I have the UD5, it's a good motherboard, had good experience overclocking. My only issue is the layout of the 3 pci-e slots, would have preferred they were placed differently so I could have some space between gpu's in sli or crossfire in my smaller sized midtower. Only other thing is you absolutely can't use ram with big heatsinks like corsair dominator if you're using a large cpu heatsink like the TRUE 120. That's about it.PumpkinPie said:
-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition
- Thread starter Spy
- Start date
TheKurgan said:
Video Card sweet spot depends on two things, whether you are a big fan of Nvidia or ATI and how much you'd like to spend. I like the 470, but the 460 is pretty good to. I'd say they are the sweet spot for Nvidia over $200, especially the 460, but I just don't mind going for the 470. That said, I might try and fit the 570 into my build, but that's $350 right now.
As for the memory, what are you going to be using it for. For normal gaming, 4GB is enough, and 8GB can help with details, but you'll be hitting diminishing returns on your performance/price ratio. 9-12GB is silly unless you're doing multiple windowed applications, video editing, etc. (i.e, heavy use outside of gaming on multiple CPU intensive processes).
I had something written up earlier, but I lost the post...TheExodu5 said:
Anyways, to sum up what I said earlier, initial 1366 boards weren't even triple channel IIRC, the socket did and STILL has pin issues with the cpu and mobo, which could potentially screw up the detection of ram (which is exactly what happened to me last week), there were limitations to what bios' could do in terms of features and OC. Something else I'm forgetting too.
I'll have the pics and specs of everything that I did later this weekend provided I got time... Been pretty damn busy.
So my build went smoothly. Powered on and installing Windows 7.
I hooked up my 500GB (desired OS drive) to SATA 0 - and my 2TB to SATA 1 (intended data drive). Windows Install is listing them backwards - 2TB as Disk 0 and 500GB as Disk 1. Does that matter if I wanted to use Disk 1 as my OS drive? Or are the numbers here irrelevant?
I glanced at the BIOS - and one HD was 1 Primary - the other was 2 Primary and the DVD was 2 Slave. Didn't take notice which HD was which though.
Checking Google for the answer as well.
I hooked up my 500GB (desired OS drive) to SATA 0 - and my 2TB to SATA 1 (intended data drive). Windows Install is listing them backwards - 2TB as Disk 0 and 500GB as Disk 1. Does that matter if I wanted to use Disk 1 as my OS drive? Or are the numbers here irrelevant?
I glanced at the BIOS - and one HD was 1 Primary - the other was 2 Primary and the DVD was 2 Slave. Didn't take notice which HD was which though.
Checking Google for the answer as well.
Beatbox said:
Thought SATA didn't do the master/slave thing?
Anyhow, the sata numbering on your drive shouldn't matter, it's where you place them in the boot order in your bios. Even then, your bios should skip over the other drive when it doesn't find a boot record on it.
If you're still confused, unplug the second drive, install the OS, then reconnect it.
Hmmmmm...it's my first build that I used SATA on but I'm sure the DVD was listed as the second slave. Wonder why. Like I said I'll check out the bios again once the install is done.
Edit - Found this - http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=635136
Edit - Found this - http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=635136
Sanjay said:Same settings as mine.
Got it even lower.
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1541680
vcore at 1.325 volts... I'm happy with the 4.2ghz now!
Smash88 said:Everything looks great, except the RAM, it's a shame you skimped on the RAM.
Oh well... Welcome to the MASTER RACE!
I think that RAM is fine. Most ram isn't stressed so their isn't a need for super high performance RAM, especially DDR3. That said, I wouldn't go Overclocking or messing around with it.
darkpaladinmfc
Member
Use the profile made for the game already, it will have the correct AA settings so all you need to do is put in what type of AA you want..nimrod said:You mean like an extra profile for every game? I've been using a global profile and it doesn't work at all :/
Rezbit said:
Ya know, for all the 'Metro is alright, but great graphics' I read before I got it, I'm having an absolute gas with the game. I mean, its WAY better than what was billed to me. Great use of scripting and not locking down the characters during events so the scripting comes off very natural.
PumpkinPie said:
Noice! Exactly what I would've done with the hard drive mount. Did you have to drill out any rivets or was the cage simply screwed in?
As far as the mobo goes, that's always been one of the most popular choices for the X58 platform so you can't go wrong with it. Try finding a Rev 2.0 with revised CPU power delivery if you can (integrated driver-mosfets => higher continuous current, faster switching, better efficiency, yadiyadiyada... translates into better OC).
