New Computer Setup ($1500 budget)

pimp618

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Dec 25, 2006
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18,510
Getting a christmas present to myself. Any complicaitons in my set-up?

Case: Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Full Tower Case
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...ductCode=371252
$149.99

Power Supply: Antec TruePower TRIO 550 550W Power Supply
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...ductCode=273506
$99.99

CPU: Intel® Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe Processor 2.4GHz, 1066FSB, LGA775, 4MB Cache Retail
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...oductCode=80860
$311.90

Motherboard: Asus P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe nForce4 SLI Intel Edition P4/ Pentium Processor Extreme Edition/ Pentium D/Celeron 1066FSB LGA775 DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio, Dual Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...ductCode=247088
$199.99

Memory: Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4 2GB Kit DDR2-800 XMS2-6400 Xtreme Performance Memory
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...uctCode=85025-6
$274.90

Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS Sound Card
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...ductCode=290238
$179.99

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (x 2)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16822148140
$189.98

CD/DVD Drive: SAMSUNG Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache E-IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner Samsung SH-S182D Dual Layer DVD±RW Writer
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16827151133
$29.99

Video Card: PNY VCG7950GXPB GeForce 7950GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814133181
$299.99

Total: $1736.72

Keeping: Mouse, Mousepad, Keyboard, Monitor, Headset, Speakers. Everything else must go.

I realize I went slightly over what I was hoping for. Not too sure if this setup is the best at this price. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thx.
 

desidude006

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Aug 21, 2006
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Upgrade the psu to something more powerful (Just in case for future cards)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153033

Downgrade the processor to the e6400.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115004

For the motherboard, get the Asus p5B deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131028

Only get this high end ram, if your are going to oc. Otherwise else its a waste of money.

You really do not need a sound card unless you are really picky about quality. Onboard sound has come a long way.

About the video card, consider getting a x1950 pro, excellent card for the price. Or consider getting a 8800gts.


Alright this was the rig I was doing to build, but due to some problem I couldnt.

ASUS P5B E, P965,1066,1394,snd,glan,D2,PCI-E +6.41 $150.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz Dual (2MB),1066MHz,S775,65W $218.50
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 675 $239 - 40 = $199
Antec P180 Aluminum ATX Mid w/ NO PS (11 bays), 1394 $114.99 - 20 = $94.99
Thermaltake toughpower W0103RU ATX12V/ EPS12V 600W Power Supply $129
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) +5.99 $74.99
eVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB +6.13 $429.99 - 30 = $399.99
NEC 3550A Dual 16x DVD+RW/-RW/CD-RW (48x/32x/48x),16x DVD $29.99
MS Windows XP Home Edition CD (full version) +4.99 $90
_________________________________
$1500.97 total with s/h
$1410.97 with rebates.

Note that prices might have changed.
 

pimp618

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Dec 25, 2006
3
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18,510
Thanks for the suggestions. I did decide to upgrade the PSU to 650W (Plan on going SLI down the line). I dropped the sound card. Upgraded the motherboard so I could settle for better onboard. Upgraded the video card to the 8800GTS. And this is where it stands.

Case: Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Full Tower Case
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...ductCode=371252
$124.99

PSU: Antec TruePower TRIO 650 650W Power Supply
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...ductCode=273507
$124.95

CPU: Intel® Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe Processor 2.4GHz, 1066FSB, LGA775, 4MB Cache Retail
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...oductCode=80860
$311.90

Motherboard: ASUS P5N32-E SLI nVIDIA nFORCE 680I SLI CHIPSET ATX FORM FACTOR
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?sc...03&RSKU=BA23303
$288.18

Memory: Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4 2GB Kit DDR2-800 XMS2-6400 Xtreme Performance Memory
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85025-6
$234.90

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16822148140
$94.99

CD/DVD Drive: SAMSUNG Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache E-IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner Samsung SH-S182D Dual Layer DVD±RW Writer
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16827151133
$35.63

Video Card: PNY VCG88GTSXPB GeForce 8800GTS 640MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814133188
$402.12

Total: $1617.66
 

darksidedragon

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Dec 26, 2006
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Yeah, agreed about the change of case. The Thermaltake Armour case is a lot louder than the Antec P180, but both offer more than adequate cooling for any gamer, even with some serious overclocking.
 

leo2kp

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Ok so the E6400 can hit what speed? The E6600 will hit 3.6GHz on air if you do it right, and that 4mb cache is good for anywhere between 2% and 12% performance over 2mb cache. I say keep the E6600.
 

desidude006

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Aug 21, 2006
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Well its his choice. Since he is over budget, I recommend getting the e6400 but if money is not obstacle; by all means get the higher end processors.
 

pimp618

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Dec 25, 2006
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18,510
Thanks for the info on the case, i'll definately look into the other options. I would've liked to be around the $1500 budget, but even now its only after the rebates. I'm sure it'll be much closer to $2000 by the time I order. Still contemplating on the sound card. :roll:

My intentions are to overclock it to 3.6ghz as many others have. Still need to look into some aftermarket cooling as well.