Hello,
I am looking to upgrade 2 of my home PCs. Here are the current specs:
Build 1:
AMD FX-8120 at 4.2ghz
ASRock 970 EXTREME4
8GB 1066 Ram
GTX 560ti
600w corsair psu
antec 900 case
Windows 8 64bit
Gentoo Linux
Build 2:
Intel i5 2400 (since it cant OC, stock cooler)
MB capable of 2x SLI or CFX
4GB 1066 Ram
GTX 460
750w Corsair
Cheap case (need to buy some fans)
Windows 7 64bit
Now my budget is $800 (give or take) to improve these two. I want to run all games at 1920x1080 (1080p) w/ maxed graphics, running at a consistent 60fps minimum (yes I am a snob in that regards). The wife and I plan on playing the following titles The Secret World, Guild Wars 2, Mists of Pandera, Civilization V, Diablo 3, Sims 3, Defense of the Ancients 2.
Before any one says drop the AMD, I am a Linux admin by profession. I run Gentoo Linux at home which does alot of compilation that the AMD kills on especially at that price point (paid $180 for the processor and board). I live in the united states, and I have 2 Micro centers within reasonable driving distance. I also dont need an OS. Could use a set of headphones, using my sennheiser earbuds atm, getting alot of annoying interference, I read that it is a grounding issue and maybe an APC could fix it, or is it my sound card / lack there of?
In any case these are my current thoughts:
Build 1:
2x 8gb 1866 Ram kits
2-3x SLI 560ti (600w power supply? swap for the 750w?)
1x 680 or 690
2x 660ti
128gb SSD (RAID 0?)
850w modular psu (optional)
ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual (optional)
Build 2:
1x 8gb ram kit (old ram from build 1, taking it up to 12g)
1x 560ti (if option 1 gets an upgrade)
1x 560ti (if option 1 goes for 2x 560ti, so I can upgrade this later and go 3x sli 560ti in option 1)
2x 560ti (Buy 1 and the one for option 1)
1x 660ti (take advantage of txaa in TSW)
64g - 128g SSD (OS and 1 mmo)
Those are just some initial thoughts. I am really trying to reach that 60fps sweet spot on both. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. If I have better options with a slightly expanded budget (1k) post that as well.