Need help, $2,000 budget

[bms85]

Time for a system upgrade. I'm looking for something somewhat high end while still Cost efficient. I'm also looking for something that will be Upgradeable. I originally wanted to go with a ddr3 mobo, but couldn't find any I liked that supported SLI. I haven't been keeping up with high end hardware so I could really use your help In making some choices. I've never actually went amd, but have heard their quad cores that are coming out next week should be the best on the market, while being cheaper than the core to extremes.

How does this build look, And what would you change? I have a $2,000 budget, but could wait a month or two and save up a little extra cash if Its going to make a huge difference. Nothing Is set in stone. If you have a better build that fits under 2k please post it. And don't forget to subtract 200 for a good version of vista. thanks in advance for any help.

What I've come up with so far, comes out to $1,750 with shiping & vista:

EVGA GeForce 8800 Ultra Video Card - 768MB

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Black Edition- 3.20GHz, 2MB Cache, 1000MHz

Western Digital Caviar 500GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, SATA-300

Corsair DHX XMS2 Dominator Dual Channel 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800Mhz Memory

Apevia X-Pleasure Black AXT Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Fron USB and FireWire Ports and 500-Watt Power Supply

Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition NVIDIA Socket AM2 ATX Motherboard / Audio / PCI Express / SLI Ready / Gigabit LAN / Wirelss 802.11b/g / S/PDIF / USB 2.0 & Firewire / Serial ATA / RAID

 

[nukchebi0]

Well, wait for the AMD quad cores.

Wait to December 3 for the new 8800GTS, which should be near (or better) than an Ultra for less money.

The PSU with the case won't be sufficient. Get an over 600 watt Seasonic, Corsair, or Power PC.

 

[Maziar]

Get Core2Quad instead of that setup :

Q6600

ASUS P5K-E WIFI AP or ASUS P5N32-E SLI PLUS (if u want SLI support)

8800GTX (dont waste your money with ULTRA because the difference isnt noticeable also almost all 8800GTX can be OC'd to reach ULTRA speeds and higher)

4GB DDR2 800 RAM with 4-4-4-x or lower timings

OCZ GAMEXSTREAM 700W PSU or CORSAIR 620

SEAGATE 50GB H.D.D

THERMALTAKE ARMOR CASE

and forget about DDR3 because the difference between DDR2 and DDR3 isnt much

 

[johnyeah]

In response to your video card choice, I would get a 8800GT or a HD3870 instead of either GTX or ULTRA (best bang for the buck). Neither 8800GTX or Ultra are worth their price ever since the GT came out.

 

[Maziar]

wrong , if he has the money , 8800GTX is a better buy than 8800GT
i am not saying 8800GT performs bad, i am saying if he has then money 8800gtx is worth it

 

[nukchebi0]

Waiting for the new GTS is worth it.

 

[Maziar]

but it wont beat a 8800GTX

again i am not defending the 8800GTX, but because he has the money and also the next GTS wont beat the GTX, so i am suggesting him to get the GTX

 

[chuckshissle]

You should go for the quad core. The Q6600 is a good one. The HD3870 512Mb is out! It's a good card too.

 

[bms85]

Ok so a few of you said I should go for the quad core. My question is; is the q6600 which is 2.4ghz going to out perform the 64 X2 6400 Black Edition which is 3.20GHz in gaming? And what about in 3drendering? I guess I get confused when it comes to core voltages. And Will it be as easy as it seems to switch to a core 2 extreme If i want one later?

thanks for all the help so far

 

[Maziar]

X2 6400 will perform near (better than it in some games and worse than it in some games) Q6600 in gaming
but when it comes to 3drendering , Q6600 beats a X2 6400

 

[sharp910sh]

Intel is faster for clock to clock speed compared to Amd A QUAD 2.4GHZ will kick the ass of a 3.2ghz rubbish a cheap e6750 is faster than the 3.2ghz rubbish. and can OC to $ghz if you desire. so get the quad or the e6750. and wait for the new cards come out.

 

[bms85]

new question and please don't laugh me out of here, but what is so much better about the core 2 extremes in comparison to the core 2 quads? Could a core 2 quad be OCd to 3.0?

 

[DrMaV]

core 2 extremes only have a multiplier unlocked, that's the biggest difference.
Core 2 Quad overclock easily to 3.0, with a good mobo.

My Q6600 B3 got to 3.0 using only 1.22v on intel stock heatsink. It's very fast.

Rendering, video and multitasking is so smooth.
In games, clock speed is better, so overclock your quad to at least 3.0.

for $1750 bucks, I would get exactly what I got. LOL

look at my sig.

