Help with building a monster computer.

[carlostex 38]

I would wait for Ivy Bridge, some micro-architectural improvements, should allow for more performance per clock. Not only that, Ivy should clock at least 1GHZ better from the start compared to Sandy Bridge, not only due to the newer 22nm process but also to tri gate transistors.

Depending on how good is Bulldozer, i'll wait for either Ivy Bridge (makes more sense to me saving the money for a game i will only get in 2012), or Komodo aka Bulldozer replacement because AMD will ditch the AM3+ socket to go with the FM socket infrastructure.

[khugan 24]

I have not seen anyone mention the Z68 board and taking advantage of it's SSD caching ability. I have been reading about it and it seems like a perfect solution for Arma's texture loading. But since it has not been mentioned here, I am wondering why. I'm getting close to dropping some cash for such a set up. Will I be making a mistake? Sorry for the slight high-jack.

I am under the impression that instead of having to install Arma on an SSD the z68 has a function to handle what goes on the solid state dirve and when. With this in mind, you could purchase a smaller SSD and get the same benefit, but for all games, not just Arma.

[Primarch 10]

My budget is about 3,500$ Not trying to be demanding, but I would like it to be able to play games on max graphics years from now. One that I would now have to upgrade often. I would prefer to have the items in a cart on Newegg but any other way is fine. Thanks for the help! :)

Sorry broski, 2 years and your "rig" will be obsolete.

Get an i5 2500k, GTX 580 and an SSD. Buy with the rest of your money something you really need, like a new screen and TrackIR, other peripherals which last.

[5LEvEN 11]

Just to be sure... Obsolete does not mean it will be useless, nor does it mean it will not run games at max, it just means that it is not at the cutting edge any more. The 990X is now obsolete because of the 995X, for example. A component is obsolete the moment there is something newer/better out. Buying a computer today, could mean it is obsolete a few months from now... If you are referring to the definition of obsolete that means it is not made anymore, then a computer today won't be obsolete for some time (unpredictable).

If this computer is primarily for arma, then PLEASE wait tell arma 3 is out. If you need a new computer, but want one that will run arma 3 max, then buy a decent rig, and wait for arma 3 to come out before committing that much money for an even better rig.

You can spend roughly $800 to get everything, but an OS that will run 99% of games that have been made at max..... Thanks to the outdated consoles :D

[Nicholas 5]

Sorry broski, 2 years and your "rig" will be obsolete.

Get an i5 2500k, GTX 580 and an SSD. Buy with the rest of your money something you really need, like a new screen and TrackIR, other peripherals which last.

My computer is over 3 years old now and runs ArmA II absolutely great. I can play pretty much any game on high settings. Doesn't matter if it's obsolete.

As 5LEvEN said, obsolete doesn't mean it will be useless or won't run games at max.

[Primarch 10]

My computer is over 3 years old now and runs ArmA II absolutely great. I can play pretty much any game on high settings. Doesn't matter if it's obsolete.

As 5LEvEN said, obsolete doesn't mean it will be useless or won't run games at max.

As I said, you don't need 2600k and 8gigs of RAM for gaming.

Buying things like that is really retarded since you don't need it, and you will get in half a year four times more powerful things per buck.

Always buy mid-high range PC, no low or extreme because both are waste of money.

[froggyluv 2136]

I would say a 2500K and 8gigs of Ram is big bang for your buck right now. I doubt you'd get 4 times that in 6 months time and it's surely much better than you would have gotten from the 6 month previous point.

Like stated, one could always hold off for the next big wave but I'd say right now is a pretty decent time to get a pretty powerful PC built for cheaper than it's been in some time.

[Primarch 10]

I would say a 2500K and 8gigs of Ram is big bang for your buck right now. I doubt you'd get 4 times that in 6 months time and it's surely much better than you would have gotten from the 6 month previous point.

Like stated, one could always hold off for the next big wave but I'd say right now is a pretty decent time to get a pretty powerful PC built for cheaper than it's been in some time.

