$2500 to spend - No PC Gaming Experience

I just built my system for $1500, but if you have the extra cash get a quad core.

Depending on how big your monitor is -i.e. if its more than 24" (1920x1200) -then I'd maybe change some of the things here. I deliberately left out the high end RAM / overclocking motherboard etc because I really don't think an audio workstation that doubles as a gaming PC (like mine) should really be messed around with like that. Stability is the key. However, if your monitor is bigger than 24" -get an SLI motherboard (Asus P5N32-E SLI?) and possibly step down from the GTX to two GTS in SLI. Otherwise:

Intel C2D Quad-core Q6600 2.66Ghz - $541

Asus P5B-Deluxe Wifi - $192

G.Skill 4Gb (2x2Gb) DDR2-800 - $315

eVGA 8800GTX 768Mb PCIe - $529 === $1577

150Gb WD Raptor HDD - $175 (for OS)

4x 500Gb Samsung Spinpoint HDD - $500 (quieter than WD / Seagates)

Seasonic M12-700W PSU - $209

Lian Li PC-V1100B II - $229 (dead silent case)

TOTAL = $2690 (ok, so it went over by a bit...can always go down from having 2Tb of sample/project storage to 1.5Tb)

Thats what I'd get if I was rebuilding my audio workstation/gaming PC anyway...

Go with a Mac Pro. That's what i did. ended up being closer to $3k but it rules. Not the "best" gaming rig, but a pretty darn good one. It would be great for Pro Tools, which i hope to put onto mine eventually and I have mine running the Mac OS but also running XP for all my games and stuff.

Meh. More like "decent gaming PC" -the highest video card you can get is the X1900XT at the moment. Of course, if they start throwing in an 8800GTX it would definitely make things tempting (and knowing Apple, would probably add another 1k to the price)

Do factor in some other not quite as tangible benefits, though. First is obviously the availability of 2 OSes, 3 if you count a straight Linux variant. Second, the thing comes with 4 cores, and software has been written to take advantage of that. And third, it's going to cost extra to make a home-built PC as quiet as the Mac Pros are. It may not be enough to sway your position, but it is worth thinking about.

All i know is, i have maxed out every setting on every game i play at 1680x1050 res and have great frame rates. Sure there are better video cards, and future games will suffer, but i can always throw in a better card for gaming in XP if i want.

You don't really need to spend that much. I would go to overclockers.com and ask the same Q there as well just to get some other ideas.

You can OC a core2duo to insane speeds and spend only $200 on the proc.

Spend the most money on the gpu ALWAYS! One 8800gtx will rock. You can add another later if you have to have it.

Otherwise I think Kenny Dope has some good ideas so go with that.

$2,500 is a VERY generous budget for a PC. Why don't you put a proposed component list up for us to critique?

Of course, I highly recommend Newegg.com.

My suggestion would be to go with a high end dual core AMD processor unless you are working with software you know will take advantage of four cores.

If you're not a hardcore PC gamer the nVidia 8800gts 320mb might be prudent. It is very fast, supports dx10, and is only $270.

First, I wish I was you right now, because you are going to have a whole lot of fun. I love ASUS motherboards. Core 2 Duos are the way to go right now. If you intend to overclock, I'd poke around as there are probably lots of in depth articles on the E6700 processor.

Second, I'll throw a couple things for you to consider but I don't see any issues as is (then again I don't keep up on the nuances between 8800GTX card manufacturers or the overlocking advantages of a 6600 vs. a 6700). On that note, I'd invest a bit of time looking at the different players in the video card market if you already haven't done that (reading the user reviews on the 8800GTX's would probably do it). A lot of cash going in that direction and you want to make the best choice possible.

For the harddrive, keep in mind that with todays processors and video cards, many times the bottleneck is pulling data and writing it to the harddrive. I would seriously look at a WD Raptor 150GB as a system drive and another separate drive for storage. At Newegg it's HERE for $200 but these were down to around $170 just a little while ago, not sure what happened. Hell I saw a retail box RaptorX on the BB website for $150 range which was ludicrously cheap. We had some discussion on this in another thread, I linked two relevant posts the first of which contains the conclusion paragraph from Storage Review as well as a link to the complete review. (when most sites benchmark hard drives they don't know enough to look at the tests that are most relevant to normal non-server usage so this is a particularly good article)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&#post10206813
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&#post10180699

Two concerns with your wish list.

