I need new computer!

[Pedrito]

If you choose a 1155 socket board, be careful with the RAM, it seems from several different sources that the highest voltage certified for the memory is 1.5 volts.
It is unclear if it's an issue of the old, bugged chipset or a design choice, but anyway, I suggest you to choose the RAM from the list of certified products. Check my "new computer" thread for some more info.

L.

[katmai]

Thanks pedrito

[Pedrito]

Now, I must refrain from studying parts lest I start buying them myself.

lol, I had one of the cyberguys at work draw me up the specs for a gaming rig based on the Thermaltake 10 gaming case.  Came to roughly $4K.  Woof!

thermalTake 10 or 10 GT? your link redirects to the TT 10 GT, but there are $500 of difference between the two cases!

BTW, the 10 is fucking cool.

L.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

Notice I said efficiency / cooling.  Not who can crank out the last extra FPS.

AMD's cards are running cooler (Fermi in particular is supposed to be an absolute blast furnace, though fast).

I recently purchased the very card I recommended.  My experience is that the GPU core idles at about 41C and tops out at about 65C under load (with the fan on full).

[Norgy]

Thanks pedrito

The new, lower voltage RAM is actually cheaper.

[Barrister]

Notice I said efficiency / cooling.  Not who can crank out the last extra FPS.

AMD's cards are running cooler (Fermi in particular is supposed to be an absolute blast furnace, though fast).

I recently purchased the very card I recommended.  My experience is that the GPU core idles at about 41C and tops out at about 65C under load (with the fan on full).

Well that's it, isn't it.

Under what feels like full load my ATI 5770 card does not have the fan on full.

[Norgy]

AMD's cards are running cooler (Fermi in particular is supposed to be an absolute blast furnace, though fast).

That has been true up until the 5xx series from nVidia. And, since most card makers have custom coolers, and people can buy them instead of reference cards, I'd say the playing field is about level between the two. You generally get more performance for less wattage with AMD's 6xxx series, but that's not entirely true with their latest dual GPU, which also runs hotter than hell in all tests. Add that to the fact that the HD might as well stand for Harley Davidson noise-wise, I'd say for the average gamer, an nVidia GTX 570 or an AMD 6970 is more than enough. And should you be one of the crazy enthusiasts who has oodles of cash to spend, buy two...

My primary objection against dual card solutions is that they run hotter than hell and use so much electricity you actually pay triple the price of the card in its life-time if you use your computer on average 6 hours a day... should you choose such a solution anyway, I'd go for the GTX 560 tis or the HD 6870s. The others will just cost too much and run way too hot unless you have a 4 PCIe slot mobo.

nVidia cards still are less efficient and some run hot. AMD cards have funky drivers a lot of the time. But in general, I'd say there's little or no reason to choose one over the other based on those concerns. The real concern in practice is how many monitors you intend to use. Eyefinity from AMD crushes nVidia's 3D vision and even single-card AMD solutions support up to six (6!!!) monitors. 

[katmai]

Okay my latest wish list from new egg.

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 II Silver Steel / Aluminum / Plastic Computer Case $59.99

GPU: SAPPHIRE 100312SR Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity $274.99

RAM:G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $99.99
   
OS:Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit $99.99

CPU:AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor
Motherboard :ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard $331 combo pack

[viper37]

Motherboard :ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard $331 combo pack

This is just wrong.  That chipset is not for performance, it's for budget.  This ain't a work computer you got there.
You need the 890FX chipset.

The Asus Crosshair IV Extreme will let you mix video cards to get some form of hybrid SLI/Crossfire, i.e. you can mix Nvidia and ATI cards together, or recent ATI with old ATI.  It's not as fast as the SLI/Crossfire option, be warned.  It sells for 309$.

Now, the Asus Crosshiar IV Formula, wich is a very good, even excellent Crossfire board sells for 229$, or 169$ Open-Box on Newegg.  I have this board an I love it.

I won't review all options you have, but other manufacturers are: Asrock, Gigabyte, MSI and Biostar.
The GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5 sells for 180$ on Newegg, and it's a very decent board too, though I'm partial to the Republic of Gamer one from Asus.
The performance differences shouldn't be that dramatic from either one, so long as you pick the 890FX chipset.  890GX will slow down your processor.

None of these board come with an integrated video chipset, just in case that was important to you.

Not taking the combo deal will cost you about 40 to 100$ more, but you will not regret forking a little more cash.

[katmai]

I don't care about the crossfire nonsense.

[viper37]

I don't care about the crossfire nonsense.

All performance motherboards are Crossfire or SLI.  It just means you will use the PCI-E slot for something else if you don't use a 2nd video card.  My recommendations stand.

[katmai]

I don't care about the crossfire nonsense.

All performance motherboards are Crossfire or SLI.  It just means you will use the PCI-E slot for something else if you don't use a 2nd video card.  My recommendations stand.

Sorry i didn't mean to say i was dismissing your recommendation, just not worried about the prospect of two video cards.
The problem i'm running into is totalling up the parts along with the shipping costs to Alaska (sigh) are coming to the same price as buying a similar specced put together machine from newegg, that i don't have to go through the fun of assembling myself.

[katmai]

Oh so Viper does this pass muster?

AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Thuban 3.3GHz, 3.7GHz Turbo Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor
GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

[katmai]

Alright this is what i plan on ordering this week.

Along with the 6950 video card
and 8gb of ram

going with
ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core

[Grey Fox]

KABLAM! The whole shebang!