Yeah but I was referring to 2600K and 12gigs of ram.

2500k and 8 gigs is the best thing right now.

[Steakslim 1]

12gb of ram is great if the pc is also serving as an Editing Station of some sort as well.

[Primarch 10]

12gb of ram is great if the pc is also serving as an Editing Station of some sort as well.

Having over 8gigs of ram and an i5 is not useful when you are playing games.

Only idiots buy an i7 for gaming since there is no use for hyper-threading as no games can use it properly. GPU is as always, if you can afford it you should buy it because CPU is barely ever creating a bottleneck.

Although if you are into editing, you require an i7, 12gigs of ram and some mid-high tier GPU such as 470 or 560 for CUDA cores.

[Steakslim 1]

Depending on the editing (depending of you doing video editing or if your pc is a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), you don't "require" all that, it just helps a bit. There's a number of factors that go into play on what you need, along with a ton of other stuff that just helps, like the Virtu system on the Z68 mobos, but you'd be amazed what you can get away with, like Clinton Shorter composing the whole District 9 score on 1 Mac Pro.

[pathetic_berserker 4]

Myke;1970193']EVGA Classified SR-2' date=' Intel 5520, Dual-CPU, CFX/SLI, NF200 1

Intel Xeon E5620, Socket 1366, 2.40GHz, 12MB, 4C/8T [b'](x2)[/b]

OCZ RevoDrive X2 240GB, PCI-E x4, MLC

Kingston HyperX, 6x4 GB, DDR3-1600, CL9-9-9-27@1.65V

Western Digital Caviar Green, 32MB, 1TB, SATA-3 2 (x2, RAID)

LG BH10LS, BluRay/DVD Writer, LS, SATA, Retail

Club 3D HD 6990 Dual-GPU, 2x2GB, PCI-E x16 2.0, Mini-DP

Xigmatek Elysium Big-Tower - black

Enermax Modu-87+ Netzteil - 900 Watt

That would be my proposition. ;)

LOL ,Well that certainly fits the OP's request for a monster.

Was looking at a similar setup (hypotheticaly) a couple of week ago but included the evga classified water cooled SLI Gpu's and evga classified UPS, plus some fancy peripherals and a 30 inch screen plus a pair of 24's in portrait, oh, and the OS. And the budget blew out to about 12grand AUS. If I had the cash and worked for myself I may be able to justify it as a business expense, but for gaming, a complete and utter overkill.

I love it.

[lone.wolf 80]

Hey i searched google i didnt got smarter :)

I am looking at a GTX590 or 2x GTX580 in SLI.... Finally i was also considering buying the GTX590 and then add another in SLI next year or at the end of the year..! Any suggestions..

I have been looking at this system:

ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe

Intel i7-2600K

Intel 510 250 GB SSD

WD Black 1TB 64mb SATA III

Zalman ZM1000-HP 1000watt

Win 7 Ultimate

Samsung SN-S083F Drive

Corsair Hydro H70

Cooler Master HAF-X Bigtower

Nvidea GTX-590

12GB Corsair Vengeance

Regards,

Mo'

Edited July 5, 2011 by Lone.Wolf
Forgot something..!

[liquidpinky 11]

Hey i searched google i didnt got smarter :)

I am looking at a GTX590 or 2x GTX580 in SLI.... Finally i was also considering buying the GTX590 and then add another in SLI next year or at the end of the year..! Any suggestions..

Get the 580s, 3GB memory versions if you can.

[Primarch 10]

Hey i searched google i didnt got smarter :)

I am looking at a GTX590 or 2x GTX580 in SLI.... Finally i was also considering buying the GTX590 and then add another in SLI next year or at the end of the year..! Any suggestions..

I have been looking at this system:

ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe

Intel i7-2600K

Intel 510 250 GB SSD

WD Black 1TB 64mb SATA III

Zalman ZM1000-HP 1000watt

Win 7 Ultimate

Samsung SN-S083F Drive

Corsair Hydro H70

Cooler Master HAF-X Bigtower

Nvidea GTX-590

12GB Corsair Vengeance

Regards,

Mo'

Use 2x 580, perhaps 4x. Also, WD CB 2x RAID should be preferred. It is only 100€ more.