A good alternative in the price range would be the ASUS Sabertooth X58 which looks slightly better (depends on ones taste) but has a slightly slower PCI based integrated network controller. The latter really isn't an issue unless you are running a small business server in which case you'd go for an Intel based PCIe x1 card anyway...
Darkatomz said:
true but that was the Core2 => i7 jump
Sandy Bridge may be a new architecture, but I don't feel it introduces much change on the chipset side of things ... hell even the integrated GPU thing has been done before
I expect more issues with the upcoming new sockets (13something 20something) as they're more geared towards the hardcore crowd, and thus have all the latest bells and whistles (like the triple channel ram for the 1366) which introduces more potential for new problems as well
my dad needs to update his Pentium IV 2.6 pc :lol so I sell him my Athlon II X4 setup and I wanna grab a P67 motherboard; that chipset seems like a pretty straightforward continuation of previous chipsets, it doesn't even feature USB 3 natively!
P67 motherboard, Sandy Bridge 2600K @ 4+ ghz, 8 gig of memory and by the time such a setup will start to feel outdated (2 years?) all the bugs have been worked out of the 2011 socket platform and I'll jump to that =]
Can I access S.M.A.R.T. logs in win7 somewhere? I got an error regarding my primary drive and after a defrag of C:, all errors are gone (from the boot screens no less) so I don't know wtf is wrong with it. S.M.A.R.T. suggested I back up and replace the entire drive all of a sudden :'( I don't want to 
Minamu said:Can I access S.M.A.R.T. logs in win7 somewhere? I got an error regarding my primary drive and after a defrag of C:, all errors are gone (from the boot screens no less) so I don't know wtf is wrong with it. S.M.A.R.T. suggested I back up and replace the entire drive all of a sudden :'( I don't want to
better not ignore SMART errors!
but download HDTUNE so you can read the SMART status, which allows you to google around a bit to be certain
however the 1 time I got a SMART error I immediately RMA'd the disk
(which was only a day old luckily so there wasn't much data on it yet , lucky me)
SMART errors are a valid reason to RMA a drive by the way
actually every HDD manufacturer has their own testing software, but it really doesn't matter that much when you get SMART errors => afaik they cannot be reset (and you shouldn't want to do so anyway), so every time you boot your pc will warn you about imminent HDD failure (unless you disable the SMART warnings in bios which is not very smart )
so once you get the warning just backup everything ASAP and contact your supplier for the warranty procedure
even if it could be a "false positive" you shouldn't take the risk
)so once you get the warning just backup everything ASAP and contact your supplier for the warranty procedure
even if it could be a "false positive" you shouldn't take the risk
JoeBoy101 said:
Thanks JoeBoy101 - I don't really have a budget, and least not one that has been approved by my wife.
I think I am going to wait for Sandy Bridge just to see how it effects price. I also hate buying a socket and chipset that has just been phased out.
Question: Do all Sandy Bridge processors have integrated graphics? If so this is definitely not a enthusiast processor and I will stick to socket 1156.
I know every hdd manufacturer has one. I like WD's the most. Samsung's didn't even work for me half the time for some reason.n0n44m said:actually every HDD manufacturer has their own testing software, but it really doesn't matter that much when you get SMART errors => afaik they cannot be reset (and you shouldn't want to do so anyway), so every time you boot your pc will warn you about imminent HDD failure (unless you disable the SMART warnings in bios which is not very smart
so once you get the warning just backup everything ASAP and contact your supplier for the warranty procedure
even if it could be a "false positive" you shouldn't take the risk
Okey GAF, I am currently thinking about upgrading my Radeon 4870 to a Radeon 6950. My specs:
I want to play the upcoming shooters like Bulletstorm and Brink without any problems plus I want to get even better performance in Metro 2033 and BLOPS and run Crysis 2 somehow playable
Do you think I should do it or wait and complete a new rig late next year? This one was bought in around October 2008.
- Intel Core 2 Duo Q6600 @ 2.4GHz (overclocking?)
- Sapphire Radeon 4870 512 MB 750 MHz
- Asus P5Q-PRO
- Corsair CM2X1024 2x1GB
- Kingston 2G-UDIMM 2x2GB
- Win 7 Pro 64bit
I want to play the upcoming shooters like Bulletstorm and Brink without any problems plus I want to get even better performance in Metro 2033 and BLOPS and run Crysis 2 somehow playable
Do you think I should do it or wait and complete a new rig late next year? This one was bought in around October 2008.
