Originally posted by: deimos3428
Total ~ $1400. Is this a wise choice? Need to shave off $400. How? Suggestions please.
Ok, let's see. I might not be a hardware guru, but saving money is something I can do.
PSU: Maybe I'm missing what's special about that PSU, but it seems you could get something comparable for a lot less than $299. Like a Corsair 750/850/950TX ($119 to $179 at newegg, free shipping right now), or the Seasonic X-750 ($199) if you're all about modularity/efficiency. Both just received rather awesome reviews on JonnyGURU.com. So that's $100 to $180 off right there.
Mobo: There's a lot special about that motherboard, but ask yourself if you need one quite that special. Here's a similar one from the same manufacturer for $50 less.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813188049
GPU: That is currrently the world's fastest single card -- and it just came out. You can probably save a ton of money by waiting a little while for the price to get a bit more sensible. Ask yourself if you can justify one of these. Depending on your monitor setup and the games you play, it might be overkill as well. (Besides, the non-reference cards will be out soon.) You might save $100 and go for the XFX 5850.
RAM: You can save maybe $50-70 by buying different ram with the same specs from various vendors -- OCZ, G.Skill, Patriot, even other Corsair RAM. I can't really make a specific recommendation on which brand is the best.
CPU: Shop around, but that's not bad.
So that's $300 to $400 less depending on options.