2 Systems for $3000

[jaxom101]

I decided to build a His/Her Systems.

System #1

Low level Gaming (Startcraft II on Lower Settings)
Non-Expandable (As I Upgrade the 2nd System all parts will pass on to this)

System #2 (Of Corse this is mine)

Higher Level Gaming (Starcraft II on High Settings)
Expandable (Xfire, Sata III, USB 3.0)
Dual Monitors
SSD Drive

I put together a Basic list from other Systems you you have listed but Im coming out a bit over Budget and still need to add a Good Router. Also I may need different Versions of the MOBO because the one listed wont do USB 3.0 and Sata III for the 2nd Computer. I also may be at Overkill for the PSU but I want to be able to xfire a 2nd 5870 at some time.

2x Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

2x ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

2x Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

2x ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 20000:1) Built in Speakers
(I have a Monitor for the 1st Systm so Both are for the 2nd System)
Newegg.com - ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 20000:1) Built in Speakers

2x COOLER MASTER HAF 922
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

2x ASUS P7P55D-E LX LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.com - ASUS P7P55D-E LX LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

2x Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80605I5760
Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80605I5760

2x A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model AD3U1333B2G9-DRH
Newegg.com - A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model AD3U1333B2G9-DRH

System 1

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

ASUS EAH5830 DIRECTCU/2DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 5830 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity
Newegg.com - ASUS EAH5830 DIRECTCU/2DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 5830 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

System 2

CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply

XFX HD-587A-CNF9 Radeon HD 5870 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Eyefinity 6 Edition Video Card
Newegg.com - XFX HD-587A-CNF9 Radeon HD 5870 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Eyefinity 6 Edition Video Card

SSD Drive

Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Newegg.com - Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

This setup right now comes to about $3100.

Should I get any Extended Warranty on any of the Parts from Newegg?

Whats a Good Wireless Router that would connect both systems and still allow my WII and a Notebook to connect.

[David M]

With dual monitors the bezel will always be in you line of sight. This means it will frequently be right where you are moving towards or aiming your weapon. It would be like putting a piece of duct tape down the windshield right in front of the driver versus having the A-pillars off to each side. Triple monitors would be better in that respect. With triple monitors you get much better peripheral vision as well, meaning you can better see the bad guys coming at you from the side. You are better off with one larger 24 inch, 1920 x 1200 monitor than two monitors in my opinion.

The most practical way to do a triple monitor setup is to use Eyefinity which means you will want a Radeon card. Given three monitors is a LOT of pixels, you will want a graphics card that can drive all those pixels. The 5870 with 2 gigs of video RAM is a better choice for three 24 inch 1920 x 1080 monitors at around $200 each. Additional video RAM is needed for driving higher resolutions. I think this would still work out pretty well and not bust the budget. You will want at least one of your monitors to have a DisplayPort connector because this is how you connect the third monitor to the graphics card. Of course the other ports on the graphics card will need to be DVI ports or an HDMI ports, ideally. Bottom line your card will need to have three ports. Stick with one graphics card like you have planned and you will have fewer potential problems.

I think extended warranties are a rip off. You don't buy insurance for the cheap stuff in your life. You buy insurance for the really expensive things you would not be able to easily replace if they got destroyed or stolen, like your automobile or home. Besides, the reason retailers are always pushing extended warranties is because they have a large profit margin for them. Anytime someone is making a large profit margin off of your money, its not a good deal for you.

Get the WD Black with 64 MB of cache. Its faster for not much more. I didn't see that Newegg had any 1 TB drives in stock. Amazon might.

The monitor you picked does not have a DisplayPort, that's if you go the three monitor/Eyefinity route. Example of 2GB, 5870 with Eyefinity and DisplayPort... http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeo...2228918&sr=1-4

Or this card with an HDMI, DisplayPort and DVI port.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121382

[jaxom101]

Originally Posted by David M With dual monitors the bezel will always be in you line of sight. This means it will frequently be right where you are moving towards or aiming your weapon. Triple monitors would be better. With triple monitors you get much better peripheral vision as well, meaning you can better see the bad guys coming at you from the side. The most practical way to do a triple monitor setup is to use Eyefinity which means you will want a Radeon card. Given three monitors is a LOT of pixels, you will want a graphics card that can drive all those pixels. I would suggest a 5870 for smaller monitors or even a 5970 if you are going to use 24 inch 1920 x 1200 monitors. I realize the latter might be a budget buster but at least you won't have significant framerate lag.

I dont want 2 Monitors for Games right yet. No game I play even allows for that and Strcraft II already stated they will never allow Eyefinity for Match play. But I do want the Option to add a 3rd Monitor at some point and the 2nd System has a 5870 now. Thats why I went Radeon for now. I tend to Browse the Web as I play Games and thats what I want the 2nd Monitor for now. I asume I could do that but if Im wrong Ill cut back to 1 Monitor for now untill Im ready for Eyefinity.

[glc]

Give her a P7P55D-E LX, and give yourself a P7P55D-E Pro. The LX doesn't do Crossfire.

Get an Asus, Diamond, or HIS 5870, not a XFX.

