[MichaelsTheory]

Hi guys! I have been occasionally stopping by to read your forums for some time now. I am proud to say that i have finally saved up 2000 dollars for a custom build. And now i would like to ask for your help.

I know that aside from the budget of 2000 dollars you will want to know what i will be using the computer for. The thing is i dabble in just about everything. The following is a list, starting with the most important, of the things i am into.

1) Gaming (alot of World of Warcraft, and would like the ability to play next-gen fps like crysis at high settings with a killer fps)

2) Video/Audio (alot of DvD ripping/encoding/burning/downloading/uploading)

3) Programming (i am a CIS student and do alot of programming for school with VB, Java, C++, etc..)

4) Picture/Video Editing (family video editing with movie maker, and dealing with lots of digital media)

The most important and consistently used aspect will be gaming, all others are secondary.

So what system would you build for gaming with a 2000 budget?

Do not worry about monitor, keyboard, mouse, as i will purchase that stuff in addition to budget.

Also i have a fairly decent laptop right now (inspiron e1505) that i use for most of my schoolwork and to play WoW on, i can continue to use it for that stuff, so my main focus is on future compatability.

I know that you all give this advice out of the kindness of your hearts, so thank you for your time and effort.

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Will you be requiring dvd burnder and such. HD DVD/Blu-ray or any of that junk?

[Seltox]

Will you be requiring dvd burnder and such. HD DVD/Blu-ray or any of that junk?

[MichaelsTheory]

i would like a DVD burner, as the one in my laptop seems to be unable to burn to faster (16x) media. As far as HDDVD and BluRay go, i dont think those are necessary right now, but the option to add one is nice, i guess that i can add that in the future, outside of the 2000 budget.

[jackflash1991]

i would like a DVD burner, as the one in my laptop seems to be unable to burn to faster (16x) media. As far as HDDVD and BluRay go, i dont think those are necessary right now, but the option to add one is nice, i guess that i can add that in the future, outside of the 2000 budget.

Yeah HD DVD and BlueRay are pointless at the moment, unless you really want one. DVD/CD burners are only like $20 so I would not worry about that too much.

Well you have a couple of options at the moment. Lets start off with the CPU. At the moment the best CPU for your money is the Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 @ 2.66GHz ($190): http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115029
If you want to look ahead and go for a Quad core CPU I would go for a Penryn but Intel has pushed back the release date so your best bet at the moment is the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 ($275): http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115017

RAM: Go for 4Gb of some high performance DDR2 800.

Video Card: 8800GT 512MB ($260): http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814133205

HDD: A lot of good options out there to choose from. Something from 250GB - 500GB, 7,200RPM, SATA 3GB/s.

Mobo: Do you want to go with SLI or just a regular 1x PCI-E slot? SLI boards are starting to look a little better these days with the 8800GT in SLI configuration. If you go with a regulare board make sure you get a P35 North Bridge.

PSU: Something greater then or equal to 650W. I like Antec power supplies but just make sure you get a trustworthy brand and a high efficiency rating like this: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817371001

CD/DVD burner ($30): http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827151153

Case: Mostly preference. I like them big so that you do not have to worry about things not fitting and so there is a nice amount of room for the air to move around.

OS: I recommend Vista Home Premium ($110): http://www.newegg.co...N82E16832116202

[Troy]

Case
Motherboard
2x Graphics Cards in SLI
Power Supply
Processor
Thermal Paste
Processor Heatsink/Fan
RAM
Hard Drive
DVD Burner
Windows OS

$2022.89 (and you get some rebates back)

[james_8970]

I have the Antec 900, so I suggest going that route.
The memory Troy suggest is fine.
While the 8800GTS 512mb is a great card, I don't really recommend going the SLI route, but that's up to you to decide.

If your going to go the 780i route I suggest ordering from another site. Newegg is using the high demand to jack up their prices......again.
http://www.ncixus.co...MBN780ISH9/XFX/
It's a lot cheaper, I buy from this site all the time (though in Canada) so it is reliable and safe.

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817256036
While the PSU that Troy mentioned is the exact one that I have, the Deathcon series is better then the Strider due to the single 12V rail opposed to the dual rail.

Without a doubt you should be getting a Q6600

Arctic cooler MX-2 is better then Arctic silver 5

For your heatsink get the following, only if you plan on doing overclocking, otherwise the stock fan is fine.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835154001
and
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835185052

Hard drive:
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148288

Dvd Drive:
http://www.ncixus.co...212DBK/Pioneer/
The model at Newegg is slightly different and appears to have many DOA's, I have the model from NCIX, it performs a fair amount faster then my LG.

James

Edited by james_8970, 05 January 2008 - 07:36 PM.

[MichaelsTheory]

Wow thank you for the quick responses.

You both seem to be leaning in a similar direction.

Troys build seems to be pretty much the best i can expect for my budget.

I like the idea of going with the quad core, as i dont upgrade too often so future performance needs to be considered. I like the SLI setup with the two GPUs.

My next two questions are:

1) Should i give any consideration to 64bit Vista?

2) What kind of performance will i get with this build?


Thanks guys!

[james_8970]

I think you will have missed my post
1. Unless you plan on installing in excess of 4GB of RAM no I do not suggest it. 32bit Vista is much more widely supported at this time.
2. Very good performance.
James

[MichaelsTheory]

James, thank you for your response also, you mustve posted it as i was replying to the others.

I will look into your suggestions, i need to weigh the benefits/disadvantages of SLI i suppose.

Thank you.

[james_8970]

I just realized, you do live in the USA, right?
James

[MichaelsTheory]

Yes, Buffalo, N.Y.