My Perfect Build..too expensive, help me cut costs.

[crystalklear64]

Alright fellow forumgoers. I've got my perfect setup ready to go, only 1 problem, its too expensive by about 100 or so dollars. Here is where I need you guys to step in. The only thing I don't want changed is the video card. Anything else is fair game.

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UB Black /Blue Aluminum Bezel-$49.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119047

Corsair HX Series CMPSU-520HX 520W PSU-$105
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=373100

GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Mobo-$109.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813128012

Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz LGA 775-$184
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115030

EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 320MB-$279.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130082

G. SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)-$88.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820231098

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive-$52.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148230

ASUS Black 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe-$33.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135 146

Total: 904.94

I'm fairly certain the CPU and Mobo can be brought down quite a bit, but I don't really want to bottleneck myself either, so please, help a brother out

 

[Gundam1s]

One option is going with 1 Gig of ram and upgrading later.

 

[ryan7107]

You can save $50 easy on the PSU. Thermaltake and Rosewill make some very popular and reliable ones in the 400W and $50 range. That system can run on 300W so anything over 400 is more then enough.

 

[ryan7107]

Also should look at the e4300 or e4400 CPUs. They can be moderately overclocked with the stock fan. If your afraid of getting bottlenecked, you can pick up a nice aftermarket CPU fan later and get really aggressive.

 

[shoota]

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817101021

there's like $50 saved.

Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145015

$4 plus free shipping saves you $5 more, $59 saved.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115015

with the ds3 you'd prolly wanna stay with a earlier C2D for bios reasons, then just overclock this baby a lil' (super easy to do)

saves $20, up to $79 total.

Hard drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144415

saves $4, $83 total.

DVD Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827152079

saves you about $5 and is a little quicker and good quality if Lightscribe isn't important, $88 total.

well there you go, you're not sacraficing much at all and this build will last you years. Hope i helped.

 

[ryan7107]

Thought about an AMD chip? They are not as fast or efficient as C2D but for price/performance they are the way to go. Just make sure you get one with the Brisbane core.

 

[crystalklear64]

Awesome suggestions. I was only going for the Corsair PSU because a bunch of people here were saying that the Rosewills weren't very reliable.

As for AMD, I would certainly consider getting one to save money, but I also want to be certain that its not money that would be better spent on a lower Intel chip.

 

[cherie22984]

The case from newegg is like $65.98 with shipping. You can always get this one from zipzoomfly for only $39.99 with free shipping. You cant beat that. http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=141815
I just saved you $25.99


The power supply is a little expensive for what you get. You can get this one for $79.99 with free shipping from zipzoomfly http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=370779
That saves you $25.01. If you get it from newegg it will cost you $10.00 more.


That mobo is good, but you might want to upgrade your cpu later down the road. P35 chipsets will be compatible.
You should get this mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059
Its only $102.83 with shipping. This will save you $13.49!


Get the cpu from zipzoomfly
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10005520
It will save you $1.00


Crucial Ballistix are some of the best, parent company Micron supplies most other companies with their memory chips.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80061-9
$120.99 before rebates is well worth it, lucky you can get a $40.00 rebate! $80.99 will be the final price.
This will save you $8.00
B
Sony NEC DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827152079
$31.99 with free shipping.


HDD is only $54.99 and with free shipping.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144416
Saves you $2.29 and you have more space.


Your new total = $839.11 with some shipping and your rebates.

 

[andybird123]

just get an E2140 and overclock to 3ghz, will out perform a standard E6700 by far and is way more than enough performance to feed a GTS

 

[foxrocks]

Don't skimp on the PSU whatever you do. Stick with the Corsair.

 

[93ta]

i just picked up the corsair for $99 shipped at buy.com, plus i get a $20 rebate and i used google checkout for another $10 bringing it to $69. that will save u a few bux plus get u the good psu.

 

[geofelt]

I like the build, as is. But to answer your request, consider an Antec NSK6500 "B" stock case which also includes a pretty good 450 watt PSU for $59.95. Don't know what delivery $ is, if any. http://www.antec.com/us/pro_b_stock.phpThis will save just about your $100. Also, look at the gigabyte P35-S3L for $89.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128057 . It will save you $20, and it is a newer chipset.
---good luck---

 

[orangegator]

Don't skimp on the PSU whatever you do. Stick with the Corsair.

I highly agree! Stick with the Corsair PSU. A good psu is very important. Crappy ones like those others have suggested are much more likely to go bad and fry your system. To cut costs you should:

1. Consider buying an e4400

2. Save $38 on Ram by This Deal
and Save $20 with Promo Code: WEB07284354025


3. Search around for better prices on your components. While Newegg is a great retailer, you can sometimes find better deals if you search other places.

GL

 

[rwpritchett]

Follow OrangeGator's advice, Froogle is your best friend.

And geofelt is has the right idea with the P35 chipset motherboard.

For the PSU, take the advice to stick with a good quality brand. You can still get a good quality PSU for a budget price from the Fortron Source line-up like this one:

FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX500-PN ATX2.2 500Watts Power Supply $65

Hope this helps.

 

[crystalklear64]

Most awesome guys, thanks! I've got the price down to 756.05 after rebates.

Coolermaster RC-330-KKN1-GP Elite 330 Mid Tower Case (Black)-$39.99

FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX500-PN ATX2.2 500Watts Power Supply- $64.99

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard-$94.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 Allendale 2.0GHz-$126.00

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB-$259.99

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800-$73

Sony NEC Optiarc 18X DVD±R DVD Burner with 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model-$33.99

Now I'll just need to come back and ask you guys how to overclock my CPU when it gets here

Maybe I'll get myself a sound card and some speakers with the money I'm saving instead of using headphones...

 

[geofelt]

Looks good. Forget the sound card, use the money for better speakers. Onboard sound is very good these days.

 

[rwpritchett]

Maybe put the money towards a good aftermarket HSF so you can make that E4400 scream.