BestConfigs - High-End Intel Gaming PC

[incazteca]

Processor: Intel i7-930 $199.99 (Micro Center)
Processor Cooling: Noctua NH-D14 $86.92 (Amazon)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-x58A-UD3R $199.99 (Newegg)
RAM: Corsair XMS3 6 GB DDR3 1600 CMX6GX3M3C1600C7 $174.99 (Newegg)
Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 470 Superclocked 1280 MB $349.99 (Newegg)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 $74.99 (Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF X $199.99 (Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 750HX $139.99 (Amazon)
DVD Burner: LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner iHAS124-04 $22.99 (Newegg)

This is from my latest build. All Prices are from period of July 15- July 21 with no rebates.

Total: $1,449.84

Swap out ODD for LG GH22nS40 DVD Burner: $17.99 (Newegg)
Swap out the power supply for a Corsair 1000 HX PSU: $229.99 (Newegg)
And add another EVGA GeForce GTX 470 Superclocked: $349.99 (Newegg)
Add SSD OCZ OCZSSD2-10Nx64G 64 GB $119.99 (Newegg)

New Total: $2004.82

FINAL BUILD:
Processor: Intel i7-930 $199.99 (Micro Center)
Processor Cooling: Noctua NH-D14 $86.92 (Amazon)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-x58A-UD3R $199.99 (Newegg)
RAM: Corsair XMS3 6 GB DDR3 1600 CMX6GX3M3C1600C7 $174.99 (Newegg)
Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 470 Superclocked 1280 MB $349.99 x2 $699.98 (Newegg)
SSD: OCZ OCZSSD2-10NX64G 64 GB $119.99 (Newegg)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB $74.99 (Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF X $199.99 (Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 1000HX $229.99 (Newegg)
DVD Burner: LG GH22nS40 DVD Burner $17.99 (Newegg)


It's $4.82 over... Sorry... But I'm sure this price will go up or down due to sales and price increases, I've also added cooling for the CPU because If this is a "High End Gaming PC" then I'm sure some overclocking will be done. Also this doesn't account for shipping or taxes. Also money can be saved if you want to switch to a none modular power supply or if you don't plan on overclocking you can then remove the CPU cooler. Other than that I think this is a pretty solid system you get a 64 GB SSD with a Terabyte of storage. You get 2 GTX 470's which should handle any DX11 games just fine. Also the motherboard supports USB3 as well as the case (though it kind of uses a workaround to get the USB3 ports on the front to work). The corsair power supply is also 80 Plus certified. And you get 6 GB of Ram at 7-8-7-20 timings at 1600 Mhz.

 

[wolfram23]

I'm doing something a bit different. 1156 instead of 1366 to add some bigger GPUs.
(EDITED the build, now better and cheaper!)

Processor: i5 750 $194.99
Heat Sink: Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme $62.99
Motherboard + PSU: Asus P7P55D Pro + Corsair 850HX $299.98 combo + mail in rebate
RAM: Patriot Viper II Sector 5 1600mhz CL8 1.65V $109.99
Graphics Card: MSI GTX 480 $419.99 after current rebates (otherwise $449.99) x2 for SLI
Hard Drive: Kingston 128gb SSD $226.00
Seagate 320gb 7200.12 HDD for storage $44.99
Case: Antec 902 $119.95
DVD Burner: LITE-ON DVD+R $19.99

Total: $1918.86 ($1978.86 if you don't get the GTX 480 discount)

More GPU power than any other build can fit 😀
Plus a fairly large SSD if you want to put games on it, otherwise a decent sized HDD for storage.
HSF included, for OCing to the nuts

 

[calguyhunk]

BUILD 1

CPU : $300 (Newegg) Intel Core i7-950

Mobo : $200 (Newegg) ASUS Sabertooth X58

RAM : $165 (Newegg) CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB)

HDD : $59 (Newegg) SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB

GPU : 1 X $550 (Newegg) HIS Radeon HD 5970

GPU : 1 X $355 (Newegg) HIS Radeon HD 5870

PSU : $165 (Newegg) Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000

ODD: $20 (Newegg) LG SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe Support

HSF : $30 (Newegg) COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus

Case : $90 (Newegg) COOLER MASTER HAF 922

Total = $1934 (Before Rebates)+ $29 Shipping = $1963 Grand-Total

EDIT : Changed the cooler to CM Hyper 212 + from the Noctua NH-D14 & updated Motherboard price to accommodate the i7 950.

