I agree 100% with J.P. about NewEgg.com for buying components (though MicroCenter seems to have the best pricing on Intel CPUs), and I’d also recommend browsing through the reviews and articles on sites like AnandTech, Tom’s Hardware, etc., to catch up on what’s the latest and greatest.
I could list the latest six-core Core i7-980X CPU, solid-state drives, and blazingly fast memory, but as J.P. also said, unless cost is no object, you probably won’t want to get the best of everything.
Generally, to put together a nice system, you’d want at least a quad-core CPU (Intel Core 2 Quad series or Core i5/i7 series, or perhaps one from AMD’s Phenom II X4 series), at least 4GB of DDR3 memory (6GB if you decide on a Core i7 processor using the LGA1366 socket), a fast system hard disk like a Western Digital Velociraptor or perhaps an Intel X25-M solid-state drive, a DirectX 11-capable video card (ATI Radeon HD 5000-series or NVIDIA GTX 480/GTX 470), a hefty power supply (500W at a minimum, preferably 750W+), and so on.
You know if you buy the best of EVERYTHING even if it is just parts, you are going to end up spending a good chunk of change. You should really consider what you will be using this computer for before you go into something like this unless you can easily spare a pretty penny.
http://www.newegg.com/ – I think this site is probably the best I have ever seen for looking at the specs for each part and comparing every detail with one another. This site is great for looking just how much better each piece is and if it is worth shelling out the extra cash for. Good luck.
- Intel Core i7-975 Extreme Edition 3.33GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
- Swiftech H20-220 Apex Ultima Extreme Duty CPU liquid cooling kit
- ASUS P6T7 Motherboard or EVGA E760 CLASSIFIED
- Two DIAMOND 5970PE52G Radeon HD 5970 in crossfire
- Kingston HyperX 12GB (3 x 4GB) DDR3 1600
- Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty
- LIAN LI PC-A70F Full Tower Case
- Thermaltake Toughpower W0133RU 1200W PSU
- RAID Setup 4 x Western Digital RE4-GP WD2002FYPS 2TB
- Pioneer CD/DVD Writer Black SATA Model DVR-S18M LabelFlash
- Pioneer Black Blu-ray Disc/DVD/CD Writer SATA Model BDR-205BKS
Is the best IMO but will run you about $6000 – 6500
I agree 100% with J.P. about NewEgg.com for buying components (though MicroCenter seems to have the best pricing on Intel CPUs), and I’d also recommend browsing through the reviews and articles on sites like AnandTech, Tom’s Hardware, etc., to catch up on what’s the latest and greatest.
I could list the latest six-core Core i7-980X CPU, solid-state drives, and blazingly fast memory, but as J.P. also said, unless cost is no object, you probably won’t want to get the best of everything.
Generally, to put together a nice system, you’d want at least a quad-core CPU (Intel Core 2 Quad series or Core i5/i7 series, or perhaps one from AMD’s Phenom II X4 series), at least 4GB of DDR3 memory (6GB if you decide on a Core i7 processor using the LGA1366 socket), a fast system hard disk like a Western Digital Velociraptor or perhaps an Intel X25-M solid-state drive, a DirectX 11-capable video card (ATI Radeon HD 5000-series or NVIDIA GTX 480/GTX 470), a hefty power supply (500W at a minimum, preferably 750W+), and so on.
Good luck!
You know if you buy the best of EVERYTHING even if it is just parts, you are going to end up spending a good chunk of change. You should really consider what you will be using this computer for before you go into something like this unless you can easily spare a pretty penny.
http://www.newegg.com/ – I think this site is probably the best I have ever seen for looking at the specs for each part and comparing every detail with one another. This site is great for looking just how much better each piece is and if it is worth shelling out the extra cash for. Good luck.
- Intel Core i7-975 Extreme Edition 3.33GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
- Swiftech H20-220 Apex Ultima Extreme Duty CPU liquid cooling kit
- ASUS P6T7 Motherboard or EVGA E760 CLASSIFIED
- Two DIAMOND 5970PE52G Radeon HD 5970 in crossfire
- Kingston HyperX 12GB (3 x 4GB) DDR3 1600
- Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty
- LIAN LI PC-A70F Full Tower Case
- Thermaltake Toughpower W0133RU 1200W PSU
- RAID Setup 4 x Western Digital RE4-GP WD2002FYPS 2TB
- Pioneer CD/DVD Writer Black SATA Model DVR-S18M LabelFlash
- Pioneer Black Blu-ray Disc/DVD/CD Writer SATA Model BDR-205BKS
Is the best IMO but will run you about $6000 – 6500