1700$ budget. Best monster computer possible?

I

iRobsta

New Member
1700 dollars (CAN) is max.

If I could get a amazing computer for cheaper, then that's better.

Whats this computer used for?
75% gaming. And big games such as crysis or black ops.
I like my games to be top notch, like ultra settings. My old computer which
was able to play crysis with max settings at 1600 x 1050 resolution. I'm looking for 2500 resolution now. (Bigger screen,TV ext).
25% graphic design with programs such as maya/3d max and 4d cinema. Along with heavy photoshop with CS5.

I've done what I believe to be a lot of research and these are the parts I think are good (Some links lead you to Canada Computers, which is most likely the store I'm going to be buying all my parts from since this store is only a 5 min drive - http://www.canadacomputers.com/):

Case:
NZXT Phantom
http://www.nzxt.com/new/products/crafted_series/phantom

CPU:
Intel i7-950
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=37150

Motherboard:
Gigabyte x58A-UD5
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3304#ov
or
Asus Rampage III
http://ca.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=tdsVoxzsToHRsCro&templete=2

RAM:
Kingston HyperX 6GB
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_311_312_612&item_id=026695

Video card:
EVGA GTX 470
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_557_559&item_id=030348

Sound Card:
(Haven't got to this point yet)

And what ever else I'm missing is also something I haven't got to. although I do have a 750 watt power supply which is from alienware, and perfect condition, so I'd be using that.

And about overclocking, I will be doing it sometime in the future, but most likely not anything soon. Thank you for your time (:


p.s. If you've seen this somewhere else before it's because i'm trying to get the most opinions as possible. (:
 
iRobsta said:
1700 dollars (CAN) is max.

If I could get a amazing computer for cheaper, then that's better.

Whats this computer used for?
75% gaming. And big games such as crysis or black ops.
I like my games to be top notch, like ultra settings. My old computer which
was able to play crysis with max settings at 1600 x 1050 resolution. I'm looking for 2500 resolution now. (Bigger screen,TV ext).
25% graphic design with programs such as maya/3d max and 4d cinema. Along with heavy photoshop with CS5.

I've done what I believe to be a lot of research and these are the parts I think are good (Some links lead you to Canada Computers, which is most likely the store I'm going to be buying all my parts from since this store is only a 5 min drive - http://www.canadacomputers.com/):

Case:
NZXT Phantom
http://www.nzxt.com/new/products/crafted_series/phantom

CPU:
Intel i7-950
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=37150

Motherboard:
Gigabyte x58A-UD5
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3304#ov
or
Asus Rampage III
http://ca.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=tdsVoxzsToHRsCro&templete=2

RAM:
Kingston HyperX 6GB
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_311_312_612&item_id=026695

Video card:
EVGA GTX 470
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_557_559&item_id=030348

Sound Card:
(Haven't got to this point yet)

And what ever else I'm missing is also something I haven't got to. although I do have a 750 watt power supply which is from alienware, and perfect condition, so I'd be using that.

And about overclocking, I will be doing it sometime in the future, but most likely not anything soon. Thank you for your time (:


p.s. If you've seen this somewhere else before it's because i'm trying to get the most opinions as possible. (:
Click to expand...

Go for a GTX 570 instead ;)
 
As above, GTX570.
Also, you probably don't need all of the features (there isn't many) that the UD5 board offers over better value boards such as the X58A-UD3R, P6X58D-E, and Asus Sabertooth X58. How old is this Alienware PSU and what PC is it from? Alienware Power Supplies are mostly junk, though some of their newer ones are higher quality. Dell (aka Alienware) likes to add in proprietary cable connectors on some of their stuff to force you to buy replacement parts from them.

EDIT: Why not get this equal speed/timings RAM for $12 less?
 
Last edited:
fastdude said:
As above, GTX570.
Also, you probably don't need all of the features (there isn't many) that the UD5 board offers over better value boards such as the X58A-UD3R, P6X58D-E, and Asus Sabertooth X58. How old is this Alienware PSU and what PC is it from? Alienware Power Supplies are mostly junk, though some of their newer ones are higher quality. Dell (aka Alienware) likes to add in proprietary cable connectors on some of their stuff to force you to buy replacement parts from them.

EDIT: Why not get this equal speed/timings RAM for $12 less?
Click to expand...

