Computer Parts

[burntcupcake]

What is the best:
cp?
graphic cards?

[Agge]

Depends.

[alfaroverall]

You want the absolute best components, period? Assuming you're not getting into multiple graphics card ports:
Radeon HD4870x2
Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 965

If you want the absolute best performance, replace the HD4870x2 with 3 (4? I don't know if any mobos support that) GTX 280s.

This is MASSIVE overkill for ANY user, however.

So yeah, give us a budget for the whole rig and we can give you specs.

[Malhavok]

2x4870x2... or if you're not a pussy wait until the GTX 295 comes out and tri-SLI that with a core i7 965 and 12 gigs of DDR3. Throw in a nice velociraptor raid 0 array at a minimum although going solid states drives instead would be preferable. For a monitor I'd suggest at least one of NECs 30" monitors.

If your rig doesn't cost more than your car you're not a real gamer.

[Kekshorts]

2x4870x2... or if you're not a pussy wait until the GTX 295 comes out and tri-SLI that with a core i7 965 and 12 gigs of DDR3. Throw in a nice velociraptor raid 0 array at a minimum although going solid states drives instead would be preferable. For a monitor I'd suggest at least one of NECs 30" monitors.

If your rig doesn't cost more than your car you're not a real gamer.
that's not hard for most people who don't travel beyond the store a few blocks away to get hotpockets and other microwavable foods to sustain us through our gaming binges.

[Malhavok]

that's not hard for most people who don't travel beyond the store a few blocks away to get hotpockets and other microwavable foods to sustain us through our gaming binges.

Car is necessary for LAN party imo.

Real gamers do not have friends except at LAN parties, which makes LAN parties very important. This also means they can not bum friends, and especially not female friends, for rides. And having your Mom drop you off is not cool.

[burntcupcake]

my budget is under 2000

[AlexGodis]

yeah and once you go black you never go back

[Protonix]

You want the absolute best components, period? Assuming you're not getting into multiple graphics card ports:
Radeon HD4870x2
Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 965

If you want the absolute best performance, replace the HD4870x2 with 3 (4? I don't know if any mobos support that) GTX 280s.

This is MASSIVE overkill for ANY user, however.

So yeah, give us a budget for the whole rig and we can give you specs.

I need a cheaper yet still powerful alternative to these components:

processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041

mobo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131319

[Malhavok]

my budget is under 2000

Why waste our time then. Gotta pay to play; if you can't pay GTFO.

[burntcupcake]

I might get "BFG Tech BFGEGTX2801024OCE GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail"

and

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail

and

EVGA 132-BL-E758-A1 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Is it any good?

[Malhavok]

If you aren't in a rush wait for the GTX 285 chips which come out mid January. Alternatively, now is a good time to scoop up a GTX 280 as they're pretty steeply discounted as they'll be discontinued as soon as the GTX 285 is released.

[Kekshorts]

Car is necessary for LAN party imo.

Real gamers do not have friends except at LAN parties, which makes LAN parties very important. This also means they can not bum friends, and especially not female friends, for rides. And having your Mom drop you off is not cool.

damn, how did I forget lan parties?

haven't been to one in a while since I stopped playing mmo's.

[alfaroverall]

I need a cheaper yet still powerful alternative to these components:

processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041

mobo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131319
The motherboard is just overkill unless you're planning to massively OC with tri-SLI or something. Get a cheaper motherboard with an LGA 775 socket. Spending >$150 isn't ever worthwhile with a mobo until you get into major OCing, pretty much.

For the processor...maybe a Q9450? There's really no processor that is cheaper but as powerful as that one. You'll just have to tone it down as you wish.

burntcupcake: under 2000? Here we are, just wrote one of these up a few weeks ago. Sorry Krush, you just organized it all so well:
http://lostminions.org/uploads/Krush/computer/
The most expensive option of each drop down box is my suggestion for a $2000 budget. In the end it's actually $2100...I can't quite think of the first place to drop it down, though.

[terafis]

E5300 dual core 2.5 (can oc to 3.8 straight off the bios no problem)

4850 factory OC (remember to adjust the fan speed settings to 'always on ~60%' in catalyst profile settings) not worth another $100 for a minor boost in the 4870 imo

Samsung 2253 22" lcd
Couple of 500g sataII hard drives (raid setup optional)
8g pc6400 or higher ram
Asus p5ql pro mobo (amazing mobo, very cheap)

Very cheap setup and runs everything currently released at max - you can get it all for ~1k at newegg, or close to it.

[VorpalSpork]

I tend to like AMD and Nvidia. I used to be an ATI guy, but they started having some compatibility problems and driver issues a few years ago that made me switch. I've had 4 Nvidia cards since then and I've been happy with them except for the XFX. I'll never buy another XFX made card.

