which gives the best bang for your buck?

[riggo]

I'm thinking about buying a new computer and was looking at these two, but am not sure which would give me the best bang for my buck. I do a lot of multitasking (video editing, importing, encoding, web surfing, uploading, etc.) and need a fast computer that can handle a heavy load. I love gaming, but have been way too busy lately to do any...but it's always nice to have the option. I can't think of anything else really so let me know what (if anything) I left out.

Computer 1

Computer 2

oh, and...it's cool to have and all, but I probably wouldn't really use the blueray player much, if at all.

 

[root_assassin]

computer 2 should work good

 

[dude_56013]

WAYYY overpriced IMHO. Can you build your own, or is that not an option?

 

[riggo]

WAYYY overpriced IMHO. Can you build your own, or is that not an option?

I could if I had the time...but as it stands, I'm just too busy.
I priced out the $1700 one piece for piece for the most part...I was lazy and stuck to just newegg for most of the parts....based on the info listed in the magazine, and it didn't seem like it would be much cheaper to build it myself....the only piece I didn't get a price for was the mobo (I just kinda guessed)

 

[dude_56013]

Have you ever heard of iBuyPower?

Here's one I customized on iBP:
Case ( Nzxt Alpha Gaming Tower Case - Black )
Processor ( Intel® Core™ i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) )
Motherboard ( Asus P6T SE Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Triple PCI-E MB )
Memory ( 6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1333 Triple Memory Module - Corsair Value or Major Brand )
Video Card ( ATI Radeon HD 4870 PCI-Express x16 – 1GB - Single Card )
Case Lighting ( None )
Power Supply ( 650 Watt -- Corsair CMPSU-650TX Power Supply - SLI Ready )
Processor Cooling ( Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink )
Hard Drive ( 320 GB HARD DRIVE - [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache] )
2nd Hard Drive ( None )
Optical Drive ( [** Special !!! ***] LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black )
2nd Optical Drive ( [** Special !!! ***] LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black )
External Hard Drives [USB 2.0/eSATA] ( None )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Speaker System ( None )
Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )
Floppy Drive ( None )
Monitor ( None )
Keyboard ( iBUYPOWER USB Keyboard with 18 Internet Hot /Multimedia Keys - Black )
Mouse ( iBUYPOWER 1600 dpi High Sensitivity Internet Mouse - Black )
Operating System ( Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) - 64-Bit )
Warranty ( Standard Warranty Service - Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support )
Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) - No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )
USB 2.0 Accessories ( Built-in USB 2.0 Ports )
Video Camera ( None )
Power Protection ( None )
Headset ( None )
Meter Display ( None )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( None )
MP3/MP4 Player ( None )
USB Flash Drive ( None )
2nd Monitor ( None )
Sound Reduction ( None )

Came to $1163. It's almost identical to the second computer you listed. Except this has 6GB (which is plenty) and has a BETTER video card (yes, I do realize the other one has sli'd vid cards, but individually (and maybe not sli'd either...I'm not sure on that one), they aren't as good as the 4870...so you might as well just get ONE card and then cross-fire later if need be). Also, you don't need liquid cooling..it's just one more thing to go wrong. You can go through and customize one on their if you'd like anything different (like a bigger hard drive or something).

 

[Remeniz]

I could if I had the time...but as it stands, I'm just too busy.
I priced out the $1700 one piece for piece for the most part...I was lazy and stuck to just newegg for most of the parts....based on the info listed in the magazine, and it didn't seem like it would be much cheaper to build it myself....the only piece I didn't get a price for was the mobo (I just kinda guessed)

I'd say that the money you would save is worth a day of your time to build your own computer.

Save about $300.00 on Computer 1

 

[dude_56013]

I'd say that the money you would save is worth a day of your time to build your own computer.

x2

 

[riggo]

Have you ever heard of iBuyPower?

Here's one I customized on iBP:
Case ( Nzxt Alpha Gaming Tower Case - Black )
Processor ( Intel® Core™ i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) )
Motherboard ( Asus P6T SE Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Triple PCI-E MB )
Memory ( 6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1333 Triple Memory Module - Corsair Value or Major Brand )
Video Card ( ATI Radeon HD 4870 PCI-Express x16 – 1GB - Single Card )
Case Lighting ( None )
Power Supply ( 650 Watt -- Corsair CMPSU-650TX Power Supply - SLI Ready )
Processor Cooling ( Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink )
Hard Drive ( 320 GB HARD DRIVE - [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache] )
2nd Hard Drive ( None )
Optical Drive ( [** Special !!! ***] LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black )
2nd Optical Drive ( [** Special !!! ***] LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black )
External Hard Drives [USB 2.0/eSATA] ( None )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Speaker System ( None )
Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )
Floppy Drive ( None )
Monitor ( None )
Keyboard ( iBUYPOWER USB Keyboard with 18 Internet Hot /Multimedia Keys - Black )
Mouse ( iBUYPOWER 1600 dpi High Sensitivity Internet Mouse - Black )
Operating System ( Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) - 64-Bit )
Warranty ( Standard Warranty Service - Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support )
Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) - No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )
USB 2.0 Accessories ( Built-in USB 2.0 Ports )
Video Camera ( None )
Power Protection ( None )
Headset ( None )
Meter Display ( None )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( None )
MP3/MP4 Player ( None )
USB Flash Drive ( None )
2nd Monitor ( None )
Sound Reduction ( None )

Came to $1163. It's almost identical to the second computer you listed. Except this has 6GB (which is plenty) and has a BETTER video card (yes, I do realize the other one has sli'd vid cards, but individually (and maybe not sli'd either...I'm not sure on that one), they aren't as good as the 4870...so you might as well just get ONE card and then cross-fire later if need be). Also, you don't need liquid cooling..it's just one more thing to go wrong. You can go through and customize one on their if you'd like anything different (like a bigger hard drive or something).

hmmm...I'll take a look

I'd say that the money you would save is worth a day of your time to build your own computer.

I would no problem, I've done it before, but I'm in the process of getting my business off the ground, so I barely have time to sleep......in fact it's been about 40 hours since I've had any sleep which is why I have this "free time".

what do you think of this for $1566?

Case
Nzxt Guardian 921 Gaming Tower Case w/ NVIDIA Side Window
Sound Reduction
None
Case Lighting
Cold Cathode Neon Light Blue
Processor
Intel® Core™ i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache)
Processor Cooling
Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink
Memory
12 GB [2 GB X6] DDR3-1333 Triple Memory Module Corsair Value or Major Brand
Video Card
ATI Radeon HD 4870 PCI-Express x16 – 1GB Single Card
Motherboard
Asus P6T SE Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Triple PCI-E MB
Power Supply
800 Watt -- Power Supply Quad SLI Ready
Sound Card
Creative Lab Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
Network Card
Intel Pro 10/100/1000 Network Card
Hard Drive
1 TB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache]
2nd Hard Drive
320 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache]
Optical Drive
[Lightscribe Technology] LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive Black
2nd Optical Drive
[** Special !!! ***] LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive-Black
Flash Media Reader/Writer
12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer Black
Meter Display
None
Floppy Drive
None
Operating System
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) 32-Bit


is it worth an extra $63 to change the following?:

From This Motherboard
Asus P6T SE Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Triple PCI-E MB

To This Motherboard
Intel DX580SO Intel X58 CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Dual Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Dual PCI-E MB

an additional 150 watts on the PSU,

And downgrading the memory from 12GB to 6GB, Creative Lab Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer to X-Fi Xtreme Audio, and ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB to 512MB

what do you guys think?

also, I was told that I should get vista 64 bit rather than 32 bit....why is that?