I think for X-mas I was going to build a new rig (from New Egg).

The goal to build is a $1200 machine that rocks a quad core, 8 gigs of ram, great graphics card, SSD drive for OS and programs, with a couple of terrabyte drives in raid configuration.

I would like to know what you think?

This is what I came up with:

CPU: Core i5 (Lynnefield) $184  Core i5 (highest reviews)

GPU: GTX 460  $199   MSI Video Card (consumer choice award at Newegg.com)

MoBo: MSI $149   MSI Mobo

Mem: 8 gigs of Gskill DD3 $100 Gskill 4 gigs package

SSD: 60 gig OZ  $124 OZ 60 gig SSD

HD: 2x 1 terra raid drives $170 West Digi 1 terrabyte

PS: Corsair 850W $130  PS 850 watts

CASE: Cool Master $59

CD/DVD: LG 22x DVD/CD burner $18

wait 4 next year....alone the GPU will be much more favoreable....

If I keep waiting I will never by anything.
I always say that to myself - wait until next year.

I know that as soon as I buy anything, it will be better next year anyway.

Should I really wait.

I was thinking about this (as my wife is also a photographer and she needs more ram and bigger drives).

piece build a new machine, I spend about 300-400 every year just upgrading certain parts if needed, like this year, its been about 4 years since I bought a new video card so im upgrading from a 8800GT to a Asus 5850, and I'm running on a 17inch LCD monitor which maxes out at 1280x10224, so im upgrading to a 24 inch asus monitor.

Last year, I upgraded, my PSU, ram, and hard drives

Next year, ill upgrade my Mobo and CPU

Good point, I guess I could keep my old case, a HD, and a couple of other items.
However, the Mobo needs the same socket as the new CPU  and my GPU is currently a GTX 200 series.

Do I upgrade or build new.

I will review what I got and where it can go vs. building new.

Thanks for the tip.

Also, I use all the old equipment that I have no use for anymore and build a computer from those parts and then sell it on kijiji or craigslist, just to get some extra cash

A couple notes;

Dont waste money on getting 8 gigs of ram, i have 6 and BARELY use 4.
Also id go the 1366 socket if your going intel; this will allow you some upgrade room in the future.
reuse your current drives for space, thats what i'd do.

Post your specs and we'll let you know what you should keep / toss / sell

Would like to go with the 1366 socket, but that is only for the Core i7 right now and thus would significantly juice my cost.

I thought (could be wrong) that the 1156 socket was going to be used for some time and is new to support the Core i3 and i5. Am I wrong to think that?

Thanks for the note on the RAM - but $100 for 8 gigs and with my wifes massive RAW photos and digital photo work I thought it would be helpful.

well if you can save money by keeping your current hard drives and other parts you could always spend that money on a better processor.

Your right the 1156 socket is only for the i5/i3 processors, but their limited as to what you can upgrade to. With the 1366 socket you can go up to a sexa-core. Just food for thought.

you can easily build a $800 i7 rig if you know what your doing

Good point...

I will definitly look into this.
I do want a SSD drive for my OS and Program files and then run a Raid 1 on twin terra's for data.

What do you think about this i7 combo by newegg for $460?
Combo i7 and Mobo

That chip has some stellar reviews for 1/2 the price of the other i7s.
Is it worth the $100 jump to this combo from the MSI mobo and the i5?

WannaB,


The computer is dual-use (my wife - and her photography - so she uses photoshop and has huge RAW files). I only use the home computer for gaming, email, and surf the net.

I was looking at a quad core (i5 or i7) -
Also wanted to go with a SSD hard disk for OS and programs, while using a RAID 1 with two terrabytes for my wifes photos (raid 1 to make sure she has backups). We lost a drive once and now she backs up everything onto a portable USB - but I think the RAID 1 will be a better option for her.

I don't need to blow it out on GFX card, but after doing some research it seems the MSI GTX 460 has good reviews and for sub $200 has some great performance for the money.
I am getting 4 gig for sure, but with mem so cheap and wifey needing lots of mem for her giant RAW photos - I thought why not 8 gig.

So that is about it.

I thought my build out in was pretty good. However, I am not sure that I should go with the 1156 MOBO as pointed out - the 1336 for the new socket for the i7s is probably better. It is about a $100 upgrade to move to the lower-end i7 and mobo. I think that would be a good deal.

iso the i7 can overclock up to 4.0 without breaking a sweat. ( on a non stock cooler of course ;P )

Also if you go the i7 route stick to sticks of 3 ( triple channel ) if not it will only run in dual channel which of course is slow ;P For example get 6gb 3x2gb;

If it was me id just on the i7 band wagon, you'll be able to upgrade in the future.

I recently bought the 460, like it a lot though cant see a large change in BO. I do get better frame rates but still have to keep it set lower than I would like. However, I think this has more to do with my connection and other components then with the card. I have not tried WAW or BC2 since I got 460 so cant comment on that yet. My quad core is a couple years old and my hard drive could be better so I would think that has effected my fps. I do get up to over a 100 on BO depending on the connection, before with a 260 the best I could do was about 70 so I would say it is worth it.