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Budget is roughly $2000
Not sure what I want, just know I need an upgrade since a certain shipping company completely destroyed one of my machines. I'll be using it for some gaming /w fraps (Skyrim and the like) and maybe some video editing.
Right now I'm using 22's but I'm still considering a larger screen, maybe 42 but I'm pretty sure that puts me into getting a 1080p Tv and then, probably a 7900series or equal card(s).
Lastly, I'm a patient man so I can wait a while, a month or 3 if I have to but I don't want to go longer then that. Also, don't want to go through the trouble of overclocking, if I can set a multiplier and reboot that's fine, but incrimental changes then a 48hr burn test does not fit my temperment.
Thanks in advance
Comments
Just some food for thought:
The physical size of your monitor doesn't really matter. What does matter is the resolution. A 24" running at 1080p is no different than a 47" or a 65" or a 88" running at 1080p as far as your computer is concerned.
1080p is pretty common, and doesn't take a super-high end video card to drive. Anything in the top 3 tiers of video cards (nVidia x60, x70, x80+ or AMD x7x0, x8x0, x9x0+) can drive 1080p with very good results and mostly everything on high (if not maxed) for modern games. Price ranges on those start at around $150, and run up to however much you want to pay for it.
That being said, a $2000 budget does afford you the opportunity to get a $500+ video card if you wished.
For a $2000 build, If you are happy with your monitor keep it, but if it's not 1080p (at least) then I would consider upgrading it. Anything past 30" (and some would say anything past 24") you are probably looking at a TV and going through HDMI, but that tends to work fine with modern video cards. Many have HDMI output as it is, and most don't even need over/underscan adjustments any longer. If I were buying a new computer display today, I would make sure it had DisplayPort input - I am fairly confident that DisplayPort will continue to be used, since it supports higher resolutions and refresh rates than DVI or HDMI, and the monitor will probably last through several computers. But DisplayPort monitors tend to be more expensive than DVI or HDMI monitors.
Ivy Bridge is set to come out at the end of this month. That's the upgrade to the Intel CPU's (which is probably where you are looking at on that type of budget). Rumors say the prices will be similar, with a 10-15% improvement in performance. I don't know if that is necessarily worth waiting on, but I know some people (myself included) hate to buy/build something and then find that it was upgraded to the next model just a week or two later. The Core i5 (2500 in the Sandy Bridge line, it will be upgraded to the 3570) is the sweet spot for gaming, and goes for around $225 for the CPU, plus another $125-175 for the motherboard. Some people like bumping to the Core i7 for the extra 4 hyper threaded cores (which are about 40% of the performance of a real core), but those only add an advantage in programs that can use more than 4 cores (of which there really aren't any games) - the i7 goes for around $350 and uses the same motherboard. The current Core i7 is the 2700, the new one will be the 3770. You pay about an extra $20 for a K-edition, which unlocks the chip for overclocking if you want.
There are also the rest of nVidia's latest Kepler GPU rollout that may be worth waiting and seeing. They currently have the 680GTX released (retail of around $500) but with limited availability, we are waiting for their 670 and 660 lines to come out. The 680 has been a very impressive product so far, and you certainly have room for it in a $2000 budget (assuming availability), but the release of the other two lines could shake things up a bit in the GPU marketplace.
I strongly recommend an SSD/Hard Drive combo setup - with your OS and most used games on the SSD, and your bulk storage and FRAPS recordings on the hard drive. That will require a fairly decent hard drive (WD Caviar Black or such), but your SSD only needs to be modestly sized - most people find 120G is plenty if they have the second drive to hold all of their bulk data: that is enough room for Windows plus 2-3 large game installs.
Are you looking to build a system or buy one pre made?
I would say build your own, but if you dont have the patience or temperment to build one, and trouble shoot if you have any problems, then buying one.
If you choose to buy one I personally would stay away from Ibuypower, Cyberpower, & alienware.
Falcon Nothwest and Digital Storm build some very nice machines with quality parts. They are pricey but you get what you pay for and can customize it the way you want.
If your gonna build it yourself then a $2000 budget gives you room to build a top of the line PC.