What to get for $2000

[416_guy]

Hey guys I'm looking to spend $2000 on a whole new system. Montior will be extra so that's taken care of. I'm a gamer by the way...Bioshock and Age of Conan are games I'm looking to play.

Should I get a BFG GeForce 8800 GTX ($547.99) (http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=012545&cid=999.243.390) or get TWO BFG GeForce 8800 GTS ($346.99) (http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=012717&cid=999.243.390) and SLI them together? Performance wise which is better? a single GTX or TWO GTS SLI'ed together? :|

Also I was thinking of this package HERE (http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=BDL10001209&logon=&langid=EN) at best buy, all I need is a better graphic card for that system and I'd be all set...no?

any advice would be greatly apprecitated! :razz:

[carmaster]

I wouldn't get a ready made system from Best buy. Go for a custom build. What specs are you looking at?

[416_guy]

Intel Core 2 Quad, 2 or 4GB of ram, and a graphic card that can run Bioshock with no hick-ups...as for the motherboard...something that is SLI compatible. I have HDDs which I can salvage from my older tower.

Reason I'm considering on getting a ready made system is because now a days prices aren't that much of a difference when it comes to custom machines and systems from best buy, in fact it may even be cheaper to get pre-built systems from best buy... :|

[vrus]

I think for a gamer build you'd still need to go custom. For 2k$ you can pretty much get the best of the best parts...imo I don't think you need sli because I don't see it helping much in games. I think a single card with greater clock/mem speed will outperform two lower models.

[416_guy]

:arrowu:

[terrybear]

Crossfire & SLI are bs & not worth the extra funds & wasted power comsumption they take up for the extra 10-15% gain ya get from them. Single card solutions are best still.

Well here is what I threw together from the ncix contest for a build that might help ya some no ps or dvd drive in it thought:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ Dual Core Processor Socket AM2 Windsor 2.8GHZ 2000FSB 2X1MB 90NM Retail Box $180.26

Biostar TForce TA690GAM2 mATX AM2 DDR2 AMD 690G 1PCI-E16 2PCI SATA2RAID Gbe HDMI VGA Motherboard $91.63

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive $275.53

Antec Nine Hundred Mid Tower Gamer Case 900 ATX 9 Drive Bay No PS Top USB2.0 1394 Audio $117.02

OCZ Platinum XTC PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 CL5-4-4-15 DDR2 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit $329.99

Gigabyte Radeon HD 2900XT 740MHZ 512MB 1650MHZ GDDR3 Dual DVI-I HDCP VIVO HDTV Out PCI-E Video Card $453.02

YOUR TOTAL $1,447.45 :cheesygri

To give you a Idea oh things .. I have Company of Hero's installed & with what I have in my coment running the game at 1920x1200 with everything on I'm getting a average frames of 42 & a max of 84 thru the games rendering test program. thats on a Dell 24" wide screen LCD too :P

[willy]

For a C$2k budget, Raptor X should be on the list :)

Or how about RAID-0'ing two of them !!!!!!!!!

[Starcraftjunkie]

It also depends on which resolution your monitor is at. If you're only using a 20-22" at 1680x1050, a regular 8800 GTS will be plenty. No need to even go SLI.

If you're using a 23/24" one at 1900xwhatever, you'll need the extra power.
I think it's better to go with a single card solution than an SLI/Crossfire.
For the moment, I think the 8800 GTX is the best bang for buck at the top tier.

Just be sure to spend the extra money on a quality power supply. The cutting edge video cards demand their fair share (in most cases, more than a fair share) of juice. :) I think the 2900xt requires at least a 550W minimum and more if you're overclocking.

[416_guy]

thanks for the advice guys!!! I'm 60% on getting a 24"...40% on a 22" :lol:

Potential 22" (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10084230&catid=#)

Potential 24" (leaning towards this one) (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10086756&catid=)

[Derringdo]

Hey, I have a 2900xt if you or anyone else is interested :D

PM'd as well :)

[Zertz]

CPU: Q6600 (Looks like you are set on quad-core, otherwise go for a E6750)
Mobo: DFI LANParty UT P35-T2R (Best P35 board, 'nuff said)
Video card: 8800GTX (eVGA is nice because you can step-up in 90 days, so if their soon-to-be-released G92 is better, you can easily upgrade)
RAM: 2x Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB (Guaranteed Micron D9 chips, known as the best overclocking memory IC's)
HDD: Western Digital Raptor 36/72/150GB (For OS and games, use a bigger but slower for storage) (Don't get the X, it's noisy, hot... no benefit)
Total: under $2000, didn't really look at prices.

Don't get an AMD system if you have $2000 to spend on a system, it would be ********... Intel outperforms AMD at the moment. I own an AMD system and I accept this, because it's a known fact. nVidia high-end cards also outperform ATI's. Buy according to performance, not brand name.

[magical]

Crossfire & SLI are bs & not worth the extra funds & wasted power comsumption they take up for the extra 10-15% gain ya get from them. Single card solutions are best still.

