Building a gaming pc on a budget...need help!

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pondo89

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Nov 27, 2007
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I'm currently in the process of building a new gaming pc on a budget

I'm wanting to spend no more than $1,000(us)

I'm wanting this build to be sli ready for future upgrades , im also going to be overclocking

im planning on getting one Geforce 8800 GT...and another one in the future

what would be a good case and psu since i will be OC ?

im also stuck on which processor to get...the Q6600 or the E6750, i will be OCing them so which will give me the best value for my money ?
What would also be a good mobo to get that is Sli ready but also at a decent price...im also wanting the mobo to be able to upgrade to the new Penryn series processors when they are available, also wanting it to be equipped with 2GB of memory

the games i plan on playing with this system are cod4, Team fort 2, UT3, and Crysis

would appreciate any help with this

thank you



 
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aadamszc

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Firstly, welcome to the forums.

I must say -- it seems you expectations are a little high for your budget. Which components do you need?

On that note, I don't think, working with a 1k budget, the Q6600 would be a wise choice.

You might try the 680i for a SLI mobo, but I'm definitely not the resident expert on that subject at these forums.
 
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Mintcondition

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Hello pondo,

I'm in about the same boat you are. Check out this article here on TH that compares overclocking those two processors:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/11/08/dual_vs_quad/

I beleive I am going to go with the E6750, simply because there will not be many games that can utilize all four cores on a quad for some time and there is quite a savings too.

I've heard a few people say that the Nvidia SLI 6xx chipsets aren't very stable, but i'm not sure how true that is. I was originally going for the same setup, but I've decided to go with a P35 chipset, because of the overclockability (did I just make up a word?). The P35 boards will support the Penryn, and are crossfire ready, but do not support SLI. Based on support from other members here on the boards, I beleive I'm going with an Antec 900 case and a PC Power and Cooling 610W. As far as memory, I'm going with a Crucial Ballistix 2GB kit (maybe the Tracer edition if I get any input on how much better they are). I hope this helps. I'm just getting back into the game right now, and I've been doing alot of research.
 
Conumdrum

Conumdrum

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I have the Antec 900. For an air system it's hard to beat for a mid size case. Add a fan on the cover which blows nicely towards the memory area. Having the 3 120's on low and the 200 on med is very quiet.

Expect to buy coolers for your CPU/MB/VID soon if you overclock. Or budget for some Thermalright coolers NOW. To OC, only TR really has the game set match point ALL the time for air cooling. Their HR03 GT vid cooler will be released in a week we hope. You WILL need one of these, no doubt.

Processor? Hmm, I'd wait 60 days to see what happens to prices IF you can wait. A dual is plenty for gaming, unless you want the best for Crysis and can afford 2 vid cards for ohh $800 or so for just the GPU cards. The dual and the 8800GT will do for now.

Motherboards? Up to you. Google a lot for MB reviews, and look into OC Forums and Xtreme Forums. If your not an uber OCer (if you ask here your not) then a stable ASUS/MSI/ABIT etc etc will do fine. Make sure you get a stable SLI board, not Xfire. Boards do NOT do both.

Newer boards for the Penny will be coming out. DDR3 (you don't need it yet) is still overpriced for performance unless your a OC nut and have $1200 in your watercooling system.

Get a solid E6750 system for now. And get a second 8800GT when you can. It will keep your head above the gaming water for about 1.5 years. Then you can start again.....

 
lunyone

lunyone

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Feb 22, 2006
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CPU - $190 e6750
GPU - $270ish 8800gt
Mobo - $177 - $30 MIR = $147
EVGA 122-CK-NF67-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i LT SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188015

Memory - $60
Crucial Ballistix 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=N82E16820146565

PSU - $140 - $20 MIR = $120
Corsair HX Series CMPSU-620HX 620W Power Supply Retail
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=373110

Case $120 - $50 MIR = $70!!
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

DVD burner - $35

Total about $992 - $100 in MIR's gets you to about $892!! Now you can get other parts, but this would get you a good start on your system and you wouldn't go over your initial budget of $1000, while you wait for the 8-12weeks to get your MIR's back.
 
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pondo89

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Nov 27, 2007
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Thanks for all the feedback on the original post..so ive came up with a proposed build and am wanting some feedback on how it looks...i went over my budget of $1,000, but including all the Mir's its pretty close to it...

CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115017

GPU
EVGA 640-P2-N828-A3 GeForce 8800GTS KO 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130304

Mobo
EVGA 122-CK-NF67-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i LT SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813188015

Memory
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820146565

PSU
OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 - 240 V
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817341002

Case
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811129021

Dvd Drive
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827151153

Storage
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148262

CPU Cooler
ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Heatsink
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835118223

i decided to go quad since more of the new release (including Crysis) are starting to utilize more cores for game play

was also wondering if i would need a GPU cooler since i will be overclocking the 8800GTS...

would appreciate any feedback i could get

 
D

doghills

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Get a better CPU cooler. Zalmans are good at attracting attention, but not the best when it comes to performance. The Thermal right ultra 120 is the reigning king. (Actually the Tuniq Tower 120 is also up there)

Also just so you know, the 680i Chipset isn't Pernyn compatible. (I think)
 
imrul

imrul

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right now only the x38 chipset can use penryn, q6600 is better cuz it can be oc'd to e6850 speeds with 4 cores but an extra 2 cores cant be added to e6850. if you get an x38 motherboard, you cant use 2 graphics cards in sli...
 
chookman

chookman

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This is correct for now... there could be BIOS update to fix this god knows when though... the other possibility is they will leave it as not supporting and the new 780i will be compatible.
 
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pondo89

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with the motherboard ive chosen will that allow me to take full advantage of overclocking the q6600 ? or is there something better for the same price ?
 
chookman

chookman

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if you want SLI its a good way to go...

you may get slighty better overclocks out of a P35 or x38 chipset but youll loose your SLI feature (if indeed you want it)
 
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pondo89

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Well im considering to go Ati now...Crossfire with Dual HD 3870..would that be a good idea with what im going to be useing my PC for...or would it be better to go with Dual 8800GT's ? also whats everyones thoughts on the new Amd Phenom GPU ?
 
lunyone

lunyone

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Most people on this site are on the side of Intel, because of the better performance. The AMD's are good, just not Intel beaters right now. The overall package has been cheaper on the AMD side, but not sure right now with the newer mobo's for the Phenom. It all comes up to your preferences. I have always bought AMD in the past because of the price/performance ratio. Right now Intel has AMD by the balls and that is why AMD has dropped their prices to compete. You can decide which way to go. Either one will work, but I'm liking the "spider" platform that AMD is tooting. Not sure if this is just a marketing deal, but with all of the chipset changes that Intel has been doing lately, it sounds good. We'll see if it pans out or not, but it is definately a long overdue concept.
 
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pondo89

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anyone know if having 2 Ati HD 3870's would best suit me...i have a Benq 8ms Wide screen LCD monitor running on a 1680x1050 resolution...would those 2 vid cards help maxamize my gaming experience or would one 8800 Gt be better ?
 
chookman

chookman

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Crysis on Very High and AA might get dicey

I think currently the dual AMD GPU's are a nice way to go for cheaper dual gpu solution. in most cases 2xHD3850 will better a GTX for less $$$ and you dont have to work of Nvidia chipset to do it either.
 
lunyone

lunyone

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Do you have a link to show this? I was just wondering if you do, so I can check it out too. I'd love to spend $300 on xFire setup and equal a 8800gtx :)
 
D

dwthor02

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i have both intel and amd systems. im happy with amd's performance and you can build a hell of a rig using amd. as of right now nvidia is still stomping ati although i would like to see a comparison with 2 8800 ultras vs 4 ati 3850 in crossfire. from my stand point im not impressed with ati card, dont get me wrong if their cards performed better id go with ati but i believe that nvida will be ahead for quite some time unless ati pulls off a miracle. even on my amd machine i can run crysis 1680x1050 with 4x aa and the game runs quite well. i actually had an antec 900 and its a nice case but i didnt like the fact that there was less than half an inch between my 8800s and my hds. if you plan on getting that case maybe look into h20 cooling since it has the rubber rings going out the back for running tubes. if you would like to just run on air this case by coolmaster is a very solid performer and keeps my hardware nice and cool:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119136
and i believe with this comes a 1000watt psu which isnt a bad deal. on the other hand i love my new intel machine and it does obviously out perform my amd but it was alot of extra $$$$. from the bench marks i have seen overall, im just not impressed with ati at the moment but i intend on keeping a close eye although i dont think the hd3850 will hold a candle to the nvidia 9000 series.
 
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