Places to cut costs: Get her a 5770 and an i3-540.

Router: Linksys WRT54GL.

Run the numbers with these, where do you wind up?

[David M]

Jax...I made a number of edits to my previous post.

[jaxom101]

Originally Posted by David M Jax...I made a number of edits to my previous post.

Well we just got notice it will be 2-3 Weeks before we get the money so I have time to work this out before hand. I know some things may change a bit but its getting close. With the changes jlc made it brought me down to Budget and I may just shell out the extra for a 3rd Monitor now. I asumed I would need the 2nd GPU now to do this but if the

ASUS ROG MATRIX 5870 P/2DIS/2GD5 Radeon HD 5870 Platinum 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

will run 3 now I may have to go for that.

Are you saying I need different Monitors now? Any suggestions for around the $200 mark?

[David M]

No specific suggestions. Just make sure the three ports on your graphics card will work with the ports on your three monitors. Get TFT monitors with the thinnest bezels you can find. TFT monitors do not have the prettiest displays but they do have the fastest redraw rates which make a difference when you get into catfights while gaming. Read some online reviews about gaming monitors.

There are DVI to DisplayPort adapters. http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CD0Q8gIwBQ# No idea if they are available with the reverse genders.

Let me know how it works out. I have been doing a lot of research into Eyefinity systems. My next purchase will be two more 24 inch monitors, making for a three monitor system, with a 5970 driving them.

Look into Eyefinity systems. There is a decent amount to learn. Its not a perfect system yet, but its pretty darn nice. It seems that AMD is working hard to improve it. In some games there is too much stretching making everyone look like a fat dwarf because the horizontal resolution cannot be correctly adjusted. Look at some of the YouTube videos of people running Eyefinity...some of it is very cool. I cant wait to get it working with MS Flight Simulator where I will be able to look out the sides of the aircraft...or add a fourth very small monitor for the instrument cluster.

[jaxom101]

Originally Posted by David M No specific suggestions. Just make sure the three ports on your graphics card will work with the ports on your three monitors. There are DVI to DisplayPort adapters. Tripp Lite 6 in Display adapter 20 pin DisplayPort - male - 29 pin combined DVI - female - PC No idea if they are available with the reverse genders. Let me know how it works out. I have been doing a lot of research into Eyefinity systems. My next purchase will be two more 24 inch monitors, making for a three monitor system, with a 5970 driving them. Look into Eyefinity systems. There is a decent amount to learn. Its not a perfect system yet, but its pretty darn nice. Look at some of the YouTube videos of people running Eyefinity...some of it is very cool.

What about this?

HIS H587F2G6DG Radeon HD 5870 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Eyefinity 6 Edition Video Card
Newegg.com - HIS H587F2G6DG Radeon HD 5870 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Eyefinity 6 Edition Video Card

It has 6 x Mini ports which I asume you just use an adapter and would hook to most any Monitor.

I just read this in the reviews on this card.

Cons: only thing is ati dropped the ball on eyefinity, i figured right out of the box i could hook up three monitors, but the fact is you can only use two monitors, you have to buy an active adapter for the mini display port to run three monitors.

[glc]

All this Eyefinity stuff is a moot point if you simply want to game on one monitor and browse on another. Any dual head card can do that.

[David M]

Exactly, but I am pretty certain he wanted his game on more than one monitor.

[glc]

Originally Posted by jaxom101 I dont want 2 Monitors for Games right yet. No game I play even allows for that and Strcraft II already stated they will never allow Eyefinity for Match play. But I do want the Option to add a 3rd Monitor at some point and the 2nd System has a 5870 now. Thats why I went Radeon for now. I tend to Browse the Web as I play Games and thats what I want the 2nd Monitor for now. I asume I could do that but if Im wrong Ill cut back to 1 Monitor for now untill Im ready for Eyefinity.

[David M]

"But I do want the Option to add a 3rd Monitor at some point."

[quartet-man]

You two might want to see optometrists about those blinking problems.

Oh, no, NOW I'VE caught it.

[jaxom101]

Well my orginal Idea was to play on one and browse on the other. I do play a few Games i run 2 accounts on and window between the 2. Dual Monitors would allow me to put one on each Monitor. But I wanted the option down the Road if a Game came out that I liked and supported 3 Monitors I could upgrade at that point. Nothing I play now supports it so it is a waste right now and with the changes from glc im right at budget. I would normaly go Nvidia but went Radeon for that reason.

To just clear things up a bit. If I want 2 Monitors and went with a

ASUS ROG MATRIX 5870 P/2DIS/2GD5 Radeon HD 5870 Platinum 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Newegg.com - ASUS ROG MATRIX 5870 P/2DIS/2GD5 Radeon HD 5870 Platinum 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

I would simply hook one Monitor to the Displayport and the other to either the HDMI or DVI Port? Or would the

HIS H587F2G6DG Radeon HD 5870 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Eyefinity 6 Edition Video Card
Newegg.com - HIS H587F2G6DG Radeon HD 5870 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Eyefinity 6 Edition Video Card
be a better Option?