Advice on machine to build for $2000

[nicros]

Hi All,

I have 2K to build a new machine. I have built one machine before, but I have never spec'ed on out, so I could use some help. Im a software engineer, so Im not a total tech retard, but I also have a wife and 2 young kids so time finding the right bits and pieces is more of a factor than anything else.

I want this to be a gaming machine, and a development box for some serious multithreaded apps. In the cost I only need the box itself, i.e. I have a 22" monitor already, a mouse and keyboard, speakers, and the OS.

The dream machine would have an 8800GTX, and QX6700 to start, but I dont know if I can build a good machine for 2K or less with those pricy bits.

I can skimp on hard drive space and the sound card, but I honestly dont know where else I can cut corners (or if I even should).

If its the QX6700, I also dont see myself overclocking this thing too much... but who knows.

Has anyone spec'ed out a system similar to this recently? Or any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

 

[darksidedragon]

For a start, I wouldn't really recommend getting a QX6700 unless you get a watercooling kit (and those can be a bit pricey). However, I reckon you could probably get one of those with $2000 given that you have all the peripherals. The 8800GTX is slightly overpriced for what it is, as it's the best of the best. Maybe "skimping" on an 8800GTS will do your wallet some good? I'll have a look around on the web to see what I can put together for $2000.

 

[darksidedragon]

Whoops, posted twice

 

[darksidedragon]

Most people on here go to www.newegg.com. Unfortunately, it's going a bit slow for me at the moment (never runs well from the UK), but here's what I would suggest:

Mainboard: Gigabyte 965P-DS3 (revision 2.0 is optimized for Quad-Core support)
Memory: 2GB of DD2 533MHz C4 by Corsair, OCZ, G.Skill or Crucial (which ever you find cheapest)
Graphics card: BFG or XFX 8800GTX (get the highest clock speed you can fit into your budget)
Processor: QX6700 with water cooling system (Zalman Resevator2 system is nice as it's fanless)
HDD1: 150GB Western Digital Raptor (If you're overbudget, then this is probably something you can do without)
HDD2: Seagate 7200rpm 400GB SATA
HDD3: Seagate 7200rpm 400GB SATA (only if you need lots of storage space, otherwise, just get the one)
Case: Really down to what you like. Something with 12cm fans all round is a good start, as it should be relatively quiet. Brand names will always produce quieter, better quality cases.
DVD-RW: Get the cheapest one, they all do the same thing these days.
Floppy Drive: Yeah, I know they're out-dated, but you'll need one if you're going to install Windows XP on one of those SATA drives when in AHCI or SATA RAID modes

 

[nicros]

Cool, I will check prices on that stuff... what about a case, power supply, fans, etc.?

Thanks!

 

[nicros]

Sorry, I appear to be a bit slow today. Must be monday- I see you mentioned the case in your post sorry.

I hear intel is supposed to drop the prices on the QX6700 by 40% today as well, I hope that turns out to be the case!!

Cheers!

 

[Rsx]

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Build-04-20-07-ftopict233536.html

My budget was also $2000 and this is what I ordered from Newegg last Friday 4.20.07

My specific needs are similar to yours as well and I'm sure you can make any adjustments as necessary.

 

[mike1447]

nzxt zero series sweet case. i ordered mine 3 days ago and got a $30 mir along with it the price might drop alittle more though.

 

[PCAnalyst]

My system was about 3K at time of build... I went with 4 additional HDDs and RAM has come down alot since then.

The QX6700 does not need water cooling. And if you are dead set on 4 cores... the Q6600 is a better price at around $600 right now.

Getting the Q6600 will allow you to stay under the 2K mark.

So if I were to do it again:

Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB $559

ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI $129

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $169

WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive $209

SE WD2500JS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s (X2 = $67 X 2 = $134)

SeaSonic M12 SS-700HM ATX12V / EPS12V 700W Power Supply $209

EVGA 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SUPERCLOCKED $599

Thats about $2010 +/- plus case and DVD/CD Burner... could use an old case and the drives are relatively cheap... $30 or so.

 

[darksidedragon]

Sorry if it seems I'm implying the QX6700 NEEDS water cooling. I know it doesn't, but I would advise it as it has a higher TDP (I think it's 105W compared to the 65W of the C2D's).

 

[PCAnalyst]

Sorry if it seems I'm implying the QX6700 NEEDS water cooling. I know it doesn't, but I would advise it as it has a higher TDP (I think it's 105W compared to the 65W of the C2D's).

Yeah... I hear ya... The Stock cooler keeps it right around 50c. Pretty acceptable I think.

But who wouldn't want it at 28c?

 

[darksidedragon]

50c? That's pretty awesome. I just thought with the QX6800 needing to be watercooled that the QX6700 would run pretty hot on the stock cooler. Clearly not, though.