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$1000 Gaming Build

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oversized   05-24-2008 at 04:33:20 AM

Hello, I am wanting to build a system like my friends have and I feel I have come up with a good one but am asking for some opinions and advice on my choices. I would like to say that I would like to overclock sometime in the future as well so I hope my choices reflect that. This will be a gaming computer. Also I am trying to make it as much of a budget build as possible without a huge compromise in performance. If I must list a budget then around $1,000 is the budget. If you feel there is a good substitute for any part I have listed feel free to let me know. The parts I need are everything because I do not have anything I can scrap from another computer or even a friends computer. Last thing to mention is I already have a copy of Vista Ultimate 32-bit from my college bookstore. I may upgrade to 64-bit within a year if i find out I cannot upgrade the copy I bought from my college immediately. My build so far is this:
_______________________________________________________________________________________
CPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115052
or
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0287625

Comments: The E4600 is cheaper but I was curious as to the extent of the benefits of the 45nm tech and I think the Wolfdale is a little faster clock for clock over the Allendale so is it worth the extra money?

Motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128337

Comments: The GA-EP35-DS3L is the same as the plain "P35" right? And if I am not mistaken you can disable the energy saving features to allow for overclocking so I should be okay.

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820161063

Comments: I will be buying two of these sets. I think they should run well with the motherboard but if you feel I need to be warned about something let me know.

DVD Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151154

Comments: Looks good to me.

Graphics Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150252

Comments: Looks good to me but if there any better choices let me know as long as it is nVIDIA. (Not a fanboy of them. I just do not like past ATI products I have had and their drivers have caused issues with some of the games i play.)

Thermal Grease:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186020

Comments: Um... I think this is the best out right?

Speakers:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6836121123

Comments: I think this is mostly due to personal preference but if you have any good contenders let me know.

Keyboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6823126013

Comments: I do not want anything fancy and this may be one of the few things I can get from a friend.

Mouse:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6826104026

Comments: Again I do not want anything fancy and this may be something I can get from a friend.

Hard Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148262

Comments: This is a good size for my needs at the moment but if there are any suggestion let me hear them.

Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119106

Comments: I think this case should work well. I hope it has sufficient cooling and room. If anyone has one let me know your thoughts on it.

Heat Sink & Fan:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233003

Comments: Basically I wish to know if this will fit in my case or not. If not any suggestions?

Power Supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817703005
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817703015

Comments: I think they may be overkill but if I was to choose one of them which would be better? I personally think the 610W one is the better deal. Again if there are any contenders let me know.

Monitor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824254001

Comments: I think this is the best buy for the money for me as I like seeing good graphics but am okay with semi-low resolutions. (I play my games on 1280x800 so this should be a nice improvement anyway.
_______________________________________________________________________________________

I would like to thank you all for the time and effort spent to help me out.

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shadowduck   05-24-2008 at 06:14:53 AM
- 0 +

If you are into spending $20 for a little better performance change your hard drive to this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148309
For your $20 you double the cache from 16MB to 32MB.

Things to occur to me:
If you are buying speakers, you really don't need a monitor with them too do you?

Get the the 610W- its cheaper after rebate, and really good PSU.

Good choice on the video card. You can indeed turn off the energy saving features and overclock with that motherboard. 45nm allows you cooler operation.

Ok on the 2 CPUs you picked. One is 45nm with a 9.5x multiplier, the other is 65nm with a 9x. So the 45nm part will overclock better in theory. Here is why:

9 x 266= 2400 (rough)
9.5 x 266 = 2530 (rough) Both of these are stock values. So, if we up that to 333 we get:
9x 333= 3000 (rough)
9.5 x 333= 3163

or lets go to FSB1600: 9 x 400 = 3600, 9.5 x 400= 3800.
For the $32 difference get the 45nm part.

That's all.

------------------------------ Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming."-John Wooden
 Reply to shadowduck
akhilles   05-24-2008 at 02:32:58 PM
- 0 +

The E4600 has a multiplier of 12 & a FSB of 200Mhz (quad pumped for Core 2). 12 x 200 = 2.4ghz. The average max overclocker of 65nm is about 3.6ghz with top cooling. 3600 / 12 = 300Mhz x 2 (double rated for DDR2) = 600Mhz RAM is what you need to get to 3.6ghz with that cpu.

 

http://processorfinder.intel.com/d [...] Spec=SLA94

 

The 45nm Wolfdale is worth the money if overclocking is your aim. The E7200 is 9.5 x 266 = 2.53Ghz. However, Wolfdales & Yorkfields have lower mulitpliers so they overclock best with high-speed ram. 800Mhz (ram) / 2 = 400 x 9.5 = 3800 or 3.8Ghz. That's considered a low o/c. 450-500mhz is high. Beyond that is extreme. So if you plan to get 45nm, you might want faster ram like DDR2-1066MHZ which is actually 533mhz.

 

Don't forget 45nm has new features to speed up things like video en/de-coding & to run cooler than 65nm.

 

The Xigmatek is a capable cooler. It can get 65nm to 3.6ghz & 45nm to 4ghz.


Message edited by akhilles on 05-25-2008 at 03:08:00 PM
Reply to akhilles
shadowduck   05-24-2008 at 04:10:37 PM
- 0 +

Yes you are right Akhilles- i misread the FSB :)

------------------------------ Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming."-John Wooden
 Reply to shadowduck
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