alright all you techies out there, this one is for you

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Liamo0o

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I will be building my own rig in a few short months with a budget of 2500 dollars minus a moniter. I want this comp 50% workstation 50% gaming. This is your chance to shine :p Please help me pick some parts. The best build will be reqarded... with a pat on the shoulder.
~thanks
 
more specifically....


*I have not decided on any specific models.*

Motherboard:
-socket 754 or 939???
-I do not think I want to overclock my computer, but heard DFI mobo's are best for this
-definitely pci-e slot over agp
-240 pin DDR2 SDDRAM
-unsure if I want it to have a SLI slot, am leaning toward not going SLI
-want ample slots for RAM expansion

CPU:
-def. dual core, high clock speed - will be multi-tasking
-Not totally sure whether to get AMD or Intel, but am leaning toward the Intel dual cores due to your recommendation and Intel dual cores have done better then the AMD in stress tests. Intel's are faster when multi-tasking due to hyperthreading.
-do not think I will be overclocking

RAM:
-Am thinking of DD2 RAM
-2GB

Power Supply:
-At least 520 watt, some of my friends have told me how they significantly improved the speed of their computer by upgrading the power supply
-If I go with Intel I will need more wattage
-Will definitely need good cooling system (a lot of fans?)
-have heard good things about these brands:
- PC power and cooling
OCZ technologies
Hiper

Video Card:
-This is where I plan to spend a large amount of money, over 700
-Def. PCI-E
-not sure if I need/want SLI/crossfire, a 50% possible boost for twice the money does not seem worth it to me, I would rather get one high quality video card
-Primary function is pushing polys on 3d model progs. like Maya, 3dsMAX, and video edit programs like Adobe Premiere Pro. I would also like it to be able to run other things, games etc.
-I have looked at a few cards:
-nVidia has a Quadro series, but have heard those cards are very specialized, and only good for 3d modeling and video editing
-nVidia series 7 cards seem promising
-ATI also has good cards like the X850
-I do not want to decide on any model or series yet, for new cards will be available in the summer/ older, just as capable card's prices will have dropped.
*I'm pretty sure I want either an nVidia or ATI*
-I want dual monitor functionality even if I do not purchase dual monitors in the summer

Case:
-I want it to be able to hold everything, function over form def.

HardDrive:
-I already have a 180 external hard drive, so I would need a huge internal HD, maybe 200 ish, they are getting very cheap. Thinking SATA. What about raptor?

Soundcards/ speakers:
-eh... maybe get an OK soundcard, not nearly as important as other parts.
-sound not AS important, but would want a decent setup 2:1/ 3:1.

Optical Drives:
-am thinking a cd/dvd combo drive on top and dvd burner on bottom, but I also would like 1/2 extra slots for the up and coming Blue Ray/ HD DVD

Monitor/Perf.:
-Not sure if I have to spend money on a new mo niter, I may be able to scrounge one from somewhere else, if I do buy one, flat screen pref. Decent deal on the internet
-Thinking of getting IBM key/mouse, Evan has said good things.

Cooling System:
-I will def. need adequate cooling system, don't think water cooled is worth it, suggestions?

Thank you for spending time to read this, your advice is greatly appreciated
 
ok first off don't go with pentium D whatever you do they were designed badly and can someone else correct me if im wrong but aren't workstation gpu's diffrent than gaming gpu's
 
okay.. another thing.. you won't be using 240 pin ram with an amd mobo either.... 184 pin for ya, get ddr 500... i'll list you a nice build with an estimate.. for way cheaper than 2500, save urself some money

mobo's up to you but that should range from 140-200 dollars

Ram.. get 2 gigs of whatever... that should be around 200

video card 7900gtx, or x1900xtx, those are both about 500-600 dollars retail, if you want dual graphics cards, then get two 7900gtx's.. that would be 1000 dolalrs right there....

processor... i'd say a 4400+.. don't know anything about intel dual core, so i can't suggest anything there... but thats about 460 dollars

hard drive, just get a 2 250gb western digital caviars, thats 200 dollars, run them in raid

optical drives... just a dvd burner...

sound card.. i don't think you really need....

psu, get the 750 watt fortron source, thats about 200..

so the total here should be 2200-2300... hahaa.. thats with sli and pretty much everything juiced up to the maximum price
 
First of all PSU's do not increase the speed of a PC. AT ALL.

Second of all there is no such thing as 50% workstation and 50% gaming rig. You need to go with either 1 or the other. Mainly due to the fact that workstation class video cards are completely different then gaming cards. Workstation = Precision and Accuracy, Gaming = Speed and Performance.

Workstation cards aren't good for gaming. At all. Higher model gaming cards "CAN" handle rendering, yet not as good as workstation cards. A Highend gaming card can easily handle, "Maya, 3dsMAX, and video edit programs like Adobe Premiere Pro." A workstation card would struggle with most new games like "FEAR".

Videocard - 7900GTX or X1900XTX
Go with AMD opteron 165, 170 or 175
Mobo, i'd recommend DFI, ASUS or MSI
HDD, go 150WD raptor 10K
HDD 2 go large, 400GIG WD caviar.
PSU, antec or PCP&C - possible OCZ.
Ram, if you're not overclocking grab a 2 gig kit of something in the $180 to $220 range.
The rest is up to you...
 
Just go with a gaming rig.
You really would get closer to that 50-50 work and play ratio

Plus gaming rigs, play games... who woulda thought

What 3d utilities would you be running?
 
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