New Gaming/Work Rig

[traeno]

So after several months of plowing it over Ive decided to build a new gaming/work rig. I know the concept behind what i want but i would like to see the input you all have. I would like to go I7 Extreme. I would like SLI on some good video cards. I need at least 6 - 12 gigs of ram since this machine will also be kinda work related and running around 4 - 6 VM sessions at a time. This is a new build from the ground up. It will need everything from case to thermal paste. The budget i have to work with is $2400 - $2600. I don't care about MIR's since i am a lazy American and wont bother anyways. Combo's aren't in my best interest since i wont be building this until sometime in late July early August. You all are more professional at this then me and hence the reason i want to see what you all come up with. On a last note i am leaning towards 12g of ram since I will be running multiple VM's, so let me know if im going over board on that part please. I also wont need a OS for the machine since that will be provided for me by the company i work with.

 

[dario03]

Well if I boot up 4 VM's on my Vista machine I run out of memory and thats just having 3 running with no programs running (uses 7.4GB) and then booting the last one. So I would say 12GB would be justified.

I personally wouldn't get a extreme chip since even though they are faster they're not really worth the extra cost.

And I'm American and I always send in my MIR Money back is almost like free money though if you can get the intial costs to be lower by getting something with a MIR then I can understand..

 

[traeno]

Well i really like the I7 chips. I've been using them in a lab at my work and have grown really fond of them, they seem to handle just about everything i throw at them. I'm open to other ideas, but i think in the end i will most likely go with a I7 chip, Most likely not the 1k Extreme chip, unless someone here writes up a good build that includes it for under $2600 or right at $2600. Thats why i would like some ideas on hardware. The people here always seem to come up with good builds with decent budgets.

 

[veg1992]

Well, as far as I know, all the COre i7 Extreme's are around $1000

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[traeno]

Yea, Im sorry, i tossing around Extreme like it was every chip, thats my bad.

 

[Muffin Man]

thats quite a bit of money to spend, considering that the cpu you want is almost half the entire cost. the only advantage that i can see in the extreme ones over the regular ones is the they have an unlocked multiplier so i guess you could reach higher overclocks more easily.

if you wait until the time to buy, you can save a bit of money from the combo's that are available at that time.

with no combo's this is what i came up with. $2408

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[traeno]

The reason for the high dollar amount is to make sure i build this system strong enough to last for 3 - 5 years. I dont mind spending so much if it will last. Plus crazy processing speed is useful sometimes since I have random jobs within my company asking me to do crazy stuff.

 

[dario03]

I would go with something like Muffin Man posted except I would get a lower end core i7 and just overclock it. Also with the money saved grab another gtx285 for sli. I'd also get a 850tx psu since its only $20 more.

 

[traeno]

Well i could drop a I7 920 on that motherboard and be fine it looks like. Saving that grand picking up a 2nd video card is a nice thought. Will the cooling solution he offer be good enough to OC and keep it cool? Also the 850W PS sounds like a good choice for SLI.

 

[dario03]

The Xigmatek cooler should do pretty well. i7's overclock well (D0 revision is suppose to be even better) even on stock cooling.

And yeah a 850tx should be fine for sli, even the 750tx would handle it. I just said 850tx since its only a little more and gives you a bit more headroom if you ever need more power.