What is the BEST PC currently available?

[I Am Herenow]

Hello everyone :)

[edyzmedieval]

Computer - Do it yourself PC
CPU - Intel Quad Core / Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme X6800
Graphics card - nVidia 8800GTX Ultra
Motherboard - MSI 975X Platinum/nForce
Harddrive - WD Raptor 150GB in RAID 0
Sound card - Creative Labs?
Physics card - What do you mean?
Operating system - Microsoft XP Professional/Microsoft Vista
Monitor - 22" (or the one Beirut has...)
Keyboard - depends on preferences
Mouse - Razor Copperhead/Logitech G5 (or M5?)
Printer - depends
Speakers - ALTEC LANSING 5.1 system
+ custom made Water cooling
+ custom made case
+ ENERMAX Galaxy 1000W source (triple quad - 24 HDD, 4 video cards, 4 processors - SIMULTANEOUSLY!!!)

It depends on what you want. I ordered a similar one.

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

Hi I am Herenow,
I'm no real expert, so, I'm sorry to say that I can only suggest a Printer brand. My sincere apologies.

Printer -
HP Printers are pretty reliable. I've had the printer I have now, HP DeskJet 840c, for eight years (1999), and it's still carrying on, not breaking once during it's highly extended lifetime. I've also read good reviews of HP in certain magazines too, but it was a while ago, so I don't remember which one, sorry.

Epson printers, on the other end of the spectrum, are possibly the worst I've heard about/used. I have a friend who bought an Epson printer and it broke the week after the guarantee (one year) ran out. Also, the Epson printers at my workplace are not doing to well either. I know that the one that I used fouled up after six months, but on another note, after it was repaired, it has so far carried on another year, and is still living now. In the same magazine as the HP printers were featured in, however, they were marked as the worst printers of the selection tested (which also included HP, Canon and Lexmark, Canon and Lexmark came join middle).

[Phatose]

Best I can think of:

Intel Core 2 Quad
SLIed 8800 Ultras
Apple 30' Cinema LCD

[I Am Herenow]

Best I can think of:

Intel Core 2 Quad
SLIed 8800 Ultras
Apple 30' Cinema LCD

Cheers, guys!

I assume the Core 2 Quad is a processor and 30' is a monitor - but what are 880 Ultras? Thanks!

Also, in regards to the physics card, it's just an optional additional thing you could add on the Dell site when customising one of their high-end PCs - not sure if it's a particularly useful thing, and that was the first and last time I ever came across one. Plus, Dell only had model x or nothing as a customisable option (compared to 10 or so chips) for their top-of-the-line PC, so I suppose it's not a widely used thing (at the moment, at least).

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

Hi again,
Geforce 8800 Ultra is a make of graphics card produced by Nvidia. It features the "latest generation architecture featuring the most powerful graphics processors available and support for Microsoft DirectX 10" [shader model four - I think it's a sort of thing which effects the lighting effects, such as shadows, on games which can do it].

[Mikeus Caesar]

Fits right there on your titanium-reinforced desk, with a stunning 8 bytes of memory!

Coming soon - a black and white display set, with stunning clarity!

[I Am Herenow]

Hi again,
Geforce 8800 Ultra is a make of graphics card produced by Nvidia. It features the "latest generation architecture featuring the most powerful graphics processors available and support for Microsoft® DirectX® 10" [shader model four - I think it's a sort of thing which effects the lighting effects, such as shadows, on games which can do it].

Cheers, but what does "SLIed" mean?

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

Cheers, but what does "SLIed" mean?

SLI is a Scalable Link Interface - I, think, but am not too sure, that it is the function, used by Nvidia, enabling a user to wire up multiple Graphics Cards together and use them as if they were the same card, but providing you with the power of each one added together. For example, having two 256MB cards together in SLI would provide you with 512MB of graphics memory - I believe that it is a popular way of getting more graphics memory than is possible with a normal single card. Sorry I can't be sure, cheers!

