Computer upgrade $1000 budget

[dustinlandi]

Please assist me with this. Im trying to upgrade my computer but ive only got 1000 dolalrs.. ok well the wife says 1000 if it goes over a little ill deal with that . heres what i had in mind I have all the parts except

680i nforce board (bfg brand)
core 2 duo 6600
8800gts bfg (not the 640 meg)
some kind of memory (need help deciding)
maybe a hard drive (currently i have a 120 gig WD sata)
maybe a PSU

Is this the best option, should I go AMD? Im kind of lost and i want the most speed I can get for 1000. The memory part is the hardest part

 

[cberry8]

look at the mhz when u buy the 320mb 8800, there is a 500 and a 576, both are same price at the moment with the 576 having $20 instant savings on newegg, go with that one

 

[CmdPT]

Please assist me with this. Im trying to upgrade my computer but ive only got 1000 dolalrs.. ok well the wife says 1000 if it goes over a little ill deal with that . heres what i had in mind I have all the parts except

680i nforce board (bfg brand)
core 2 duo 6600
8800gts bfg (not the 640 meg)
some kind of memory (need help deciding)
maybe a hard drive (currently i have a 120 gig WD sata)
maybe a PSU

Is this the best option, should I go AMD? Im kind of lost and i want the most speed I can get for 1000. The memory part is the hardest part

CPU: If you're in a budget go get yourself a E6300. This bad boy will Overclock to 3.0 ghz with stock HSF, but if you are will to go further you need to buy a better HSF.

MOBO: Since you are on a budget cut back on the motherboard and go get either a 965/975 Motherboard they are cheaper than the 680i boards, but the 965/975 boards are pretty good on OC. ie the GA-965P-S3/DS3.

PSU: Go get a FSP Group PSU 500/550W they are fairly cheap and pretty good PSU.

MEMORY: If you are not going or do a light OC, go with a 533/667 MHZ these should be good enough for a light OC. eXtreme overclock go with a 800 MHZ. Get either a G.Skill or OCZ they are pretty good at OC.

HD: Make sure if you buy a HD get a 7200.10 SATAII as this is the new tech than a 7200.9 ones.

 

[dustinlandi]

Thanks for pointing out the video card mhz, i didnt even notice that. As far as the upgrade goes i know for sure that i want the core 2 6600 everything else is up for discussion. is the 680 the best choice for mobo? i wouldnt have even thought of it if it wasnt for tomshardware

 

[dustinlandi]

what amd stuff could i get for 1000, is it better then the intel stuff right now. I want to be able to play unreal tournament 2 and some other nice games primarly i just do music, videos, internet and games in that order. My down fall is i want the best possible

 

[CmdPT]

With the parts you want, you will have no problems playing UT2. You can do all of those things with this build. As you said you wanted $1000 budget and I layed it down for you as much as possible.

Intel is ALOT better than AMD right now so you wouldn't to worry about that. Like for example a E6300 CPU can totally crush a AMD X2 4800+ without a problem.

 

[JAYC101]

Your right on track with those components. Like the above poster said the Core 2 Duo is superior to AMD X2 right now and stand to be over clocked alot further if u feel so inclined to in the future. You cant focus on the mhz when ur considerding between amd and c2d.

I went with an E6300 c2d
480 watt coolmaster power supply
2 gigs of 667 ram
intel 965G motherboard (Dirt cheap, no crossfire tho)
ATI x1950 Pro

fair bit under $1000.

And the machine runs fantastic. Runs BF2 at high with no lag. 100 FPS + in WOW at max settings.

 

[dustinlandi]

Dont know if this matters but i am running windows vista ultimate OEM wich i got from newegg

 

[CmdPT]

Windows Vista has alot of bug right now it would be best if you can dual boot both Windows XP and Vista. You should wait until SP1 comes out due to the fact that Vista has alot of Driver Issues concerning the 8800 GTS/GTX Cards.

 

[yakyb]

i wass looking at ram today and was particulaly interested in the OCZ line they use microns so should OC very well http://ramlist.ath.cx/ddr2/