Not that I wanna come down on your buzzword-fest here, but:
1: With multi-core CPUs, physical multi-processor SMP isn't anywhere close to necessary nowadays. ESPECIALLY for a gaming box.
1a: Get yourself a high end dual or quad-core system and you're golden.
2: Cooling. Are you looking to overclock? And what do you know about overclocking? Any experience?
2a: Unless you know what you're doing, liquid cooling is a waste of time and money. Decent air cooling is more than sufficient for modern multi-core processors at stock speeds.
3: Are you going to be playing any games that'll take advantage of SLI/Crossfire? Also, what size monitor and resolution are you talking about.
3a: SLI/Crossfire is fine and dandy. But you're better off spending money on a decent single-card solution if it's already overkill for your needs.
4: The differences between "regular" and best of the best are percentage points of performance most of the time (as in, nothing you're going to notice outside of a benchmark).
4a: Get yourself a decent grade of memory, and stack in 4-8GB of it (depending on OS).
5: SSDs are a mixed batch. You can currently go for SIZE or performance. Finding the right mix of both can be tricky.
6: Spend less time on case aesthetics and more on whether or not the case will support the hardware you want to put in it.
7: With regards to Windows 7. Technically it's not supported by CoH right now. Moreover, to install the final version you have to FORMAT AND REINSTALL FROM SCRATCH. Do you want to have to do that 6 months down the road?
8: And most important. What does your budget look like? Don't tell me "open ended", because all that does is sends people off on a mental masturbation trip. Give me real numbers.
A: The absolute maximum you have available to spend on this (cap budget).
B: The amount you'd prefer to stay below (operating budget).
If you're looking for high end right now something like this should blow your hair back:
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP: $70
Thermaltake Toughpower 850W PSU: $210
Asus Rampage II Extreme: $370
Core i7 EE 3.33Ghz: $1100
12GB OCZ Gold PC3 10666 (DDR3 1333): $170
EVGA GTX 295: $590
2x Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB Drives: $200
Plextor 22x Multi-Burner: $50
Rough Total: $2760
If you GOTSTA have an SSD in the size-range you're talking about, here's one I'd recommend:
G.SKILL FALCON FM-25S2S-256GBF1 2.5" 256GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (SSD) - Retail: $610
Note: the 128GB brother of this drive is $320.
Note: These are 2.5" drives. So you'll likely need an enclosure of some sort for them as well.
The above-listed system, even though it doesn't have dual-vidcards, should scream (at max resolution no less) on just about anything you throw at it today.
As to lasting 3-4 years. My C2Q 2.5Ghz will last me 3-4 years easily. The system I listed above should last longer, barring new DX versions.
If the price doesn't cause you to quail you should be good.
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
Well technically the GTX 295 is SLi on a single card. Each "half" of the card is an lower clock version of the GTX 275 (or the GTX 275 is an overclocked half of a GTX 295, depends on your POV).
Supposedly the GTX 295 is undergoing a redesign to be a single card instead of two cards sandwiched around a central cooler, which is why it's next to impossible to find one now.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
lolz water cooling
Brilliant....lets run water through a uber rig so when you get even a slight drip/leak, you fry everything inside!!!
FTW!
War 
I've never had a leak in my water cooled systems as of yet. I am very careful not to let that happen. With the testing of the lines and the fastening of the tensioners But yes it is risky.
ANYWAY!
It's almost done and at just under 4 grand. Wanna know what I went with? I'll tell you
1 EVGA Motherboard stock OC'd and able to handle the 3.2 Intel i7 Quad Core I put in it with only 6 gigs of Corsair Dominator DDR3 Ram atm. Upgradeable to 12 later. A waste as of right now since I will be (shame time) running win xp home *serious sigh* until 7 releases. I can even buy win vista 64 for like 80 bucks but I would rather wait then waste my money on that system hog.
