So.. Yeah... $10,000 to spend on a pc..

[Jakal]

As most of you know I play Day of Defeat. Well, playing with some buds on a clan server and talking on TS, I now have the opportunity to build a pc. The guy I was talking to won a settlement. I told him I custom build my own computers and wants me to build him one. I told him I could do a pretty good gaming system for about 2 grand.

Well of course I went to Newegg and started pricing things. He then asked for 1 terrabyte of hd space, and 4Gb ram. I told him that'd cost a bit more and I got the response "I want the best". I asked him if he knew what he was saying and that two thousand isn't "the best". He then laughed it off and said "Ok, how about ten thousand?" I about crapped myself right there. I've got no doubt in his financial backing so I pressed on.

So right now I'm looking at this:
Conroe 6600
Asus P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe
TT Armor or Kandolf
2x eVGA 7950 GX2
TT 750w
2x OCZ Platinum DDR2 7200 2x1Gb
2x WD 500Gb Caviar RE2
2x LiteON DVD-R/RW + Lightscribe
Logitech G7
Saitek Eclipse and Flight Joystick
X-Fi Elite
Peltier cooling.. working out the details

He said he wanted the best.. I was pretty much in shock when we were discussing this. I'm basically building a dream machine. He's a big fps gamer but doesn't know that much about pc's.

Rob: Yeah man we're going all out on performance, and I know how much knowledge you've got in that field. I'll be asking your advice on the overclocking/system settings once again.

MadMatt: You've been very helpful so far, and I want you to know it's very much appreciated. Experience is the best teacher.

Tech-Daddy: He's wanting a blue/black theme I'm going to need some advice on repainting the inside of the case Aim/Msn/Yahoo/whatever. I've never done something like that and I'd appreciate any and all advice.

This is going to be a major undertaking for me, and everyone's been great about advice and tips. I'm sure I'll need some more as the journey goes on.

 

[Rob Williams]

If he wants to be a douchebag... I'd say buy an Alienware. He seems to follow the rule that "Bigger is better" going by the 4GB of ram comment, so.. Just make sure he has Windows x64 so he can actually use all 4GB. I wouldn't go for Quad-SLI, because it's still rather buggy. If he has a 24" - 30" monitor capable of 1920 or 2500 resolution, then that's the only time I would remotely consider Quad-SLI.

Lightscribe is needless...

Cavier drives for a big spender? At least get a primary Raptor in there.

No to the OCZ 2x... that's just needlessly spending extra money. I'd get 2x the 7200 EPP which overclocks to 1100... that saves $300.

The G7 is a poor choice for a hardcore gamer. Go with the G5.

If he doesn't know much about computers... why does he want an X-Fi Elite? Get the regular X-Fi, because I guarentee he doesn't have the appropriate sound system/knowledge to take advantage of what the Elite offers.

Unless he has a massive sound system or monitor, I'd say get 2GB of ram instead, and a single GX2. With the money he saves, get a good monitor and sound system. He sounds like the type of person who is just going to go ahead and buy things he doesn't need though...

My $0.02.

 

[Greg King]

When I have more time I will go more in-depth but the first thing I would eliminate is the pair of 7950s. You would get better performance out of 2 7900 GTXs as quad SLI just isnt where its at right now. Now this is not to say that it will own ass when better drivers are released but as of now......I would stay clear of the pair of 7950s.

More to come...

 

[Jakal]

I wouldn't go for Quad-SLI, because it's still rather buggy. If he has a 24" - 30" monitor capable of 1920 or 2500 resolution, then that's the only time I would remotely consider Quad-SLI.

He's got a 24" plasma he wants to use.

Lightscribe is needless...

He's been wanting to put a lightscribe in the pc he has now, but he's getting this new one so I figured I'd add it in. I've still got to work out some details so a Raptor is possible.

No to the OCZ 2x... that's just needlessly spending extra money. I'd get 2x the 7200 EPP which overclocks to 1100... that saves $300.

Thanks, I was hoping you'd set me straight. He's looked at the G5 in stores and doesn't like the size.

If he doesn't know much about computers... why does he want an X-Fi Elite? Get the regular X-Fi, because I guarentee he doesn't have the appropriate sound system/knowledge to take advantage of what the Elite offers.

He's got an external amp/surround sound system he's going to use. He likes the digital outs and quality of the X-Fi.

Yeah he wants to go all out with this thing. If the 8xxx series is coming out shortly I'd tell him to wait for those and do SLi single cards. Nothing's getting ordered until next month. I'm just trying to get an idea of what's needed and of course you guys suggestions.

Fixed the RAM, thanks Rob.

 

[Rob Williams]

He's got a 24" plasma he wants to use.

I don't know any plasma that runs 1900*1200. My 26" LCD TV that doubles as a computer monitor only does 1280*768.

He's been wanting to put a lightscribe in the pc he has now, but he's getting this new one so I figured I'd add it in. I've still got to work out some details so a Raptor is possible.

Lightscribe to me... is just completely useless... that's all. If it actually looked cool when everything was done with, then it would be on my list also.

Thanks, I was hoping you'd set me straight. He's looked at the G5 in stores and doesn't like the size.

If he wants a new mouse... wait to see my review this coming Thursday. It should prove better than the G7... maybe.

He's got an external amp/surround sound system he's going to use. He likes the digital outs and quality of the X-Fi.

Fair enough.

Yeah he wants to go all out with this thing. If the 8xxx series is coming out shortly I'd tell him to wait for those and do SLi single cards. Nothing's getting ordered until next month. I'm just trying to get an idea of what's needed and of course you guys suggestions.

Meh... the 8800's were rumored to happen in July, but it didn't happen. This is the time of the year when they usually release a new series though. Really have no clue what to recommend you here. Maybe pick up a single GPU, wait until the 8*'s come out, then buy one of those instead.

If nothing is getting ordered until next month, then things may change by then. Especially with the GPU side of things.

 

[Greg King]

You might consider ATI's latest offering.

 

[leecho7]

You could also get him the 'Killer NIC' that we've been talking about in these forums.
I don't know, but from reading what you typed up... that guy sounds like he might get a kick out of the 'Killer NIC' and Rob's 'Killer Rooter'.