Well here is what I threw together from the ncix contest for a build that might help ya some no ps or dvd drive in it thought:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ Dual Core Processor Socket AM2 Windsor 2.8GHZ 2000FSB 2X1MB 90NM Retail Box $180.26

Biostar TForce TA690GAM2 mATX AM2 DDR2 AMD 690G 1PCI-E16 2PCI SATA2RAID Gbe HDMI VGA Motherboard $91.63

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive $275.53

Antec Nine Hundred Mid Tower Gamer Case 900 ATX 9 Drive Bay No PS Top USB2.0 1394 Audio $117.02

OCZ Platinum XTC PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 CL5-4-4-15 DDR2 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit $329.99

Gigabyte Radeon HD 2900XT 740MHZ 512MB 1650MHZ GDDR3 Dual DVI-I HDCP VIVO HDTV Out PCI-E Video Card $453.02

YOUR TOTAL $1,447.45 :cheesygri

To give you a Idea oh things .. I have Company of Hero's installed & with what I have in my coment running the game at 1920x1200 with everything on I'm getting a average frames of 42 & a max of 84 thru the games rendering test program. thats on a Dell 24" wide screen LCD too :P

Your selection of stuff is grossly overpriced and even tho he has the money to spend why overspend on stuff he doesn't need and isn't practical for the price....

IE instead of 2x2GB ram sticks, get 4x1GB, and instead of that costly overpriced 750GB hdd get 2x500gb drives and run them in a raidx1 for redundantcy, or if you really want the speed, and skip the raptors suggested, get four 320GB drives and run it in a raid/10 setup... this will almost be as fast as the raptors, but give you redundantcy, 640gb space and speed!!

Plus Ditch the AMD .. go for something like the 6750 .. also I'm not a Antec fan anymore and the case I love is the Lian-Li's.. they cost more but there are some real nice models that have lots of space, functionality, ... the corsair HX-620 is way better than that antec stuff anyways... guaranteed made in japan caps .. something you definatly want ...

For monitor, get the dell 24" LCD ...

For Video card, Nvidia 8800+

good luck..

[carmaster]

Here are the specs I came up with from directcanada.com:

Intel Q6600 G0 stepping $280
ASUS P5K Premium $250
BFG GeForce 8800 GTX $550
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-FI Xtremegamer $157
LG H62L $37
Antec nine hundred gaming case with mods $105+$30 mods
2X Western Digital SE16 500GB SATA2 $220
Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W power supply $152
Ocz Platinum Xtc REV.2 PC2-6400 4GB (4*1 gb) $200
TOTAL with 6% tax comes to 2100

[The_Madz]

Here are the specs I came up with from directcanada.com:

Intel Q6600 G0 stepping $280
ASUS P5K Premium $250
BFG GeForce 8800 GTX $550
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-FI Xtremegamer $157
LG H62L $37
Antec nine hundred gaming case with mods $105+$30 mods
2X Western Digital SE16 500GB SATA2 $220
Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W power supply $152
Ocz Platinum Xtc REV.2 PC2-6400 4GB (4*1 gb) $200
TOTAL with 6% tax comes to 2100


I think that looks good i may suggest going with an 8800GTS as the more "Bang for your buck" card. saves you $200 and there really isn't that much of a difference.

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10720BD6105&vpn=BFGR88640GTSOCE&manufacture=BFG

i like BFG as well since they have a life time warranty.

[magical]

Here are the specs I came up with from directcanada.com:

Intel Q6600 G0 stepping $280
ASUS P5K Premium $250
BFG GeForce 8800 GTX $550
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-FI Xtremegamer $157
LG H62L $37
Antec nine hundred gaming case with mods $105+$30 mods
2X Western Digital SE16 500GB SATA2 $220
Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W power supply $152
Ocz Platinum Xtc REV.2 PC2-6400 4GB (4*1 gb) $200
TOTAL with 6% tax comes to 2100

Much Much better suggestion here!

Only thing I'd suggest changing is, the case to a lian li.. check this one out.. all aluminum, 120mm gpu cooler, very very good case..

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12610AC4052&vpn=PC-A16B&manufacture=LIAN-LI

[board123]

Mobo: DFI LANParty UT P35-T2R (Best P35 board, 'nuff said)
People who don't know what parts to pick out should avoid this motherboard.

[carmaster]

thanks for the advice guys!!! I'm 60% on getting a 24"...40% on a 22" :lol:

Potential 22" (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10084230&catid=#)

Potential 24" (leaning towards this one) (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10086756&catid=)

Go for the 24 inch one. It's amazing and it is height adjustable.

[Derringdo]

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1131/crossfire_hd_2900_xt_vs_8800_ultra/index.html

If you are pimp enough hahahaha

[cegras]

I'd consider abit for your mobo choice.

For case, if you have a huge budget, you can only consider antec's performance series OR lian li cases.

Let's not forget a better cooling option for your CPU, but meh.