I went without the SSD because if I really wanted my Mobo supports Raid 0, 1 and I would only do Raid 0 on it for the speed boost. And I currently have a nice HD in there 10000rpm doozy.
2 EVGA GeForce 285 Extreme edition gpu's set dual sli and enough power now to run them.
The cooling solution is a Zalman reservoir I've tweaked to be a little more efficient (hopefully) but I may need to upgrade the pump on it and I may add a cooler master grating in later on once the machine is solid. The GFx water cooling plates will be from Swiftech when they make one for the EVGA model 285 GPU's as they were overhauled before EVGA made the nice one I bought and it should be released within a months time. I'll just have to run air cooled until its available.
So thats it. Love it? Hate it? I just hope it holds true. Thanks for all the input and advice
Pinnacle Heroes: Ilconke lvl 50 En/En Blast, Pane lvl 50 Inv/SS Tank, Kimil'Lee Draco lvl 50 Ill/Kin Troller, Blackest Blackness lvl 38 DA/DM Tank, il lvl 35 PB
Pinnacle Villains: X lvl 50 Claw/Nin Stalker, Knumbskull lvl 42 Elec/Elec Brute, Metal Master lvl 35 Bot/Bub MM, X'ile lvl 32 Mind/Psi Dom
I'd just nab Windows 7 Release Candidate if you plan on purchasing the full version when it's released. It's free to download; just make sure you grab the 64-bit version.
Victory: @Brimstone Bruce
Brimstone Bruce (lvl50 Stone/Fire Tanker) Broadside Bruce (lvl50 Shield/WM Tanker)
Ultionis (lvl50 Dark/Dark Defender) Cortex Crusher (lvl50 Mind/Kin Controller)
Patronox (lvl50 Kat/Dark Scrapper) Harbinger Mk.7 (lvl50 Bots/FF MM)
NightShift for Life.
[ QUOTE ]
I'd just nab Windows 7 Release Candidate if you plan on purchasing the full version when it's released. It's free to download; just make sure you grab the 64-bit version.
[/ QUOTE ]
Just don't forget, from the sound of it there's no upgrade from RC to Release - it'll be a wipe and reload.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'd just nab Windows 7 Release Candidate if you plan on purchasing the full version when it's released. It's free to download; just make sure you grab the 64-bit version.
[/ QUOTE ]
Just don't forget, from the sound of it there's no upgrade from RC to Release - it'll be a wipe and reload.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yar, true. But it's a good idea to do the same if you go from XP Home to Windows 7, so it's a process you'll be undertaking either way.
Victory: @Brimstone Bruce
Brimstone Bruce (lvl50 Stone/Fire Tanker) Broadside Bruce (lvl50 Shield/WM Tanker)
Ultionis (lvl50 Dark/Dark Defender) Cortex Crusher (lvl50 Mind/Kin Controller)
Patronox (lvl50 Kat/Dark Scrapper) Harbinger Mk.7 (lvl50 Bots/FF MM)
NightShift for Life.
I came up with this configuration at Digital Storm Online.
Price: $2,532.00
Copy of Specifications:
Chassis Model: Cooler Master HAF 932
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1333MHz Digital Storm Certified by mushkin enhanced (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition)
Card Reader: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (Extreme Speed)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) (LightScribe Edition)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275 896MB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-U12P High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors)
Liquid Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a H20: Stage 3 Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Red)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Requires Air Cooling Upgrade)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: Memory Fan Kit Only (Does not include memory overclocking service)
Tweak Windows: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: - No Thanks
LCD Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-10 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: 4 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty (Highly Recommended)
[ QUOTE ]
Go to Alienware.com
order their top of the line liquid cooled machine
spen 15K on the compuet & monitors.
be broke with the hottest system out there. ;p
[/ QUOTE ]
Didnt Dell buy Alienware??? If so, I would be hesitant to give Alienware a thumbs up based on rep...
