Pint0 Xtreme wrote:Okay, so now that I'll be essentially free for the next two weeks, I'm going to start some serious shopping for my new computer. Unfortunately, it's been years since I've constructed one and I know it's going to be a pain in the ass. I was originally considering just getting a packaged Dell XPS 700 but I hear for a high end computer like that, it isn't worth the price. I was hoping someone could help be my guide to which parts I should purchase.
At this point, my goal is to get below 3000 USD, which I think should give me plenty of room to piece together an awesome gaming computer. And now for the parts...
CPU: I hear that AMD is supposedly better for gaming but I don't know exactly why. To be honest, I'm more familiar with Intel, which is why at I'm moving towards getting the Core 2 Duo processor. The Core 2 Extreme looks really nice but it looks way too pricey and I don't even know if most games will use its extended capability.
I'd snag the Core 2 Duo E6600. Fast out of the box, futureproofed, and great overclocker (they're all great overclockers, but the E6600 has a high multiplier so it's even better). Availability on those sucks right now, though, so you might have to wait a couple weeks.
Memory: I figure 2Gigs of DDR2 RAM should suffice or am I not looking far enough into the future?
Video Card: Right now, I have my eyes set on the GeForce 7900GTX. Are dual video cards worth it? I know there are motherboards with SLI support for dual GF7900s. At work, that's going to be our solution to the performance issues we're having.
It depends on what resolution you're running. At 1920 x 1200 with AA, AF, and options maxxed you're definitely going to need SLI. At 1280 x 1024 you're not going to see any benefit.
So if you're running a 24" or larger monitor, SLI. If you're running a 30" at 2560 x 1900, Quad SLI. But if you're only running a standard size, a single 7900 GTX should be more than enough. If you go SLI, I wouldn't use two GTX's since they're expensive, but a 7950 GX2 because it's cheaper, almost as high performing and you have the option of later adding another one for Quad SLI.
Motherboard: I have yet to figure out what motherboard I want. I figured that a motherboard with a fast FSB rate would make a lot of difference. Or am I mistaken?
Sound Card: Sound Blaster X-Fi.
Get the Extreme Music version. Same card without the useless, overpriced extras.
Miscellaneous: What's up with the Ageia PhysX accelerator? Does anyone know if it's worth it? Will most games even make use of it? I'm pretty sure the rest of the details, I'll be able to choose.
If I had $10,000 and a willing bookie, I'd bet that nothing ever comes of the PhysX card. It's a chicken and egg problem. People don't buy one because there aren't any killer apps that require it. Games don't require it because nobody has one. The most PhysX will ever do is add some extra eye candy for a few select games. Other than that, it's a $300 doorstop.
That's all I got so far. Any suggestions, tips or ideas?
Personally, I don't think you have to even come within shouting distance of $3,000 for a killer gaming rig. If you shop smart, you can get 95% of cutting edge performance for half the price or less. The system I recently specced out on Newegg to last me 2+ years without upgrading only came to $1,100 with tax and shipping. For instance, the fastest RAM and motherboard will help you reach the insane overclocks, but modern games are GPU bound anyway so you'll only notice the difference in video encoding and such. By going with more reasonably priced stuff here, you can save hundreds of dollars. RAID and "performance" hard drives are bullshit, and you can waste hundreds here for a non-noticeable performance increase. The truth is that there just isn't that much difference between a $1,500 system and a $5,000 system.
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