new comp.. cant decide

[KVan]

hi guys, im kinda in the need of a big upgrade and want the best bang for my buck and my budget is around $1k. Ive been reading this website and forum as well as other sites for about six months and finally i got enough money to buy, but im stuck.


current system spec:

s754 athlon 64 3000+ (newcastle)
gigabyte mobo
1gig corsair xms
250gb and 120gb HD's no raid
ati radeon 9600
viewsonic vx2025wm 20.1" LCD
420watt psu

looks like im gonna need new cpu, mobo, psu, ram, and vid card. (please let me know if i overlooked something else i might need)

Im looking into a c2d e6600 or athlon x2 5200+ based comp. the evga 680i seems nice but i think it might be overkill and the asus crosshair for the amd rig. i probably wont overclock but i its a nice option for in the future. Playing games at my resolution with my vid card makes a really nice slideshow. so a good video card that can handle it well would be nice. i do some photoshop, dvd ripping, video encoding, and lots of downloading. would like to do more gaming though.

so if you guys could give me suggestons on a Psu, vid card, and ram, it will be greatly appreciated. I know you guys prolly think im crazy for even thinking about amd when mentioning intel but im pretty much open for anything.

thx.
KVan

 

[qcmadness]

hi guys, im kinda in the need of a big upgrade and want the best bang for my buck and my budget is around $1k. Ive been reading this website and forum as well as other sites for about six months and finally i got enough money to buy, but im stuck.


current system spec:

s754 athlon 64 3000+ (newcastle)
gigabyte mobo
1gig corsair xms
250gb and 120gb HD's no raid
ati radeon 9600
viewsonic vx2025wm 20.1" LCD
420watt psu

looks like im gonna need new cpu, mobo, psu, ram, and vid card. (please let me know if i overlooked something else i might need)

Im looking into a c2d e6600 or athlon x2 5200+ based comp. the evga 680i seems nice but i think it might be overkill and the asus crosshair for the amd rig. i probably wont overclock but i its a nice option for in the future. Playing games at my resolution with my vid card makes a really nice slideshow. so a good video card that can handle it well would be nice. i do some photoshop, dvd ripping, video encoding, and lots of downloading. would like to do more gaming though.

so if you guys could give me suggestons on a Psu, vid card, and ram, it will be greatly appreciated. I know you guys prolly think im crazy for even thinking about amd when mentioning intel but im pretty much open for anything.

thx.
KVan

E6600 is much faster than x2 5200+.

 

[ira176]

Here's my build for about $1480 USD.

MSI K9A Platinum Mobo (crossfire compatible)
Sapphire X1950 Pro PCI E w/256 MB Ram
Corsair 2 x's 1 GB XMS memory
Athlon 64 X2 AM2 5200 +
Seagate 400 GB HDD
Seasonic 650 watt PSU
Zalman 9500 CPU cooler
Samsung DVD R/W drive
Thermaltake Aguila Case

You could build similar, for less if you don't need high priced memory, like XMS, the aftermarket CPU cooler, and go for a slightly slower CPU, maybe even a less expensive case. I bet you could get it down closer to $1000. That being said, I am driving a 20.1 inch wide screen (1680x1050) with a X1950 Pro and some of the games I must scale back some of the extra features to play. I would say that the video card may be a bit more important than the fastest CPU for you at this point.

edit: I guess I'll need to change my signature soon because of my new build.

 

[vipmohaned]

if u really into gaming better get yourself an E6300 and overclock it , with 8800 GTS

 

[Harrisson]

8800 GTS + 2GB DDR2 800 (Corsair or similar) and E6xxx cpu for remaining money. E6400 fits, even E6600 if you will get a good deal. In a few weeks Intel will drop prices, wait a bit and maybe even 8800 GTX will be within the budget.

 

[KVan]

thx a bunch for the suggestions. i might be able to break my limit a little but i dont think i can get E6xxx cpu + 680i mobo + psu + 2gigsRAM + 8800 gts for my budget. i figured i could go for the e6400 instead and OC because the performance increase of 4mb cache and 2mb probably wouldnt make a difference to me.

price spec on newegg

EVGA 680i - 249.99 overkill? or worth it for OC options?
EVGA 8800 GTS - 399.99 after MIR
E6400 - 222.00
2gig Corsair - 237.00 after MIR
+ $100-$150 for psu
over $1300

how big are the price cuts supposed to be and when?

thx again
KVan

 

[epsilon84]

thx a bunch for the suggestions. i might be able to break my limit a little but i dont think i can get E6xxx cpu + 680i mobo + psu + 2gigsRAM + 8800 gts for my budget. i figured i could go for the e6400 instead and OC because the performance increase of 4mb cache and 2mb probably wouldnt make a difference to me.

price spec on newegg

EVGA 680i - 249.99 overkill? or worth it for OC options?
EVGA 8800 GTS - 399.99 after MIR
E6400 - 222.00
2gig Corsair - 237.00 after MIR
+ $100-$150 for psu
over $1300

how big are the price cuts supposed to be and when?

thx again
KVan

Why are you considering a 680i based mobo? Unless you are looking to run SLI, it's not any better than the much cheaper P965 based mobos which overclock just as well.

 

[KVan]

ok i have decided that i will want SLI for future upgrade.. so evga 680i it is.
so new system is:

e6400
evga 680i
evga 8800 gts
corsair xms2 ddr-800

im not very good with picking psu's... so do could you guys help recommend one for this system build with a mild overclock (3ghz). i would really like a modular one but if there is one that is better thats not its no biggy.

-KVan