Building a new gaming rig - questions

[xenaki0001]

I have $1200 in giftcards to spend at tigerdirect and want to build a new gaming rig.

Currently i have
AMD 64 3500+ skt 939
Asus mobo
2x512 ddr pc3200
74gb 1st gen Raptor
nvidia 7600gt agp (i think)
Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS

I am an AMD fanboy, but not so much that i wont listen to reason. I was originally looking at an X2 6400+, but the C2Ds look really tempting... At my price range is the amd or intel the better buy?

As far as hard drives go.. Storage space isnt of any concern. I have a media center with 1.5Tbs. Would it be worthwhile to bring my raptor over to the new build(its 2 or 3 years old, running flawlessly though)?

not really into overclocking much. Built my last pc with the idea of oc'ing it but never got around to it.

so far im thinking
Case/PSU to be determined
6400+ x2 (or C2D equiv)
random mobo (need to determine cpu first...)
2x2gb ddr2 800
8800gts
Possibly a new sound card if theres money left to spare

EDIT:
Is the common heatsink setup on the C2Ds the one with the 4 'push-pin' setup? I've run into a lot of problems with those and would really put me off from getting one.

 

[akhilles]

If you don't overclock, AM2 is the best bang. The Phenom that's supposed to be out in Nov will be backward-compatible with AM2, but some features will be missing.

I'm hoping you & everyone ditch AMD so that Intel monopoly will charge us $1000 for a celeron. *sarcasm*

My suggestion:
AM2 X2 6400+
BIOSTAR TF560 A2+ (the only AM2+ mobo in the market)
G.SKILL 2 x 2GB F2-6400CL6D-4GBMQ (no rebate; cheapest)
8800GTS 320 (or 640 depending on the screen resolution)

Yep, the 4 push-pins are still around. There are aftermarket HSFs that use either screws (thermalright) or mounting clips (zalman). The Geminii is still on sale for 0 after rebate (minus shipping & tax):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103026

And this well-cooled case is on sale:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137&Tpk=cm690

 

[xenaki0001]

So think its worth waiting a month for a phenom? im in no big rush

any prices released/good estimates out there for them?

i dont plan on giving intel any of my money unless it is really worth it

 

[aadamszc]

1. If you play the "lets wait for the next big thing", you will be playing forever. However, it might be worth waiting. I'm thinking of waiting for black friday to see if there are any good sales.
2. This is total speculation: I have heard they will be around $400, yes...you heard right.

-Adam

 

[xenaki0001]

yeah i know the wait and see game for computers is never ending..

was in the same boat my last build.. It was either suck it up and go with a s754 or wait a month for the s939
that wait paid off..

there seems to be a large lack of information available for the phenom though seeing how close to release it is...

 

[akhilles]

We don't know if it's worth waiting for.

http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/Quad-Core_Phenom_Models_%26_Clocks_Revealed/5331.html

The Biostar 560 board isn't a bad board to boot. It overclocks pretty well, considering the price. MSI is rolling out their AM2+ board.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=9200

Also, Gigabyte has already been shipping their flagship RD790 board. Just not available at newegg. The AM2+ is far from being abandoned:

http://www.ocworkbench.com/2007/gigabyte/GA-MA790-DQ6/g1.htm

If you have a pc, you can wait a month & see. When I got my board, the Biostar 560 wasn't available. My 550 SE limits my multiplier to x13, when my cpu is rated at x4 - x25. The 560 can do more than x13 & has a better layout.

 

[xenaki0001]

just threw this together after a tiny bit of research:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/sectors/wishlist/wishlist.asp?WishId=CBDCB180-1A7B-4C85-B96B-8EB4F98AA8A3&Desc=AMDComp

Asus M2A-VM-HDMI AMD Socket AM2 ATX Motherboard / Audio / Video / DVI / HDMI / PCI Express / Gigabit LAN / USB 2.0 & Firewire / Serial ATA / RAID
Available
Price: $84.99


Cooler Master / Gemini II / Socket 775/939/754/AM2 / Copper Core/Heatpipe / CPU Cooling Fan
Available
Price: $9.99*


CoolerMaster CM690 ATX Mid-Tower Case
Available
Price: $59.99*


AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Black Edition Processor - 3.20GHz, 2MB Cache, 1000MHz (2000 MT/s) FSB, Windsor, Dual-Core, Retail, Socket AM2 (940), ADX6400CZWOF, Processor - No Fan
Available
Price: $229.99


Lite-On LH-20A1S SuperAllwrite SATA OEM DVD Burner - 20x DVD±R Burn, 16x DVD±R Read, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD±R DL, 12x DVD-RAM, 48x32x CD-R/RW, No Software
Available
Price: $32.99

OCZ / StealthXStream / 600-Watt / ATX / 120mm Fan / SATA-Ready / PCI-e Ready / Active PFC / Power Supply
Available
Price: $69.99*


Patriot Extreme 4096MB Dual Channel PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 2048MB)
Available
Price: $194.99*


XFX GeForce 8800 GTS Extreme Video Card - FREE Lost Planet: Extreme Condition PC Game, 640MB DDR3, PCI Express, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card
Available
Price: $329.99*


The asus motherboard will apparently be an AM2+ board with a bios update at a later date
(http://www.asus.com/news_show.aspx?id=8305)

Seeing as how this PC is basically free, i figure build it now then when the phenoms are out and tested maybe get one around end of 1Q08

Total with s/h on that build came to 1201.11
That includes using my existing sound card and hard drive.

 

[aadamszc]

Technically, the 8800GTS 640MB version is supposed to see an improvement Mid-November. Not to mention that the 8800GT might beat it. Again, all speculation and would require some waiting on your part.

 

[akhilles]

I looked at TD's 800mhz 2x2GB ram. None of them caught my eyes. They're probably average at overclocking. Since you're not o/cing, get the cheapest one. Only 64-bit OS will see all 4 gigs & more.

The mobo is not a good overclocker, but o/c is not in your plans. No big deal. 690G is a good chipset.

All other choices look good to me.

If the 8800GT is the better bang, you could use the onboard 690G video for now & upgrade to either 8800GT or 8800GTS next month, depending on the restrictions of the giftcard.