Thanks, I'll contact the store I bought it in immediately. Unfortunately, I bought it two years ago so I doubt I have any warranty left :S HDDs seem cheap though. A bit annoying that a 150 dollar Western Digital Raptor with 10k rpm and only 74GB would die in two years... Luckily, the only thing on it is my OS so there's nothing of importance to backup, I think. Would need to reinstall every program in the end anyway 
n00n44m: I haven't disabled any warnings on purpose, they've just disappeared after a defrag (okay, I used the built-in file cleanser to remove temp files basically).
Edit: Crystaldiskinfo says warning/caution with yellow dots on reallocated sectors count and current pending sector count, ID 05 and C5.
HDTune has no problems with C5 though, but complains about 01 Raw Error Read Rate.
My temperatures are 43 Celsius on my regular drive and 47/48 on the broken one. Is that acceptable?
:lol According to the error list on wikipedia, these three errors are some of the very few errors that mean "Potential indicators of imminent electromechanical failure". fml, what a great xmas present haha.
HDTune says 1.1% damaged blocks. I've ordered a Samsung F3 drive now anyway.
n00n44m: I haven't disabled any warnings on purpose, they've just disappeared after a defrag (okay, I used the built-in file cleanser to remove temp files basically).
Edit: Crystaldiskinfo says warning/caution with yellow dots on reallocated sectors count and current pending sector count, ID 05 and C5.
HDTune has no problems with C5 though, but complains about 01 Raw Error Read Rate.
My temperatures are 43 Celsius on my regular drive and 47/48 on the broken one. Is that acceptable?
:lol According to the error list on wikipedia, these three errors are some of the very few errors that mean "Potential indicators of imminent electromechanical failure". fml, what a great xmas present haha.
HDTune says 1.1% damaged blocks. I've ordered a Samsung F3 drive now anyway.
Erebus
Member
So I finally purchased and installed a GTX 460 today, plus I kept my good old 8800GTS inside to be used as a dedicated physx card. The thing is that my mobo is pretty old and apparently can't handle two GPUs running at PCI-e 16x simultaneously, thus both GTX 460 and 8800GTS are running at 8X at the moment.
Now I'm wondering if it's worth keeping them both or removing the 8800 and have GTX 460 run at 16x. What do you think, PC GAF?
Now I'm wondering if it's worth keeping them both or removing the 8800 and have GTX 460 run at 16x. What do you think, PC GAF?
TheKurgan said:
Huh? What? Sandy Bridge is the newest Intel platform, period. Just because it has integrated graphics doesn't mean you can't disable it and use a discrete GPU solution (and doesn't the mobo need to support the integrated graphics anyway? I'm not sure). In any case, I certainly would have welcomed integrated graphics on my i7-870 when I had to RMA my GTX460 and had my computer sit there useless for three weeks because I didn't have a GPU to put in the machine (it was my first build in a while, so I didn't have a spare, older GPU lying around anymore).
TheKurgan said:
Forget about it having integrated graphics. It increases transistor count, sure, but when disabled, it's not adding any overhead. Wait for benchmarks to make up your mind. A lot of previews are pointing to it being 20-30% faster clock-per-clock over i5/i7, and being overclockable to nearly 5GHz. If that's even remotely true, that's an absolutely massive leap over the current i5/i7.
I'm looking to buy a pc, my price range is anything up to £1500. I found the one below for £1300. I know I could prob build one myself for cheaper, but I'm not bothered to go through the hassle and would rather buy a pre-built pc.
http://www.aria.co.uk/Systems/Gaming+Range/Titan/Gladiator+Ridgeback+X58+Gaming+PC+?productId=42934
These are the specs:
- Intel® Core i7-950 Processor Overclocked @ 4.00GHz
- Corsair Cooling Air Series A70 Dual Fan CPU Cooler
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- MSI X58A-GD65 Intel X58 DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard
- GeForce® GTX 580 1536MB GDDR5 Graphics Card
- Mushkin 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz 6-8-6-24 Ridgeback
- Mushkin Callisto deluxe 40GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (Boot Drive)
- 1TB (1000 GB) Samsung Spinpoint Hard Drive (Storage Drive)
- Samsung Blu-Ray SH-B123L/RSBP 12x BD-ROM / 16x DVD Writer Drive
- Coolermaster CM 690 II Advanced Pure Black Gaming Midi Tower Chassis
- XFX Pro Series 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Single Rail SLI/CF Compliant Power Supply
Anyone know if the price is reasonable for the specs? Or if I could find something better elsewhere in the UK?
