Computer based off -- GUIDE: 3+GHz Core 2 Duo Budget System

[Astarias]

Hi all I am trying to build a budget system that still has some power. I loved the ideas in the thread about the 3+GHz Core 2 Duo Budget System for $631 but it was a small bit weak on the gaming front I thought so I played with it and here's what I came up with. Please suggest/critique. Thanks

Note: All prices include shipping as currently on Newegg

Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Allendale 1.8GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor $189.00

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 ATX Intel Motherboard $125.12

GIGABYTE GV-NX76G256D-RH GeForce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Silent Pipe Lead Free Video Card $111.12

Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $69.99

2x CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory $166.00

NEC 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 $28.99

RAIDMAX Ninja ATX-918WBP Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450watts PS2 ATX12V SATA Ready Power Supply $85.26

APEVIA CF12SL-UBL 120mm Blue LED Case Fan $11.98

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound $10.98

APEVIA ATX-CW500WP4 ATX 500W Power Supply $39.99

Total Price including shipping is $814.45 Please keep in mind that I am stretching my budget quite a bit on this already so any suggestions that you have please let them be how to lower the price and keep best performance possible.

I am also going to be trying to oc this thing based on the guide mentioned above. I would like to oc the ram and cpu. Is the ram good for oc and how much can I expect? I assume that the board/cpu is good for oc because of the guide. Thanks a ton for the help everyone.

 

[alcattle]

When the other poster refered to this system they also mentioned getting a 7600 series GPU.
You should look for DDR2-800. The XMS2 series is very highly rated as an O/Cable RAM. I would go 2x1GB and have room for 2 more GB in the future. Some features of Vista will use it. By then you would have the new DX-10 card to go with it.

 

[akhilles]

EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Move To Wish List $109.99
($94.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130062

I wouldn't touch gs except maybe 7900gs. gs is much slower than gt.

TWIN2X1024-5400C4 is a very good choice. Cheaper & faster than some in the same price range.

The case isn't great for overclocking with 80mm fans. Get one of these with 120mm fans.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?DEPA=0&type=&Description=centurion+534&Submit=ENE&N=0&Ntk=all&Go.x=0&Go.y=0

& an extra 120mm fan for optimal cooling. & at least this psu:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104952

 

[Viceras]

Hi all I am trying to build a budget system that still has some power. I loved the ideas in the thread about the 3+GHz Core 2 Duo Budget System for $631 but it was a small bit weak on the gaming front I thought so I played with it and here's what I came up with. Please suggest/critique. Thanks

Note: All prices include shipping as currently on Newegg

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300 $187.00

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 ATX Intel Motherboard $125.12

GIGABYTE GV-NX76G256D-RH GeForce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Silent Pipe Lead Free Video Card $111.12

Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $69.99

2x Corsair XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) $166.00 Buying 2 sets of these for 2GB total ram. Not sure whether I should do this or buy 2 1GB sticks of another overclockable ram.

Pioneer Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 5X DVD-RAM 40X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM 2M Cache ATAPI DVD Burner $28.99

LOGISYS Computer Area 51 CS51WBK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case With 24pin, SATA connector 450W Power Supply $49.98

3x MASSCOOL FD08025S1M4 80mm Case Fan $3.87 Case comes with 1 80 fan, putting it in front. Going to put 3 more on. One more on rear, one on side and one on bottom.

ZALMAN ZM – 32K Heatsinks only $10.98 Putting this on the Northbridge

VANTEC NXP-301 Controller, Panel $17.98 Could help with keeping case quiet/cool ratio. Plus I kinda like it

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound $10.98

Total Price including shipping is $782.01. Please keep in mind that I am stretching my budget quite a bit on this already so any suggestions that you have please let them be how to lower the price and keep best performance possible.

I am also going to be trying to oc this thing based on the guide mentioned above. I would like to oc the ram and cpu. Is the ram good for oc and how much can I expect? I assume that the board/cpu is good for oc because of the guide. Thanks a ton for the help everyone.

Ok firstly - Swap the E6300 for a E4300 if you're overclocking this runs cooler and is easier to overclock its also cheaper forget the northbridge heatsink you wont need it also look into an HIS X1650XT plenty of power for todays PC games @ 1284 x 1024 and it wont break the bank.

Mobo is good, Ram is good but i'd get 2 x 1GB sticks leaving you room to upgrade, perhaps a samsung DVD-R if cheaper if not your one will be fine.

anything you're not sure about pm me and i'll get back to you when i can!

Good luck m8!

P.S. Come on guys he asked how he could make it cheaper but still keep performance.

 

[Astarias]

Thanks for the tips everyone!

I updated my initial post to reflect changes made.

Based on the suggestions I nixed the northbridge cooler, changed to the E4300, and changed the memory to TWIN2X1024-5400C4. I went with 4 sticks for purely economic reasons. I will have to worry about upgrade later.

The E4300 seems like it works really well for overclocking. The memory the same and I am going to trust that I don't need the extra northbridge cooler.

