These Two PC builds.

[Monkey_Business]

The AMD "Katharine" computer

Processor - AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE 185.99
Motherboard - ASUS Crosshair III Formula AM3 socket motherboard $199.99
RAM - Kingston HyperX 4GB 2x2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz $133.99
Graphics card - Sapphire HD 5870 Vapor-X $439.99
Power supply - Corsair HX850 $199.99
Hard drive - WD caviar black 1TB 7200RPM 64MB cache $119.99
Drive - LITE-ON 18x DVD-ROM - $19.99
Operating system - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit $99.99
Minus the cost of the case
+PC shop construction $99.99
+Tax ???.??

$1,649.91 (Approximately)

_____________________________________________________________________________

The Intel "Jessica" computer (a bit faster than AMD for a few Hundred dollars more)

Processor - Intel Core i7 930 $294.99
Motherboard - Foxconn flamingblade LGA1366 $209.99
RAM - G.Skill Ripjaws 6GB 3x2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz triple channel $179.99
Graphics card - MSI Radeon HD 5870 $499.99
Power supply - Corsair HX850 $199.99
Hard drive - Western digital caviar black 1TB 7200RPM 64MB cache $119.99
Operating system - Windows 7 home premium 64-bit $99.99
Drive - LITE-ON 18x DVD-ROM $19.99
Minus the cost of the case
+PC store construction $99.99?
+Tax ???.??

$1,874.91 (Approximately)

 

[digibucc]

those prices aren't too great.

the flamingblade for example, can be had for 180$ new offline. idk if you are willing to buy and build but you can save yourself a few hundred for sure.

that PSU (corsair 850) is 30$ more than you can get it at newegg (169/free shipping). so there's two components and almost a hundred dollars. I would recommend a different psu anyway. you could easily go with a 650w, and a PC P&C or even a cheaper corsair, closer to $100 than $170.

the hdd is $20 overpriced. you can get a similar one for another 10-20 less on newegg.

 

[Yukikaze]

The AMD "Katharine" computer

Processor - AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE 185.99
Motherboard - ASUS Crosshair III Formula AM3 socket motherboard $199.99
RAM - Kingston HyperX 4GB 2x2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz $133.99
Graphics card - Sapphire HD 5870 Vapor-X $439.99
Power supply - Corsair HX850 $199.99
Hard drive - WD caviar black 1TB 7200RPM 64MB cache $119.99
Drive - LITE-ON 18x DVD-ROM - $19.99
Operating system - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit $99.99
Minus the cost of the case
+PC shop construction $99.99
+Tax ???.??

$1,649.91 (Approximately)

_____________________________________________________________________________

The Intel "Jessica" computer (a bit faster than AMD for a few Hundred dollars more)

Processor - Intel Core i7 930 $294.99
Motherboard - Foxconn flamingblade LGA1366 $209.99
RAM - G.Skill Ripjaws 6GB 3x2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz triple channel $179.99
Graphics card - MSI Radeon HD 5870 $499.99
Power supply - Corsair HX850 $199.99
Hard drive - Western digital caviar black 1TB 7200RPM 64MB cache $119.99
Operating system - Windows 7 home premium 64-bit $99.99
Drive - LITE-ON 18x DVD-ROM $19.99
Minues the cost of the case
+PC store construction $99.99?
+Tax ???.??

$1,874.91 (Approximately)

Any specific reason why the 2nd one has a 60$ more expensive HD5870, thus increasing the price difference ?

 

[btarunr]

I'll pick Jessica with Katharine's graphics card.

 

[Monkey_Business]

Any specific reason why the 2nd one has a 60$ more expensive HD5870, thus increasing the price difference ?

The MSI HD 5870 and the Sapphire HD 5870 Vapor-X are the same GPU, but the Sapphire has vapor-x, while the MSI had a 900 MHz clock and a massive copper heat sink and cooler.

They are priced differently.

MSI HD 5870

Sapphire HD 5870 Vapor-X

 

[Yukikaze]

The MSI HD 5870 and the Sapphire HD 5870 Vapor-X are the same GPU, but the Sapphire has vapor-x, while the MSI had a 900 MHz clock and a massive copper heat sink and cooler.

They are priced differently.

Which has little to do with my question, which is: Why aren't you comparing both builds with the same video card ? Either the Vapor-X, or the MSI.

 

[Monkey_Business]

Which has little to do with my question, which is: Why aren't you comparing both builds with the same video card ? Either the Vapor-X, or the MSI.

I can't decide between the MSI or Sapphire.

Sapphire discontinued the 1 revision of that GPU, the 2nd revision runs hotter and less efficiently.

I've heard some great things about the MSI HD 5870 Lightning.