I'm thinking of buying a new computer. But I don't have a budget nor do I think I'll be able to have one anytime soon. So I'm going to buy it in pieces over time. Because of this I won't be skimping on the price. I don't want to go top of the line, but I need to set my sights high so that everything's not bottom-end by the time I receive everything.
Here's what I got on my list so far. I'd like your opinions:
Not too dissimilar from what I ended up with. Same CPU and the next step up in MBs, the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5. I got the Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D Dominator 6 GB. The Motherboard is a bit fussy about the PSU. I got a Corsair 850W PSU that it does not like. I found that I couldn't install Windows on the SATA6 ports. You can move there after Windows is installed. This will not be an issue with the board you picked, as it does not have any SATA6 ports. Besides this, it has proven to be a very stable build.My "Windows Experience Index" rating is only limited by my cheapo graphics card. Everything else is pegged out at the top of the scale.
I almost want to spring for a larger screen (27" or something) because I do a lot of audio work and the more screen real estate you have the better. There's a Hanns-G one on there for $340 (CAD).
I have a Hanns-G 28" and love it. It is bright and super sharp with a native resolution of 1920x1200. I got it from New Egg on sale for about $299 US a couple of years ago. When you get used to all of the extra desktop real estate, you'll never want to go back. There are just too many things I do where I need two or three things open and visible ate the same time.
Good choice with going Pro on the Windows. XP Mode has proven to be invaluable. It allows to to go 64-bit without completely giving up on 16-bit Windows games/applications or any USB devices that have no 64-bit drivers. Well worth the extra $40 or so over Home Premium. Looks like a great system, so far. Now if it doesn't take you too long to get everything. You may want to save the CPU and RAM for last as those have the most volatile prices. By the time you are ready to get the final pieces you might be able to get a higher line CPU for the same price and the RAM for a third less.
Ah ok. Because I was just reading up on the new Sandy Bridge processors and would like to have the option to upgrade at some point without having to re-buy Windows.
Also, it looks like I'll be able to acquire this computer a lot sooner than I originally anticipated! I may be able to buy everything in one shot within the next month or two!
EDIT: Actually, judging by the specs, I probably can't upgrade to a Sandy Bridge. My mobo's socket type is LGA 1366 and the Sandy Bridges aren't.
So I'm thinking of getting a Sandy Bridge i7 instead of the one I have currently selected. That means having an 1155 mobo instead of 1366 which changes what type of RAM I need to select, et al. The good news is the Sandy Bridge is only $5 more and the performance boost is exceptional! All the 1155 mobos I'm finding are only 4x240-pin ram slots and that won't work as good with my current triple-channel RAM selection. I'll have to do some more thinking.
EDIT: I guess it'll actually be $35 more to get that overclocking ability thats so tempting...I'll just have to spring for it.
Apparently, according to reviews, sources, and comparisson tests, the dual-channel memory is more efficient than triple-channel anyway. Also, I swapped the Gigabyte mobo for an MSI one of equal specs that's cheaper and has a Firewire port. Many have said both are good companies so I'm going with the MSI.
My last issue I'm ironing out is the power supply. People are trying to convince me to go with either a Gold standard equivalent or one of equal (and possibly better) performance which is $5 cheaper but doesn't come with the $20 mail-in rebate that the Corsair has.
Also, everyone is telling me that the GTX 460 is old and I should get an ATI or wait for the 560. I'm never going ATI again ever. That's not happening. I picked this one because the reviews said it outperformed higher-class cards via overclocking and SLI which was excellent for its price. But the most important part really is the mobo and processor. And the PSU I guess. I can always get another video card later.
I've not had issue with MSI boards. For me, the jury is still out on Corsair PSUs. NOt to say anything negative about them, just that I have no been completely sold on them, yet. As to the graphics card, I say go with what you want. They are one of the easiest upgrades to do. Waiting for a specific model is usually not much of a reason unless its release is imminent. There is always going to be something better down the road and if you always wait, you'll never get anything. (Gee, sounds familiar.)
I use a Corsair PSU (750TX) and it's a champ. As a general rule of thumb, don't go cheap on your PSU... as it's the one component that every other component in the rig relies upon. When your looking for a PSU, the big things to look at are 12V amperage and number of 12V rails.
Whether you get a PSU that has a single 12V rail or not depends entirely on personal taste... but I prefer going with a single rail due to not having to worry about load balancing (basically, in a multi-rail PSU, you have to balance the power load between multiple 12V rails so as to ensure none of the rails get overloaded, which can lead to under-powered components).
As for the 12V amperage, the higher the better. Every component in the rig takes it's toll on the amperage, and if you have a PSU that doesn't put out enough amps on the 12V rail, you'll end up with system instability or even component damage.
Overall though, the 650W should serve you well. One last though regarding PSU selection.... it's really time consuming and potentially difficult to replace a PSU should you wind up upgrading your rig with power-hungry components (such as adding a 2nd Fermi card to SLI, for example), you'll have to pull everything out of the case in order to replace the PSU with a more powerful one. That being said, if you can swing it, you would have a lot more breathing room if you went with either a 750W or 850W PSU.
I would also give some serious thought into getting a bigger case. The Antec 300 is a great mid-size case... but the Fermi's are pretty big. You don't need to go with a full tower case.... but you should look into getting something a bit roomier. Also keep in mind the Fermi's run pretty hot, so you'll need to pay attention to air flow and make sure you got a good push->pull airflow configuration going. If your open to a case recommendation, I use a CoolerMaster HAF 922 with my rig, and it runs cool and quiet. It also has plenty of clearance for large video cards such as the Fermi and plenty of breathing room so hot components such as the video card don't wind increasing the internal ambient temperature too much.
You might be able to squeeze the 460 into your Antec 300... but there probably won't be much clearance and it will be a tight fit, which will affect airflow and increase internal operating temperature.
Also... I see your going with 4GB's of DDR3 RAM and pairing that with a 64-bit operating system. Depending on how heavy of a gamer you are, I would suggest getting another 4GB's, which would give you a total of 8GB's of RAM. You will really see a huge performance increase not just in your gaming, but in Windows as well.
And lastly... if you don't have your heart set on that MSI video card, look into going with EVGA. They offer a lifetime warranty on their video cards (which only requires you to register the card on their website within 30 days of purchase) and they also offer a step-up program where you can step your existing video card up to a new video card later on down the road without having to pay full retail.
As for whether you go with a 460 or wait for the newer 560's depends entirely on whether you want to be the first on your block with the latest and greatest. The 460's may a little old... but it would serve you well for a couple of years. The 560's may have better stats... but the last couple of generations have only seen a 10%-15% increase in performance each generation. If you ended up getting a 460, you shouldn't have to worry about upgrading for at least two to three years. And if you did end up purchasing a second 460 to take advantage of SLI, the performance gained by a single 560 would be even less. I know a couple of people that are still gaming with a pair of 250's in SLI that are playing the latest and greatest games at max framerate at 1900x1080 resolution... and the 250's are starting to get a little old.
