Hello everybody!
I'm posting on Techspot after a very long hiatus. Feels good to be back here.
Now to the topic. Initially the idea was to invest in a gaming laptop (specifically the M14x) as I had a lot of travel lined up. However, that's on hold and I'm considering on diverting the funds to build a new desktop from scratch.
Current rig:
CPU - AMD Phenom II X3 720
Motherboard - ASUS M4A78T-E
RAM - 4GB DDR3 (@1333MHz)
GPU - Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4890
HDD - 1TB Seagate (32MB Cache, 7200 RPM), 160GB Seagate
Case - Cooler Master CM 690
Keyboard - Microsoft Sidewinder X4
Mouse - Logitech MX 518
Monitor - Samsung B2030 20" (1600x900)
Currently I intend to reuse only monitor, mouse, keyboard and the 1TB HDD from my existing machine. The cost of the OS need not be factored in. I do have a copy of Windows 7.
The major purpose will be gaming. My budget is around US$ 1500 (INR 85,000), give or take a few.
Looking forward to all your suggestions.
The system I just finished building cost $1440 for everything (except Windows 7, which I had already, and the speakers/amp) -
Mainboard - Asus P8Z77-V
CPU - Intel i5-3570K (OC to 4.3 GHz)
RAM - 2x4 GB Kingston HyperX 1600 (OC to 1866)
Case - Corsair Carbide 400R
PSU - Ultra X4 750 (full modular, 80 Plus Bronze)
GPU - EVGA GTX 550 Ti Superclocked + Intel HD 4000 (VirtuMVP)
CPU Cooler - Corsair H-100 liquid cooling
Fans - 8 x 120mm
HDD - 1 x 500 GB WDC Blue, 1 x 400 GB Hitachi DeskStar, 2 x 2TB WDC Green
ODD - LG M-Disc Super Multi
Audio - onboard Realtek ALC892 / optical SPDIF
Speakers - 5 x Boston Micro90X, 2 x Boston subs, Sony 100w/ch surround amp
Monitor - Acer S231HL (23" LCD)
KB & Mouse - Microsoft Wireless Desktop 3000
OS - Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Performance (OC 4.3GHz, 1866 MHz)
CPU - 62.3 GFlops/sec. (Intel Burn Test) 9415.2 (Passmark Perf. Test 7)
Ram - 21.9 GB/sec., 49.1 ns latency (MaxxMem2)
GPU - P3602 3d marks (3D Mark 11) - 2241.9 3d marks (Passmark)
I am very pleased with the way this system performs; it runs cool and quiet, overclocks easily, and handles all my games on high settings. I feel very close to the "sweet spot", needing only a fast SSD and maybe a GTX 660 Ti to make this a dream system (for practical dreamers who don't need the VERY best). Those with lots of cash could plop down a few grand and get the i7-3960X and X79 mobo and 64 GB of RAM, but it's overkill and your light bill will go up $100 a month. This was more fun, though. I researched this build for almost a year (obviously changing it several times) and tried to get "best bang for the buck" in every choice,while never compromising my performance requirements. I believe I succeeded.