EDIT 2 : Changed build from single 5970 to 5970 + 5870 CrossfireX set-up by changing Board & removing SSD.

EDIT 3 : Updated prices.

 

[Somebody_007]

I'm doing something a bit different. 1156 instead of 1366 to add some bigger GPUs.

Processor: i5 750 $194.99
Motherboard: Asus P7P55D Deluxe $169.99
RAM: Patriot Viper II Sector 5 2133mhz CL9 1.65V $189.90
Graphics Card: Sapphire Vapor-X 1GB 5870 $399.99 x2 for Crossfire
Hard Drive: WD 500GB 7200rpm 16mb cache $59.99 x2 for RAID 0
Kingston 64gb SSD $190.00
Case: Antec 902 $119.95
Power Supply: Corsair 850HX $169.99
DVD Burner: LITE-ON DVD+R $19.99

Total: $1974.77

Add a heat sink to that CPU, OC it, and this rig will kill any of the above in gaming. Lightning fast RAM, SSD, RAID 0 HDDs, CF 5870s...

Let's say a Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme $62.99 puts you at $2037.76, and now you can OC.
(Alternatively, swap one HDD for the cooler and it's still in budget. The RAID 0s are more for storage and gaming but really, load time doesn't affect in game FPS too much so if we can take OCing into account, I would instead submit this)

I beg to differ my rig and all others here who opted for 470sli or even 480sli will beat this rig in most games. The SSD is small and the raid0 drives aren't as fast in most cases as the 60gb vertex + f3 + hdd boost I mentioned. Your setup has it's advantages but it's certainly not better in games as most other configurations here. Also mine has a sound card which takes the load of the cpu making my 930 more effective than any other here on this thread. You might want to rethink you're 5870 CF it has less features and isn't faster than 470 sli. Not to mention it costs more.

 

[bergieberg]

I'm actually building this right now:

Processor: i7 930 $199.99 (Micro Center)
Motherboard: Asus P6X58D-E $214.99 Newegg
RAM: G.SKILL 6GB 1600Mhz $124.99 Newegg
Graphics Card: MSI Cyclone GTX 460 x2 $469.98 TigerDirect
Hard Drive: Crucial RealSSD c300 128GB $249.99 Newegg
Samsung Barracuda 1TB x2 Raid 0 $139.98
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 $89.99 Newegg
Power Supply: XFX 850W Black Edition $115.99 Tiger Direct
DVD Burner: Samsung Blu-ray $69.99 Amazon

Total: $1675.89

Plus beer $324.10.


I also went with the Sycthe Mugen 2 CPU cooler and got my 7 license through a student discount @ $30.

 

[tecmo34]

■CPU: Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80601930
■MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
■RAM: G.SKILL Trident 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-16000CL9T-6GBTD
■GPU: SAPPHIRE 100280SR Radeon HD 5970 (Hemlock) 2GB 512 (256 x 2)-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support ...
■HSF: Scythe SCMG-2100 Sleeve CPU Cooler
■OS Drive: x2 Intel X25-V SSDSA2MP040G2R5 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (RAID0)
■Storage Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
■PSU: CORSAIR Professional Series AX850 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
■DVD: SAMSUNG 24x DVD Burner - Bulk SATA Model SH-S243N/BEBS LightScribe Support - OEM
■Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 922 BLUE RC-922M-KWN2-GP Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Side window

Total Cost: $1,974.89

 

[wolfram23]

I beg to differ my rig and all others here who opted for 470sli or even 480sli will beat this rig in most games. The SSD is small and the raid0 drives aren't as fast in most cases as the 60gb vertex + f3 + hdd boost I mentioned. Your setup has it's advantages but it's certainly not better in games as most other configurations here. Also mine has a sound card which takes the load of the cpu making my 930 more effective than any other here on this thread. You might want to rethink you're 5870 CF it has less features and isn't faster than 470 sli. Not to mention it costs more.

Thanks for the feedback. I was meaning to check it out and you're right the 470s are at least equal to 5870s in CF. I've changed a few things in the build to better reflect this, including SLI 480s and a larger SSD.