[Arkh]

I tend to like AMD and Nvidia.
Atm, the best is Intel + ATI. So you lose.
It may change during the 3 o 4 next month as AMD start selling its new CPU.

[Gunther TheBlack]

I need a cheaper yet still powerful alternative to these components:

processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041



Isn't the i7 920 cheaper?

[forestchild]

You want the absolute best components, period? Assuming you're not getting into multiple graphics card ports:
Radeon HD4870x2
Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 965

If you want the absolute best performance, replace the HD4870x2 with 3 (4? I don't know if any mobos support that) GTX 280s.

This is MASSIVE overkill for ANY user, however.

So yeah, give us a budget for the whole rig and we can give you specs.

Even if you have budget for it 3x 280 is useless for gaming.

And there is a limit on what you get out of todays games most high end rigs are just overkill anyway they wont show better grafhics then most decent rigs for less money.

Darkfall you dont need high end to get best out of this game.

[Daccus]

my budget is under 2000

Also, don't forget to work in a decent monitor if you don't already have one. There's no point buying a top of the line graphics card if you're gonna run it with a 17" monitor.

[Protonix]

Isn't the i7 920 cheaper?

Indeed, however the ram I have isn't supported by an i7 mobo

[Wickfield]

my budget is under 2000

With 2 grand you can get a pretty bitchin' machine. My limit was 1200 and I still got a fairly nice machine.

But with 2 grand... you can probably afford a top-of-the-line gpu, an i7 motherboard with an i7 processor and 4 gigs ddr3, a 1k watt psu, two velociraptor hdd's raided, nice case, heat sinks... 1080p monitor might be overkill without a bluray reader tho.

but yeah, you're fine.

[Wickfield]

Also, don't forget to work in a decent monitor if you don't already have one. There's no point buying a top of the line graphics card if you're gonna run it with a 17" monitor.

it's not about size, it's about resolution...

[Oscar-GoD]

You want the absolute best components, period? Assuming you're not getting into multiple graphics card ports:
Radeon HD4870x2
Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 965

If you want the absolute best performance, replace the HD4870x2 with 3 (4? I don't know if any mobos support that) GTX 280s.

This is MASSIVE overkill for ANY user, however.

So yeah, give us a budget for the whole rig and we can give you specs.

Stay away from the i7's, they have a massive architecture flaw. You can read about it anywhere. Dual core ftw for gaming, as well.

Radeon 4870 is a dual die card, so it's basically in perma-crossfire. This means that a number of games will get 80% of the actual rendering power, while some times they will get 50% or less. You're better off with a single card imo, like the new GTX 280.

[Snapple-Fact173]

You can get a sweet pc for under 2k!

Definatly go for the big 22 inch screen, and i would go for a quick quad core processor, to keep your fps up.

[Daccus]

it's not about size, it's about resolution...

It's about size and resolution. The difference between 1600x1200 and 1280x1024 on a 17" screen isn't noticeable at all. I just tried it with my 19" and I couldn't notice a difference, I even did a print screen of the above resolutions and converted the higher one down to 1280x1024 using Photoshop CS3 and there was no difference.

[alfaroverall]

It's about size and resolution. The difference between 1600x1200 and 1280x1024 on a 17" screen isn't noticeable at all. I just tried it with my 19" and I couldn't notice a difference, I even did a print screen of the above resolutions and converted the higher one down to 1280x1024 using Photoshop CS3 and there was no difference.
But in terms of the power of your graphics card, size is meaningless. A graphics card, unlike our eyes, doesn't care if a screen is 8'' or 50'' if both are being run at 1024x768. Only resolution is relevant.

[Wickfield]

But in terms of the power of your graphics card, size is meaningless. A graphics card, unlike our eyes, doesn't care if a screen is 8'' or 50'' if both are being run at 1024x768. Only resolution is relevant.

thank you.

[Daccus]

But in terms of the power of your graphics card, size is meaningless. A graphics card, unlike our eyes, doesn't care if a screen is 8'' or 50'' if both are being run at 1024x768. Only resolution is relevant.

I agree there, but the point I was trying to make earlier is when running it on a 17" monitor, a quad SLI GTX 295 system at 2048x1536 will look nearly identical to a Radeon 4870 at 1280x1024. There would be almost no perceptible difference to us; go up in monitor size and you will see a huge difference.

[zie]

Indeed, however the ram I have isn't supported by an i7 mobo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115054

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186144

p45 chipset is garbage, as are all asus boards these days, dont waste your money. if youre not going w/ an i7 i wouldnt bother with quad core either the e8600 is as good as or better than the core 2 quads for gaming


by the way velociraptors are overpriced and stupid, you can get 15k RPM sas drives for the same price, most new motherboards have 2 sas ports or better yet get 4x 32gb SSDs for 80 bucks a piece