ram and mobo recomendations for a core 2 duo

would this mobo work well? this one

i like that the pci e slot is seperated from the others, as many vid cards have large coolers that would take up other slots on many mobos

You don't say how "budget" your "budget system" is, but I just spec'd out a E6300 system last week and these are the parts I decided on after lots of research. I consider this more of a "mid-range system":

Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Motherboard = $152.99

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UB ATX Mid Tower Computer Case = $44.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1066MHz FSB LGA 775 Processor = $193.00

Patriot Signature 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit System Memory = $88.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive = $77.99

eVGA Geforce 7600GT KO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card = $179.99

Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply = $69.99

Subtotal: $807.94

thanks for the response, by budget im trying for u nder 900$ shipped.

but i they only parts i needed help with are the mobo and ram, as everyone is always saying xxx ram wont work with xxx mobo.

i just am looking for a relatively cheap mobo + ram (2gb) soltution that i know will be compatible.

this computer will not be overclocked, if this makes a difference

i like that gigabyte mobo ALOT, if someone can recommend me a good deal on ram that is compatible, i would reallly appreciate it!

actually, i am planning on using that psu and hd as well. only thing is that im trying to get an x1800xt in the mix. we shall see.

I chose the Patriot RAM specifically because people were having good luck using it in that motherboard. The only RAM I've seen people having trouble with is OCZ, but that may have been fixed in later BIOS revisions (still, I'd be wary).

I got the DDR2 667 RAM and have had people tell me I should have got the DDR2 800 RAM and then other people that tell me I should have got the DDR2 533 RAM, so I figure I'm probably right.  

Hi,

the motherboard is OK, but a little on the pricy side.
Since you don't intend to overclock the motherboard is almost irrelevant.

Saving money on the MB and putting it into other components is a wise choice with your budget.

DDR533 is normally sufficient, but with the P965 chipsets performance is not that good with DDR533, so DDR667 is adviseable - they cost roughly the same anyway (+ 10$ max).
see -> Game performance of P965 with different memory speeds

Boards you might consider:
ECS 965 Board - looks very promising for that price.
Gigabyte 945 Board

If your rig is for gaming, better spend your precious money on a faster CPU or graphics card. Memory and mainboard have the least affect on performance.

Christian

thats what i wantred to hear, that the patriot ram was going to work.

wat cas latency did you go with? 5 or 4?

im looking at this pair, it is cas 4 and is the same price as the cas5 set after the MIR