I'd like to argue the Soundcard will make little to no difference, however. We're talking a gaming rig, so CPU usage is almost never going to be maxed meaning there's room for sound processing, but on top of that very few recent sound cards actually handle the sound processing. The majority are still software based. I currently use an AuzenTech Bravura 7.1 on my gaming rig.

 

[ern88]

CHEAPEST i7 930 I saw $199. I wish I lived around a Micro center. But I live in Canada.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0331303

 

[Somebody_007]

Thanks for the feedback. I was meaning to check it out and you're right the 470s are at least equal to 5870s in CF. I've changed a few things in the build to better reflect this, including SLI 480s and a larger SSD.

I'd like to argue the Soundcard will make little to no difference, however. We're talking a gaming rig, so CPU usage is almost never going to be maxed meaning there's room for sound processing, but on top of that very few recent sound cards actually handle the sound processing. The majority are still software based. I currently use an AuzenTech Bravura 7.1 on my gaming rig.

Yeah you're right about the sound card. It makes little difference in games because the cpu isn't bottlenecking but I just want my config to be technically faster than all the others. Sadly I am now bested by the 480 sli configs 🙁.

But actually a sound card makes an astonishing amount of difference in cpu usage.

As you see here http://www.guru3d.com/article/auzen-bravura-review/6 and real world gaming performance here http://www.guru3d.com/article/auzen-bravura-review/10 . And that are comparisons between sound cards not even between sound card and no sound card. but this isn't really a reason to buy one it's more of a bonus to the improved audio quality.

BTW: do you like your bravura? I'm thinking of buying one with a pc 360. You think it's a good choice?

 

[wolfram23]

Yeah you're right about the sound card. It makes little difference in games because the cpu isn't bottlenecking but I just want my config to be technically faster than all the others. Sadly I am now bested by the 480 sli configs 🙁.

But actually a sound card makes an astonishing amount of difference in cpu usage.

As you see here http://www.guru3d.com/article/auzen-bravura-review/6 and real world gaming performance here http://www.guru3d.com/article/auzen-bravura-review/10 . And that are comparisons between sound cards not even between sound card and no sound card. but this isn't really a reason to buy one it's more of a bonus to the improved audio quality.

BTW: do you like your bravura? I'm thinking of buying one with a pc 360. You think it's a good choice?

Interesting results.

Yes I really like it. It does have one quirk, you need to mute/disabble the SPDIF out otherwise you'll get a pop/snap sound randomly (like when you open a folder in Explorer and a little sound plays). It's wierd, but once I found the fix it's worked beautifully. Never had issues, full 7.1 surround works in everything I've played. And they updated the drivers with DTS... so yeah it's a good card.

 

[Somebody_007]

Interesting results.

Yes I really like it. It does have one quirk, you need to mute/disabble the SPDIF out otherwise you'll get a pop/snap sound randomly (like when you open a folder in Explorer and a little sound plays). It's wierd, but once I found the fix it's worked beautifully. Never had issues, full 7.1 surround works in everything I've played. And they updated the drivers with DTS... so yeah it's a good card.

About your build :I'd get a cheaper case and get a 500gb f3 because that one is just sad lol. Also the psu will cause constraints under ful load after a bit of aging and definately under OCs. But anyways it's your build so let me stop meddling 😛.

Thanks for the feedback btw 😀

 

[wolfram23]

Well there's always something else, isn't there? Actually, I could probably throw on another 320gb HDD with the room that's left (if the 480 discount is taken) but strictly speaking, this is a gaming rig and even with 20 games at 10gb each, you're only at 200gb and that's pushing it. It's all the audio and video files that require bloated HDD room (my real rig I'm using two 500gb HDDs in RAID 0 😀). The 850HX should hold out alright, but yeah... 600W for SLI 480s alone is pretty sketchy.

 

[incazteca]

Hey Wolfram, not to nitpick or anything but is the 902 even capable of holding 2 GTX 480's? I don't see any of the reviewers of the case mentioning the card.

 

[wolfram23]

Hey Wolfram, not to nitpick or anything but is the 902 even capable of holding 2 GTX 480's? I don't see any of the reviewers of the case mentioning the card.

