Thats a monster machine - a whole lot faster than mine - all those components should work together flawlessly
but as we are on the 'dream machine' channel heres what i would buy

XP3200+ Barton Core (512k Cache) 400Mhz FSB (Just SO fast)
Asus A7N8X Deleux Rev 2.0 (Personal favorite)
Zalman 7000a CU CPU Cooler (Silent and better than most other coolers - its a bit big thou - about the size of a CD and weighs 0.75kgs)
1024Megs Corsair TwinX DDR3700 CAS 2 RAM (Corsair is the best no arguements - 3700 run at 3200 4-2-2-T2 no probs and there is still overclocking room)
Radeon 9800 Pro 256Meg (fastest on the planet - nuff said)
Creative SB Audigy 2 w/ Cambrdige Soundworks Inspire 6.1 THX Speakers (it doesnt get anybetter sounding than this)
2 x Weston Digital Raptor 36Gb (10,000RPM) SATA150 HDD's - Striped Raid 0 (doesnt do fast - its goes straight past fast and onto FASTER - and then a 200gb IDE Drive if extra storage is needed)
Any nice shiny aluminum case that takes my fancy

would cost a fortune but it would b nice

Steg

 

I wanted to keep my machine under 3000 dollars with monitor. The 256mb radeon seemed like overkill from the reviews I've read. As for corsair, I would go with Crucial or Mushkin 500 times over corsair ram. I tried to balance the system out as best as possible. I got the 3000+ for 1/2 the price of the 3200+ cpu, so that was an obvious choice.

 

You got a good machine there. About right for your spend, and good value components well chosen. I wouldn't have bothered with the sound card though, as onboard sound is pretty good.

 

i got the soundcard to be able to decode dolby 6.1 and 7.1 properly. eax 4.0 will come in handy for halflife 2 also.

 

Looks like a very nice system. I only wonder why you don't like Corsair memory. I place Mushkin, Crucial and Corsair in the top 3. I've used all three, but I haven't ever used Crucial in an overclocked machine so I have no feeling for it's abilities.

I hope you have a nice monitor to go with that. It deserves one. I also would go with 5.1 speakers, cause watching DVDs on a nice big monitor on the PC is so sweet, especially the new High Definition DVDs like T2 - Extreme Edition.

 

I have two nice monitors actually.

I have my gorgeous 19" Mitsubishi Diamond Plus91 CRT which I use at home where I have room.

ViewSonic 19"LCD VP191s - Just got it, beautiful 600:1 contrast ratio, closest thing to a CRT I've found. And I got it for under 700 bucks from newegg on sale.

As for the speakers, I have no use for 5.1 on my PC. I don't really watch movies on my PC as my roommate and I have a nice 6.1 surround system on a big screen tv. I'm thinking about getting the Klipsch ProMedia 4.2's which are probably the best gaming speakers money can buy.

 

Creative Inspire 6.1 THX speakers? Why not add a 5.1 or even 6.1 Home Theather system?

 

I wonder if it makes sense to spend huge sums for a new PC. It's gonna be outdated in two years, isn't it?
Just a general comment on upgrading.

 

actually, i figure if you spend small amounts on pc's, then they get outdated much faster than if u get a top of the line machine.

my last pc i spent 3000 on too, it was also the state of the art machine at the time powered by amd. this system has lasted me over 3 years now and its just now becoming to become obsolete. The only major upgrade ive done to it over the last 3 years is upgrading win2k to winxp pro. No hardware upgrades. I play CS sometimes and get 70fps with this box. I take care of my computer and maintain it well and it lasts me long. I'd rather spend a better sum of money for a machine that'll be useful for a few years than get cheap computers that are obsolete in a few months forcing me to buy another.

 

Don't forget, there's a golden middle, too. But it depends on what you want to afford and how easily you are satisfied with what you got. I don't need very much. I'm not a gamer any more (well, might change after Halflife 2 is released) and I don't work with graphic and audio stuff.
I didn't intend to attack anybody. I'm just wondering if it's neccessary to buy brand new machines, because the price will fall very quickly in our day and age. I have no idea what is the latest trend in machines right now, I have to admit. Last time I checked, 3,4GH was the peak.

 

yeh yeh - that system was overkill - but we are on dream machine channel!

Steg

 

Maybe the thread should have been:
Look how awesome my system is!

 

Yeah.. Think you're onto something there SNGX1275.

Could have been worse tho eh?... He coulda had rich parents buy it for him, but as it happens, its probably his own hard earned cash, so hats off for that.

Your PC does rock man, but i'm gonna say the Only thing i'm jealous of is the Radeon. :]

I'm a 3GHz P4 (800fsb) and a 9800Pro away from being at the point of my ideal system....Coming soon

 

Maybe some people will hate me less if I tell you guys that I'm a college student majoring in architecture. So I'm using a lot of AutoCAD and Vectorworks so the Radeon and the processing power will come in handy in more ways than one.

And the money came from my summer internship which was intended for a new computer, this computer will double as my main studio computer as well as my general purpose fun machine.

 

Hmm..that should explain why you are into spending massive amount of cash on a single pc.

 

Hey, I didnt say I hated you mate

I'm glad you need it, and It will help you out, I only said, just glad u didnt have a rich daddy paying for it all... I believe in working for what i have ;]

 

its all good then. the parts are coming in on friday, i'll let u guys know how it all goes.

 

cool cool...good luck with it m8 :]

 

I'd wait for the 74GB version to come out and get 2 of those

 

does MA know you used her credit card happy bithday to you