Building advice

[3cent]

I need to upgrade my PC and I thought I can use the advice from the members of this forum to do it.

I always builded my computers on my own and this the way I will do it again

So, what pieces would you put them in regarding that my budget is 800$, and
- I want to play latest games on the market but mostly the strategy type not shooters. ( anyway kinda Call of Duty or Commandos Strikeforce I like wouldn't call them shooters.)

- I want to watch movies (and almost always I watch them from the HD)

- general office work, it is included but would work on almost any PC anyway

- I need also some graphical capabilities at medium level - not PRO anyway

I need your advice for the following pieces

Mainboard
CPU
RAM Memory

HDD
Video card
MONITOR
PSU

Thank you very much for your attention, and help !

Cristian

ps I'm also aware of AMD price reduction on their CPU's beginning 9th of april

 

[wilcoxon]

I would suggest:

GPU: 8800GTS 320MB (I like the EVGA) ~$300
CPU: any Intel C2D $183-520 ($113-320 after April 22)
MB: Gigabyte S3 (<$100)
RAM: will you be overclocking? If not get 2GB of cheap DDR2-667 or 800
HDD: Seagate 7200.10 (various sizes/prices)
PSU: see either tiered list in the PSU 101 post in the PSU forum and choose a good one

Unfortunately, I doubt you can afford to add a decent monitor if you go with my suggestions above.

 

[CmdPT]

CPU: any Intel C2D $183-520 ($113-320 after April 22)

I would go with E4300

PSU: see either tiered list in the PSU 101 post in the PSU forum and choose a good one

FSP GROUP PSU


I would go with DS3 instead of S3 but S3 would do just fine.

Get rid of the 8800 GTS and get a 7600 GT would do just fine if you're in a budget.

 

[wilcoxon]

CPU: any Intel C2D $183-520 ($113-320 after April 22)

I would go with E4300

I would also suggest the E4300 on an $800 budget. I should have been more clear earlier (wrote my last post in a hurry).

I would go with DS3 instead of S3 but S3 would do just fine.

Get rid of the 8800 GTS and get a 7600 GT would do just fine if you're in a budget.

The DS3 is a (slightly) better board than the S3 but it also costs more. I was trying to cut some corners.

The 7600GT would work fine. I'm just a big fan of buying as near the top of the line GPU as possible (and the 8800GTS 320MB is a great card in its own right).

 

[CmdPT]

Yes everything in that we suggested would look good but if he is a OCer I would suggest getting a aftermarket HSF.

I hope this would be useful to him.

 

[3cent]

for wilcoxon

$113-320 after April 22 ??? You have a link for this info? i didnt know intel is planning a drop in prices too..

yes, i'm thinking of OC it ; what's the impact on the kind and types of RAM? 2GB OCZ XTC'S 800MHZ aren't good for it?




I was thinking about this one

MB MSI 965P NEO-F @ 120cad

IntelC2D 6300 OC (I still cat figure out at what freq, and what kind of heatsink i need) - obviously the one in the retail box will not suffice from what i read in the forum about OC. @ 230cad

2GB of RAM OCZ @ 220 cad

HDD seagate @ 100 cad

PSU THERMALTAKE 420W @45 CAD

VIDEO CARD EVGA 7900GS 256MB @ 185CAD

MONITOR 20' WIDE @ 300CAD

........................


I cannot aford anyway gf8800 on the 800usd the whole system.

 

[wilcoxon]

I know I've seen nicely formatted tables but a quick google search didn't turn them up but did turn up this article.

 

[emp]

AMD Setup:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103751

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034

ASUS M2N-E Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131022

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074

HIPER HPU-4R580-MS ATX12V v2.2 580W Power Supply 100 - 120V UL, CE, TUV - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817128004

Comes to about $796, no shipping and handling (after rebates), maybe a bit more if you need a case.

Intel Setup:

Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Allendale 1.8GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115013

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034

HIPER HPU-4R580-MS ATX12V v2.2 580W Power Supply 100 - 120V UL, CE, TUV - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817128004

GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128017

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074

Comes to about $850 after rebates, no shipping and handling included, maybe more if you need a case. I'd lean towards the intel setup for future overclockability (and that sexy pin mod that bumps the E4300 to 2.4Ghz)

To be honest, the piece that i like the most is the PSU, i'll try to get me one of those sexy pink psu later this year too

 

[3cent]

thanks for the input

indeed that PSU is sexy !

i will adjust them however because on that package there is no monitor and I try to get a 19" lcd .

thanks so much.

 

[hashbrown]

I would recommend for the AMD setup to use this processor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103036

and this mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138026

it used to be a combo, but not any more i guess

 

[CmdPT]

AMD Setup:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103751

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034

ASUS M2N-E Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131022

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074

HIPER HPU-4R580-MS ATX12V v2.2 580W Power Supply 100 - 120V UL, CE, TUV - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817128004

Comes to about $796, no shipping and handling (after rebates), maybe a bit more if you need a case.

Intel Setup:

Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Allendale 1.8GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115013

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034

HIPER HPU-4R580-MS ATX12V v2.2 580W Power Supply 100 - 120V UL, CE, TUV - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817128004

GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128017

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074

Comes to about $850 after rebates, no shipping and handling included, maybe more if you need a case. I'd lean towards the intel setup for future overclockability (and that sexy pin mod that bumps the E4300 to 2.4Ghz)

To be honest, the piece that i like the most is the PSU, i'll try to get me one of those sexy pink psu later this year too

I would definitely go with the Intel build but if you're completely on a budget then the AMD build would just do.

All of the parts he has picked are pretty decent for the price can't go wrong with those choices.