http://www.aria.co.uk/Systems/Gaming+Range/Titan/Gladiator+Ridgeback+X58+Gaming+PC+?productId=42934
These are the specs:
- Intel® Core i7-950 Processor Overclocked @ 4.00GHz
- Corsair Cooling Air Series A70 Dual Fan CPU Cooler
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- MSI X58A-GD65 Intel X58 DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard
- GeForce® GTX 580 1536MB GDDR5 Graphics Card
- Mushkin 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz 6-8-6-24 Ridgeback
- Mushkin Callisto deluxe 40GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (Boot Drive)
- 1TB (1000 GB) Samsung Spinpoint Hard Drive (Storage Drive)
- Samsung Blu-Ray SH-B123L/RSBP 12x BD-ROM / 16x DVD Writer Drive
- Coolermaster CM 690 II Advanced Pure Black Gaming Midi Tower Chassis
- XFX Pro Series 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Single Rail SLI/CF Compliant Power Supply
Anyone know if the price is reasonable for the specs? Or if I could find something better elsewhere in the UK?
SpaceDrake
Member
Hazaro said:
Are these confirmed prices or still just speculation?
GoosTrix: the thing you linked is stupid overkill for a lot of gaming; a GTX 460 or Radeon 6850/6870 will still blow any modern game out of the water and would cost you less than half what that 580 does, for starters. Really, buy the components and build it yourself, you will literally save yourself hundreds of quid.
That said, the price is... okay, I guess, for what you get. Everything in there is from relatively reputable brands. I'd check to make sure that BluRay drive comes with playback software, though - you need dedicated playback software to play BluRay movies on a PC and that isn't necessarily bundled with the drive. You can still get a lot more power per pound if you buy and assemble yourself, though, and you don't need to spend £1500 to get a machine that will crush any game out there.
The_Squirrel_Menace
Member
Hello gaffers and gaffettes, I thought I would drop in and ask questions to the tech guru 'round here.
I planning to buy a gaming pc laptop sometime early next year.
Alienware laptops are nice and all but the price tag is way above what my wallet can afford.
So, the other option I've been eyeing for a while, the Asus G73 http://rog.asus.com/Product.aspx?PId=39
My question is simple, will this pc be able to run 2011's games with high details? I mainly play RTS (SC2, Total War Games and the like) and RPG (Dragon Ages, Fallout's) and will most likely play some mmo on it too (SWTOR hopefully next year).
Also, do we have g73's owners who have nice or bad things to says about their asus laptop?
I planning to buy a gaming pc laptop sometime early next year.
Alienware laptops are nice and all but the price tag is way above what my wallet can afford.
So, the other option I've been eyeing for a while, the Asus G73 http://rog.asus.com/Product.aspx?PId=39
My question is simple, will this pc be able to run 2011's games with high details? I mainly play RTS (SC2, Total War Games and the like) and RPG (Dragon Ages, Fallout's) and will most likely play some mmo on it too (SWTOR hopefully next year).
Also, do we have g73's owners who have nice or bad things to says about their asus laptop?
First, the P5Qs are some of the best clocking 775 boards so you should definitely increase your speed. Your CPU should do 3.2-3.4GHz, or north of 3.8GHz on the more extreme end of the spectrum.banKai said:Okey GAF, I am currently thinking about upgrading my Radeon 4870 to a Radeon 6950. My specs:
- Intel Core 2 Duo Q6600 @ 2.4GHz (overclocking?)
- Sapphire Radeon 4870 512 MB 750 MHz
- Asus P5Q-PRO
- Corsair CM2X1024 2x1GB
- Kingston 2G-UDIMM 2x2GB
- Win 7 Pro 64bit
I want to play the upcoming shooters like Bulletstorm and Brink without any problems plus I want to get even better performance in Metro 2033 and BLOPS and run Crysis 2 somehow playable
Do you think I should do it or wait and complete a new rig late next year? This one was bought in around October 2008.
GPU wise, have a look at benches for the 6870, 6950 and GTX 570 to see if their price/performance offers enough of an increase over your current card. I'd say to try overclocking your CPU first, and then run through some games. You may not be able to run 8xAA at a high frame rate, but if you're happy with the results, then it may be a good idea to skip this GPU generation entirely. By this time next year we should have Bulldozer 1, 28nm GPUs from both camps, and Ivy Bridge will either be on shelves, or we will at least have performance figures for them.
