Cheap Now, Upgrade Later Gaming Rig

[MattJacob]

Thanks for all the feedback! I've taken somewhat of a drastic turn in my build... I want to spend as little as possible now with the most upgrade potential for the future. Going to go with a cheap Pent D for now and try to keep my rig C2D ready. Scaling back on the vid card, as recommended. 1GB of ram for now.. Here's what I've got so far:



Antec Performance I P180B Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel for durability through the majority of chassis 1.0mm cold rolled steel around the 4 x HDD area ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

ASUS P5NSLI Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI Intel Edition ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

ASUS EN7600GS SILENT/HTD/512M GeForce 7600GS 512MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX450-PN, 12cm FAN, version 2.0, 2 SATA, PCI Express, 450W Power Supply - Retail

Intel Pentium D 805 Smithfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 Dual Core,EM64T Processor Model BX80551PE2666FN - Retail

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) System Memory Model VS1GB667D2 - Retail

LG 16X DVD±R Super-Multi DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model GSA-H10N - OEM

Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM



Left the HD out as I have a spare I can use. I don't plan on OCing. I already have a pretty nice monitor, so I'd like to be able to play in 1440x900 if possible. Toughest games I plan on running are Company of Heroes and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic.

I'd like my rig to be compatible with:

Core 2 Duo

SLI

MOAR RAM

 

[rwaritsdario]

Froogle the X1900XT 256MB, if you cant find it at the same price as your card then go for what you have.

I dont like TT PSUs, try Antec NeoHE series, theyve got much better specs.

Corsair 675 are great OCers but for the price you could go for a kit of OCZ Platinum Revision 2. Or pick another set of 667, all the ones with 4-4-4-12 will do a minimun of 400Mhz.

It looks good overall, I can tell you know what youre doing.

 

[mad-dog]

Scale back the GPU and run the 7900GTO while saving $250,
Scale back on the CPU and run the 6400+ and save another $93
You wont be able to tell the difference and with the extra $342 you can buy me lunch at La Cantina..........

 

[ocnewb]

Do you plan on OC'ing at all?

 

[avarice]

We have similar builds.

I scaled back on the video card - in anticipation for the next gen. Also I would get a better Power Supply FSP is outstanding (but spendy). Make sure that whatever you get has been approved for the Antec Case. Stay with the better MB - do not make the mistake I did and get the Vanilla version. Not bad, but things could be better.

BTW - stock cooling isn't too bad with the P180B. My CPU is about 42C and MB is around 31C at load with no overclocking.

Cheers

 

[TSIMonster]

Scale back the GPU and run the 7900GTO while saving $250,
Scale back on the CPU and run the 6400+ and save another $93
You wont be able to tell the difference and with the extra $342 you can buy me lunch at La Cantina..........

I agree completely except this is the GFX Card you should get http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121031
No question the best deal amongst the bunch right now. (Performs as well as the 7900GTO and x1900xt 256... pretty dang close anyway)

 

[MattJacob]

Thanks for all the feedback! I've taken somewhat of a drastic turn in my build... I want to spend as little as possible now with the most upgrade potential for the future. Going to go with a cheap Pent D for now and try to keep my rig C2D ready. Scaling back on the vid card, as recommended. 1GB of ram for now.. Here's what I've got so far:



Antec Performance I P180B Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel for durability through the majority of chassis 1.0mm cold rolled steel around the 4 x HDD area ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

ASUS P5NSLI Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI Intel Edition ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

ASUS EN7600GS SILENT/HTD/512M GeForce 7600GS 512MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX450-PN, 12cm FAN, version 2.0, 2 SATA, PCI Express, 450W Power Supply - Retail

Intel Pentium D 805 Smithfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 Dual Core,EM64T Processor Model BX80551PE2666FN - Retail

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) System Memory Model VS1GB667D2 - Retail

LG 16X DVD±R Super-Multi DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model GSA-H10N - OEM

Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM



Left the HD out as I have a spare I can use. I don't plan on OCing. I already have a pretty nice monitor, so I'd like to be able to play in 1440x900 if possible. Toughest games I plan on running are Company of Heroes and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic.

I'd like my rig to be compatible with:

Core 2 Duo

SLI

MOAR RAM

 

[rwaritsdario]

You will regret not going wtih C2D. SLI is almost never worth getting. Screw that mobo, get a P965.

 

[MattJacob]

Yes, this idea has not gone down well, I am abandoning it and saving up for the better rig.

This thread may die in peace.