Alright, I get the hints. Time for a new PC

I didnt read most of the posts, but heres my 2 cents worth.
Go get an Intel i7 950 processor but the Radeon 6870 is fine, or better yet, get a radeon 6850 for $60 less, I looked at the benchmarks, and it doesnt make a huge difference, plus, 2 x 6850s only costs $360 (if you descide to buy an other 6850 in the future).
As for 8 GB ram, you only need 4 GB to run games smoothly, and 6 GB for eyefinity
You only need 8 if you do a lot of video editing in HD or if you run a lot of Virtual PCs
And get the Corsair RAM, Corsair FTW

Since you are building and leaving upgrade room, go with 4GB RAM and get a nicer processor (Intel!)

haha I've already decided the AMD route. Thanks though.

Ewww@AMD...lol.

Since you are building and leaving upgrade room, go with 4GB RAM and get a nicer processor (Intel!)

haha I've already decided the AMD route. Thanks though.

Ewww@AMD...lol.

Where have you been the past year...lol

I didnt read most of the posts, but heres my 2 cents worth.
Go get an Intel i7 950 processor but the Radeon 6870 is fine, or better yet, get a radeon 6850 for $60 less, I looked at the benchmarks, and it doesnt make a huge difference, plus, 2 x 6850s only costs $360 (if you descide to buy an other 6850 in the future).
As for 8 GB ram, you only need 4 GB to run games smoothly, and 6 GB for eyefinity
You only need 8 if you do a lot of video editing in HD or if you run a lot of Virtual PCs
And get the Corsair RAM, Corsair FTW

well this is what I've decided to go for, so I'm gonna do it. I don't ever think I'll do eyefinity..lol..seems like overkill but it looks cool.

wow...just went to cyberpowerpc.com and built the same exact thing with a better case, and it comes out to $845 with a promo code for $30 off any purchase, as opposed to the $861 on newegg. xD

So, what are the final specs?

So, what are the final specs?

ok..I'm reconsidering..because I've been considering dropping out from college..too much stress in my life now..but my parents are offering me $500 if I stay for the semester, then drop, because if I drop now my GPA takes a massive hit. So..in that case..I'm getting everything from newegg..still the amd build. just ordered it. should be here wednesday.

So, what are the final specs?

ok..I'm reconsidering..because I've been considering dropping out from college..too much stress in my life now..but my parents are offering me $500 if I stay for the semester, then drop, because if I drop now my GPA takes a massive hit. So..in that case..I'm getting everything from newegg..still the amd build. just ordered it. should be here wednesday.

Oh...you should have gotten a Core 2 Quad, its like $210 for the proccessor and mobo.

final specs are:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz
MSI 870S-G54 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s ATX AMD Motherboard
CORSAIR XMS 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory (1 x 4GB)
GIGABYTE GV-R687D5-1GD-B Radeon HD 6870 1GB
COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel / Plastic Computer Case
RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-730SS 730W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Modular LED Power Supply
ASUS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - OEM
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

this should get me at LEAST in mid settings on BC2

Should have gotten Core 2 Quad +Asus mobo and XFX 6850.

Yeah, this 6870 will do fine for me in BC2. review from newegg:

Amazing Performance!
Pros: -6 pin connectors are on the side of the card
-measures about 9.75", a hair longer than the standard 9.6" wide atx/micro atx board.
-OC well, 1000mhz core clock (stock 900mhz), 1185 mem clock (stock 1000) on stock volts. (waiting for volt unlocking and a water block to push further).
-60fps in BC2, max graphics 1920x1080, occasionally i'll see 55fps and on a very rare occasion 50fps but it jumps right back to 60fps.

Cons: I had the same problem as Joe, main monitor is DVI and 2nd monitor is VGA wit ha DVI adapter. I had to plug the DVI into the bottom and the VGA/DVI adapter into the top. That could be a driver issue, regardless it works just fine.

Other Thoughts: None of the flaps on the 6870's box were sealed when i pulled it out of the newegg box. Opened it up to find the static bag sealed with a piece of scotch tape. Seemed a bit shady to me, almost like an open box but that may be how gigabyte packs their cards.

Oh and ME, I looked up how crossfire with x16/x4 would affect performance, and the results I found said that the only way it would greatly affect performance is if I used multiple displays, which I'm not gonna do.

The 580 is out today, but it is about $550. I would never pay that for a GPU, $250 is pushing it for me, but I am a cheap bastard...lol.

The 580 is out today, but it is about $550. I would never pay that for a GPU, $250 is pushing it for me, but I am a cheap bastard...lol.

+1

First package is here! :D

Weird thing is, the HDD was encased in an unlabled cardboard box, and the DVD drive was just wrapped in bubblewrap. no case whatsoever. lol. The next package should be here tomorrow, with my CPU, RAM and mobo. The GPU and tower should be here thursday.

First package is here! :D
the HDD was encased in an unlabled cardboard box, and the DVD drive was just wrapped in bubblewrap. no case whatsoever. lol.

Yep, that's normal for hard drives (notice that you ordered a "bare drive" anyways) that's how mine came from newegg and in tigerdirect's store they just stick an identification paper in front of the drive in a cheap plastic package without any boxing from the maker. Same type thing with the dvd drive, as long as its cushioned from falling and getting hit, they should be good

Make sure your 6870 is sealed when you get yours. Don't trust anything that looks tampered with.

You paid for a brand new product (expect it to be in mint condition)