Holiday 2011 Mainstream High-End Buyer's Guide
by Zach Throckmorton on December 9, 2011 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
- AMD
- Intel
- Sandy Bridge
- CrossFire
- Sandy Bridge E
- Holiday 2011
- NVIDIA
Final words
When designing and building a higher end PC, it is critically important to understand your needs. It might seem obvious that spending hundreds of dollars on a high end GPU is unwise if you're not going to game, but I frequently must actively discourage clients from spending money on parts they simply don't need. Similarly, it might be difficult to spend $500 on a single component, but if you will benefit from that part's power given your needs, then by all means, buy it.
Also keep in mind that while these systems each cost around $2000, it does not follow that you can't still shop for bargains and sales. Be sure to keep your eyes on prices throughout the holiday season. AnandTech's Hot Deals forum is a great place to learn about and share particularly compelling prices on components.
While this guide covered the computers, we did not detail recommendations about monitors, speakers, keyboards, and other assorted peripherals. PC hardware moves much faster than the other parts of the PC market. While our recent Back to School Guide focused more on less expensive products, it might be useful for higher end shoppers as well. We'll also have a display specific guide in the next week, so if you're in the market for a new LCD keep your eyes peeled for that.
Finally, AnandTech's General Hardware forum is always filled with folks who are knowledgeable about PC design and assembly and are happy to help you build your own PC. Don't hesitate to ask us which parts will suit your needs best.
Happy holidays!
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Donkey2008 - Monday, December 12, 2011 - link
Where did you find this price? I have only found it at $200+. And why did you not look at the Antec HCP-850 PSU? It is equal to the Seasonic and costs $40 to $50 less.Just curious. I know Seasonic is the JIMP for computer geeks, but there are other companies marketing Seasonic products with their label slapped on them, including many of the top-tier Antec PSUs. I guess I do not understand why people seem willing to pay that $40 to $50 extra to get a little horse logo on their polo shir...I mean Seasonic label on their PSU. Just sayin.
Jungwirsch - Thursday, December 15, 2011 - link
When building a system with aspirations towards becoming a gamer's trusted companion for years to come, 1 TB of HDD space will most likely not cut it. Recent games (Skyrim a noted exception) routinely need 15-30 GB (Rage, SW Force Unleashed come in at the higher end), and this development will certainly continue. The size of the average game installation has increased approximately 1000-fold over the last 20 years. Personally, my Steam folder is pushing 700 GB.Rage really is a gaming engine with a game tucked on as an afterthought. The developers explicitly stated that they really had 150 GB of textures, but that just wasn't marketable for now. Guess what, eventually we will see games coming out with such oceans of eye candy data.
Hence, even with the recent jackup of prices in HDDs, I'd get the biggest I can. Even more so if using Steam client, because it more or less necessitates all the games from that one vendor to reside on the same drive.