Your HDD more than likely has at least a 3-year warranty (if not 5), so you should be covered on that end.Minamu said:Thanks, I'll contact the store I bought it in immediately. Unfortunately, I bought it two years ago so I doubt I have any warranty left :S HDDs seem cheap though. A bit annoying that a 150 dollar Western Digital Raptor with 10k rpm and only 74GB would die in two years... Luckily, the only thing on it is my OS so there's nothing of importance to backup, I think. Would need to reinstall every program in the end anyway
n00n44m: I haven't disabled any warnings on purpose, they've just disappeared after a defrag (okay, I used the built-in file cleanser to remove temp files basically).
Edit: Crystaldiskinfo says warning/caution with yellow dots on reallocated sectors count and current pending sector count, ID 05 and C5.
HDTune has no problems with C5 though, but complains about 01 Raw Error Read Rate.
My temperatures are 43 Celsius on my regular drive and 47/48 on the broken one. Is that acceptable?
:lol According to the error list on wikipedia, these three errors are some of the very few errors that mean "Potential indicators of imminent electromechanical failure". fml, what a great xmas present haha.
HDTune says 1.1% damaged blocks. I've ordered a Samsung F3 drive now anyway.
Whether or not your temps are high depends on your ambient. Mid-high 40s is within spec in a room with average temperature. Still, I'd not want my drives running that high.
SpaceDrake said:
Spacedrake, I'm really looking to purchase a machine that will give me the best possible gaming experience. I'm also looking for something that I won't need to upgrade for at least a couple of years, and will offer as much future-proofing as possible.
Good call on the BluRay playback... I'll make sure to find out if it comes with playback software. Thanks.
Foxtastical
Member
While I've been playing with PCs and PC gaming since 1991, I've never overclocked anything. I have an i5 750, and I've been really having a blast with it. Any tips on overclocking it without having to upgrade up from the default fans I have in case and on the CPU?
Antiochus
Member
The Chinese bothans are at it again!
http://www.chiphell.com/thread-148884-1-1.html
Translation:
GTX 560 30% faster than the 460. AMD 6950 only a touch faster than it. For those looking at $300 cards, don't blow your wad just yet ! 560 launches at Jan.20th
http://www.chiphell.com/thread-148884-1-1.html
Translation:
GTX 560 30% faster than the 460. AMD 6950 only a touch faster than it. For those looking at $300 cards, don't blow your wad just yet ! 560 launches at Jan.20th
Angelus Errare
Banned
Weird / Funny how Nvidia turned the whole Fermi fiasco around.
Erebus
Member
Cool. I guess I'll keep them both then. I tested Arkham Asylum that supports Physx and the gain in fps is significant when the 8800GTS is being used. I'm aware that only a handful of games actually support physx but if there aren't any noticeable performance issues with a GTX 460 running on PCIe 8x, I think it's worth keeping my old card.Shambles said:
Another thing I noticed is that somehow the 8800GTS appears to be the master GPU on my system (Everest Ultimate and other software recognize my GTX 460 as GPU2, heck even Uningine's Heaven benchmark shows up a 8800GTS as my gfx card :lol ). Is there anything I can do to fix this? I uninstalled all the drivers and even run the Driver Sweeper but the result was the same.
Kinda late in replying, sorry. My monitor has an HDMI input but its audio out jack is terrible. On top of that there's no inputs for stereo audio, so I can't get any sound out of the Wii. I've tried a couple of RCA to headphone jack cables, and they've all been pretty shit (sound in only one side).opticalmace said:
Since it's now two pages old, my question is: I want to stream/display my PS3 (or any console really) games through my PC. Can a typical HD capture card like the Blackmagic Intensity Pro do that, and if so does it cause any display lag?
It's a tangent, but this question isn't worth starting a new thread for.
I have a laptop with a pretty decent GPU. I don't use it for anything but games so I hooked it up to my HDTV to use it as a console. My only concern is heat. I keep the laptop closed at all times and I'm wondering if the heat is going to be trapped in or something. It would get decently hot even when I was using it as a laptop.
I have a laptop with a pretty decent GPU. I don't use it for anything but games so I hooked it up to my HDTV to use it as a console. My only concern is heat. I keep the laptop closed at all times and I'm wondering if the heat is going to be trapped in or something. It would get decently hot even when I was using it as a laptop.
