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  1. #1

    Building a computer - the VERY best

    Say I want to build the BEST computer I can have. I want 3-4 screens and I wanna be able to game with the best of them. Imagine that I will use this machine for everything from gaming to video encoding to burning cds. I also want data backup, so some kind of RAID setup. I want the best cooling and a quiet machine.

    Please recommend parts. Price is not an object if it is the best. Although for some items I dont need the best, so please post any and all really cool parts for my computer. Great hard drives, the best ram, the best lighting the best cases.

    Come on guys help me out, I have a friend building it for me.
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  2. #2
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    Only three points of advice;

    1) RAID is not a backup solution. Delete on one, it is gone on the other. Corrupt one, it is corrupt on the other. A backup solution would be an external USB or eSATA or a NAS box, drive running Norton Ghost (very good) or Acronis True Image (good, a bit buggy).
    2) I recommend a RAID0 (striped) setup for performance, using these disks: http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/11/...s_with_a_bang/ - which are the best. But note the RAID0 risks - twice the chance of disk failure.
    3) Don't go for one of the $800.00 Intel quad core chips. Buy a Q6600 for less than $250.00 and overclock it (the 2.4GHz Q6600 will easily be taken to 3.2GHz with a half-decent aftermarket cooler).

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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    I hope that I get to the point some day to build a suppa duppa home computer with lotsa screens, gadgets, peripherals and all that. If I were in your shoes I would've checked sites like newegg just to get the general picture about different components and prices. Go there and check them out, I guess you have some sort of budget. This will help you define the parts that fit this budget.

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    I built the same thing a few years ago a 4 monitor setup unforunetly a lighting strike killed it .
    i would recommend you get a very stable mb like intel.
    As well as a stable power supply thats slightly overkill for what you need.
    most decent cards come with dual output so youl need to make sure you select the right mb with the right pci slots
    slot .
    make sure all your cards are the same i wasnt doing any gaming so i wasnt worried about that.
    i too bought all my parts off newegg very cheap but if you screw it up your ....... only get the best. no ide only sata drives.
    for the monitor mount dont pay more then a few hundred for it look for deals.
    to get an idea of the basic setup youl need search for trading computers.
    Last edited by BeerMoney; 04-11-2008 at 09:38 AM.

  5. #5
    the very best is stupid. You gain three frames a second for an additional six to nine hundred dollars a part. Not worth it


    Here's probably a sweet-spot / slightly overpriced build for your needs

    Video card:
    2x Geforce 8800 GT or Geforce 9800 GTX
    The GTX is better, the 8800 is more affordable and you likely wont notice a difference

    Motherboard:'
    Anything nvidia with SLI and 45nm support

    Processor:
    Either quad core Q6600, Q9300, or Dual Core E8400. For gaming i'd reccomend the 8400, for futureproofing go with either quad core.

    Ram: 4gb of DDR2-800

    OS: Vista x64 as you game and will likely be using 4gb of ram

    Case: Antec P182 or Cooler Master Cosmos. Depends on how big is too big.

    Power Supply: Corsair make good ones. You don't really need more than 600 watts. Try and look for a modular one.
    Ash Slaughter, former Systems Operator for Scratch Telecom
    Oracle Ninja, Linux Admin, Java/JSP Developer, Casual C#/ADO.NET/ASP.NET Monkey, Python Programmer, CCNA.

  6. #6
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    Don't bother with SLI.

    Really, just keep building 800$-1000$ boxes every couple of years. If you buy the "Extreme" today, you'll be incredibly outdated in three and a half years, as opposed to just three years like everybody else.

    Multi-screen is a really cool idea though, and is quite worth it if you can get it going.

    Just to warn you, don't expect to game on multiple monitors. Not only is it nearly impossible to keep a stable FPS, you won't be able to use nVidia cards, unless you use one as a spare PCI one or something. nVidia's drivers do not allow dual-monitors, at least not when you have SLI somewhere. CrossFire lets you run dual-monitors; you might want to look into using CrossFire with two HD3850s or something.

    But the biggest appeal, imho, of using multiple monitors is just to have more room for multi tasking. Guides on one, game on the other, chat on another, etc. That, unlike gaming on multiple monitors, is really easy. Find yourself some PCI cards and hook up your monitors to them. You won't get anything past basic 2D compositing, but hey, at least you've got multi-monitors.

