Will this give me the best bang for my buck?

News

Tom's Hardware adds price/performance ratio to CPU Charts

Tom's Hardware will publish a major update to its popular CPU Charts utility on Wednesday. Two new processors will be joining the existing lineup of 83 CPUs and a new price/performance ratio feature will allow users to determine which processor offers the most bang for the buck. Read more

Nvidia expands holiday lineup with 6800 GS graphics processor

While we are still waiting for the general availability of most of ATI's recently announced X1000 graphics chip family, Nvidia is bolstering its holiday portfolio. Today, the company announced the 6800 GS, a new GPU that aims to compete with what is expected to be ATI's most bang for the buck - the X1600 XT. Read more

Tom's Hardware launches interactive Hard Disk Charts

Not sure which hard drive to buy? Curious how new hard drives compare to your drives? Here's the answer: Tom's Hardware today expanded its interactive performance comparison tools with Hard Disk Charts: Compare current hard drives in 16 disciplines to find out which one works best for you. A new price/performance index now reveals the most bang for the buck in real time. Read more

MSI U110 Eco: Netbook with ATI Graphics

MSI's latest foray into netbooks, the U110 Eco, touts nine hours of battery life and graphics from ATI. Read more

Latest Reviews & Articles

Reader's Voice: An Introduction To Home Automation

Perhaps you've heard about Bill Gates' remote-controlled home and thought to yourself that the technology to automate your own home was decidedly out of reach. Today, Tom's Hardware reader John Knutson walks us through what it took to get his home wired. Read more

Perfect Notebook Storage: Seven 2.5” 500 GB Drives

We compare the latest 500 GB notebook drives from Fujitsu, Hitachi, Samsung, Seagate, Toshiba and WD. Seagate is first manufacturer to reach 500 GB at 7,200 RPM, but which is really the best drive? We loaded up our updated test system to find out. Read more

Mainstream Graphics Card Roundup

You don’t always need the fastest graphics card around. For somewhere between $135 and $235, you can game like crazy in DirectX 10 without a problem at 1920x1200. We test and compare five graphics cards from this mid-range price segment. Read more

USB 3.0 Ups Peripheral Bandwidth

The new USB 3.0 interface is just about ready. It'll accelerate throughput from the 480 Mbit/s of today's USB 2.0 to 5 Gbit/s, which is important for storage and peripheral devices. But USB 3.0 also introduces power saving options. Read on for more. Read more

All the Reviews & Articles

Tom's Hardware > Forum > Homebuilt Systems > New System Build > Will this give me the best bang for my buck?

Will this give me the best bang for my buck?

Tom's Hardware: Over 1.4 million members in 6 different countries available to answer all your high-tech questions. Sign up now! Its free!

Add a reply

Bottom Search this thread

I'm looking at upgrading my system, it will be used for some gaming (I want to get COD4) and for web design work (Dreamweaver, fireworks, flash, photoshop etc), some video editing (mostly home movies). Here are my parts (prices in CAD):

1) Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Dual Core Processor LGA775 3.0GHZ Wolfdale 1333FSB 6MB Retail *Limited Qty* $213.99

2) Bfg Geforce 8800GT Oc 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I Hdcp Hdtv Out DIRECTX10 Video Card $179.99

3) ASUS MOTHERBOARD C2D P5K LGA775 INTEL P35 ICH9 DDR2 FSB1333 2XPCI-EX16 10 $122.99

4) OCZ Platinum XTC PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 CL5-4-4-15 DDR2 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit $106.99

I'm not to sure if the MB and VC are the best I can get for my budget of $600-650. Also I have an Enermax 420w power supply will I need a new one?

Thanks in advance.

Add a reply

cheaper memory will give virtualy the same performance.

a cheap quad may be better for you in the long run, and less expensive up front. but then you'll be buying more electricity to run it

Message edited by Groo on 04-12-2008 at 05:04:04 PM

Reply to Groo

Great choices for the CPU and GPU, ..... but instead of the:

Motherboard ... get the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L ...$79 (newegg.com)

RAM ... get 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 Crucial Ballastix : 2 x $29 (buy.com)

That PSU is fine..but if you want to get a new one, the Corsair 550VX ($55 at buy.com) would be a good one

------------------------------ Intel E6750 * Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L * Galaxy 8800GT 512mb 620MHz* Corsair VX450 * 2GB Transcend 667* 2x120GB Seagate SATA * Altec Lansing ATP3*
Reply to mihirkula

I forgot to mention they is a $25 MIR for the ram so it's actually $80 and the VC has a $20 rebate as well.

That MB is $104 in Canada so would lower costs a bit.

Ibeen thinking about the q6600 CPU would it be worth it now? It's $18 more.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by crazyfish2 on 04-12-2008 at 05:31:49 PM

Reply to crazyfish2

crazyfish2 wrote :

I forgot to mention they is a $25 MIR for the ram so it's actually $80 and the VC has a $20 rebate as well.

That MB is $104 in Canada so would lower costs a bit.

Ibeen thinking about the q6600 CPU would it be worth it now? It's $18 more.

