New rig

[Cashboxer]

I am ready to build a new box and I have $2500.00 set aside for it. I will do some gaming, and I already have a Radeon 4870. It will have to be OC'ed, but it will also need to be able to handle VMWare and run Linux, so I want at least 8 gigs of ram. 12 would be better. Can this be done with only 2500?

 

[mattspalace]

Yup, it can. probably either go with 6 or 12 gigs of RAM though if you're going i7 route with tri-channel memory.

 

[umarrehman187]

yeah man you got enough money there!

 

[Cashboxer]

Thanks for the reply's, but what would you guys recommend for the other parts.

 

[EarthDog]

i7 920 = $290
Asus P6t v2 motherboard = $290
12 GB DDR3 1600Mhz ram = $480 (2 6gb kits: Geil 7-7-7-24 1.6v)
120GB OCZ Vertex SSD drive for OS's and apps = $500
Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB drive for other/storage/backup = $110
HD4870 = Already Paid
Corsair HX750 = $160
Case = YOUR CHOICE

Total = $1830 not inc. shipping or any MIR (newegg pricing)

That leaves $670 for Windows, a case, aftermarket cooler for CPU etc...

 

[Cashboxer]

I liked everything Earthdog came up with. When I get all the parts in and assembled, I will need help getting it stable and then OC'ed. Thanks for the input.

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=13065086

 

[mattspalace]

I'd buy a pair of 60-80GB SSDs and run Raid0 instead, but that's just me.. I wish I had done that when I purchsed my intel drive.