Just curious as to what the Dollars are using.

Pic related: It's my case.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9vWb

That's mine.
I have the case, motherboard, power supply, operating system, and RAM.
I'm ordering the CPU and cooler next so I can run Sandybridge graphics and Windows XP until I get enough money for the GTX 570 and CavBlack.

•CPU will be overclocked to 4.0 to 4.5GHz, unless the cooler performs better than expected.
•8GB RAM for now-Will upgrade to 16gb later
•Graphics card is only four models below the 680, the best nVidia card on the market, and I might buy a second one to SLI.
•My case is bloody huge and can hold up to eight harddrives. I am an avid Unix user, so duel booting will be done!


Oh, and a little word of advice... Two actually.
SSD (Solid State Drives) are VERY fast, but they're VERY expensive, VERY small (Storage wise), and deleting files drastically shortens the lifespan. You're better off getting a high-end HDD, such as the Western Digital Caviar Black.

Also, the new Ivybridge chain of LGA 1155 CPU's came out.
This means people will be rushing to buy them because of an extra 100MHz stock and PCI-e 3.0.
The Ivybridge run WAY hotter, so overclocking is risky, and no graphics cards even come close to bogging down PCI-e 2.0.
So while other people are rushing out buying the new Ivybridge, stores will be selling the old Sandybridge for cheap, and other people will be selling them on ebay.
Look for i5-2500K and i7-2600K. The i5-2550K doesn't have integrated graphics, so unless your computer has a graphics card, it won't work.
The i5-3570K is the new one and runs very hot.

If you're looking to upgrade part of your current computer, I can help you do that. Rather, check the compatibility and what parts you have.

Interesting setup. I heard about the Ivybridge heat problem, but I'm sure they'll fix that with the next generation of CPUs. Considering they roll out a new one every two years, I'll be ready to buy by then.

My laptop uses an Arrandale (i5-480M). It gets the job done but I've had it almost overheat (hitting over 100C) when running at highest frequency (2.93Ghz). Right now it's sitting between 50 and 55C, according to my CoreTemp reader.

I kind of disagree with your advice on SSDs. My plan is to swap my hard drive for one in about a year, and when I get one I'll probably only get a 120-160. I put most of my files on externals anyway, and most people don't even hit 80GB of hard drive usage. I just want the boot speed it promises.

So other than that, my specs:
-Core i5-480M
-6GB DDR3 RAM 1066MHz
-ATI Radeon 6370HD w/ 1GB GDDR5 RAM
-320GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
-HP 1366x768 14" Display with built in Webcam
-Windows 7 Home Premium
-Fingerprint Scanner

Get the WD Raptor 10000RPM HDD as the primary memory, and use a 120GB SSD for storing video games.

Also get an AMD FX-8150 3.6Ghz (4.0Ghz turbo) 8-core CPU with Asus's Crosshair V Formula mainboard and Corair's Hydro Series H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler. With that trio you can overclock to as much as 5.0Ghz.

>>3

PS
As for GPU, go for Asus's GTX690-4GD5 if you have the money. Otherwise get 2 Nvidia based cards, one 2GB, for rendering, and one 1GB, PhysX dedicated.

>>3 Why the hell would you put video games on an SSD? That's a really bad idea unless you want to completely fill the fucker. Games are approaching 10-15GB now, and if you have Steam you wouldn't be able to get more than 25 games onto a 120. If anything, you'd want to put games on the aforementioned HDD.

>>2 They're great while they last, but when you delete or overwrite files, it damages the drive.
This means you pretty much have to trash a $200 drive if you need to reformat for whatever reason.

>>4 The 680 and 690 aren't worth it right now.
You're better off putting two 670's on two-way SLI.
$400 for a 670, $650 for a 680, and $1400 for a 690.
And if you get Gigabyte cards, you can overclock 10-30% with the stock cooler.

The 670 and the 690 have the same clock speeds. The 690 just has more memory.
SLI 670 doubles the clocks and gives you the same amount of memory.

The newer stuff isn't always better. nVidia is still a company and they're out to make a profit, so they do build hype a bit.

Two-way 690's would be a difference, but that's about it.


ALSO! If I recall correctly, nVidia SLI has to be on the same model or it runs at the slower card's speeds.
IE. SLI a 670 and a 580 will run it at 580 speeds.
I may be wrong and it not run it at all.

ATI, IIRC, has to be on the series.
You can Crossfire a 7970 and a 7950, but it will run at 7950's speeds.
But a 7970 and a 7850 will not work.

>>6 You'd need to format dozens of times to damage the hard drive. Pretty sure I'm fine if I'm doing it sparingly.

>>6 You're correct, but you don't necessarily need to SLI the cards. I actually meant that you shouldn't SLI the two cards and just run them independently, one for rendering graphics and the other for PhysX.

>>7 I know a guy who builds 6-8k rigs as a hobby, and he refuses to buy SSD's.
I mean god-tier 9000 builds.
i7 Extreme, 32gb 2000MHz RAM on an extended 8 RAM slot mobo, four-way 7970 crossfire, oil cooled, nine 3TB CavBlack, and all overclocked by nearly double.

Absolutely insane and 90% useless, but he does this regularly, and has pretty much pegged all the bad combinations out there.

>>8 O_o
I actually wasn't aware you could separate the functions like that.
I have a game developer friend who might find that interesting.
Will it not work if he has a 7950?

>>5 It's all in how many games you play and what kind of games you play. Besides, anything bigger and it will be getting in the $1,500+ range.

>>10 No it should still work as long as the PhysX card has at least 32 CUDA cores, which I am 99.999% sure it does.

>>12 ._. Do you have a source before he spends $400 on a 670 or something?

>>13 "A new configuration that’s now possible with PhysX is 2 non-matched (heterogeneous) GPUs. In this configuration, one GPU renders graphics (typically the more powerful GPU) while the second GPU is completely dedicated to PhysX."

- http://www.nvidia.com/object/physx_faq.html

>>14 He seems uninterested in it.
To be honest, PhysX is a minute change in the very very few games that use them.

Anyone know when the GTX 700 series might release?
'Cause when they do, the 670, 570, and 580 are going to seriously drop in price.
As in.... Three-way 570 on a mid-level build.