BTW, Wikipedia explains it alot better than my feeble mind can.

[Xiahou]

I personally don't think SLI is very cost-effective, plus it uses huge amounts of power.

Although, he did ask for the best available- not the best for the money... so carry on.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Well if your looking for readily available off the shelf models check here
Top 5 Power Desktop PCs

Heres their top one

CyberPower Gamer Infinity Ultimate
This overclocked system is blisteringly fast and comes with the works, justifying its high price.
The Gamer Infinity Ultimate may lack the exotic looks and customized touches that uber-gaming systems from high-end boutiques like Voodoo and Alienware possess, but it makes up in function and price for any shortcomings in form. At $4399 as of March 16, 2007, including ViewSonic's VG2230WM (a $320, 22-inch, flat-panel display), the Gamer Infinity Ultimate costs thousands of dollars less than some gaming systems, yet delivers top-flight performance and first-rate hardware.

For gamers, performance is king, and the Gamer Infinity Ultimate qualifies as royalty. Its WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 129 was the highest of the eight power systems running Windows Vista that we tested recently. The Gamer Infinity Ultimate runs on Intel's latest quad-core, Core 2 Extreme QX6700 CPU, which CyberPower overclocked to 3.46 GHz. Notably, the system scored very well on the multitasking portion of WorldBench 6 Beta 2--second only to the Xi MTower IGE-SLI, which runs on Intel's dual-core Core 2 Extreme X6800 CPU.

Using dual SLI XFX GeForce 8800GTX graphics boards, our Gamer Infinity Ultimate scored very well: Frame rates while running Doom 3 and Far Cry were very high for most resolution settings; in some cases they were second only to the Xi MTower IGE-SLI, which used a single 768MB XFX GeForce 8800GTX graphics board.

In lieu of occupying an exotically sculpted case, our test PC came in a relatively staid Cooler Master CM Stacker 830 tower. Unlike many aluminum cases, the CM Stacker feels sturdy, and--as the name implies--it offers excellent cooling. Every face, including the bottom, has vents in it; and the interior holds five fans. Speed-hungry overclockers who aren't fans of liquid cooling systems will like the included Vigor Gaming Monsoon II CPU cooler, which combines airflow with a powerful Peltier cooler.

Data storage should be no problem for even the most inveterate digital packrats. Our review model came with two high-performance 150GB, 10,000-rpm Western Digital Raptor hard drives configured in a RAID 0 array, an additional 500GB hard drive, and a LiteOn Blu-ray DVD drive that can stores up to 25GB of content per disc. The $557 Blu-ray drive included with our test model is nice, but a frugal buyer could substitute a far less expensive DVD drive to lower the overall system cost. Gamers will like the Logitech G15 gaming keyboard, which carries its own LCD display for gaming stats plus 18 programmable buttons for gaming shortcuts.

Latches enable you to release both side panels for quick access to the case's interior, and the bank of four cooling fans located under one side panel pops off easily. You can add a card or drive without tools, but the bulky graphics cards block several of the expansion slots, and you have to remove a graphics card to reach the hard-drive bays.

The ViewSonic VG2230WM flat-panel display that accompanied our review unit displayed crisp details and rich colors, though we had to adjust the contrast to brighten the screen for DVD movie playback. Small type (6.8-point font) was sharp and readable at 1024 by 768 resolution.

The Gamer Infinity Ultimate may be expensive, but it packs a lot of value for gamers and power users who need speed, storage, and the ability to upgrade.

