Gaming PC w/ 30" monitor -- Suggestions

R

Rhyme

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 18, 2003
Messages
184
I'm getting the urge to build another PC and would love to have your suggestions. I've answered the questions below:


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

I'll be using this for everyday use but its main focus will be for gaming on a 30" monitor.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

My budget is pretty flexible -- around 2000 to 2500 dollars

3) Where do you live?

I live in New York.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.

I'm thinking I'd like to go with a new I7 build with about 6 gigs of memory. I think I have have my heart set on the Cooler Master ATCS 840 case. I would also like to get a SLI setup. I think two video cards will be fine. I know there should be price drops around the corner on the GTX 280's... I'll probably wait to buy those around January 9th.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Everything will be new.

6) Will you be overclocking?

Yes. But nothing too extreme. Air cooling is fine. Was thinking the Thermaltake V1 would be fine....

7) What size monitor do you have or plan to have?

30" Dell, gaming at 2560x1600

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

In the next two weeks.


9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.

I want to have a raid 0 setup and SLI support.
 
I'd go with a Core i7 920 on a Rampage II Extreme with an ATI Radeon 4870 X2 for the video card. Add a second one if you feel you need to.

If you must go NVIDIA, then two Geforce GTX 280's is the only way to go for a 30" today. Though supposedly the GTX 295 will be coming out soon.
 
I'm a little leary about the 4870x2 because I keep reading forum posts on other sites about how world of warcraft doesn't play well with a 4870x2 card. Wow is one of the games I'll be playing and I want performance to be top notch.

Has anyone heard this or is this just misinformation?
 
I don't play World of Warcraft so I can't speak to how the 4870 X2 performs with it.
 
jooh.jpg
 
If you are gaming on a 30" monitor the Geforce GTX 280 is the minimum I'd go with.
 
I used a 4870x2 and GTX 280 (currently) on my 30" Gateway before it died of a bad PSU. Both cards handled the 2560x1600 very well. I never cranked the settings to their highest levels, tho.

Dan_D: I must take issue with part of your sig. Birdshot is highly effective as self-defense ammunition... if one is under siege by a flock of bloodthirsty, Taliban-trained crows. :p
 
I am currently using 2x280 GTX's with a Samsung 305T monitor and I could not be happier. Gaming in 25x16 is truly outstanding. I have never been so immersed in gaming until now. The I7 is nice too!
 
This is what I have come up with so far. These are all prices from newegg.com



CORSAIR CMPSU-1000HX 1000W Power Supply
$259.99

Thermaltake CL-P0401 110mm Full-Range Fan CPU Cooler
$59.99

EVGA GeForce GTX 280 SSC Edition 01G-P3-1284-AR Video Card
$399.99 X2 **

Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit for System Builders
$179.99

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$239.98 (2 drives)

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
$5.99

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory
$177.00

Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
$294.99

EVGA 132-BL-E758-A1 ATX Intel Motherboard
$299.99 *

Grand Total: 2,317.90


* I went with the EVGA motherboard because it has the most favorable reviews on newegg. Many of the x58 boards seem to be plagued by various DOA failures. I want to minimize that risk as much as possible

** Will wait to order these on or around January 9th when the 295 is released -- for price cuts.
 
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