[Varin]

Hey guys and gals.

I have been looking to build a new computer for work & gaming. I would like to keep my budget around $1000 although that number is not set in stone and there are a few things I do not need. I already have a SSD and then a 2TB storage drive(Sata 3gb/s). I have my OS, mouse, keyboard, monitor and optical drives. I have a lot of general ideas of what I want but I would like some help narrowing down my choices and advice for a final build. What I need from the computer for work is limited specs wise but I do need to be able to use 3 monitors. I have the 3 monitors and the big factor with them is that they have DVI and VGA plugs only. None of the monitors have any sort of HDMI, but I would like my graphic card to have an HDMI plug for the future if possible. As far as what I want out of the machine for gaming will be somewhat more taxing. I want a computer that is able to run most any recent game at high settings. I want something that will be able to handle games to come for a few years(Ya, pc specs and requirments change so much but a man can dream).

As for my questions, they mostly are from the gaming standpoint.

I think I will be looking at an ivy bridge intel processor.
Is there that much of a difference in i5s and i7s? I have seen talk about the HT on the i7s and how it hinders some games, is this still a factor or something to be concerned about? I guess I am wondering if it is worth it to put another $100 into a processor or not.

As far as I can tell I will need 2 graphics cards to run 3 monitors unless I pay out the wazoo for a card with 3 DVI ports, which just doesn't seem too practical. I typically prefer to go with NVidia cards but that is in no way set in stone. I figure a card that can run games how I want will be the big ticket item here. The 2nd and 3rd monitors will have just web based applications/music player/system folders on them.

Pretty open to motherboard suggestions as I am sure this will be dependent on the graphic cards, ect. I do want something that has decent built in sound, SATA 6gb/s, some USB 3.0s, and just the other standard stuff that most mobos seem to have these days.

As far as the case, RAM and power supply these are things I can pick out, but am open to suggestions on.

I have been messing around a bit with pcpartpicker to get some overall ideas. Please let me know if any more information is needed or if anything is unclear. Thanks for any help!

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Varin

You mention work and gaming as the computers main usage, what sort of work is it as in office type, CAD, 3D design etc, this will have a large bearing on the type of CPU you will need, whether 8GB of Ram is enough and what type of video card is appropriate.

[phillpower2]

Varin

You mention work and gaming as the computers main usage, what sort of work is it as in office type, CAD, 3D design etc, this will have a large bearing on the type of CPU you will need, whether 8GB of Ram is enough and what type of video card is appropriate.

[Varin]

Mainly office type work. I do a little photoshop/illustrator stuff but nothing too taxing on a CPU.

[phillpower2]

You do not need an i7 or an AMD 8 core CPU or more than 8GB of Ram then.

A list of parts for you to look over http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ur2o

You can use either a display port or HDMI port to DVI adapter for your third screen and the PSU is powerful enough to support two video cards + a little headroom should you choose an Sli set-up in the future.

Let us know what you think or if you have any questions.

[Gerell]

As far as i5s and i7s are concerned I think i can shed some light on the issue. I struggled with the issue myself and bought the i5 processor, i haven't seen a situation where i've been disappointed. I was pleasantly surprised to see Crysis 2 run in medium settings at above 30 FPS with integrated graphics. Really, as phillpower2 already said, unless your doing some serious design work i5 will work fine. I'm sure that the i5 could handle the "serious design work" applications anyways, it just might not be as snappy. Hope the best for your build!

Edit: Darn, phillpower2, beat me to it!

Edited by Gerell, 27 December 2012 - 09:55 AM.

[Varin]

Thanks so much for you timely responses. I think you have covered most of what I was interested in, and the build looks great as well.

Everything is pretty much exactly what I am looking for. I have one more question, and it may be little nit picky, I apologize.

Is there a case you would suggest that has less/little/no LED fan lights? I've had a case with bright blue LEDs for the last 5+ years and it is starting to become a peeve of mine.

[Gerell]

Recommending a case, I have no idea. But couldn't you just leave the LED lights unplugged?

Edited by Gerell, 27 December 2012 - 10:35 AM.

[Varin]

At least on my current case the power to the LED lights are off of the same power as the fans. So I would have to disconnect the actual wire and not the plug.

The case isn't a huge deal, I can find one that suits my likes. I was just wondering if anyone had a good suggestion on a low/no light case

[phillpower2]

A bit more sedate http://us.ncix.com/p...nufacture=Antec

[iammykyl]

A quiet case, great cooling, take any build, use again and again in the future.
> http://www.newegg.co...ID=3938566&SID=