APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: over the next month or so
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming (just GTA IV), video encoding, web surfing, space heater, air filter
PARTS NOT REQUIRED:keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS if GTA IV is know to perform as good with Vista as 7 (64 bit)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg, whatever
OVERCLOCKING: Yes SLI OR CROSSFIRE: SLI
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 2560 x 1600 Apple
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
This post is very similar to the one by tice03 back in 06-16-2009. I'm a Mac user who doesn't usually need anything more powerful than a late model MacBook Pro with all the trimmings + external monitor for light duty Photoshop/Aperture/FinalCutPro use. That was until Grand Theft Auto IV for PC came around last December and I saw how pitiful it performed in Boot Camp. Back then it was understood that the only machine that could run it with settings on high was something insanely expensive, if it even existed at all. So I decided to give it some time and now here we are nearing the 1st year anniversary of its launch and after some research I found that it may just be time to buy a rig that's well suited to this challenging game title.
PARTS PREFERENCES:
CPU
Intel i7-920 Quad 2.66GHz
Motherboard
ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58
Heat Sink
Prolimatech Megahalems
Video Card(s)
tice03 wrote: "This is definitely the area I have thought most about the past two weeks. One day it will be the two or three GTX 275s. The next day it will be a single GTX 295. A day later it will be two or three HD 4890s. I could go a couple different ways. The more I think about it the more I am weary of spending a lot of money on this area given the fact that the next generation of video cards are seemingly right around the corner." This is a tough one to get around. I was first under the impression that GTA IV was very processor dependent and likewise where I would be spending the most. But I had forgotten about the special demands of the 30", which now makes my graphics the most expensive. All you have to do is google 295 vs 275s and the consensus is clearly with the pair of GTX 275s in SLI.
Memory
3 x 2GB is all can be sure of.
Power Supply
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ?
Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB 32MB Cache SATA
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming (just GTA IV), video encoding, web surfing, space heater, air filter
PARTS NOT REQUIRED:keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS if GTA IV is know to perform as good with Vista as 7 (64 bit)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg, whatever
OVERCLOCKING: Yes SLI OR CROSSFIRE: SLI
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 2560 x 1600 Apple
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
This post is very similar to the one by tice03 back in 06-16-2009. I'm a Mac user who doesn't usually need anything more powerful than a late model MacBook Pro with all the trimmings + external monitor for light duty Photoshop/Aperture/FinalCutPro use. That was until Grand Theft Auto IV for PC came around last December and I saw how pitiful it performed in Boot Camp. Back then it was understood that the only machine that could run it with settings on high was something insanely expensive, if it even existed at all. So I decided to give it some time and now here we are nearing the 1st year anniversary of its launch and after some research I found that it may just be time to buy a rig that's well suited to this challenging game title.
PARTS PREFERENCES:
CPU
Intel i7-920 Quad 2.66GHz
Motherboard
ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58
Heat Sink
Prolimatech Megahalems
Video Card(s)
tice03 wrote: "This is definitely the area I have thought most about the past two weeks. One day it will be the two or three GTX 275s. The next day it will be a single GTX 295. A day later it will be two or three HD 4890s. I could go a couple different ways. The more I think about it the more I am weary of spending a lot of money on this area given the fact that the next generation of video cards are seemingly right around the corner." This is a tough one to get around. I was first under the impression that GTA IV was very processor dependent and likewise where I would be spending the most. But I had forgotten about the special demands of the 30", which now makes my graphics the most expensive. All you have to do is google 295 vs 275s and the consensus is clearly with the pair of GTX 275s in SLI.
Memory
3 x 2GB is all can be sure of.
Power Supply
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ?
Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB 32MB Cache SATA