[Buhnanah 0]

If I were to get a good computer, would I build it or buy it? How much money would I need? Is $1000 enough for a good computer? I dont know anything about building computers by the way.

[dmarkwick 261]

If I were to get a good computer, would I build it or buy it? How much money would I need? Is $1000 enough for a good computer? I dont know anything about building computers by the way.

You should save yourself a lot of grief and buy one :)

If it's for ArmA3, then nobody knows yet. Best to leave it until closer to the release date I reckon.

[Buhnanah 0]

Would $1000 even be enough for a good computer?

[froggyluv 2136]

Well if your somewhat mechanically inclined, patient and enjoy projects -then I recommend you build. You simply get more for your buck as there is less overhead plus the joy of knowing your PC intimately :756:

You can build a pretty decent PC for $1000 US tho who knows what will be out closer to Arma 3 -although I'm pretty sure a 2500k and 560ti (affordable in that budegt) would run it.

[crazyirish93 10]

yes if buy the parts wisely

[dmarkwick 261]

Would $1000 even be enough for a good computer?

As in US dollars? I expect that in a year's time, it would buy a PC good enough for ArmA3, but buying one now at that price might require you to replace one or two components.

If you have a suitable rig now for gaming, save your cash for as long as you can would be my advice. PCs only get more powerful for the money, and a year is a long time :)

[bangtail 0]

My budget is about 3,500$ Not trying to be demanding, but I would like it to be able to play games on max graphics years from now. One that I would now have to upgrade often. I would prefer to have the items in a cart on Newegg but any other way is fine. Thanks for the help! :)

PCs are not consoles, there is no way to buy a PC today that will run games on max settings 'years from now'. It doesn't work that way and never will.

Gaming PCs require some kind of upgrade every year or two (at least) to stay current.

Edited July 12, 2011 by BangTail

[Montanaro 0]

Got my current PC a little over a year ago for 850 but had to buy a 1gb Vid card to handle Arma2 properly, plus some high performance fans and a fan control. So all in all I spent about 1,000 bucks for mine.

Now that the AMD x8 is coming out, I'm going to have to get that PLUS an entirely new motherboard with AM3+ socket (x8 uses only 3+). When I got my mobo, I got it knowing it was the top of the line and that it would be able to handle upcoming AMD CPU's. That is until AMD switched their plan and abandoned the AM3 socket....

Which is exactly why I haaaate technology now a days. It should be half the price considering the turnover. Seriously, I still have a motorola razr because I'm not dealing with getting a new phone every 6 months like my g/f....

[Tonci87 163]

Build yourself a PC. There are enough turtorial videos on YT if you don't know how. You will save a lot of money

[EDcase 87]

Now that the AMD x8 is coming out, I'm going to have to get that PLUS an entirely new motherboard

Not getting that for A3 I presume. HIGHLY doubtful that it will take advantage of 8 cores...

Since BIS are working on optimizing things and judging by improvements to viewdistance in ToH preview with no fps hit I'd say that a machine which can handle Arma2 well should be fine for A3. Of course not on max settings. (I doubt even a machine in a year could run it at max setting ;))

If you need a gaming rig now try and look for best prices on:

P8P67 motherboard

2600K CPU (With good cooler) (Overclocked to 4Ghz very easy)

8 GB of decent ram

A 7200rpm HDD (Or small SSD better)

Nvidia GTX580 (Get Nvidia to take advantage of PhysX)

Good 650watt power supply (Get a good one as this is the basis of a stable machine)

That runs ARMA2 very well for me and I think I'll be happy with A3 for a couple of years until the next upgrade.

...BUT as said before, if you can wait that is the wise choice as you will get all that or better for less money...

Edited July 12, 2011 by EDcase