The New Computer System

[FlyingMasterChef]

Well, after an insane amount of hours reading and comparing...and looking at customer reviews, 3rd party testing, etc... I have made some decisions on my new system. By the way..anyone interested, when you are researching things to buy, take the time to read as much as you can. I actually learned this from my mom, who will research cars she likes for a couple months. She reads all about them from the makers, then hits the consumer reports, and such to get real unbiased info..safety, features, handling, etc.. THEN, she researches what they actually cost to build. Yes, that info is available.. She knows exactly what a dealer paid for a car on their lot. She then walks in, tells them what she will pay them (giving them a nice profit, but nothing insane like some do (fyi..when a dealer offers 3 grand off a car..they are NOT losing money!!!! they are simply taking 3K off their normal profit!!!!)) and tells them they can take it or leave it. That's how she gets exactly what she wants for her price. Some companies will do the same on almost anything. Order a pizza, and if the price is 12.50, tell them you will pay them 10. (of course, ask for the manager) Usually they will take it if you say if they can't do 10, you'll have to call someone else.. Of course, with food, you may get a spit pizza..but having worked in pizza and food service for 18 years off and on, that doesn't happen in 99.9999% of anywhere... I saw it once, and fired the guy on the spot.

I digress....sorry... When researching stuff to buy, look at sites like Newegg, where they post unbiased reviews by people that own the products. You can, on their site, sort by several factors.. I used the number of eggs.. Thus, could read the good reviews, then easily only the bad reviews. This is a HUGE help. Then check out sites that review unbiased and do testing unbiased. For the computer, I found this site to be absolutely amazing:

http://techreport.com

Their information and comparison testing is unbelievable. A must site on your bookmark bar.


Looking at -

Case: http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?C=1416&ID=2039

Aside from looking kick-ass, it has many amazing features..

Mobo: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe http://promos.asus.com/US/P8P67/LP/etail.html

or
ASUS Rampage III Formula LGA 1366 http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=tdsVoxzsToHRsCro&templete=2

Leaning toward the Rampage III for several reasons...

Processor: i7-2600K http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=52214

Graphics: Dual EVGA GeForce GTX 460's http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=02G-P3-1386-KR&family=GeForce 400 Series Family&sw=

or http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=01G-P3-1380-KR&family=GeForce 400 Series Family&sw=

Can't decide if I want to spend the extra on the 2 gig version, or stick with the 1 gig but higher core speed... both can be overclocked a good deal... so maybe I'll flip a coin...

Power Supply: Corsair Professional Series™ HX850 — 80 PLUS® Silver Certified Modular Power Supply http://www.corsair.com/power-supplies/modular-psus/professional-series-1/hx850w.html

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16 gig dual channel 1600mhz http://www.corsair.com/vengeance-16gb-dual-channel-ddr3-memory-kit-cmz16gx3m4a1600c9b.html

or

Corsair Dominator® GT with DHX Pro Connector and Airflow II Fan — 12GB Triple Channel DDR3 http://www.corsair.com/memory/intel...el-triple-channel-kits/cmt12gx3m3a2000c9.html


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Debating if I want to go liquid cooled system or not. If I do, everything is ready for it, so I can do it later...

I HOPE to have this built in the next 3-4 months.. If I can get 1 or 2 new good accounts soon, it may be much sooner.. If gas prices keep going up, I will probably lose accounts, and then be totally screwed!!! For many reasons...


- Greg

 

[mdm248111]

Wow... thats gonna be epic.

Of course, you could get a Barebones kit from TigerDirect (Specs below) like me and spend about as much as you would for just ONE of the GTX460s... and still get acceptable frames...

 

[FlyingMasterChef]

With the exception of the case, the memory, and the cpu (all top of the line) the system would be very middle of the road. I could easily, get a motherboard in the 700-900 range... Same with graphic cards and power supply. I was trying to stay slightly inexpensive....that of course is a relative term. Still need to add another 3-500 bucks on all this for operating system, mouse, keyboard, etc...

From all I have read, it would not be smart to buy the pieces done at a time...as you break registration periods, warranties, etc... So at the minimum, I have to purchase the power supply, one gpu, the cpu, motherboard, and some memory, and operating system at one time. So that will be almost a grand.. And that won't be able to happen for 2-4 months, IF business doesn't drop and I pick up more work..

- Greg