Definetly clock you Q6600 to 3.0 or 3.2Ghz. As for GPU's wait until end of January to buy.banKai said:Okey GAF, I am currently thinking about upgrading my Radeon 4870 to a Radeon 6950. My specs:
- Intel Core 2 Duo Q6600 @ 2.4GHz (overclocking?)
- Sapphire Radeon 4870 512 MB 750 MHz
- Asus P5Q-PRO
- Corsair CM2X1024 2x1GB
- Kingston 2G-UDIMM 2x2GB
- Win 7 Pro 64bit
I want to play the upcoming shooters like Bulletstorm and Brink without any problems plus I want to get even better performance in Metro 2033 and BLOPS and run Crysis 2 somehow playable
Do you think I should do it or wait and complete a new rig late next year? This one was bought in around October 2008.
Those are nice parts, but wait until Sandy Bridge launches in January. You can cut a lot off that build as well.GoosTrix said:
The Sandy Bridge chip prices are per 1K units ($216). Usually they are priced at the same as they buy since consumers will buy an entire computer to go along with it.SpaceDrake said:
$130 and $140 for the Gigabyte US3 and ASUS P67 boards. Many retailers have listed them at lose prices already.
With 4GB of DDR3 costing $50, new SSD's early next year, and the 460/560/6850 cards making appearances it's a great time to buy.
*Good job on bringing Recettear over, hope the rest of the games coming over succeed as well.
Hell yes! More competition in the price range I want.Antiochus said:
Most laptop GPU's can get up to 95C+ so it's probably not something I'd be too worried about. Most of the heat is vented out the side, but you can check your GPU temps with something like GPU-Z or RivaTuner (At least I would think so, not totally sure on mobile).White Man said:
SpaceDrake
Member
GoosTrix said:
Don't try to future-proof. You can't. Not really. It's a waste of money and it'll only leave you frustrated, especially with the pace of improvement in the past 4-5 years (and there's no indication it'll slow down, either - if anything emerging technologies are just going to get even more crazy).
I know this probably runs counter to the attitudes of some others in this thread, but I'm of the opinion that you really should go for price-to-performance rather than massive power all at once. I'm going to quote from someone else on another forum who put it better than I ever could:
Ultimately, it's your money to spend as you want, but there's really a point at which "power" is just excess fluff and doesn't really enhance the experience that much.
Now, as a caveat, there is one area where I think splurging a bit is worth it for gamers, and where I plan on dropping some benjamins when I build my next computer: solid-state drives. On load-heavy games (like FPSes or MMOs), it's seriously like the invention of the warp drive. Load times disappear when you play from an SSD, so it can definitely be worth it to load up a nice big SSD (or even put multiple drives in or RAID-0 them together) to play your most load-intensive games from. Especially with Intel's next-gen drives coming out (which push the write-limits into "this will last as long as a comparable physical drive" territory) there's really no downside to them, aside from the price.
(EDIT: I mention this because you say you're looking for the "best experience possible", and while that machine you linked does have an SSD for a boot drive, it's only 40GB; you aren't going to be able to get much more than the OS on there. See if you can find something with a nice, fat, 80-160GB SSD (or build a machine with one :x ) and put your most load-intensive games on it. That alone will be the biggest speed boost you've ever seen.)
Still, though. I'm thoroughly in the "spend money wisely" camp when it comes to building a PC. If you can build a $1000 PC that can do 90% of the things a $2000 PC can, why not just save yourself a thousand bucks?
Hazaro said:
So those are confirmed prices, excellent. Definitely making the right choice on waiting for the 2x00s then. Is there a confirmed price/date for the G3 SSDs yet or are those still a nebulous "Q2 2011" deal? (I tried looking for this stuff, but for some reason you guys seem to know stuff the rest of the Internet doesn't, partially because you follow the Chinese Bothans I suspect :V )
I do hope the 560 is under $300, though. I was hoping that'd be more a refresh of the 460 the way the 6850/70s were price refreshes for their respective predecessors in the 5 line. I'd really like to pop an Nvidia in the rig I'll be building soon (partially since it'll serve as another testbed rig), but if the 560 is up near $300 I might just have to go with a 460 and save a benjamin (for diverting into pimpin' SSDs of course :V )
PumpkinPie
Banned
So what motherboards are we supposed to be using with Sandy Bridge? Because I sure as hell haven't seen any yet.