[LiLChris]

I havent built a pc since xp was released so im really rusty.
But im confident enough to build it on my own im just not up to date on what parts to get.

I need something that i can run 3ds max simultaneous with photoshop and a few other design programs effectively.

Also i use this for gaming, i know not much info has been released but im hoping when Final Fantasy Online comes out i would like to run it with decent settings and not have to turn down the settings to have good fps. (currently playing LOTRO)

My budget is around $1200.

Ive been looking at newegg and tigerdirect (local store 4 me).
So any help and suggestions would be great.

PS. Would not mind waiting to buy a Video Card till later on if something new is coming out shortly thats worth getting and saving for.

[JamesMW]

Here's the best I can find.

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

Visiontek Radeon HD5870 Video Card - 1GB, DDR5, PCIe, Dual DVI at TigerDirect.com

Newegg.com - OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - CD / DVD Burners

$1172.92 altogether. Newegg doesn't have any 5870s in stock right now. I've never had a visiontek card so you might want to wait for someone else to give advice on that or get a GTX 285 like me. Still, the 5870 is an ***-kicking card. My friend has one in a falcon northwest system and it runs beautifully.

Good luck on your build!

[farinha]

You're recommending 3x2GB of RAM for a i5 build. i5 works with dual channel so I would get this one
Newegg.com - OCZ Gold 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G16004GK - Desktop Memory

Since he's doing video and image editing shouldn't he get a i7 920? Or even get a a i7 860 since it has HT. I'm no expert and I know it's out of the budget, plus 100$ for the i7 minus 35$ of the ram, but I think it may worth it.

[JamesMW]

Good catch with the RAM farinha, I don't know what I was thinking.

If you drop the video card to something like a 285 or a 4890 you could get the i7 without going over budget. It's your decision.

[UA_Iron]

A gaming graphics card will perform poorly for 3ds max and a workstation graphics will perform poorly for gaming. You're between a rock and a hard spot.

Gaming Versus Workstation Performance : Radeon HD 4870 Versus FirePro V8700 - Review Tom's Hardware : AMD FirePro V8700: High-End Workstation Graphics
Nvidia Quadro FX vs. ATI FirePro: Professional Graphics Accelerators Roundup (page 16) - X-bit labs

HP Quadro FX 580 Graphics Card - FY945UT - Buy.com

That card will smoke even the most expensive gaming graphics card in 3ds max.

[LiLChris]

Alright thanks, ill be looking at all this right now at work.
Ill update you when i get the rig completed.

[dirkpitt45]

Isn't there some drivers or something that will turn a 4870 into some firepro card? I remember reading that somewhere around here.