[WillyTheWizard]

I am going to buy a desktop in the near future, and I was looking for a few suggestions. So here is a list of what I'll be using this PC for, and the BTW, my budget is probably going to be around $3000, so I want a good system that won't be a waste of money.

Uses:

- Complex Games/ software

-Digital Video editing

- The Usual (Internet, MS word, etc.)

- Also:Must have Win. XP, no Vista , if not a blank HDD

- RAID-0 is a plus(on the HDDs, if 2 HDDs is an option)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can give me!

[TechyGuy]

Hi WillyWizard, welcome to the forums :-) ,

Since you're spending $3,000 on this system, you will definately get a great system, if you know where to look. My personal favorite brand on the planet is CyberpowerPC, since they have the cheapest prices I've ever seen, plus a lot of big rebates. Big Vendors like Dell, Gateway, etc. will not give you the same performance as other brands, due to their unspecification of PSUs and motherboards, that barely meet the requirements of the other hardware in the PC. With all of your heavy applications and hardware you'll be running, I'd opt for no less than a 750 Watt PSU as a minimum amount of Wattage. I also like Vigor's PCs, as well.

To give a few pointers, here are some configurations I think you'll like:

#1: Cyberpower Infinity XLC: #2:Vigor Force Recon AXE:
|Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800(Dual-Core) 2.93GHz CPU|AMD Atlon 64 X2 FX-62 (dual-core) 2.8GHz CPU|
|Asus Striker Extreme Nforce 680i SLI Chipset|Asus Crosshair AM2 nForce 590 SLI|
|1.0 Kilowatt Enermax PSU (1000 watts)|1.1 Kilowatt(1,100 watts) Tagan PSU|
|2GB Corsair XMS2 RAM(DDR2, 800MHz,w/heat spreader)|2GB Kingston DDR2 800MHz RAM|
|Asetek Liquid CPU Cooling System|Vigor Monsoon 2 TEC CPU cooling Fan system|
|1.28 TB(1,280GB) RAID-0 HDD (4 x 320GB 7200-rpm HDD)|2 x WD Raptor 160GB RAID-0 10K-rpm HDD + 750GB 7200-rpm HDD(non-RAID)|
|2 x EVGA Superclocked GeForce 8800GTS 640MB|2 x ATI Radeon HD2900XTX 1GB GPUs|
|LiteOn LH-20A1H 20X Double Layer DVD-RW w/ Lightscribe|LiteOn LH-20A1H 20X Double Layer DVD-RW (lightscribe)|
|Creative Labs SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio sound-card|Creative Labs SB X-FI Xtreme Gamer sound card|
|Logitech X-540 70Watts 5.1 Speaker System w/subwoofer|Logitech X-530 5.1 speakers w/subwoofer|
|Windows XP Professional (Blank HDD is an option)|Windows XP Media Center edition (Blank HDD option)|
|Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse|Razer Diamondback gaming mouse|
|Saitek Eclipse-II USB 2.0 Gaming Keyboard|Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard|
|In-Win F-430 Mid-Tower 420W Case|Vigor Alpha-Force Chassis|
|3-yr. Limtd. warranty + Lifetime tech-support|3-yr. standard warranty w/ tech support|
|Cost: $2850 (after$600 in rebates!)|Cost: $2,650(after $550 in rebates)|
Neither of these PCs come with monitors.

Hope that this helps you out,
-TechyGuy