Yes, they're only 1" longer than my 5850s and with the side mounted power connectors it'll fit. As it happens even if they were longer they could stick into the middle rack, so HDD/SSD in the bottom rack, DVD in the top and leave the mid one empty. I own a 902, and I was able to stick a middle mounted fan blowing on the back of my 5850s, and that's with the PCIe connectors sticking out the backs + the fan itself actually protruded out a bit. So yeah... I think the reason a lot of people wouldn't bother with the 902 (even tho it has GREAT air flow) is simply that at this price point, it's not that much more for a 1200 or other full sized case. Plus, a lot of these people will also add water cooling which is nice to have all internal and there's just not the room for that in a 902.

 

[hurleypc]

So the listed systems are all fine and good, with the exceptions of Power Supply, CPU Heat Sinks, Case Fans, Lighting (If desired), consumables as in Cooling Fluid, and lets not forget the Keyboard and Mouse. Maybe ya'll can re-think your costs and outfitting? This is a gaming box, wouldn't a AMD T1090, RAID 0 SSD, 6Gb of fast ram, (2x2Gb) 4G SLI/Crossfire configuration, Raptor HD, and not so over featured MOBO make better since? There are not to many games out there that can load a i7 730....let alone a 750. Besides wouldn't a i5 be better suited for gaming?

 

[wolfram23]

So the listed systems are all fine and good, with the exceptions of Power Supply, CPU Heat Sinks, Case Fans, Lighting (If desired), consumables as in Cooling Fluid, and lets not forget the Keyboard and Mouse. Maybe ya'll can re-think your costs and outfitting? This is a gaming box, wouldn't a AMD T1090, RAID 0 SSD, 6Gb of fast ram, (2x2Gb) 4G SLI/Crossfire configuration, Raptor HD, and not so over featured MOBO make better since? There are not to many games out there that can load a i7 730....let alone a 750. Besides wouldn't a i5 be better suited for gaming?

This is just for the "PC" part of it, ie: case and components. Monitor, speakers, etc are considered extra to this budget... if you could fit watercooling into the price tag then by all means go for it, but that's highly unlikely. As for CPU and mobo... I agree, which is why mine has the i5 750. But the X58 platform has great features so there's pros and cons either way. Why don't you try putting one together and see what you come up with?

 

[dndhatcher]

You could fit 480s even in an Antec 300. It will hold up to 10.5 inch video cards.

 

[f-14]

this is exactly what i'd build with a 2k ceiling, some much flaunted waste in M/B, Memory, 2 dvd burners, and the case to shave off $100, but why? 😀 oh, stayed a lil under for shipping and to possibly change out some fans.

Intel® - Core™ i7-950 Processor $299.99 thx 4 tip Chromethus +1
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Intel%26%23174%3B+-+Core%26%238482%3B+i7-950+Processor/9486503.p?id=1218112691211&skuId=9486503

Thermaltake Frio CPU Air Cooler $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106150

EVGA X58FTW3 $269.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188065

G.Skill PI Series 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600 Model F3-12800CL7T-6GBPI $149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335

EVGA GeForce GTX 470 SuperClocked 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 $349.99 x2 (for SLI)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130549

Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB SATA III $146.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148358
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

Antec 900 $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

KingWin 1050W ATX $104.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121070

LG 22X DVD Burner SATA Model GH22LS50 LightScribe $17.99 x2 =35.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136168

Total Damage: $1966.89 add $21.66 newegg shipping best buy shipping ? (plenty change left for it)

 

[jones911]

Processor: Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz (dropping under 300.00 in the next day or two.)
Motherboard: MSI Big Bang-XPower LGA 1366 Intel X58 299.99
RAM: A-DATA Plus Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 149.99
Graphics Card: Palit NE5X460HF1102 GeForce GTX 460 x 2 479.98
Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Blue RC-932-KKN3 159.98
Hard Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 79.99
Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB SATA III $146.00
Power Supply: KINGWIN Lazer LZ-1000 1000W Modular 159.99
DVD Burner: LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 25.99

NOTE: I chose the Nvidia GTX 460's in SLI since they outperform a 5970 or 5870 x2 in CF. I feel this is the sweet spot for getting the most out of your dollar. I considered going with GTX 480 x2 but I feel the heat this cards let off, the size of the cards, and the price would not justify spending the money. This leaves the total at $1801.91. I know the limit is 2k but I dont feel there is a need to spend the money for very little gain. The only other thing I would consider doing is adding another 6 gigs of RAM for 149.99

