Ok I am getting the opportunity to build my brother a really nice machine (hes a gamer) for christmas. When I first started speccing the machine I was going with a core 2 quad 2.83 ghz machine with a single GTX 280 and 8 gigs of ddr 3. However, now with the i7s out I have shifted to an i7 build with 12 gigs of ddr3 (CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)) and again a single gtx 280. The total build cost is about 2100. However, I have also thought about just building him a midrange system using an amd phenom x4 with 2 4870s for about 1700.
Here are the two systems -
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 $294.99
2x CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C9 $298.00 -$30.00 Instant $536.00
Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case $214.99 -$35.00 Instant $179.99
EVGA 132-BL-E758-A1 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard $299.99
1xEVGA 01G-P3-1282-AR GeForce GTX 280 SuperClocked Edition 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card $459.99 -$25.00 Instant $434.99
ABS Tagan BZ Series BZ900 900W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Patent Piperock Modular Power Supply $269.99 -$120.00 Instant $149.99
1x Seagate SV35.3 ST3500320SV 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $79.99
2x LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model iHAS120-08 $25.99 ($51.98)
Subtotal: $2,137.38 (i removed various parts from the list like OS, wifi card, etc...)
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1 AMD Phenom 9950 2.6GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor Model HD995ZXAGHBOX $169.99 $169.99
2 CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF $119.00 -$10.00 Instant $218.00
1 ABS Tagan BZ Series BZ900 900W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Patent Piperock Modular Power Supply $269.99 -$120.00 Instant $149.99
1 Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case $214.99 -$35.00 Instant $179.99
1 Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $119.99 $119.99
1 ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard $188.99 $188.99
2 SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card $289.99 -$25.00 Instant $529.98
2 LITE-ON 22X DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model iHAS422-08 $29.99 $59.98
1 ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler $59.99 -$10.00 Instant $49.99
Subtotal: $1,776.36 (i removed various parts from the list like OS, wifi card, etc...)
so what do you guys think? I really want a machine I can upgrade 1-2 years down the road without having to replace a bunch of components (mobo mainly).
Here are the two systems -
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 $294.99
2x CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C9 $298.00 -$30.00 Instant $536.00
Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case $214.99 -$35.00 Instant $179.99
EVGA 132-BL-E758-A1 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard $299.99
1xEVGA 01G-P3-1282-AR GeForce GTX 280 SuperClocked Edition 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card $459.99 -$25.00 Instant $434.99
ABS Tagan BZ Series BZ900 900W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Patent Piperock Modular Power Supply $269.99 -$120.00 Instant $149.99
1x Seagate SV35.3 ST3500320SV 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $79.99
2x LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model iHAS120-08 $25.99 ($51.98)
Subtotal: $2,137.38 (i removed various parts from the list like OS, wifi card, etc...)
-------------------------------------------
1 AMD Phenom 9950 2.6GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor Model HD995ZXAGHBOX $169.99 $169.99
2 CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF $119.00 -$10.00 Instant $218.00
1 ABS Tagan BZ Series BZ900 900W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Patent Piperock Modular Power Supply $269.99 -$120.00 Instant $149.99
1 Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case $214.99 -$35.00 Instant $179.99
1 Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $119.99 $119.99
1 ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard $188.99 $188.99
2 SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card $289.99 -$25.00 Instant $529.98
2 LITE-ON 22X DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model iHAS422-08 $29.99 $59.98
1 ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler $59.99 -$10.00 Instant $49.99
Subtotal: $1,776.36 (i removed various parts from the list like OS, wifi card, etc...)
so what do you guys think? I really want a machine I can upgrade 1-2 years down the road without having to replace a bunch of components (mobo mainly).