Hi guys, well as you know I'm in college and will be done in a little over a year.  However I'm going to be getting myself a new computer (buying the parts and assembling them myself).  I'll let you guys know what I end up getting.  It should be pretty nice. 

 

Expanded info: budget < $2,500, Uses: games and maybe other things like rendering or editing videos.

 

I do have a monitor, keyboard/mouse, and other accessories chosen.  I'm using ddr2 ram, and have a hard drive and dvd-burner already in mind.

Edited February 22, 200818 yr by Garbageben

Well if you need an advice, let us know. I personally would go Intel+Nvidia right now, but depends on your priorities, budget, etc.

i recommend the 8800GT for quality gaming at a reasonable price

thanks for the replies guys.  I am planning on getting the x38 (or 780i) with a Q9450 once it is released (end of March I've heard).  I've been thinking of maybe getting 3870 Crossfire (or 8800GTS 512mb sli).  I like the dual slot cooler design that vents the air straight out the back of the case (less heat in the case the better).

 

Oh in case you're wondering this won't exactly be a budget build.  I'm hoping it will last me for a while.  I know some people don't like the dual video card setups, but I probably will go ahead and go with it since my last computer that I built had it as well and it worked out fine. (back in 2005)

Edited February 23, 200818 yr by Garbageben

Ok I'll reserve this post slot for my current picks.

 

Final choices

 

Case: Cooler Master RC-690 (with extra case fans)

PSU: Silverstone OP650 $145

CPU: Q6600 $250

HSF: AC Freezer 7 $25

HD: 250GB (won't need more than this for just games) $70

DVD-Burner: $30

Monitor + cable: $280 (20" widescreen Samsung 206bw)

Graphics cards: EVGA 8800GTS (*2) $580

Motherboard: EVGA 780i SLI - $250

RAM: 8gb ddr2 800 (4 x 2gb sticks) Mushkin ($90 each) $180

kb: $8 (cheap logitech, I have a mouse already)

soundcard: x-fi xtremegamer $80

headset: $40(Sennheiser)

OS: Vista Home Premium 64-bit $110

 

Total so far: $2,150 (roughly)

Edited March 4, 200818 yr by Garbageben

does any OS even work with 8GB of ram? XP is limited to 2Gb and im not sure about vista(but it seems to use the 4Gb's i have). other then that it seems like a great computer,

I realize the 8gb seems like overkill and in a way I am overkilling it a bit, because this is a computer I'm hoping will last me for quite a long time (3+ years).  For that reason I want something that will last.  Vista 64-bit does work with 8gb (I've checked around) and with ddr2 ram so cheap as it is compared to what I have to spend in terms of a budget, the extra ~$130 seems like it wouldn't hurt for the 8gb.

ahh ok, but yeah 8Gbs is most likely overkill... for the next month

I ordered it today.  Specs are a few posts above.  Hope to have it by the weekend.  ;D

Wow...well, 8GB isn't particularly overkill, not if you're running vista...

Vista's a huge memory hog...

i wouldnt say so. sure it uses more memory then XP, but ive found 4GBs to be plenty.

posting from my new pc now.  I only ran into minor issues (that I already knew would come up) building it.  Wow it makes my old 3200+ seem so slow.

very nice. even beats my new computer(i only have 1 8800GT and 4Gb of ram), soooo whats it get in 3dmarks?

12,4** about in 3dmark.  I imagine Vista takes up some of the performance.  Everything at stock.  I may overclock it sometime, but as of now, it plays all my games maxed quite well.