Okay, I thought I'd throw this out to the Orgiasts. I'm coming into a bit of money, and I've decided to treat myself to a new PC, since my home-brew machine is 3+ years old, starting to have problems with the newer games, and dreadfully short on disc space. I know I'm going to go with the following:

  • AMD X2 CPU (either the 4400 or the 4800, since those are the ones with 2 megs total cache)
  • ASUS Nforce4 mobo (the 2 x 16 model)
  • Some flavor of Nvidia 7800 video card (singleton, with SLI a possibility in the distant future)
  • At least 2 hard drives

My question has to do with cost. I could spec out an ungodly machine for around $3500, and it would be a beast. All the HD space I could ever desire. A monstrous power supply from PC Power & Cooling. The works. Or I could be a responsible Lemur and put together a very nice machine for about $2500, which would still be a screamer, but of much more sane proportions.

How nuts should I go? Is there any concievable reason I should build a God Box? Can one make a rational argument for buying top-of-the-line parts? Or is it folly, pure and simple? I've never built a top of the line rig in my life, I've always opted for the 2nd best proc, 2nd best video card, etc., etc. A part of me wants to wade into the high end just for the hell of it. The "because I can" factor, if you will.

Possible rationalizations for building a God Box:

  • I game, and I like the latest games, 'cause I'm a sucker for graphics
  • I rip lots of media to disc, both films and music
  • I build websites now and then, and that usually involves media conversion
  • I like fast machines with lots of pretty lights

None of these reasons seem terribly convincing, now that I look at them. Can anybody talk me into a higher plane of foolishness?

P.S.: I'm also thinking about going with water cooling for reasons of noise. Anybody know a web site that does custom builds of water-cooled rigs? Preferably one like I Buy Power, where the assembled rig is cheaper than buying the parts yourself?