
Part Model Price
Motherboard EVGA nForce 790i SLI $310.00*$30 rebate
CPU Intel Core Duo 2 E8500 3.16GHz $180.00 *after drop
Memory Corsair TWIN3X4096-1600C7DHXIN $460.00 *$40 rebate
GPU NVIDIA GTX 280 $600.00
PSU Cooler Master Real Power Pro1000 $200.00*$30 rebate
DVD Drive Lite-On 20x DVD+/-R w. Lightscribe $30.00
Case Cooler Master Cosmos S RC-1100 $250.00
Cooling Thermalright 120Ultra, HR-03, Fans $145.00
Total $2,175.00
I?m specifically looking for input on my RAM choice. It?s cheap on ZipZoomFly, but much more expensive on NewEgg and I?m not sure why (I X-checked the part #s too).