  7. #7
    SLI does suck, but the option is nice if he's going 3+ screens anyway right? He'll need the two video cards. You just turn SLI on and off when necessary
    Ash Slaughter, former Systems Operator for Scratch Telecom
    Oracle Ninja, Linux Admin, Java/JSP Developer, Casual C#/ADO.NET/ASP.NET Monkey, Python Programmer, CCNA.

  8. #8
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    This is my candy shop http://gruntville.com/kingofthehill.php but the only thing that you'd be missing is the 0+1 RAID setup. Combine that with the ram listed on the page + 10k raptor drives, then you have performance and mirroring. IF you have the bucks then you can get a gig capable router and build another computer with open nas and setup iscsi to do off computer backup if you want to get redundant.
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  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by misticil View Post
    Power Supply: Corsair make good ones. You don't really need more than 600 watts. Try and look for a modular one.
    If you're going with dual GFX cards you need a much bigger PSU.

    Jonathan Nathanson - freelance website designer
    www.superfired.com

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hivelocity Q&A View Post
    This is my candy shop http://gruntville.com/kingofthehill.php but the only thing that you'd be missing is the 0+1 RAID setup. Combine that with the ram listed on the page + 10k raptor drives, then you have performance and mirroring. IF you have the bucks then you can get a gig capable router and build another computer with open nas and setup iscsi to do off computer backup if you want to get redundant.
    Old

    Here is one of todays top of the line:

    Intel Quad Core QX9650
    EVGA 790i SLI Motherboard
    2 x 9800 GX2
    CoolerMaster Stacker Case
    PC Power and Cooling 1200W PSU

    And add in a few more things, you better water cool that baby.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    Ontario, Canada
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    Woah 1200W?

    What the heck?

    65W CPU + 8800GT + 4 sticks of RAM + 2 hard drives + DVDRW + bunch of USB devices + a PCI card = ~330W. The 8800GT is one of the best buys.

    I wouldn't go SLI myself. The performance gain is not as good as with CrossFire. And you can multi-monitor with CrossFire, so you could in theory game on two monitors at once with the same framerate as two seperate ones.

  12. #12
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    Said he wants the very best .

  13. #13
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    Does having two video cards with a single monitor increase the FPS of games? Or are dual video cards only useful with multiple monitors?
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  14. #14
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    @biggerboy: Haha, better bring out the 2kW PSUs ;P.

    @Harzem: Unless they are running with SLI or Crossfire, the unplugged card will idle and the other will do all the work. SLI/CF allow you to have both cards split the load for one output, or in CF's case, stack the video cards' power to output on two or more.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jorophose View Post
    @biggerboy: Haha, better bring out the 2kW PSUs ;P.

    @Harzem: Unless they are running with SLI or Crossfire, the unplugged card will idle and the other will do all the work. SLI/CF allow you to have both cards split the load for one output, or in CF's case, stack the video cards' power to output on two or more.
    :p better bring out the bank too .

  16. #16
    Well for power supply I was thinking: http://www.xoxide.com/aerocool-1020w-powersupply.html
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  17. #17
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    Get a Alienware or Cube system. check out places like ebuyer

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by hostingclick View Post
    Get a Alienware or Cube system. check out places like ebuyer
    Why would you do that? Alienware is owned by dell, any real gamer knows alienware or cube isn't where you go to get the best systems.

    Falcon Northwest is where you get the top of the line custom computers. www.falcon-nw.com they get the best test and if you have the money they can overclock the computer and get the most performance .

  19. #19
    for video cards go with 2 8800 GT 512 ram and overclock them to run as 8800 ultra.

  20. #20
    If you want the best (other then skulltrail), here it is imo:

    Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 OC'd 4.0GHz on Water
    8GB DDR3-2000 CL7 RAM
    2x Raptor HDD's in RAID1
    4x 1TB SATA2 7200.11 HDD's in RAID0
    3x 9800GX2 in SLI (6 GPUs!)

    Would cost you ALOT as the 9800GX2's seem to be going for around $500-$600...

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