I'm an avid gamer and I build all my own systems. I guess after being in Information Technology for 18 years I'm picky about my computers.

The new Intel i7 is a really high end chip made for gaming, multi-tasking, etc., I can't see spending what Intel wants for it. When I build a system I look at two things: 1.) Can it be upgraded easily?, and 2.) How long will I be using it for?

Here's my systems specs and what I'm playing:

Asus M3A79-T Deluxe
(Note: this is a CrossFire board; SLI cards can't be supported due to limited power here in Iraq and I wasn't concerned about it.)
AMD Athlon X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2 GHz dual core with stock heatsink and fan
EVGA GTX-285 1GB PCI-Express x16 video card
2x 2GB Corsair Dominator DDR2-1066 (4GB total running at DDR2-800 due to CPU limitation)
2x Hitachi DeskStar 750GB 7K1000 SATA HDD
2x Samsung 20x DVD+/-R SATA DVD drive
SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1
XP Pro 64-bit
PC Power and Cooling 750 watt Active PFC PSU
CoolerMaster Centurion 5 case


Currently I'm playing Crysis, COD4, COD:World At War, and STALKER all at max game settings on a Samsung 206BW 20 inch widescreen. I haven't tweaked the nVidia drivers yet for better frame rates because I haven't needed to ..... I haven't seen anything below 40 FPS and the game play is really smooth.

I can't run SLI here because I would need at least a 1200 watt PSU for running two of the GTX-285 cards and I would melt the power distribution block in my living quarters. This single card is insane with a 1GB buffer and I highly recommend it.

I noticed you're running a single Sapphire (ATI) HD3870 video card. For Crysis, COD4, or any other new release you should be running something with more power, or running two of them. This is more of a entry level to mid-range card so you're gonna have some issues with game play. You really should look at the 4870 or switch to an nVidia card.


Kris