suggestions for a $1500 or so budget

Ive posted about monitors and such a few times, but i have made the plunge with a decent 22inch (or maybe 24?) LG and an awesome stereo system. I am currntly usng them for xbox 360 gaming untill the spring semester is over, which is when i wil spend roughly $1500 or so on the pc itself.

I would greatly appreciate it, seeing how i am not an expert on the subject, if a few of you would give a suggestion on what to buy, what brands, etc. Thanks again!

I shopped around and got some pretty decent deals so i dont know if it is practical to say. I spent about 1600 on mine.

antec 900 case

q6600

xigmatek 1283 cooler

2 x 2 gb OCZ SLI 800mhz RAM

2 XFX 8800 GT Alpha Dog SLI

700w OCZ Xtremegamer PSU

liteon DVD

500 GB Western Digital SATA HD

X-Fi Fatal1ty sound card.

i think that is everything.

I shopped around and got some pretty decent deals so i dont know if it is practical to say. I spent about 1600 on mine.

antec 900 case

q6600

xigmatek 1283 cooler

2 x 2 gb OCZ SLI 800mhz RAM

2 XFX 8800 GT Alpha Dog SLI

700w OCZ Xtremegamer PSU

liteon DVD

500 GB Western Digital SATA HD

X-Fi Fatal1ty sound card.

i think that is everything.

I already had Vista upgrade, but I had to order the 64 bit cd, then had to have a microsoft tech activate it over the phone.

would a pc like the one described above run crysis decently, or should i aim higher, because i can if necessaryHungryLikeAMug

For $1500 your looking at a high end system with either two graphics cards or the very high end cards. $1500 is about the point were spending even more money ends up being a big waste as the performance increase is minimum. Here is a really good build:

Motherboard: 780i $260

CPU: E8400 $210 with Zalman 9500A $46

Graphics: 8800GTS 512MB x2 $400

Memory: 2x2GB Corsair XMS2 $84

Case: Antec 900 $120

Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750w $160

DVD-ROM: $30 Hard Drive: 320GB $70

Vista 64 OEM: $90

Total Cost is $1470 for everything. This is a very good top of the line build with all quality parts and it will perform very well with Crysis.

thanks guys i really appreciate it....one more thing - what is better in your opinion...one super graphics cards or two very good ones?HungryLikeAMug

If possible, one, because you can always buy a 2nd for a quick upgrade and hopefully the 2nd will only cost half as much. If you buy 2, then to upgrade your gpu then you'll need to get rid of them first before you upgrade. Buying just one saves you a little work later on. The best systems for your money right now probably include dual 8800gt or 8800gts's, so it's really up to you.

thanks guys i really appreciate it....one more thing - what is better in your opinion...one super graphics cards or two very good ones?HungryLikeAMug

If possible, one, because you can always buy a 2nd for a quick upgrade and hopefully the 2nd will only cost half as much. If you buy 2, then to upgrade your gpu then you'll need to get rid of them first before you upgrade. Buying just one saves you a little work later on. However, the best systems for your money right now probably include dual 8800gt or 8800gts's, so it's really up to you.

would a pc like the one described above run crysis decently, or should i aim higher, because i can if necessaryHungryLikeAMug

I OC'd my video cards a little and I run crysis maxed out beautifully. although it doesnt not like it when I use AA filtering.

my 3dmark score was around 17500.

Here is a beast of a PC I made for around $1500. https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=8051786&WishListTitle=%241500+PC

It comes out to:

$1643

-$90 mail in rebates

-$50 price drop on the Q9450 in few weeks

= $1503

Here is a beast of a PC I made for around $1500. https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=8051786&WishListTitle=%241500+PC

It comes out to:

$1643

-$90 mail in rebates

-$50 price drop on the Q9450 in few weeks

= $1503

Here is a beast of a PC I made for around $1500. https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=8051786&WishListTitle=%241500+PC

It comes out to:

$1643

-$90 mail in rebates

-$50 price drop on the Q9450 in few weeks

= $1503

Trilvester

X38 doesn't support SLI so buying 2 8800gts won't work, you would need to switch to the 780i which adds on another $60.

Normal it is better to have one really good cards then two worse cards put together, but there is no really good single card out right now. The 2 8800gts 512 will beat any single card out there and at only $400 it is also cheaper than the higher end cards.

I very much doubt that the Q9450 will be dropping anytime soon, it is sold out all over the place and already going for more than the retail price, so I would not count on that happening. On the other hand the Q6600 is suppose to drop in price very soon so you could get the E8400 or Q6600 for around $200

Here is a beast of a PC I made for around $1500. https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=8051786&WishListTitle=%241500+PC

It comes out to:

$1643

-$90 mail in rebates

-$50 price drop on the Q9450 in few weeks

= $1503

Trilvester

Im pretty sure thats a crossfire motherboard, so that wouldnt work with the SLI 8800GTS.

oh! and before i forget!!! what about "cases" or "towers" or whatever they are called, and all the cool lights that make it look sweet! suggestions or pics of your own anyone??HungryLikeAMug

Take a look here for a large collection of cases. Mostly the case is going to be a personal choice, everyone likes different stuff. The two sizes to look at would be full tower or mid tower. Mid tower is what your used to and is the basic size for almost all PCs. Full towers are just a little bigger and they offer more room inside for parts.