I started out with a Nvidia build, but now I am swaying towards ATI. Just looking for more opinions on this.
Nvidia / Nforce chipset
CPU: Intel® Boxed Core 2 Quad Processor Q9450 - $279 (Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink - $49 (newegg)
Mobo: EVGA 132-CK-NF79-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI DDR3 ATX Intel Motherboard - $349 (newegg)
Video card: EVGA 896-P3-1266-AR GeForce GTX 260 FTW Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 - $349 (newegg)
Ram: OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) - $100 (newegg)
Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower - $119 ($80 after MIR) (newegg)
Total w/tax & shipping: $1344.60
ATI / Intel Chipset
CPU: Intel® Boxed Core 2 Quad Processor Q9450 - $279 (Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Tuniq Tower 120 Universal CPU Cooler 120mm Cooling Fan and Fan Controler/Heatsink - $49 (newegg)
Mobo: ASUS RAMPAGE FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel - $269 (newegg)
Video card: VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 - $284 (newegg)
Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower - $119 ($80 after MIR) (newegg)
Total $1078.94 with tax & shipping.
Parts I already have:
PSU: PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V
HDD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s + Hitachi 150 GB Sata
Sound card: Soundblaster X-fi XtremeMusic
LCD: Viewsonic VX2025W 20.1" Widescreen LCD
Nvidia / Nforce chipset
CPU: Intel® Boxed Core 2 Quad Processor Q9450 - $279 (Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink - $49 (newegg)
Mobo: EVGA 132-CK-NF79-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI DDR3 ATX Intel Motherboard - $349 (newegg)
Video card: EVGA 896-P3-1266-AR GeForce GTX 260 FTW Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 - $349 (newegg)
Ram: OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) - $100 (newegg)
Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower - $119 ($80 after MIR) (newegg)
Total w/tax & shipping: $1344.60
ATI / Intel Chipset
CPU: Intel® Boxed Core 2 Quad Processor Q9450 - $279 (Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Tuniq Tower 120 Universal CPU Cooler 120mm Cooling Fan and Fan Controler/Heatsink - $49 (newegg)
Mobo: ASUS RAMPAGE FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel - $269 (newegg)
Video card: VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 - $284 (newegg)
Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower - $119 ($80 after MIR) (newegg)
Total $1078.94 with tax & shipping.
Parts I already have:
PSU: PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V
HDD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s + Hitachi 150 GB Sata
Sound card: Soundblaster X-fi XtremeMusic
LCD: Viewsonic VX2025W 20.1" Widescreen LCD