 

[raybob95]

Processor: Core i7 930
Motherboard: Gigabyte X58A-UD4P
RAM: 6GB DDR3 1600 OCZ
Graphics Card: 2 x ATI Radeon 5870
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB
Case: Antec 900 or HAF 922
Power Supply: Corsair TX 750
DVD Burner: 24x Sony SATA

 

[lp231]

With a budget of $2000 looks like most of the builds are identical. Here's my doodad

CPU: Core i7 950 @ 3.06GHz
m/b: Asus P6X58D-E
ram: G.Skill 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600
It's red!
gpu: HIS HD5970
Red also...
HDD: WD VelociRaptor 600GB (SATA 6Gb/s)
SSD: Crucial RealSSD 64GB (SATA 6Gb/s)
case: Cooler Master HAF 922 (red)
Picked red as a final salute to the Red team before they turn green with their next card.
psu: Corsair 750w
odd: LG writer (SATA)

Grand total: 1955.68

Note: Them storage drives are SATA 6Gb/s so make sure you plugged it to the right SATA ports if you want performance.
They won't get fried if you plugged them to the ports label SATA 3Gb/s.
Also not sure what type of cable Asus provides into their motherboard packages, but I've got a SATA 6Gb/s expansion card which is from Asus as well, and the SATA cables provided says (SATA 6Gb/s). Not sure if that is a marketing gimmick or there are actual differences in the design of those cables.

If the cables provided are not SATA 6GB/s, you get them for $6 bucks each.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123287&cm_re=SATA_III_cables-_-12-123-287-_-Product

 

[Tamz_msc]

Processor: Intel Core i7 950 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115211

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423

RAM: Corsair XMS3 6 GB (3x2 GB) 1600 MHz DDR3 TR3X6G1600C9 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145222

Graphics Card: EVGA GTX 470 SLI http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130550

HDD :Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB HDD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

SSD :Intel X-25 M 80 GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167023

Case: CoolerMaster HAF-X http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225

Power Supply: Corsair 850TX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009

DVD Burner:Lite-On 24 X DVD burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106333

Total: 1929.90$(excluding rebates)

 

[d1rtyju1c3]

SYSTEM 1: X58

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128422

CPU: i7 950
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115211

Memory: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145253

Video card: 2 EVGA GTX470s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130550

PSU: Antec TPQ-1200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371032

Case: AZZA Solano 1000R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517006

HDD: 1 Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433

CD/DVD burner: LITE-ON Black 24X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

Total: $1,958.71 before rebates/ $1898.71 after rebates



SYSTEM 2: P55

Motherboard: EVGA P55 FTW 200 SLI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188057

CPU: Intel Core i7-875K
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0337971

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

Video card: 2 EVGA GTX470s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130550

PSU: Antec TPQ-1200 1200W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371032

Case: AZZA Solano 1000R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517006

HDD: 1 Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433

SSD: Corsair Nova Series 64GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233108

CD/DVD burner: Sony Optiarc Black 24X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118040

Total: $1962.64 before rebates/ $1882.64 after rebates

I know that I didnt include any SSDs but I didnt shop around except for the i7 875k from microcenter.

 

[jasonw223]

Going a slightly different route than most for fun here:

Processor: Intel Core i7 875K ($315)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4P ($180)
RAM: 4gb G.Skill PI 2200mhz 7-10-10-28 ($180)
Graphics Card: 2x EVGA GTX 480s ($950)
Hard Drive: Corsair NOVA 32gb SSD ($50 after rebates) + 1tb Seagate 7200.12 ($65)
Case: Antec Dark Fleet DF-35 ($100)
Power Supply: Corsair 950w ($140)
DVD Burner: Samsung 24x w/ lightscribe ($20)

$2000

This will destroy any system with a 5970 or SLI 470s. Fun to overclock. Not a HAF case. Sexy RAM. Will keep you warm in the winter.

 

[MadAdmiral]

^That board won't let you do both USB 3/SATA III and SLI at the same time. Adding the second card will disable the higher speeds.

Also, you're not going to be doing much overclocking with two 480s in there with only a 950W PSU...