Yeah that works too. I just thought that was good but hey if you found a better one then that works for me (:

The PSU is roughly two years old. I believe when I bought it it wasn't with dell yet.
About the motherboard. If I were to invest in the UD5 wouldn't that be more future friendly vs the UD3? Considering I'd like this computer to last awhile. (:

I was thinking about getting the GTX 570. I just haven't seen much reviews about it so I'm iffy about getting it.
 
Are you not interested in SandyBridge?
Also, The 570 is becoming the 'Go To' card recently, but the 6970 is $20 more and is geared towards the higher resolution screens. Depending on where you live, and if you do stay with the 950 you may have access to the $200 price available at Microcenter's in store deal.
 
BillOhio said:
Are you not interested in SandyBridge?
Also, The 570 is becoming the 'Go To' card recently, but the 6970 is $20 more and is geared towards the higher resolution screens. Depending on where you live, and if you do stay with the 950 you may have access to the $200 price available at Microcenter's in store deal.
Click to expand...

SandyBridge??..

I live in Canada, Ontario. So I'm not sure. but is the 570 even good? Like well, I know it's good, but I mean like, for it's money's worth? Or could I get more out of the 6970?
 
iRobsta said:
SandyBridge??..

I live in Canada, Ontario. So I'm not sure. but is the 570 even good? Like well, I know it's good, but I mean like, for it's money's worth? Or could I get more out of the 6970?
Click to expand...

I'm moving to Ontario (Etobicoke, TO) in 3 weeks. Any suggestions?

The 570 sounds like a Fantastic card for the money. At 1920x1200 res the 6970 is very competitive though, is within $10-20, and is said to be geared more than the 570 towards the higher resolution monitors (more Vram). I think either card is Gold, but at the higher res you may get better results from the 6970.

Sandybridge is the next gen of Intel processor. At stock, I believe the i7-9xx is still the more 'enthusiast' oriented chip, but Sandybridge 2600k is said to be a monster Overclocker. (like, 5+ Ghz)

If you're not familiar with 6970 and Sandybridge, I would at least research them before buying anything. If you build now with an i7-950, your rig will literrally be 'last generation' stuff within 3 weeks.

Oh, and Benny is referring to your Cas Latency 9 Ram ... Cas latency 7 is faster, geared more for overclocking, and 6GB can be found for around $130 or so (At least in the US, CA is more expensive)
 
Last edited:
BillOhio said:
I'm moving to Ontario (Etobicoke, TO) in 3 weeks. Any suggestions?

The 570 sounds like a Fantastic card for the money. At 1920x1200 res the 6970 is very competitive though, is within $10-20, and is said to be geared more than the 570 towards the higher resolution monitors (more Vram). I think either card is Gold, but at the higher res you may get better results from the 6970.

Sandybridge is the next gen of Intel processor. At stock, I believe the i7-9xx is still the more 'enthusiast' oriented chip, but Sandybridge 2600k is said to be a monster Overclocker. (like, 5+ Ghz)

If you're not familiar with 6970 and Sandybridge, I would at least research them before buying anything. If you build now with an i7-950, your rig will literrally be 'last generation' stuff within 3 weeks.

Oh, and Benny is referring to your Cas Latency 9 Ram ... Cas latency 7 is faster, geared more for overclocking, and 6GB can be found for around $130 or so (At least in the US, CA is more expensive)
Click to expand...

Ah, I see. Okay Well Sandybridge it is then ((:
And suggestion for what? How life in ontario is? :P

And okay, I don't know much at all about RAM. So if 7 is better than 9, so be it. But what about all the features Nivida has vs ATI? like the 3D and the physx? Don't they play a role? Or are all those useless?
 
As a designer, Nvidia's cuda might also be in your favor. There are tradeoffs for and against both companies. I'm just suggesting you read a few reviews of Sandybridge and the 6970 so you know what your options are. I'm not an expert (by far) on this stuff but I can maybe at least suggest some things about which to get the experts opinions. SB and 6970 would be worth a look.

And yeah, I Love TO... looking forward to being a fellow Ontarionian. :)
 
MOBO- $210 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=asus_formula_iv-_-13-131-644-_-Product
CPU- $160 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727&cm_re=amd_965-_-19-103-727-_-Product
CPU Cooler- $30 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&Tpk=hyper 212 plus
RAM- $100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=g_skill_ripjaws-_-20-231-311-_-Product
GPU- $290 for a pair http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447&cm_re=5770-_-14-150-447-_-Product
PSU- $185 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=silverstone_psu-_-17-256-057-_-Product
CASE- $140 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160
HARDDRIVE- $150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=caviar_black_2tb-_-22-136-824-_-Product
OPTICAL- $130 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129061
SOUND(optional)- $220 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._re=asus_xonar_essence-_-29-132-019-_-Product

Total= $1395, $1515 with soundcard
 
BillOhio said:
As a designer, Nvidia's cuda might also be in your favor. There are tradeoffs for and against both companies. I'm just suggesting you read a few reviews of Sandybridge and the 6970 so you know what your options are. I'm not an expert (by far) on this stuff but I can maybe at least suggest some things about which to get the experts opinions. SB and 6970 would be worth a look.