 

[bms85]

Thanks guys, this has helped a TON I think I will go with the quad. Any more ideas for a good motherboard. If possible I really like the new ones that are sli ready, and have external sata ports. Built in wifi is always a plus but not necessary because I can always run wires. 6 internal sata is a big deal because I like to store movies.

Also what are these raptors I keep seeing? Are they a extremely fast hard drive to put windows on?

 

[neoxblu1]

Dual 8800 Ultras in SLI mode is perfect

 

[bms85]

anyone know if this open box deal is a bad idea... it looks like a sweet deal but it doesnlt have any wires. thoughts please?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131074R

 

[aevm]

Yes, it's a bad idea. Somebody tried to use that mobo, wasn't happy, and returned it.

Also, for less money you can get a brand new motherboard with the same features, minus some useless frills:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131073 ASUS P5N32-E SLI 680i
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131153 ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus 650i
Either of these can do SLI at x16 + x16.

 

[aevm]

Thanks guys, this has helped a TON I think I will go with the quad. Any more ideas for a good motherboard. If possible I really like the new ones that are sli ready, and have external sata ports. Built in wifi is always a plus but not necessary because I can always run wires. 6 internal sata is a big deal because I like to store movies.

Also what are these raptors I keep seeing? Are they a extremely fast hard drive to put windows on?

Forget the Raptors, get this type instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136131&Tpk=WD7500AAKS
It's cheaper, faster, quieter, and 5 times bigger than the 150GB Raptor. It stores 100 movies

 

[neoxblu1]

AEVM How can Western Digital Caviar be faster than WD Raptor?

Raptor is 10k RPM

Caviar is only 7,200 RPM

The only thing it is: cheap, and bigger.

On my system im putting 2 Raptors

 

[bms85]

I have a new build from what you all have recommended, but I cant figure out how to find my public wish list to post a link. if I can't figure it out tomorrow I'll cut & paste.

 

[rickpcnerd]

I will buy 2 8800 gt in SLI, instead of one single gtx ultra. Two 8800 gt performs much faster than one single gtx. If u want to play at 1920x1080 or higher, I will suggest 8800 gt SLI specially for crysis. Heres what i have configure. a much faster system than amd.

GFX MB-N680-ILT9 680i Motherboard $160.71
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor$278.00
2x=4gb OCZTechnology 2GB PC2-6400 DDR2 DIMM Dual Channel latency:4 $45.49
WD Caviar SE16 500GB Hard Drive$106.82
Antec TP3650 650W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails $102.83
Samsung SH-S203B/BEBN Black Dual Layer DVD±RW Writer$38
Raidmax Smilodon Case - Black $93
2x=sli PNY XLR8 GeForce 8800 GT Video Card$297.40

1464.34 including tax and shipping
if interested search all hardware at www.bottomdollar.com

 

[Maziar]

no 2 8800GTs dont always perform better than Single 8800GTX
in most games they beat it but in some games which wont do go with SLI or they need more than 512mb memory (SLI doesnt double the performance) the 8800GTX has the lead

plz read the SLI/CROSSFIRE FAQ:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/245454-15-crossfire-faqs

 

[bms85]

My new build.
I'll buy another 8800gtx in a month or so if i need it.

Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel $149.99
ASUS P5N32-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI $204.99
EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX Superclocked 768MB $549.99
Rosewill RX950-S-B ATX 12V v2.2 & EPS 12V v2.91 950W 249.99 -100 for combo
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 $279.99
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $54.99
Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB $184.99
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS 750GB $174.99
ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Heatsink $48.99

minus $100 for combe deal, Processor/power supply
total=1,798.91

 

[nukchebi0]

The new GTS will beat the old GTX. The same number of SP's with the ability for higher clock will make it better.

The proof is in the 8800GT vs. GTS 112 editions, where the GT beat the GTS 112. This shows that the G92 core is better per SP than G80. Hence, a G92 with 128 SP will beat a G80 with 128 SP.

 

[aevm]

AEVM How can Western Digital Caviar be faster than WD Raptor?

Raptor is 10k RPM

Caviar is only 7,200 RPM

The only thing it is: cheap, and bigger.

On my system im putting 2 Raptors

The higher RPM allows the Raptor to find the right sector faster, once the head is on the right track. However, the total access time also includes time to find the right track and time to read/write the sector(s). On large files (i..e read/write lots of adjacent sectors) the WD7500AAKS wins because it has more densely packed data, thanks to perpendicular recording. Anyway, this review can explain it much better than me:
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=446