looking to cut costs on first sytem

[jba6511]

I am a bit over budget and would like to cut some costs, or have a little extra money to spend on the c2d e6400 or a ati tv tuner card. Here are the specs I am considering now:

Gigabyte GA-965P-S3
Intel c2d e6300
Lian Li PC7 Plus
G.SKILL 1GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231099
Seagate Barracuda 320 GB
XFX Geforce 7600 GT
FSP Group 450w

with shipping the total comes to 848. I would like to get these down a bit. I play games, mostly FPS, every now and then but not a serious gamer and other than that the computer will be used for everyday usage. I do plan to try some mild OCing in the future, although I am not sure about this as I have never done it. I will run XP Pro for a while and then upgrade to Vista. Also, I plan to add a tv tuner card and a second hard drive eventually. Would like to upgrade to a direct x10 card further down the line as well. I have a dvd burner and old floppy as well that I will be using but is not included in the price. Can someone suggest a way to cut costs, possibly with the case? I chose the Lian Li cause I want something that is well ventilated as i will be using stock heatsink and do not plan to add additional fans. Also, is the PSU i have selected sufficient for my setup? The memory on the MB says it needs 1.8v with a 5-5-5 timing, is the G.Skill I am looking at sufficient. I will probably add a second stick further down the line to get 2 GB. Finally, is the e6400 really worth upgrading to? will I notice the difference? Thanks for the help.

forgot a question: i am using an older samsung lcd for the monitor until i can upgrade. It only has VGA i believe. Will this be acceptable or will I need to purchase an adapter?

 

[desidude006]

i am building a similar rig as you, but i am going to oc the e6300 to the speeds of e6400.

GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 Socket T (LGA 775) + $6.13 $115.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz $181.49
pqi TURBO 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 + $4.99 $94.99
RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case + $15.99 $19.99
FSP Group (Fortron Source) 400W Power Supply + $7.64 $41.50
HITACHI Deskstar T7K250 HDT722525DLA380 (0A31636) 250GB + $5.94 $74.99
eVGA 256-P2-N550 -T2 GeForce 7600GT 256MB + $5.64 $119.99 - $20 = $99.99
NEC 3550A Dual 16x DVD+RW/-RW/CD-RW (48x/32x/48x),16x DVD $29.99
___________________________________
$726.07 total with s/h
$706.26 w/ rebates
Motherboard- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128017
Processor- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115005
Ram- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141210
Case- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811156053
Psu- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104953
Harddrive- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822145132
Graphics Card- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130073
Optical Drive- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152076

Note- Some prices might have changed.

 

[jba6511]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811146025

$60.00 after mail in rebate. anyone have any other suggestions

 

[pretendeka]

Using this well-reviewed MoBo instead will drop your overall cost a bit.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138037

 

[skyguy]

If you're looking to cut costs, don't upgrade to the 6400. The 6300 is still FAST.

I agree with pretendeka, go with that mobo.

Also look at downgrading your RAM to 667, the 800 is only needed if you're doing some heavy overclocking. The 667 will still give a respectable overclock if you want, but more importantly will save some cash.

Also, as much as I'd hate to say it, getting a different case will save cash. Lian-Li is GREAT, but expensive. A case totally depends on your tastes though, so you'd have to find something in your budget. Take a look at some Thermaltake cases......tasteful and affordable. The Matrix VX is often very ofterlooked......might be a bit "bling" for your tastes though, but Thermaltake has some other nice cases. Check em out.

Those 3 things should easily get you back to (or under) your budget.

 

[jba6511]

i was considering the Gigabyte board because I heard it was newbie friendly when installing components and the G.Skill memory was 114 for the DDR2 800 where the Patriot 1GB DDR2 667 was 105. If someone can, please recommend some cheaper memory? Any ideas on the other questions I posted? Thanks for the help so far. it has been extremely usefull

 

[skyguy]

Ask and ye shall receive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144038

 

[jba6511]

says the memory is for AMD only but do you know if this will work with an intel core 2 duo? I saw one review that said it worked with a P4 but then another review that said computer would not POST

 

[skyguy]

:?:

NEVER pay much attention to the reviews on Newegg. EVER.

DDR2 is DDR2 memory, regardless of which processor you'll be using. And volts are volts.......same thing.

The only reason it wouldn't post is that some earlier revisions of motherboards and RAM didn't like the higher volts required by certain brands of RAM. Alot of those issues have been fixed and generally no longer pose problems.


Someone saying that DDR2 RAM won't work on Intel is like saying bottled water can't be used by the British. No basis in fact. It was probably some AMD fanboy being an idiot.

 

[randomizer]

:?:

NEVER pay much attention to the reviews on Newegg. EVER.

DDR2 is DDR2 memory, regardless of which processor you'll be using. And volts are volts.......same thing.

The only reason it wouldn't post is that some earlier revisions of motherboards and RAM didn't like the higher volts required by certain brands of RAM. Alot of those issues have been fixed and generally no longer pose problems.


Someone saying that DDR2 RAM won't work on Intel is like saying bottled water can't be used by the British. No basis in fact. It was probably some AMD fanboy being an idiot.

Thats right, most "reviewers" on Newegg are idiots. They know nothing about computers and when they do something wrong and the expected results dont occur, they blame the hardware. Still, how could you possibly say that RAM is "only for AMD"?

 

[drummerdude]

it says "for amd only" right in the specs????? so whats the deal with it?

 

[skyguy]

Well, I'd let the experts here comment.........there isn't ANY DDR2-RAM in existence that I know of that can only work for AMD.

If someone can prove otherwise, then I stand corrected. But I have NEVER heard of it.

But, if it causes you stress, just go with the G.Skill......$15 more for peace of mind



Besides, it's actually listed as "AMD Edition" on their website. That's no different than ATI, NVidia, Special Ops editions that OCZ has. It's simply a marketing gimmick. It doesn't mean you can only use OCZ Spec Ops RAM for nothing but Spec Ops games, or the ATI stuff if you have an Nvidia card. It's a marketing ploy for people that don't know better or fanboys.....not like you'll see that Spec Ops design inside the case anyway LOL.

 

[jba6511]

thanks for clearing that up with the memory. Will probably go with that. Can anyone tell me if the PSU I have selected will be enough and if my monitor will require an adapter? Thanks, the members on the forum have been a big help so far.