Cheap Gaming PC but with great future potential

[peterpetter]

I am building my first PC from scratch, however I have done upgrades and full revamps of computers before. With this build I am try to keep costs down and use the older e2160 until penryn comes out. Now I would like to over clock the processor and ram. I have more money to spare so any thoughts on power supply, ram and possibly a better case maybe an antec 900. Also should I go with an x38 motherboard instead for pci-e 2.0 and fast FSB? Basically right now I want a cheap build that I can overclock now for my gaming needs and upgrade later when geforce 9 and the new penryn processors come out. I will be adding air cooling so any suggestions would be great with that. I am trying to keep the build around $1,000 and make it last.



SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black PATA Model SH-S202G - OEM $25

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $40

XFX PVT88PYDF4 GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP $270

COOLER MASTER eXtreme RP-500-PCAR ATX from factor 12V V2.01 500W Power Supply $50

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop $37

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - $99

Intel Pentium E2140 Allendale 1.6GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E2140 $71

 

[hypermagic]

P35 Mobos will work with penryns, and the only real difference between P35 and X38 is DDR3 1333 and PCI-E 2.0 Support. Stick with an ASUS P5K series or the Gigabyte P35s, they are the most popular P35s out right now. The DS3L is a solid, lean OCer's board, it's what I'm planning on getting.

Corsair, OCZ or Crucial will do you good, I'm gunning for Crucial Ballistix myself.

Coolermaster might make good budget cases, but their PSUs are tier 4, which is bad.
Get a Seasonic, PC Power and Cooling or Corsair (Made by Seasonic)

I'm basically doing the same thing you are when it comes to building a budget OC box with high upgradeabilty, so I'm getting a e2160 or e2140, I've read that the 2160 OCs better due to it's higher mulitplier.

I'm wanting a 8800GT too, but I want the Gigabyte one with the Zalman cooler.

When it comes to CPU cooler, Tuniq Tower, Thermalright ultra 120, and Zalman CNPS9700 are good. Just get some Arctic Silver 5 too.

 

[Silverion77]

Good Power Supply
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-vx-550w-power-supply/q/loc/101/205852646.html

If overclocking, the E2160 and E2180 have higher multipliers (9 and 10), which makes it easier to overclock

 

[peterpetter]

after I posted I actually decided on that same power supply but it is out of stock. lol. Anyways when are the new processors coming out like feb when the new geforce 9's come out? Thinking about waiting a month then cause prices will drop alot, or at least I am hoping they will. Any thoughts?

 

[peterpetter]

oh and what about a case? I wouldn't mind investing in a good case sense it will last for many builds.

 

[peterpetter]

And........ one more thing after market fan or heatsink suggested model or brand? thanks again for all your help.

 

[hypermagic]

Well, Intel has pushed back their 45nm releases due to AMD being an epic fail, so maybe Late winter (FEB) early spring (MAR)

Everyone and their grandma buy Antec 900s, but they are solid cases with good cooling.

Tom's uses the Zalman on it's reference system, get the Zalman CNPS9700.

 

[Silverion77]

Other good coolers are the Thermalright 120 extreme, Tuniq Tower, and supposedly the ZEROtherm Nirvana

 

[peterpetter]

Is 4-4-4-12 timing better than 5-5-5-12? Also should I go for 4 gigs of ram or is that over kill?

 

[hypermagic]

yes CL4 is better than CL5. Don't get 4GB ram unless you are running version of Vista 64bit. 2GB is the sweet spot for 32-bit OSes.

 

[Newf]

Is 4-4-4-12 timing better than 5-5-5-12? Also should I go for 4 gigs of ram or is that over kill?

Yes, 4 is better (faster) than 5, but watch your voltages. Stock is 1.8v.
For 32 bit Windows (XP or Vista) 2 GB of ram is fine.
For 64 bit, more is better.