And yeah, I Love TO... looking forward to being a fellow Ontarionian. :)
Click to expand...

Okay. But consider that this is going to be like the new thing now, this sandybridge, won't it also mean that this is going to be quite pricey because it's new? For the CPU AND the motherboard? Because I was looking just now and apparently the new CPU requires a new socket. I still haven't looked at the 6970 vs the 570, but I shall look into that now (:

Ontario is incredible. I like it :)
So yeah. That's my opinion on it :P
 
Russ88765 said:
MOBO- $210 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=asus_formula_iv-_-13-131-644-_-Product
CPU- $160 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727&cm_re=amd_965-_-19-103-727-_-Product
CPU Cooler- $30 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&Tpk=hyper 212 plus
RAM- $100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=g_skill_ripjaws-_-20-231-311-_-Product
GPU- $290 for a pair http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447&cm_re=5770-_-14-150-447-_-Product
PSU- $185 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=silverstone_psu-_-17-256-057-_-Product
CASE- $140 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160
HARDDRIVE- $150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=caviar_black_2tb-_-22-136-824-_-Product
OPTICAL- $130 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129061
SOUND(optional)- $220 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._re=asus_xonar_essence-_-29-132-019-_-Product

Total= $1395, $1515 with soundcard
Click to expand...

Why choose AMD? Is it because it's cheaper? And I've never heard of that company for GPU's before, is it any good? and what about all this sandybridge and bulldozer stuff going on, do you think it's best to wait as well?
 
iRobsta said:
Why choose AMD? Is it because it's cheaper? And I've never heard of that company for GPU's before, is it any good? and what about all this sandybridge and bulldozer stuff going on, do you think it's best to wait as well?
Click to expand...

AMD's are awesome for the money, and with that list you can get a beefy system for well within your price range. Intel is more powerful by a bit, but also much more money as a result. I have asked and looked around, and liked what I saw and heard back on them. 5770's are a mid level card, and combined you will get some serious power while staying within your selected budget. If you'd rather go with Nvidia for graphics because of their advantages with drivers and physx, you might look at their gtx460's. I don't think you'll be able to sli(join them together) those cards with that motherboard, which is why I suggested the 5770's. Good luck!
 
If you're spending $1700 get some RAM with better latency, 1600mhz c9 isn't really anything to show off about :P CAS8 or CAS7 is ideal.
 
linkin said:
If you're spending $1700 get some RAM with better latency, 1600mhz c9 isn't really anything to show off about :P CAS8 or CAS7 is ideal.
Click to expand...

Something like this is what they are talking about on the RAM. It helps with being able to OC and it should be within your budget.
 
linkin said:
If you're spending $1700 get some RAM with better latency, 1600mhz c9 isn't really anything to show off about :P CAS8 or CAS7 is ideal.
Click to expand...

Okay. So lower the number better the latency? or something?
and I'll be doing that.

I also want to insure my computer is "future friendly" meaning that in the next year or two it won't be considers so "far back" or "obsolete" you know?
 
Well, as far as planning for the future, I don't think Intel plans to release many more CPU's for the 1366 socket. The next big thing will be the Sandybridge 1155 socket early next month. It is expected, I believe, that that socket will be current for at least a few years as Ivy Bridge will be the next release after Sandybridge and IvyBridge processors will work with the same 1155 motherboard socket that is being released for the Sandybridge next month.

I wouldn't build a $1700 computer until next month, personally.
 
BillOhio said:
Well, as far as planning for the future, I don't think Intel plans to release many more CPU's for the 1366 socket. The next big thing will be the Sandybridge 1155 socket early next month. It is expected, I believe, that that socket will be current for at least a few years as Ivy Bridge will be the next release after Sandybridge and IvyBridge processors will work with the same 1155 motherboard socket that is being released for the Sandybridge next month.

I wouldn't build a $1700 computer until next month, personally.
Click to expand...

Well. I do have until late February. That's when I would like my desktop to be built. So I guess waiting that long won't hurt (:
 
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