Hey I'm building a new system and this is the parts I have come up with so far.


HD:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136161

CPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115017

CPU Cooler:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835154001

Case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811133021

Power Supply:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139002

RAM:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231098

MOBO:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131142

GPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127329


This is the price range I am trying to achieve. I am wondering if these choices are the best for their price ranges. Also If someone could give me the differences between PCI Express 2.0 x16 and PCI Express x16 and if my MOBO and GPU are compatible.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Comicopossum

I think Tom had an article on real-world benefits of the PCI-E 2.0.

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 15-10.html

Lets kick it up a notch and not bust your budget:
ASUS P5N-D nForce 750i +$25
EVGA 8800GTS (G92) KO +$35 (Min PSU for 2 in SLI 450watts 30Amps +12v)

COOLER MASTER RC-690 Case -$50
CORSAIR 520HX PSU -$35 (40A +12v 2xPCI-e connectors)

Evga has that 90Day StepUp program. That might come in handy between now and the end of July!

From the looks of it I find mult. points of failure. HD is too small and wont be quick, need to spend $100 on 7200.11 500 GB w/32 cache.

XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 - is cheaper and top of the line. Only issue might be that wouldn't fix in your case but I don't think that is the case.

EVGA 8800 GT OC version - for a cheap video card

MB - I go P35 chip set unless you were going to do SLI, which I am guessing you aren't (P5K-E is favorite)

PSU - OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W save you a few bucks as well. You could even go down to a 500 W if it was a solid brand. I like the OCZ because you always want to over do the power and not under.

Case - Antec Nine Hundred has the most review for a good reason on newegg. Could go with others but again A900 is cheaper.

Personally I go with 4 gigs on memory then 2 gigs.. Even running in XP or Vista 32 where they can't see all 4 gigs. They see enough to make a difference. Go with 2 gig card when getting the memory rather then 1 gig card which you have listed. 4 x 1 gig cards makes more heat and uses more energy.

Good luck Chris

If I were to use

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130318

with

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128059

Since the Graphics card is a PCI 2.0 xpress x16 and the mobo does not have a 2.0 slot. Would I be losing power or not running at its full potential. The link about 2.0 didn't really answer my question. Also, if anyone can recommend a mobo around 90 bucks with 2.0 and is reliable that would be greatly appreciated.

From what i've heard, PCI 1.1 is barely used to full potential (if that even) so I would guess no matter what, any PCI 2.0 card is not going to be used to full potential. Can someone confirm/deny this? also, if you are sticking with the 8800gt over the gts, I would be inclined to recommend your first choice (MSI) because it has a nice aftermarket cooler, which is nice since the single slot GT's are notorious for running hot.

Please take my advice with a large grain of salt until someone confirms this fully...