[Husar]

The idea of SLI is not as much about graphics memory but that both cards can share the workload in general, it can be compared to a Dual-Core CPU but in both cases software needs to be designed to support it, though CPUs may give a small advantage even if not supported by the software because you can run multiple programs simultaneously.
The fastest graphicscard currently is the 8800 Ultra and the fastest CPU some Quad Core from Intel but soon you may be able to get eight cores from AMD because they want to allow you to put two of their upcoming native Quad cores onto one mainboard. How fast those upcoming Quad Cores are I don't know though, given that it's a completely new architecture and that they are native quad cores (Intel quad cores are currently two dual cores put together and linked via the FSB), they could well be faster.
However, you'd spend a lot of money for something that isn't even remotely supported by most games of now and probably many games of the future(currently not even dual cores are fully supported by every game, I keep seeing one core is not even at 100% while a game lags and it's not always the videocard either).
Anyway, since you have no money limit, you could get such a rig with 3 8800Ultras(one can be used to calculate physics with the Havoc physics engine) and maybe an additional Ageia physx card to calculate psysics if a game uses the agaeia physics engine. But please do me a favor and don't ask me what mainboard you'd need for that and how much all the stuff costs, I'd probably go insane.

[I Am Herenow]

OK, bottom line is, if I stuff 3 graphics cards and 4 processors (or whatever it is) into a PC, does it mean that I can play any game that's available in the shops today (offline, at least) on the highest detail settings without any lag or interference?

Also, how much, roughly, would these things cost (sorry, Husar :P)? £5000? £10,000?

Cheers!

[edyzmedieval]

SLI momentarily doesnt allow more than 2 graphic cards. You could try the Quad Core, although I am still a fan of the Extreme Dual Core.

Yeah, that's right, you can run on max. Anyone seen that beast Dell has, the ones the Valve developers use for games?

[I Am Herenow]

Thanks :)

Also, where are the best places to buy all this stuff?

[edyzmedieval]

Depends. There are tons of places, but it depends on how reliable they are. Big companies are usually reliable, but sometimes they can slack off.

[Husar]

Well, if SLI doesn't allow for more than 2 cards, getting a board with 3 slots means you connect only 2 via SLI and the third just rund on it's own calculating physics, if that is even supported yet. I do know it hads been announced though and there has to be a reason some boards have 3 PCIe X16 slots.

And concerning your question, no, not necessarily. If the game is not even optimized for dual cores, having four or eight cores won't help you in any way. I play Medieval 2 on highest settings and huge units and with more than about 5000 men it lags but my CPU is not at 100%.

Concerning the cost, I recommend you go to a local shop and ask, might be hard to get as a complete package and to be honest, I wouldn't even buy the stuff if I had the money since it may take a year or so and it's almost outdated again. If you get a cheaper still powerful computer now, you can get a new one in a year or two and still pay less.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

I think aroun $1500 is a good price for a good pc to run MTW2. Thats what I spent. Including a 22 inch HD monitor. You could go a little lower or higher but I can run MTW2 on max settings even in mp so I cant see going much further.

I had it custom built at a local shop. Their all over the place here. i dont know how it is where you life. But in these parts its the best way to go if your not handy doing it yourself. The price I got was abouth the same as if I had oredered it from new egg and put it together myself since I didnt have to pay any shipping charges. Plus I paid cash. Shhhhh..... no tax.

Ive got a Core 2 Duo 6600, 8800GTS320 vid card. P5W-DH-Deluxe MB and two gig of Ram plus lots of other goodies. I can overclock this baby quite a bit Ive read but havent seen any reason too. It even cranks on Oblivion.

[DukeofSerbia]

@I Am Herenow

Homework:
1. What you will do on your future computer?
2. Your budget?


P.S.
I wouldn't listen people who suggets you to spend several thousands euros...

[I Am Herenow]

Do not worry about a budget - just tell me the best-performing chips, graphics cards etc. :)

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Well if you want the best i found the machine for you. Actually I believe is a stand alone graphics card.




