GSingh

Looks like you picked out some good parts. Will you be overclocking any of your components or no?

jrharvey: Amazing designs man. What program, if I may ask?

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7hm

Here's 2 suggestion builds and the 2 640's for raid stripe And if you're not overclocking stock will do fine until you get a better cooler *cough* thermalright 120 *cough*

jrharvey

Also try to pick up some Combo deals from Newegg. You should be able to save AT LEAST 50 bucks from combo deals.

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003

A small part of me dies every time I see somebody spending money for an operating system. Hint hint, wink wink. Perhaps we could chat via e-mail to discuss other alternatives, such as, uh, Linux of course PM me your e-mail if that sounds interesting to you.

Also, I would recommend GTX280 SLI over that GTX285. On e-bay there are tons of new GTX280s going for dirt cheap, for like $250. This for example.

If you do decide to get an operating system for free, this would be a fantastic route to take. Great performance.

And I would recommend the P6T Deluxe (not the V2) over the P6T.

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I called it!

spartacus

Also since you have time, you can wait around until you get a great sale, discount codes, or free shipping on most components. Every little bit helps

Also, since you're a student, you can probably get some deals on an OS--either from the campus IT department, or Microsoft's freebies and giveaways. (Linux would be great too, but c'mon-- you gotta have some sick games to throw on a new i7 build with a nice gpu. )

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E8400 @ 4.4Ghz, 1.34v

Manyak

That's a pretty good build, but there are a few things you should change to get a better bang for your buck.


1: Change the hard drive. There are other hard drives that cost exactly the same price that perform twice as well as the one you picked and has more space. Such as the WD6400AAKS. Two 320GB platters is faster than two 250GB platters since the data is crammed closer together (thereby giving you much lower seek times). And you get more space out of it as well. You could also go for a single 500GB platter (best performance) with a Seagate 7200.12.

2: Change the PSU. You really don't need 850W unless you want some expansion-proofing. And even so, you can go with this Corsair 750W for $105 AR and save yourself $35.

3: Use your Student Status. Since you're a student, you get nice discounts on software. See if your college has an MSDNAA subscription, because if they do you can get Vista Business for free. And if they don't have one, you can also use your student status to get Vista Ultimate Red for only $65.

4: Change the keyboard. I've tried that logitech, and the keys are pretty stiff. The wide tops are great for gaming because you can hit far-away keys with very little errors, but you will despise typing your reports and stuff on it because it will tire your fingers out pretty quick. Instead, use the savings from the previous parts I listed and get a Deck keyboard. They are great for gaming (with no ghosting) and their feel is absolutely amazing. And they easily last 20 years + even if you abuse them. And their warranty even covers modding it if you choose to do so. They are a bit pricey, but I swear to you, you will consider it the best purchase out of this entire build. After all, about 75% of your interaction with the PC is through the keyboard, why skimp on it?

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jrharvey

Hey thanks, I use Rhino3d for all the modeling and Vray to render. I have been using a plugin for rhino called grasshopper alot lately. Its really cutting edge software. I love it.

EDIT: Alot of people will segguest going SLI or Crossfire but I have to step in and say it will really only help for gaming. It wont help for architecture at all. I havnt found any applications that utilize SLI very well. The FUTURE is GPU computing for rendering and such but we just arent there yet for professional applications. Thats why I ditched my SLI setup.

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Manyak

Oh, I also forgot to add - one of these SpaceNavigators supposedly helps tons. I got my girlfriend one (shes a designer too) and she swears up and down she'll never go back to 3d modeling without one.

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jtypin

I seconds that, I had an older model of that, with buttons on the side 1-9 and such, was amazingly helpful for 3D work.

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jrharvey

I know a few people who swear by those things. Ive used them before and they are very nifty. I think if the OP saves some money on that GPU and power supply he could splurge on one of these and a second monitor.

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