All specs looks good. Q6600 is a better choice if you decide to keep the cpu for long term. For quad optimized programs, the performance difference between quad and dual is massive. But there aren't a lot of them out yet. E8400 will be faster for programs that don't use all 4 cores, because it can overclock better. But keep in mind, with your p35 motherboard's fsb limitations, the e8400 won't be able to oc as far as it should to shine over Q6600.

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger

Is there a better MB for around the same price? Maybe one that I can get the most out of the CPU?

Reply to crazyfish2

Since the 8800GT is SLI capable, what about this MB ASUS P5N-D 750I SLI LGA775 ATX DDR2 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI 1394A GBLAN Motherboard

Would this be a good option with the q6600 so maybe I can add a 2nd VC in 4-6 months and get about 3 years out of my system?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to crazyfish2

it makes sense to spend another $50 on a mobo if it gets you the equivialent of another $100 out of you CPU, but its a gamble. some CPUs are pooches, just as some bards are. you don't know for sure what you got untill you try it out for yourself.

in 6 months there will be a vid card that is of equivalent price of another 8800gt that you beat 2 8800GTs SLIed. maybe you can find one used for cheap, but don't count on it. lots of people have the same idea.

better to stick with one and get a new one in 9 months.

no computer can go a year w/o becoming outdated. upgrade can strech it out. after 3 years it will be obsolete.

try to think about the update path when you build. both AM2+ and 775 are scheduled to be obsolete. PCIe 2.0 will say in the race longer than regular PCIe. DDR2 is about to be oldschool, but it will be availiable for a long time. Mechanical HDDs may be nearing thier pinical, they haven't improved all that much in the last 5+ years, only got bigger and cheaper. don't know if DX10.1 will stay in the game longer than an equivalend DX10 card.

I'd say get a dual core, then upgrade to a quad at sometime. get your vid card, then upgrade it at some time. Get another 4+ gigs of ram at some time.

maybe keep an upgrade and repair fund going.

none of it will even outlast a cell phone contract, so remember that when your trying to decide if the $500 vid card is worth it.

Reply to Groo

Maybe I should get the gigabyte Mb which is about $20 less then the Asus MB and buying the quad core CPU would be more worth the ~$18 difference.

My current system has lasted almost 4 years, but it's pretty friggin slow when running dreamweaver, fireworks, firefox, thunderbird and itunes.

Reply to crazyfish2

crazyfish2 wrote :

Since the 8800GT is SLI capable, what about this MB ASUS P5N-D 750I SLI LGA775 ATX DDR2 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI 1394A GBLAN Motherboard

Would this be a good option with the q6600 so maybe I can add a 2nd VC in 4-6 months and get about 3 years out of my system?

750i overclocks worse than the cheaper p35. The only advantage is it supports sli. x38 is a step up, but it cost $100 more than p35.

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger

dagger wrote :

750i overclocks worse than the cheaper p35. The only advantage is it supports sli. x38 is a step up, but it cost $100 more than p35.

You are talking about this Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L? Any comments on my above message?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to crazyfish2

crazyfish2 wrote :

You are talking about this Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L? Any comments on my above message?

Not sure about the board, I haven't used it. But the p35 chipset in general oc better than 750i, while costing less. Ideally, x38/48 is best for oc, but it cost much more.

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger

Ok I think I have my list sorted out now. After reading some more about the quad core I think I will go with that since I don't upgrade every year, and the difference is only $30 over the e8400.

1) Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor LGA775 Kentsfield 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 8MB Retail Box $245.99

2) Bfg Geforce 8800GT Oc 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I Hdcp Hdtv Out DIRECTX10 Video Card $179.99

3) Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L ATX LGA775 P35 1333FSB 1PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN Motherboard $90.08

4) OCZ Platinum XTC PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 CL5-4-4-15 DDR2 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit $106.99

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to crazyfish2

crazyfish2 wrote :

Ok I think I have my list sorted out now. After reading some more about the quad core I think I will go with that since I don't upgrade every year, and the difference is only $30 over the e8400.

Knw that the E8400 is much better as of now. And it's going to take quite a long time till games/applications take advantage of the quads.

------------------------------ Intel E6750 * Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L * Galaxy 8800GT 512mb 620MHz* Corsair VX450 * 2GB Transcend 667* 2x120GB Seagate SATA * Altec Lansing ATP3*
Reply to mihirkula

I'm trying to think a year or 2 ahead.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to crazyfish2

crazyfish2 wrote :

I'm trying to think a year or 2 ahead.

Then the smart bet is on quad.

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger

Ask the community Add a reply

Tom's Hardware > Forum > Homebuilt Systems > New System Build > Will this give me the best bang for my buck?

Go to:

Help |
Forum rules

There are 797 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Page generated in 0.227 seconds

You are about to answer a thread that has been inactive for more than 6 months. If you still wish to proceed, please ensure that your posting is original and does not duplicate or overlap any prior responses to this thread. Add a reply Cancel

Focus On

Related Topics

News

Latest Reviews & Articles

Will this give me the best bang for my buck?