New Comp... help me find the right road to take

[Florline]

So im thinking of getting a new comp this month ...

i was looking at building one if i wanet to get a Desktop...
or go with the laptop but with the Dx10 stuff i rilly not up on a lapy anymore ... the only use out of a laptop i have is my work... but hey i do most of my work from home so desktop should be no diff

i was checking out the alianware comps to much money but good stuff with the dual 8800 GTX cant pass on that + with quads ....

heh then Dell is good for its money ... but they have the 8800 GTS...
and only dual ...

so i was thinking

what can i get if i build one with about 3k to spend on it ....
can some one help me out and make me a pimp ass wishlist comp i can take a look at to get some better idea on what a build comp would look like with 3k..

i have done a lot of searching around and its just hard to set my mind to one idea .... so boys and girl help me out hea ... thx

[Renji]

I personally would wait on computer parts for awhile, theres alot of new stuff just around the corner and with 3k you could build something quite good with the price cuts that are coming.

[Lomi]

Yeah I would wait it out too unless the computer you currently have cant run the games that are out right now. AOC being pushed back is helping me start getting some back build of cashflow for a new computer around September I guess.

I havent been inclined with hardware knowledge in a while but I do know if you buy something in Feburary by October its gonna be a joke.

[Obdazen]

Technical forums?

Alienware and Dell are crap. Good, expensive crap. Definately build one, or get one built. As for your wishlist, 3k is a good bit of money to play with. I'd save it until later when AoC is about to come out and after Vista. IF you wanted to get one now...here's what you'd get (build it of course):

I'd probly say a quad core
2gb RAM
250gb SATA Drive, at least 7,200RPM
700+ watt power supply
8800 GTX
and you can probably have enough money left over to get a BD burner and Vista upgrade

[Florline]

hmmm yea i was going with the quad ... but yea i should wait ... just the fact stands on that i need a new comp for work and i cant wait to long hahaha... i am an architectural designer so i have to start working with Maya And 3D MAX more ... and high level randers of housing ... so comp is on the first thing on my list i think i can hold out for 2 months to 3 ... see what will be in store for the start of april but i dont think i cant go with out a comp for 9 months ... just way to long ..... so hopeing if anyone knows anything on whats coming out in the next 3 months hit me up with the infos .. thx guys for your helf once more

[Torr]

Yeah 3K is alot. If you're comfortable building computers, that's the way to go. For ideas on builds, check out a company that builds for high end users, and copy thier specs if you like them. ABS computers or Cyberpower might be good places to start to look at what kind of motherboards or card combinations to use. Places like Alienware and Falcon are just too over the top.

If you're more comfortable with computer parts or know what you really want, I like to look at www.tomshardware.com and read a bunch of thier good articles, then go to thier charts where it compares parts like video cards, hard drives, etc. It's kept very current.

Finally... I'm planning on switching out my RAID striping array for a single raptor hard drive for speed in seek times, with a backup drive for large files. BUT... if I were using a computer to do high level renders, like for example CAD/CAM stuff.. I would definitely go with a RAID striping array. Most users are constantly loading little files, and even with large artwork in Photoshop I'm not doing things on the level of what I would classify as a "high level render". Working with very big files like that, you would benefit from a large hard drive throughput tremendously.

Of course, going RAID you either need a card or a motherboard that supports RAID. For example, my motherboard has 2 SATA connectors with a RAID chip on he board. You would need to decide about going with a RAID setup before you started buying.

And look below at the technical forums, there have been alot of discussions on hardware down there. We don't always agree, but there is info floating around down there that might be useful.

[Iranium]

I think it's necessary to point out that QUAD CORES only outperform Core2Duos in certain applications NOT gaming. Look at the gfx benchmarks out there and you'll see. Quad Cores are not for gamers.

And yes, build your own computer. You'll not only save money but you'll get a better system.

For 3k you can go wild: I recommend the X6800 & Asus P5W DH Delux combo. Get 2 gigs of performance ram, and a 8800 GTX.

[Obdazen]

He's using it now for architectual design, not gaming.

[kidRiot]

Originally Posted by Iranium

I think it's necessary to point out that QUAD CORES only outperform Core2Duos in certain applications NOT gaming. Look at the gfx benchmarks out there and you'll see. Quad Cores are not for gamers.

And yes, build your own computer. You'll not only save money but you'll get a better system.

For 3k you can go wild: I recommend the X6800 & Asus P5W DH Delux combo. Get 2 gigs of performance ram, and a 8800 GTX.

What about the multi-threaded games that will be released? Companies like Source and such are going to take advantage of multi-thread, which is why you want duo or quad cores to run the multi-threaded games at best performance.

[Florline]

Originally Posted by Obdazen

He's using it now for architectual design, not gaming.

Yes it is true but i just wish to get one comp .. the thing is thats why i cant wait few months well over 3 for new parts and so on ... so i need to get something over the top for games and so i can do my 3d randers...
i was looking at the XPS dells today ... and was thinking doing there 150 bux a month for 18month just like cash ... the top of the line new one they have for 5k ... but at the same time i looked at the alianware Quads and the 768 GTX that they have for 5k too... but its only 6months ... then im looking on getting with a card ... but i dont know do you think they will change much in the next few monts 2-3 that is ... and with other teck stuff thats coming out that is .... so thats my delema .... cuzz i would wait 6 months to get a new comp but i need a new work computer hahaha so thats why im looking into that ...