budget core 2 duo conroe

[cshort4]

Getting ready to custom build a computer for the first time in 12 years. Father of 3 wanting to build a computer to do some gaming with my oldest son (age 6). Trying to build a computer that we can upgrade in the future but will not break the bank. Not interested in over clocking. Been doing a lot of reading. Here is what I have come up with, any sugestions to help lower price without compromising quality.

$ 44.99 Cooler Master Centurion Black
$ 74.99 Themal Take TR2 500W ATX12V V2.0
$ 89.99 ECS NForce 570 SLit-A (V5.1) Socet T ATX
$ 180.00 Intel Core Duo E6300 Conroe
$ 158.99 BioStar VP7603GT21 Geforce 7600GT 256 GDDR3 PCi Express
$ 122.99 OCZ Gold series 1GB (2x512 MB) 240 pin 667 dual channel kit
$ 59.99 Western Digital Cavier SE 160 GB SATA 3.0GB/s
$ 29.99 Samsung 18x DVD + R DVD Burner w 12x DVD-RAM

Total: $761.93 + shipping (not including any rebates)

or am i crazy to go for a AMD system:

$59.99 ECS NForce4m-a (V3.0) socket am2 nforce4 atx
$179.00 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2.2 GHZ

 

[wiz83]

Check the link over my siggy.

That system would be better and costs less, except for the graphic card. Toss in the graphic card that you've chosen, and it'll still cost less. The motherboard is better, and would assure you'd be able to overclock way more than your ECS choice.

 

[Crimson_Yachiru]

i don't really think you would need a 500watt PSU;
here's another Thermaltake;
Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC ATX 430W Power Supply 115/230 V - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153023

$30 less and you can almost afford to go to the e6400!

 

[Assman]

what is your budget, what kind of games do you want to play, are you planning to sli?

btw, it's a typo, e6300 is not a conroe, it's allendale

 

[cshort4]

Not planning on sli. I will probally plan on buying a better video card when dx10 cards come out. I just got NWN2 for my birthday, not able to play it without a good computer

I don't want to spend over $800 (3 kids under 6).

 

[Assman]

they are out already lol

 

[Assman]

check link on my sig and this dx10 cards on newegg

 

[cshort4]

I guess I meant when dx10 cards drive the dx9 market down, more. dx10 is a little out of my price range right now.

 

[Assman]

i see, i'd suggest go with asus p5b(regular) and 2 gigs of corsair ddr2 533( it'll run @ 1:1 with stock fsb, since you're not ocing there's no point of getting 667).

 

[wiz83]

Listen to him ...
If not overclocking, get a 533MHz RAM, with real tight timings ...
You can use a cheap mobo that has the same features ...
No need for 500W PSU ...
No need for aftermarket HSF ... stock cooler are very quiet, and does quite a decent job at cooling ... served me well at 3.409GHz ...

For a budget GFX card, go with X800GTO for now, wait for a while, till they release a cheaper version of DX10 card ... maybe 8600GT or something like that? The upgrade ... They always release the #300 for budget model, and the #600 model for mid-range, usually right after they release the #800 stuffs ...

Since I could get a 3.4GHz E6300 system running for $631 ... You could easily get something that run at stock speed for less than $600 ...