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Sweet god you've put alot of thought into this. First post is teal deer, but still, impressive.
Me, (besides building it myself) I woulda went w/ the cheapest with the best rec. Word of mouth from people like those on here and Anandtech mean alot when it comes to companies selling me things. AVA, Maingear, VM, and Pudget would have been the main 4 in my fight.
How is Digital Storm; I've read good and bad things.
Just yankin' yer chain, so to speak. I can honestly say I've never seen anyone around here or the multitude of other forums I've been a member of for well over a decade now (this nick is just another one here, been around much longer than the 4 month thing would lead people to believe) ever put so much time and effort into building a box.
Come to think of it, I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not.
Anywho... I sincerely hope that when you finally make the decision and do the deed that you do get a shitload of lifespan from it and enjoyment.
Anyway which Gigabyte X48 motherboard are you talking about? There's quite a few Gigabyte X48 motherboards out there. In any case, I recommend the Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4. IT's the right balance of features, quality and performance and is more than enough for Crossfire.
Also I want to point out that a good quality 750W PSU will handle that load. So make sure you choose a good quality PSU.
OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE MAN... <ok, that's a joke, yanno>
Anyway, you're still better off doing it yourself, period.
Having said that, my choice would be the 1st, without question. Pure Intel hardware (albeit on a Gigabyte mobo but that's Intel-based which is what matters). I wouldn't recommend anything but Intel-based hardware for Intel processors, ever.
Only thing I would change would be the power supply: I only buy PC Power & Cooling hardware and nothing else. Aside from that, the 1st system listed would be what I'd choose if I was getting a prebuilt system and someone else was paying for it.
As far as the monitor, well... good lord, that's such a nearly impossible thing to choose at this exact moment I couldn't say. I'm a big fan of CRTs, even in today's LCD mad world. If I could choose a monitor to go with this box, it would be a new Sony FW900 24" CRT, but those - especially brand new ones - are nearly impossible to find much anymore.
However... there is one LCD that I'd probably grab:
Lenovo ThinkVision L220X 22" WUXGA 1920x1200 LCD
I just like the damned thing, and the increased resolution in the 22" form means it's got a sharper dot pitch compared to 24" models at the same resolution. Hell I'd probably grab two, actually.
Now order the damned machine so we can get on to other things, will ya...
Pick one of these rigs, tell me why you picked it and what you would add including monitor.
Core 2 CrossFire DDR2 Gaming System = $2780.24 $2780.24
- INTEL, Core 2 Quad Q9550 Quad-Core 2.83GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 12MB (2 x 6MB) L2 Cache, 45nm, 95W, EM64T EIST VT XD, Retail
- XIGMATEK, HDT-S1283 CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink, Socket 775/754/939/940/AM2, 120mm Fan, Copper/Aluminum, Retail
- ARCTIC COOLING, MX-2 High-Performance Thermal Compound, Non-Electrical Conductive
- GIGABYTE, GA-X48-DS4, LGA775, Intel X48, 1600MHz FSB, DDR2-1200 8GB /4, PCIe x16 CF /2, SATA 3 Gb/s RAID 5 /6, HDA, GbLAN /2, FW /3, ATX, Retail
- OCZ, 4GB (2 x 2GB) Reaper HPC Edition PC2-8500 DDR2 1066MHz CL 5-5-5-18 2.1-2.3V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
- VISIONTEK, Radeon® HD 4870 750MHz, 512MB GDDR5 1800Mhz, PCIe x16 CrossFire, DVI /2, Retail
- VISIONTEK, Radeon® HD 4870 750MHz, 512MB GDDR5 1800Mhz, PCIe x16 CrossFire, DVI /2, Retail
- AUZENTECH, Auzen X-Plosion 7.1, 7.1 channels, 24-bit 96KHz, S/PDIF In/Out, PCI
- WESTERN DIGITAL, 500GB WD Caviar® SE16 (WD5000AAKS), SATA 3 Gb/s, 7200-RPM, 16MB cache
- WESTERN DIGITAL, 500GB WD Caviar® SE16 (WD5000AAKS), SATA 3 Gb/s, 7200-RPM, 16MB cache
- ROSEWILL, RCR-102 Black 52-in-1 Card Reader/Writer Drive, 3.5" Bay, USB 2.0
- SONY, DDU1615/B2S Black 16x DVD-ROM Drive, IDE, OEM
- SAMSUNG, Super-WriteMaster SH-S203N Black 20x DVD±R/RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ LightScribe, SATA, w/ Software, OEM
- NZXT, Apollo Blue NP Mid-Tower Case w/ Window, ATX, No PSU, SECC Steel
- CORSAIR, CMPSU-750TX TX Series Power Supply, 750W, 80 PLUS®, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, Multi-GPU Ready
- MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition w/ SP1, OEM
The OP is getting a custom build, that's the point. This is just the second thread of discussion over his dilemma at not being able to choose which "boutique" shop he wants to do the build.
I don't think I have a dilemma anymore. It's between AVA Direct and Puget Custom Computers.
However, I won't get the money until at least the 1st of August and I am hoping to see some of the new 4870x2's out and about. If they are available, and within my budget, I might decide to go that route.
I don't think I have a dilemma anymore. It's between AVA Direct and Puget Custom Computers.
I would wrestle Misha for you, but seeing as he is like 6' 10", I'm not going to win that one.