Computer Suggestions

[DiscGo]

Okay tech guys, I am in a good situation. My wife has approved a budget of about $1800. for a new computer.

I am leaning towards the Intel I7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115202

Gigabit Motherboard GA-EX58-EXTREME
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128361


SAPPHIRE 100260SR Radeon HD 4850 Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102813

I am not totally decided on anything. I keep going back and forth on how big of a power supply I should purchase and although I have seen come cases I like, I can't decide on a case. You guys have any suggestions? I don't think I'll ever get another opportunity to buy a good computer like this, so I am trying to do it right.

[R]

I know, I know. Apple v PC. I swear I am not trying to start anything here. But check this out; it is totally the cheese...

http://store.apple.com/us/configure/...A?mco=NzMyNjM0

-R

[DiscGo]

Thanks Richard but I have a MAC already coming to me at the end of the month from work. I need to get a gaming machine to fit in at work and say what you want about MACs but they are crap when it comes to gaming.

[Sombeech]

Will your wife have one too?

I've got 3 desktops right now. My wife, so she can read those chain emails about scam telephone numbers, and my 2 year old boy so he can look at pictures and play games.

[stefan]

and say what you want about MACs but they are crap when it comes to gaming.

that will change with the new imac that'll be released in a month or so. and it's already changed with the release of the recent macbook pro laptops

http://tinyurl.com/dcoohq

for awhile now, mac pros have done just fine for gaming, though i have zero interest in gaming.

on another topic, nehalem is brilliant though. i've been waiting for that for awhile now.

[DiscGo]

and say what you want about MACs but they are crap when it comes to gaming.

that will change with the new imac that'll be released in a month or so. and it's already changed with the release of the recent macbook pro laptops

http://tinyurl.com/dcoohq

for awhile now, mac pros have done just fine for gaming, though i have zero interest in gaming.

It isn't that MACs don't have the hardware. Most archeticure software requires a decent graphics card and MACs are widely used in design. It is just MACs proprietary side that prevents the games from really being distributed for MAC. My work MAC has Windows in a virtual machine and can play most games that are not super demanding.

[DiscGo]

Will your wife have one too?

I've got 3 desktops right now. My wife, so she can read those chain emails about scam telephone numbers, and my 2 year old boy so he can look at pictures and play games.

One of the definitions of a geek is someone who has more computers in their house than people. I will continue to be a geek :)

[stefan]

and say what you want about MACs but they are crap when it comes to gaming.

that will change with the new imac that'll be released in a month or so. and it's already changed with the release of the recent macbook pro laptops

http://tinyurl.com/dcoohq

for awhile now, mac pros have done just fine for gaming, though i have zero interest in gaming.

It isn't that MACs don't have the hardware. Most archeticure software requires a decent graphics card and MACs are widely used in design. It is just MACs proprietary side that prevents the games from really being distributed for MAC. My work MAC has Windows in a virtual machine and can play most games that are not super demanding.

i see what you're getting at. i suppose installing windows via bootcamp on a mac eliminates that issue with the intensive nature of running games in a virtual machine, provided sufficient hardware.

[CrazyFinn]

I have built my last 3 computers from this place and I even made them all work.

http://direct.mwave.com/mwave/

Even though I'm moving away from geekhood I still have 2 computers running in the house and I even wired my house for ethernet. Now I can plug in anywhere and not have to use wifi.

[Deathcricket]

Looks decent man. I'm not up on the latest specs so I can't give you too much advice there. I personally like the Nvidia video cards better. But just personal preference because I've had a lot of trouble with Radeon. I would just do a comparison in your price range. I know the latest is the GTX 295 but it's like $499 so might put you over your budget. but what I see a lot of my friends do is get a cheaper video card but get 2 for SLI. You have one card render the even lines and a 2nd one render the odd lines. This increases efficiency dramatically for gaming. So it's at least worth looking into.

Now about cases. I say get the cheapest case you can. I once spent $500 on a nice case to have it sit under my desk. Looking back I should have bought a $50 case and put that extra money towards the guts instead. That being said, have you seen the new alienware cases? They are so friggin schweet! Best looking cases on the planet IMO. Also my cousin has one, my machine stats were better than his in every way, better cpu, more memory, vid card, etc ,etc. But his machine outperforms mine in every single game we play. They have built in overclocking and tweak every single setting to get more bang for the buck. So even though building it yourself you might have better stats. These machines are perfection. So I highly recommend them. www.alienware.com

Good luck and let us know what you get. Unless you do end up buying a mac. Then you will be cast out of the inner circle and branded a hippie.

[KapitanSparrow]

DiscGo with the specs you've listed GTAIV should run pretty smoothly!

[CrazyFinn]

One of the definitions of a geek is someone who has more computers in their house than people.

I guess I don't know what I am.....
2 people, 2 computers, 2 dogs, 2 ATV's.

[CrazyFinn]

Found this awhile back. Not sure what it all means. I have a G8400 dual card and it's been working OK but I got this off another website and people have been having problems. Just saying....

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/...ia-g84-g86-bad

[Jaxx]

I'm jealous. I have the crap we got rid of at work. It hardly runs my kids games. NERDS UNITE!

Edit: did you check out Dell's monitors. We got new 19'' LCDs for the office and I have been really happy with them. Halo CE looks pretty good on it. I mean if I played that at work it would probably look good.