As for the case and the card. I can't change cards as I really don't have the extra money to spend. Same for the case. I am also kinda forced to use the stock PSU. I also looked into getting a Artic CPU coler but the only ones that worked with my chipset were too expensive.

With my case would it be smart to use a 120 fan in it or just go all 80?

Also I would like to make sure that my ram will function well with my mobo. This is something that I don't know a whole lot about.

Any other suggestions for cases/cards/psu's would be great but keep in mind I really can't spend any more than I have listed. I am trying to achieve good performance with some pretty hard cash limits. Matter of fact I've gone over and would love to cut where possible.

 

[NamelessMC]

Based on the suggestions I nixed the northbridge cooler, changed to the E4300, and changed the memory to TWIN2X1024-5400C4. I went with 4 sticks for purely economic reasons. I will have to worry about upgrade later.

That's a good choice. 2 gigabytes is more than enough ram for any applications that will come out in the next 2-3 years. It's also cheaper to get 4x 512 than 2x 1024.

The E4300 seems like it works really well for overclocking. The memory the same and I am going to trust that I don't need the extra northbridge cooler.

Yes, the E4300 is an excellent choice for over-clockers. Runs cooler, doesn't need DDR800 ram to hit 3 ghz and is even cheaper than the 6300. Think of the 4300 as a 6400 underclocked.

As for the case and the card. I can't change cards as I really don't have the extra money to spend. Same for the case. I am also kinda forced to use the stock PSU. I also looked into getting a Artic CPU coler but the only ones that worked with my chipset were too expensive.

Try to cut funds anywhere you can. Even go with 1 GB instead of 2 GB. Your gaming performance will really take a hit if you go with a 7600GS instead of a 7600GT. Also, there are much better pre-gen cards that smoke the 7600GS for the money. You could find an X800GTO on Ebay or on other sites than Newegg or even a 6800GT or 6800. Think of it this way, if you get 1 GB of ram now, you can easily get another 1 GB later and just add it in. But if you go with the 7600GS, you can't "add" parts to make it a 7600GT, you're pretty much just stuck with a 7600GS.

With my case would it be smart to use a 120 fan in it or just go all 80?

Also I would like to make sure that my ram will function well with my mobo. This is something that I don't know a whole lot about.

Any other suggestions for cases/cards/psu's would be great but keep in mind I really can't spend any more than I have listed. I am trying to achieve good performance with some pretty hard cash limits. Matter of fact I've gone over and would love to cut where possible.

I have a great build for 750 if you want to see it.

 

[Astarias]

Sure, I would absolutely love to see your build. Thanks for the advice. I will look a bit more into cards.

 

[Astarias]

Tooling around on Newegg I found this...

Open Box: Albatron PC6800GT Geforce 6800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card for $116.12 including shipping

Think this would be a good fit?

 

[NamelessMC]

Open box cards almost always have that questionable life time left in them.

Sure they'll run fine out of the box, but I guarantee they have a shorter lifespan than a card that hasn't been touched.

That being said, here's my magic 700 build:

Motherboard:
ASUS P5B LGA 775 P965 ATX - $124.99

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo Allendale E4300 - $189.00

Memory:
Corsair XMS2 DDR675 2x 512MB - $83.00

Video-card:
EVGA 7900GS 256MB KO - $169.99 + Rebate

Hard-Drive:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 120GB SATA OEM - $54.99

Case:
Raidmax Ninja ATX with 450 PSU - $69.99

Optical Drive:
NEC Black DVD Burner - $28.99

Sub-total:
$720.95

With this build you get a 7900GS, that can easily over-clock, you get a good processor, good motherboard, good ram (1 GB is good enough for now, you can get two more 512's later or even a 1 GB stick) and a decent case/PSU. You still have $50 to play around with.

You can decide:
Upgrade to an X1950 Pro and get some thermal paste or extra fans.
Keep the 7900GS and use the extra money to get a stand-alone PSU and cheaper case with no PSU.
Keep the 7900GS and get a Freezer 7 Pro cooler and thermal paste for your CPU.
Upgrade to an X1950 Pro AND get a Freezer 7 Pro but maybe no thermal paste or extra fans.

 

[Astarias]

Ok, so here is my last round of changes. Note that I stretched that budged once again by 30 some odd dollars. This is my absolute cap. no....really...pinky promise this time

I was going to get the XMS2 series ram but Newegg was all out of it and I would like to buy everything at one place.

I dropped all the 80 fans and went with one 120 for the front. I am thinking this will work coupled with the 120 in the rear. Am I right?

I read the reviews of the Ninja case, which I really like btw, and they were all yelling that the PSU is a piece of garbage so I got a new PSU. That's what pushed me over the top but I would rather be safe especially as I am overclocking.

I dropped the fan control...sniffle...I hate to see it go but it became plain unnecessary with two fans.

I'm sticking with the GS. When I upgrade to a video card its going to be much better than what I can afford now and will probably be DX10 so I would rather spend as little as possible in this department now.

Any ideas on how I can tweak this further or do I have it pretty much where I want it? Thanks for all the help everyone.