The PSU is underpower for SLI 8800GTX. Also get a better brand such as Enermax, OCZ, or PC Power and Cooling over the 850w plus range. Don't cheap out on the PSU,

Just a warning. The Thermalright SI-128 can be a pain to install. It only uses the push pin s775 like mountings. It doesn't use a back plate for a more secure mounting. From my experience, I have had trouble locking in all four push pins to secure the HS to the mobo. I luv Thermalright HS's and use them almost exclusively in all my builds. I now only use the SI-128 with AMD since it secures really well with the AMD CPU bracket. The better alternative would be the Theramlright ULTRA 120 (not the Extreme version since it has some issues I am not sure has been fixed). A good fan for either HS is any of the Panaflo hi power fans, but a fan controller maybe needed to control the noise.

if you're going to do mostly stuff with Pro Tools and game on the side, i'd seriously consider quad core. I think you'll be happier. That's why i recommended the MacPro. Quad core won't give you any advantage in gaming, but it will with Pro Tools.

Not too shabby. I know it's a personal preference, but I'd get an Asus P182 case over the one you've chosen. (I don't like flashy/side panels).

Everything else looks good.

Just to note, the R600 is about to come out on the 14th, you may want to wait and see how it performs. Initial benches for the 2900XT look good (XTX don't look good), and if the rumored prices are true, you could get two 2900XT's in Crossfire for a little more than a single GTX.

I would shop that Raptor price around. This drive could be had for $179 delivered just a month ago from Newegg and Best Buy's site had it for $159 retail box for the Raptor X (which just has a clear pannel if you like fluff but also a 5 year warranty on a retail purchase box vs. 3 for OEM). Price seems to have gone up but it's worth looking around. I don't mind throwing Newegg some extra business for convenience but a 20-30% price increase over 60 days on a hard drive is a bit much to swallow.

Wow, that's a dream system. You really can't improve much on that hardware.

You went above your $2,500 budget, though. If you want to get the budget down here's where I'd cut corners:

Get a cheap $50 mobo. I would also get a $100 7,500 hard drive. Any improvement you get from high end mobos and hard drives is barely measureable on the benchmarks I've seen....

You are going to go nuts looking at all that stuff and not being able to install it without the processor and video cards.

I'm guessing you are wedded to the GTX's (given you ordered the motherboard) but are maybe hoping the new ATI cards force a lower price or maybe you'll swap the MB if you decide to go that route?

You're off to a good start. You'll like the Antec 900, it'll keep everything nice and cool (though it's slightly louder than the P182, but slightly cooler).

If you decide to go with the X2900XTs, swap that motherboard with an Asus P5B Deluxe (or P5B Deluxe Wifi if you need that). It's a good overclocker.

This web site has a ton of info about running games at high resolution

http://firingsquad.com/

I think you'll see that with a GTX+quad core you will be able to run any game in existence at 1920x1200 with everything turned up and still get well over 60fps.

What games are you going to play with that monster?

You'll have to explain to me how nuts is better than crazy .

I think if you wind up staying GTX you won't have any issues with any games and when and if you feel the need, you'll be able to add another when the cost is much less. This is really a card that's a major league improvment and will offer longevity similar to the Radeon 9700 days, even moreso with adding another in SLI later to get some boost.

If the ATI cards are killers...they will knock down the prices of the GTX and even so it won't be hard to unload that motherboard taking only a modest loss.

You really only need an aftermarket HSF if you plan on overclocking. The regular HSF's will do their job properly at stock voltage / clocks.

If you are overclocking you could take a look at the Tuniq Tower if the thermalright isn't in stock.

erased sorry!

I love my Mac Pro, and you arent just limited to the ati card. If you install boot camp and only use boot camp you can put any PCI-E card in and it will work fine

Mo!

agreed. which is fine by me since the only time i play games on my comp are when it's in Windows. So once Crysis comes out, maybe i'll get Vista then and a direct X 10 card as well.