Lower Price, same performance?

[gmatos78]

I need suggestions on how I can lower the pricetag but still get similar performance to this setup without the need to overclock:

MoBo: XFX nVidia 780i
CPU: Core 2 Duo E8400
RAM: OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB DDR2 800
GPU: XFX 8800 GT Extreme Edition (two)
PSU: AeroCool HorsePower 1020W ATX12V V2.2
Hard Drive 1: Western Digital Raptor X 150GB and
Hard Drive 2: Western Digital My Book Essential 2.0 500GB External Hard Drive
Optical: Pioneer Blu-Ray DVD-ROM and 12X DVD±R DVD Burner Black

Any other suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[efx92]

Do you really need the Blu-Ray drive? if not you can really lower the price by getting a normal DVD drive/burner. Also, I think you could get like an 800w or a bit lower PSU to lower the price.

 

[gmatos78]

Yeah I want the Blu-Ray.

This will not be a gaming rig only.

And yeah I was thinking maybe lowering the PSU Wattage may lower the price. I initially chose that one cause it is the one Aerocool PSU that nVidia recommends for my SLI GPU setup.

 

[efx92]

You can get a Mobo like this which you can still SLI with and I believe it is better for overclocking than the 780i
Edit: oops, linked the wrong mobo let me find the one i was talking about
Edit2: here ya go, I'm pretty sure you can SLI with this mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127030

 

[rgsaunders]

efx92

No you can't SLI with that board, its an Intel P35 chipset, and does not do SLI, the only Intel based board that does SLI is the SkullTrail.

 

[efx92]

Ah ok, my bad

 

[quantumsheep]

Just get a lower wattage CPU, should save you a fair amount. Also drop the motherboard to something like a 750i unless you intend to do some seriously hardcore overclocking.

 

[quantumsheep]

Sorry, meant lower wattage PSU. Isn't letting me edit my posts

 

[shadowthor]

the PSU is overkill, probably get a lower watt psu.

 

[gmatos78]

Just get a lower wattage CPU, should save you a fair amount.

Would 750W be enough?

Also drop the motherboard to something like a 750i unless you intend to do some seriously hardcore overclocking.

I'd like to keep myself and my setup open to the possibility of overclocking. Also want my system to have considerable potential for upgrade.

 

[rawsteel]

I will seriously suggest you to wait 2 weeks until new Radeons are out. Speculations are that the 4850 will be 10% faster than 9800GTX and will be priced around $200 so crossfire these will give you faster performance.

Also if you go with ATI you have more options for motherboards and as you wont overclock I suggest you get a middle range mb for less money. Overal you can get by with less money and get considerably more speed

 

[4745454b]

Without prices and links, this is a rough idea only from me.

Check out other ram. Just because you are using SLI doesn't mean you need "sli" ram. From what I've seen, SLI ram doesn't make a lot of difference. Just get some good 2x2GBs ram.

I'm not 100% sure the SLI of 8800GT's is a good idea. You didn't list your monitors res, so I'm not sure what you'll be playing at. To save some money, get two 9600GT's, with 512MBs of ram if you can. Won't save a lot of money with this move, but it might help a bit. Depending on the price of your cards, and the price of the 9600GT with 512MB, this might make senses. (or not.) The 9600GT in SLI is about as powerful as the 9800GTX if my memory serves. Check toms for the article they did about it.

You don't need anywhere near this much power for the PSU. The 8800GT is a good chip, and doesn't use a lot of power. 30A on the 12V rail is enough for two of them. You can run SLI 8800GT's on most "name brand" 600W PSU, maybe even some of the 500W+ ones. Personally BTW, I wouldn't run an aerocool PSU. Get something with a better reputation.

Your a stranger, so unless you've been browsing the forums, you probably don't know my dislike for Raptors/AID-0 arrays. If you are looking to cheapen the price, ditch the raptor. Raptors make such a small difference to the overall performance of the machine. If you want the speed it provides, dump both the raptor and the external drive, and get the new 1TB drives that are out. They can be as fast as the raptor, while provide more space then the two drives you were looking at getting. It would probably be cheaper to, seeing as raptors and external drives are more expensive then internal drives.

So the moves I would make, with the limited info I have, is to move to a smaller PSU. PCP&C makes several good 600-750W PSUs, and might be cheaper then what you have. If that isn't enough, dump the SLI ram for something more common. Next to go would be the harddrive setup, get a single 1TB drive. Last, move the video cards down to the 9600GT.

 

[chuckm]

Get the E7200 instead of the E8400. You should also consider a decent cooler like this;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

 

[gmatos78]

Thanks for all the tips guys. I am definitely making some changes and doing a bit more research.

Keep those suggestions coming!

Remember, I am a total noob on this so absolutely any advice will be welcome!

 

[gmatos78]

I've been doing some more research and reading more forums and I have managed to drop the total price of my build by about ~$500!

Here's the new setup:

Case: Cooler Master 690
PSU: Corsair 750TX
MoBo: XFX nForce 780i
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7200
RAM: OCZ SLI_Ready Edition 4GB(2x2GB)
GPU: Two (2) XFX nVidia GeForce 9600 GT
Sound: Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatality
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB 32MB
Burner: Pioneer Black Blu-Ray Rom / DVD Burner
Monitor: Samsung 2253BW Black 22" 5ms,2ms(GTG)

I am still open to suggestions!