Mynt

Hello... this is my 1st post, and seeing as my Xmas bonus is coming up soon, I'm looking into building a new computer. Most of my friends built thier own rigs, and though I'm handy with... my hands, I've never really buckled down and made the dive to DIY. So, I was hoping you guys could help me pop my proverbial building cherry and guide me with some parts advice. I game quite a bit, and I animate/illustrate for a living... So graphic power/speed is an important variable in choosing parts, as is storage. I don't have a lot of knowledge with hardware, but I'm willing to beg/borrow/steal as much info as i need to devour to get things done right. Anyways... here's the answers:

Budget: $900-$1100

Brands: I'm Not brand loyal.

Multitasking: I will be multi-tasking between Adobe Suites (Illustrator, photoshop, flash, After Effects etc)

Gaming: I play CoD & WoW regularly, but would like something that would be able to run crysis.

Calculations: There could be some video rendering in the future. I would like to be open to the possibility

Overclocking: Light overclocking... I don't really know much about it, but I'm open to and willing to learn.

Storage: at least 1TB (My friend told me I should also look into RAID configurations. I have a light understanding RAID, but this will be my 1st setup to use it)

Legacy Support: None

Operating System: vista

Case: medium sized case with good cooling... willing to go large if the situation calls for it

Accessories: keyboard

Recycled Components: Already have 2 monitors, mouse, printer, DVD drives

Monitor: none

Stores: I prefer Newegg, but open to other vendors

Location: United States


Thanks in advance!
-Nick

wrench97

How gaming intense are you thinking about?
For the Adobe software and 3d rendering I would want to go to a quad but the E8400/E8500 is better for gaming and to keep with in your budget and go quad would take a midrange video card.

wrench97

Have a look at these components and give us your thoughts
Link,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Discp. Cost,,, Rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115041 Q9550 $319.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128359 GA-EP45-UD3R $115.99 -$15.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2KIT25664AA80A DDR2 800 4Gig $82.99 -$30.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130376 9800GTX+ $192.99 -$20.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817171024 RS-750 $99.99 -$40.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119106 Case $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488 Vista HP 64 $99.99

$961.93 -$105.00

Total $856.93

For a keyboard what do you like> http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...name=Keyboards

Mynt

First, thanks so much for the quick reply.

to answer your 1st question, I game about 1-4 hours a day and I host small LAN parties about once a month. I do like to run on the upper side of video settings, while still maintaining a solid frame rate. I had to stop Frapsing things as it was too much for my current setup.

2nd, My animation is all 2D and flash, so while there is rendering, it's not as heavy as doing full 3-D renders. Hope that helps a bit.


Just a couple questions... I noticed that you didn't list a hard drive... should I just pick one within my budget and fire away?

Also... a close buddy of mine runs 2 video cards... is there an advantage to that? I would think that runs hot... just curious?

About the keyboard... I think it's something I have to actually go to the store and feel for myself to make an educated choice on. I'll figure that one out on my own...

THANKS AGAIN FOR THE HELP!

wrench97

I didn't include a hard drive because I'm unclear what type of raid set up you want for example for data backup you would use RAID 1 (mirrored disks) so 2 500gig disks would hold the same exact data or for faster storage RAID 0 (striped disks) 2 500 gig disk would hold 1t of data striped across both disks but if you lose 1 disk you lose all the data
personally I don't think it's worth the set up hassle for either.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

In your budget range I would not go for 2 video cards the advantage really doesn't show until you get over about 26-28" screen size and if the game isn't optimized for SLI or Xfire you may actually lose frame rates I feel 1 large card is better then 2 for 90% of the gamers out there.

My current favorite HD> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148335

wrench97

Without any heavy 3d rendering or video work (Adobe Premiere Pro) I would go with the E8500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115036

Mynt

Thanks for all the info... I think I have a clear idea on what I'll end up doing now. You've been a great help!