Also to the OP, as much as I hate to Flame, this is really a random thread that has no relationship to Coh whatsoever... if you throw enough $$$ at a computer yeah it will run Coh great (maybe?) and still be a tremendous waste of that $$$
imho all you wanted to do is toss out a random thread to see what would happen, as gamer forums usually have a bunch of tech people in it... well happy day
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Go to Alienware.com
order their top of the line liquid cooled machine
spen 15K on the compuet & monitors.
be broke with the hottest system out there. ;p
[/ QUOTE ]
Didnt Dell buy Alienware??? If so, I would be hesitant to give Alienware a thumbs up based on rep...
Also to the OP, as much as I hate to Flame, this is really a random thread that has no relationship to Coh whatsoever... if you throw enough $$$ at a computer yeah it will run Coh great (maybe?) and still be a tremendous waste of that $$$
imho all you wanted to do is toss out a random thread to see what would happen, as gamer forums usually have a bunch of tech people in it... well happy day
[/ QUOTE ]
Dell bought Alienware, but sounds like they've mostly left it alone.
Orc&Pie No.53230 There is an orc, and somehow, he got a pie. And you are hungry.
www.repeat-offenders.net
Negaduck: I see you found the crumb. I knew you'd never notice the huge flag.
Dell is currently getting out of the "gaming PC" business under it's name, redirecting that niche market to it's Alienware brand.
However some say it might be Alienware that's going bye-bye.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
[ QUOTE ]
Price: $2,532.00
[/ QUOTE ]
Aside from the processor (the top processor my MB supports is a Q6600--although I currently use an E6600 for lack of need, haven't been doing any heavier work that warranted it--so no i7 for me), that machine is no better than my current one and it cost me $2,700 two and a half years ago. Heck, my GPU is better (although to be fair, the total price is $2,900 now since my original card fried on me after i13's initial release magically resulted in my card overheating...).
Blue: ~Knockback Squad on Guardian~
Red: ~Undoing of Virtue on [3 guesses]~
On the other hand Avani I was hoping my fellow Co* friends would be able to help me build a great machine to play this and other games I might come to love in the future I knew the community would be able to help me and it wasn't just a tell me what the greatest computer ever would look like so I could dream about it and we could all have a laugh Besides, I posted in Player Questions which I thought (I may be wrong) was a place to post any questions the players might have. I thought about posting in Technical Help/Troubleshooting but I didn't have a fixable problem with my computer that couldn't be fixed by a much needed upgrade anyway.
I really took the advice of the people here and used it to build a very cost effective and excellent machine. What will it play? CoX for a long time yeah but just to make sure that it will be able to run CoX at full GFx and be able to hopefully handle the same when Rogue adds more GFx intensity(hopefully) to the game. Wanted to make sure I got it right and turned to the people who I trust
In the end the purpose was to get input on a great machine that could keep me playing City of Heroes for years to come and I believe I've got that in my possession thanks to the people on the forums
Thats all. Thank You! 8>
Oh and cause it was asked and I never got back to it. The money range I had for the computer was hopefully under 5k but could go over if people thought is was a good buy. I really didn't have any reservation because I pay my credit card off fast and haven't splurged in about 3 years. Computer and motorcycle is the only thing I go all out for. And I like to keep them both liquid cooled
Pinnacle Heroes: Ilconke lvl 50 En/En Blast, Pane lvl 50 Inv/SS Tank, Kimil'Lee Draco lvl 50 Ill/Kin Troller, Blackest Blackness lvl 38 DA/DM Tank, il lvl 35 PB
Pinnacle Villains: X lvl 50 Claw/Nin Stalker, Knumbskull lvl 42 Elec/Elec Brute, Metal Master lvl 35 Bot/Bub MM, X'ile lvl 32 Mind/Psi Dom
May I suggest http://www.pugetsystems.com/
My system is from them, and I like them very much.
Arc #6015 - Coming Unglued
"A good n00b-sauce is based on a good n00b-roux." - The Masque