Jeremy "UncleHoot" Praay wrote:
> A month ago, I knew almost nothing about the state of affairs regarding the 
> new crop of processors and such, but now I've familiarized myself quite a 
> bit with what is out there.  Bang for the buck, this would probably be the 
> best system I could build, especially if overclocked:
> 
> Intel Core i7-860 (2.8GHz, very overclockable)
> A case and PSU (600W - 700W)
> 1156, P55 chipset mobo (haven't decided which brand/model)
> Western Digital 1TB hard drive.
> 4GB RAM
> Windows 7 Home
> Nvidia G-Force GTS 250 video card
> (I'll use my current DVD drive)
> 
> I'm also looking to buy the Prolimatech Megahalems (Rev. B) cpu-cooler 
> ($70).  I read a few reviews and benchmarks, and it sounds like that cooler 
> does almost as good as liquid cooling.  And a wireless mouse and keyboard 
> would be cool ($35).
> 
> Yep, it would be a pretty expensive build (about $1,100-$1,200 USD), but I'm 
> also hoping that it would keep me happy for another few years.  I plan to 
> overclock, and it sounds like the 860's normally OC to at least 3.6GHz with 
> decent cooling.  Regardless, this should be a brazillion times faster than 
> my old Athlon system.  And I could run all of the newer games, although I 
> don't play computer games as much as I used to.

Interestingly enough, I myself am in the market for a new desktop.  I 
priced out parts and (since I'm not a heavy gamer and can wait on a 
video card until March when the new crop is released and bumps down the 
prices on everything else a notch, and can use onboard video) figured 
the following:
$ 400  i7-940
$ 110  motherboard
$ 280  8 GB DDR3-1333
$ 140  2x 1 TB HD
$ 200  PSU (700W, iirc)
$  50  case (probably a high estimate)
$  20  DVD/CD drive
-----
$1200

...hadn't figured in the price for Win 7 or cooling tho.  Already have 
keyboard/mouse and monitor.  The 4 GB DDR3 modules are still pretty 
uncommon and expensive as heck, and I can probably squeeze some money 
out of that here and there depending...original budget was $1500 (was 
planning on getting this back at Thanksgiving), and the monitor I got 
then was $220, so I'm only under budget now if I don't pay for the OS.
*coughcough*

But even then, that's not all that bad a price for such a system.  $1500 
is not 'an expensive build'.  $3000-$5000 is an expensive build.  Just 
put in an i7-975 (nearly $1000) and 16 GB RAM ($540) and a high-end 
video card ($500+?)...

--
Tim Cook
http://empyrean.freesitespace.net

Post a reply to this message