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1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Heavy gaming, photo/video editing, running business applications (Office'esque), periodically loading up multiple VMs.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Budget is roughly $4,000 USD (typically I've squeaked by in the past with $2,500 or less for my rigs -- not including any changes in displays, just the hardware in the case). I typically err on the side of investing in high-quality parts, when it matters anyhow, for the long haul. On average, I rebuild every 2 - 3 years (I try to do 2 years, but usually end up in the midst of waiting for products to come out).
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
U.S. - California
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Complete refresh:
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Mouse, keyboard, displays -- old rig will be re-gifted so it has to remain in working order.
6) Will you be overclocking?
All previous builds have utilized motherboard/CPU/RAM combinations that were good for overclocking. I typically OC, if I can get her stable, and leave it alone for the remainder of the life of the hardware.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Currently using 2 x displays. Main display is a 30" @ 2500x1600, with a 24" @ 1200x1920 portrait mode companion display.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next 2 months.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Most of this would be influenced by the components listed out above -- no specific need outside of that (e.g. if someone recommends an SLi setup, then I guess I'd need an SLi-capable motherboard, etc etc). I would guess USB 3.0 is pretty much standard at this point, since it's on my current motherboard from 3 years ago.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I will need a new copy of Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate, as the current rig is being re-gifted.
Thanks for your suggestions!
For reference here is my current build (tossed her in the signature, but my signature doesn't appear to be appending itself to the post):
Gaming/All-purpose Rig - Core i5 2500k | Corsair H80 | Asus P8Z68-V PRO | 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 | Zotac GTX 580 3GB | INTEL SSDSC2MH120A2 120GB SSD | Seagate Barracuda XT ST32000641AS 2TB HDD | Corsair AX850 PSU | Corsair Obsidian 650D | Win 7 64bit Pro
Heavy gaming, photo/video editing, running business applications (Office'esque), periodically loading up multiple VMs.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Budget is roughly $4,000 USD (typically I've squeaked by in the past with $2,500 or less for my rigs -- not including any changes in displays, just the hardware in the case). I typically err on the side of investing in high-quality parts, when it matters anyhow, for the long haul. On average, I rebuild every 2 - 3 years (I try to do 2 years, but usually end up in the midst of waiting for products to come out).
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
U.S. - California
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Complete refresh:
- Motherboard
- CPU
- CPU cooling miscellany
- Memory
- GPU(s)
- Root/OS storage
- Fast application load storage (could be shared with Root/OS if large enough).
- General purpose high capacity storage
- Blu Ray / DVD / CD drive/burner -- I have used my current ASUS one about 3 times in the last 3 years, going the way of the 3.5" drive....
- Modular PSU
- Case (I like big cases, don't like horsing around with tight spaces)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Mouse, keyboard, displays -- old rig will be re-gifted so it has to remain in working order.
6) Will you be overclocking?
All previous builds have utilized motherboard/CPU/RAM combinations that were good for overclocking. I typically OC, if I can get her stable, and leave it alone for the remainder of the life of the hardware.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Currently using 2 x displays. Main display is a 30" @ 2500x1600, with a 24" @ 1200x1920 portrait mode companion display.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next 2 months.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Most of this would be influenced by the components listed out above -- no specific need outside of that (e.g. if someone recommends an SLi setup, then I guess I'd need an SLi-capable motherboard, etc etc). I would guess USB 3.0 is pretty much standard at this point, since it's on my current motherboard from 3 years ago.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I will need a new copy of Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate, as the current rig is being re-gifted.
Thanks for your suggestions!
For reference here is my current build (tossed her in the signature, but my signature doesn't appear to be appending itself to the post):
Gaming/All-purpose Rig - Core i5 2500k | Corsair H80 | Asus P8Z68-V PRO | 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 | Zotac GTX 580 3GB | INTEL SSDSC2MH120A2 120GB SSD | Seagate Barracuda XT ST32000641AS 2TB HDD | Corsair AX850 PSU | Corsair Obsidian 650D | Win 7 64bit Pro
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