Nvidia Quadro Plex 1000

Maybe Nvidia's recent tough talk following the acquisition of ATI wasn't just talk. They're backing up those words with some serious graphics muscle: a unit called the Quadro Plex 1000 that can pump 80 billion pixels per second for pro graphics needs. Like, really pro graphics needs. Before we hurt ourselves trying to figure just exactly how many Marios that is, we'll run the rest of the specs by you. The Quadro Plex comes in a desktop (pictured) or 3U rackmount configuration, and is designed for working with 12-megapixel HD video, 3D graphics, scientific visualization, simulations and whatever else needs that type of GPU power. One node involves eight Quadro FX cards, jammed into two Plex 1000 systems and paired up via SLI, all of which is hosted by a 32-bit Intel or 64-bit AMD machine running Windows or Linux. All that juicy Quake II power (we keed! we keed!) can be yours starting at a mere $17,500, and should be available beginning next month.

Notice you can run two of them



8800Ultra Pffft

LINK

[I Am Herenow]

Nice! :) - I'll get it as soon as I need to model a particle accelerator :P

But is this thing a graphics card or a PC?

[DukeofSerbia]

Basically, if I were to buy a new computer, it would be to run Vista and play the latest games - but just out of curiosity, I want to know what the most powerful Windows desktop (components) are that are currently available on the market. Therefore you do not need to worry about a budget - just tell me the best-performing chips, graphics cards etc. :)

I still don't get why you want to waste so much money [btw, from which country you are].

In December 2004 I bought computer for ~1100 euros. It was powerful beast, but for few months not any more. No matter how much money you spend, for 2-3 there will be new, faster and more powerful beast.

Better to spend 1500-1700 euros now, and then after 1 year upgrade your computer, and sell replaced components (at least that's how I do ).

Don't worry, I can make you beast.

[edyzmedieval]

What the heck is that thing, Gawain?
You can actually run games on it?

[Gawain of Orkeny]

What the heck is that thing, Gawain?
You can actually run games on it?
Today 07:46

Like I said Its an external graphics card. You can even run two of them in sli. And yes it will run any game you can imagine attached to the proper proccessor. If you read the article its being used for things like flight simulators.

[I Am Herenow]

Well it sure looks cool

Are there any processors around of equivalent stature?



Also, what's the difference between a desktop and a workstation (yes, I'm a total PC hardware noob )? Are workstations just high-end desktops? Do both run Word, IE, M2TW etc. just as well?

Thanks!

[Beirut]

Well if you want the best i found the machine for you. Actually I believe is a stand alone graphics card.

Wow!

I'm buying a lottery ticket tonight.

I had no idea anything like that existed. Thanks for the chance to lust after even more tech-toys.

[TosaInu]

Well it sure looks cool

Are there any processors around of equivalent stature?

Also, what's the difference between a desktop and a workstation (yes, I'm a total PC hardware noob )? Are workstations just high-end desktops? Do both run Word, IE, M2TW etc. just as well?

Thanks!

Desktop is the throw it all together term for any computer small enough to fit on your desk (yes also huge towers and tiny desk). When talking about cases: desktop is the piebox and there are also (mini-, midi- and full-) towers.

Workstation refers more to the function. You said it already: Word and other office programs. But you could of course also have a high-end workstation for CAD. Those machines are generally not the best choice to run games. Though it is possible of course.

[AussieGiant]

This is the place for me.

http://www.overdrivepc.com/

These are the most overclocked guaranteed machines I've ever seen and I have one.

There in the States but I had one shipped over to Switzerland.

[AntiochusIII]

Overclocked stuff usually have shorter lifespans, though. You can only push the limit so much even with the coolest cooling system in the world, and not many are really experts at it...

I Am Herenow: I second Duke of Serbia's opinion. Even if you spend insane amounts on money the most powerful Titanic computer you can get right now, within 2 years you will find stuff that are both significantly cheaper and more efficient. Simply put, overspending, even if you're a billionaire of Sanzenin proportions [okay, random anime reference], is a waste of money. Machines like computer are much more than just raw processing power; architecture and design -- things that only the latest developments will get -- can mean night and day.