Building a Gaming Rig, couple of questions!

[Vinceisg0d]

I honestly dont plan on upgrading the main parts of this computer for 2-3 years, at least until the current games are running as badly as the ones on my current comp are now =)

Is something like that going to matter at all for me? I mean, by the time I upgrade this computer, wont the AMD/Intel CPUs be however many generations ahead of what I would have prepared myself for, and I would need a different mobo/etc anyway?

 

[batuchka]

That is why we dun launch a missile to swat a fly and if you are building a rendering/encoding machine *and* time = $$ then fair enuff - splash a lot on chip+ board but fortunately and with chipset longevity/progression/technology factored in a 955BE +870+ HD 5850/5870 is all u need for games. Hell our very own forums did a $70+ AthlonII X3 vs i7 purely games and suffice to say i would have no issues pairing that little chip with a HD 5870 with the AA/AF turned up on Full HD Save the rest for the next generation bang for buck gaming related hardware whicever camp that is ^^ You may also read up on Moore's Law and how our so called high end/expensive hardware now becomes rapidly obsolete
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_law#Obsolescence

 

[mosox]

Honestly I don't care anymore what CPU gives me 5-10% more in this or that application. I just want to keep it cool and quiet (while having a decent performance) and to not have tho change my platform every time I want to upgrade the CPU. There's been a few years since I've run a benchmark, I don't care anymore and IMO today's mid-range CPU's are already overkill for the usual applications.

From my limited experience I'd say it's better to buy a mid-range platform and upgrade it than to buy a high-end platform. You buy a high end CPU or video card, and 1 year later you see that you can get the same performance for half the price. The thing is, if you didn't use your high-end CPU/GPU at full potential during this time you've thrown your money out the window.

What's the use of getting, say, a Q9400 in late 2008, use it at 30% of its potential and when you finally feel that you need that power, you see that you can get a better and cheaper CPU for much less ? Only one year after the Q9400 the i5 750 and the Phenom II X4 showed up.

 

[gkay09]

^ People who had got say Q9400/ Q9550 are still happy with their purchase and still can wait for the next gen for a good upgrade...
So the point is that even though you will be getting a slightly expensive PC now, it would have a longer lifespan compared to a Mid-end PC...
Only major things that you would have to change then is your graphics card...
Though I wont say that this build is the only way to go for the OP's intended usage, but am sure it will last him long before he would want to upgrade his PC...

But if the OP is not in a hurry, then waiting might be a good idea as the info given my mosox does open up a new option...
More solid details would be available by the year-end of AMD as well as Intel's camp...

 

[Vinceisg0d]

Sorry to bump this again! Big purchases require certainty! So far everything is in place, but the memory and the HDD, here are two questions:

The choices I have seem to be:

2x Samsung 1TB in a RAID

vs

2x WD Black 1TB in a RAID

vs

1x WD Black 2TB


Price isn't really that much of a difference, Samsung is the cheapest, then WD Black 1TB, then WD Black 2TB.

Pricing aside, which of the three above would perform the best?

And:

What memory should I get?

I can get

3x2gb Corsair 1366 --> http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=40135&vpn=TR3X6G1333C7&manufacture=Corsair

or

3x2gb Corsair 1600 Dominators --> http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34802&vpn=TR3X6G1600C8D&manufacture=Corsair

or

3x2gb Gskillz --> http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34719&vpn=F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ&manufacture=G.Skill&promoid=1068


I can Price Match them down a little bit, and I should be able to get the Corsair Dominators for $259. How is the performance on all of them? Which should I get for this system?

 

[gkay09]

HDD - Samsung F3 1TB...The WD Black 1TB are the old one...they are yet to release a 1TB based on the 500GB platter design...

And as for RAM...
For get those and get this...Quality as good as Dominators and for this price, this is a better option...
Mushkin Enhanced XP XP3-12800 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 8-8-8-24
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=35341&vpn=998681&manufacture=Mushkin%20Enhanced

And did you check this one ??
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=51332&vpn=CMP6GX3M3A1600C8&manufacture=Corsair