$1100 gaming machine build

[rakmial]

Well, just like the subject says, but it's a little misleading. I've already chosen my case and PSU and such, but I need help choosing a mobo, CPU, RAM, and a gfx card. So really, you have $1100 for only about four components. AMD or Intel is fine, either one is fine.

 

[rakmial]

Okay...I guess I'll start. I was thinking these would work well (shipping/tax included)-

CPU - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ - $267.98

Mobo - EPoX EP-MF4ULTRA - $104.17

RAM - pqi TURBO 2GB DDR2 - $204

Gfx card - eVGA 256-P2-N567 Geforce 7900GT - $295.63

TOTAL = 871.78

I'm really under my limit with this setup, and I don't know anything about the Core 2 Duos. i'm sure that would be better, but like I said, i don't know. Help me!

 

[pescA]

Hi,
I think the perfect system u need is one without any updates.. so u should buy a core2duo because this gives u a performance power that will do it for some years...

A cheap and as far as i know very good bord is the following:
Biostar TForce P965 Deluxe
dunno how much u got to pay, 130€ here.. but should be about 150$

Well performance and a not too high price:
Core 2 Duo E6600
316$ (as THG says)

A-Data Vitesta DDR2-5300
(AData Vitesta ELJKD1A16K)
A 2 GB Kit for about 150$

A Gf 7900 GT is a good idea - 300$

so u pay about 900$ and have a nice system

Any other suggestions?

 

[adamb10]

You could follow the model above but instead of the C2D E6600 get the E6700 for $300 more putting you $100 over your budget.

 

[177ine177ine]

E6700 is a waste of funny. Just an underclocked 6600. With 1100 you can do wonders. Prices are newegg's.

CPU: E6600 Conroe $369.99

Mobo: Asus P5W Dh Deluxe $269.99

RAM: pqi TURBO 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail $194.99

Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100149L Radeon X1900XT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $319

The Asus mobo is the best you can get. The memory is quite good but Cas 4 or 3 would be better. The X1900XT is a very good for its price and will hold you out well into the future since DX10 will probably still be unavailable for at least another year. I was going to suggest the X1900GT but for some reason your prices for the GT are ridiculously high in the states. In Canada the X1900GT is a good 100 dollars cheaper than the X1900XT and I keep getting schooled in these forums for suggesting the GT :? . The E6600 is also very good and will last you well into the future.

 

[rakmial]

Unfortunately, I've heard too many bad things about ATI, I'd rather go with an Nvidia. Thank you guys so much about everything, i'll take your advice into consideration. I'll definately go with the C2D E6600, i'll check around for a good mobo that fits my needs well, though the area I really need advice in.

 

[rakmial]

I think I've got a good one figured out, I'll take any criticism -

Mobo - Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Socket T - $156.12

CPU - E6600 Core 2 Duo - $377.85

RAM - pqi TURBO 2GB $199.98

GFX card - eVGA 256-P2-N567 Geforce 7900GT - $295.63

All that adds up to about $1029.58.

 

[177ine177ine]

Looks good. Though I still insist on the X1900XT. It'll crush the 7900GT and is only 20 dollars more. If you must, take the 7900GT, but make sure it's one of the newer models cause the 7900GT's have a lot of problems with artifacting and overheating. The 1900XT would be my choice but 7900GT would do you fine. MOBO is good, CPU is excellent but good luck finding one in stock, the RAM is ok, if you want, invest a couple more bucks in CAS 4 or even 3 if you're wild but otherwise it's fine. The performance icnrease isn't that much with Conroe for lower RAM timings.

 

[ElMoIsEviL]

Unfortunately, I've heard too many bad things about ATI, I'd rather go with an Nvidia. Thank you guys so much about everything, i'll take your advice into consideration. I'll definately go with the C2D E6600, i'll check around for a good mobo that fits my needs well, though the area I really need advice in.

There are no actual bad things with regards to the x1900XT. Could you please post what sort of bad things you were told?

It's actually the opposite. The 7900 series have been plagued with defective cards (I was the victim of 2 such cards in a row before I got a 7900GTX that has worked fine).

The 7900GTX (My Asus board) now sits in a secondary system. I barely touch it as it is truly inferior to the x1900XTX I run in my main system. This is a product perspective though, as I did prefer my 7800GTX SLI rig over the x850XT PE Crossfire rigs others were running.

The main point is that both the 7900GTX and the x1900XTX run games just as fast (sometimes the x1900 is faster other times the 7900). Both do not exhibit driver issues and I play a wide assortment of games. But the x1900XTX runs the games with better visuals. A higher level of AA and a better AF algorithm. This ensures a more grainy, clearer, cleaner, crisper image. It just looks better.

The x1900XT is only around 2-9FPS slower varying on titles. Therefore I certainly would recommend it over a 7900GT which is significantly slower then a 7900GTX. I mean look at the price of an x1900XT!!!

Again.. publish what you were told about the x1900XT and I will promise you that I can direct you to factual information from reviews and research done on the web to discredit it.

 

[177ine177ine]

That's exactly what I was thinking. 7900GT is the one that seems to cause all the problems.

 

[Doughbuy]

I know that OCZ had a special going on, not sure if it still is, but you can get the PCZ Platinum Rev2 DDR2 PC6400 4-4-4-10 I think for around 180... unless that offer is gone now. The E6600 is the way to go, I've seen it OC'ed up to 3.2 on air, up to 3.8 on water (These are people I've heard from, I've read people getting up higher, but meh...)

The GA-965-DS3 is a decent mobo for the price, the Asus would be better, your choice on how much you want to spend there.

Graphics card wise, did you read Anandtech's article on mid-range GPU's?

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2812

Take a look at it.

-Dough, signing off