I'm planning on building a new machine for gaming. I'd like it to be able to run crysis well and Oblivion flawlessly. Ive got $1450 to spend, it's not possible to go higher, and that must cover shipping and taxes.

What ive come up with so far...

Amd 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane (2.6GHz)- $87
Jetway 780G ATX AMD Mobo $100
Corsair (2 X 2Gb) 240 pin 800 DDR2 $87
Seagate Barracuda 250Gb 7200 rpm 3Gb/s SATA $55
Pioneer 20X DVD+-R DVD Burner $33
2 X Ati Radeon 4850 Pci ex 2.0X16 2X $170
Aerocool Masstige Silver SECC .8mm Atx Case $100
Rosewill 750W PCU $105
Total: $905

This leaves me with (just guessing) around 100-200 dollars to play with.(I'm factoring in taxes and possible shipping costs)

Notes:

• I dont have much need for hardrive space, just speed.

• Im free to change the power supply, mobo, dvd burner, and/or the case since i dont know much about them, but i would prefer not to spend too much more.

• I have considered a beefier Processor, but Ive heard you dont need too much for even a game like Crysis.(considering my 2.2Ghz single core doesn't even bottleneck my system in that game)

• To all Ati/Nvidia fanboys out there, i picked the 4850 based on how well people said it performed and it's low price compared to other good cards. But im still open to suggestions there.

• But mostly, I'm looking for suggestions as to whether these parts are compatible, ex. whether the vid cards fit on the mobo well which fits in the case well. And also how well this might handle a game like Crysis?

il be the first to say, rosewill sucks.

Certainly not the way i'd do it. All looks compatible. Best of luck.

I would change the psu.

what's a better PCU brand that i should use?

corsair

here
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139006

sure its 20$ more upfront than your current one, but when you factor in rebates, its only 4$ more.

Thanks for the link, it sounds like a better buy too just based on the reviews.

Anyone got any opinions on the mobo? I have a basic idea of what i need, 4 240 pin ram slots, 64 X2 compatability, a standard pci slot for my network card, 2 pci ex 2.0X16 slots, and some 3Gb/s SATA plug things. But im having some difficulties finding a board thats seen as really reliable/easy to set up. All the boards ive seen always have a sizeable group who get stuck with bad service and bad boards. plus, what's the real performance difference from a board that can crossfire at X16 than one at X8?

you cant crossfire with 780g change your motherboard if you want crossfire

instead go with corsair power supply almost same price

newegg said the 780g could crossfire, just not as good as some boards might. would the 790fx series be a better option despite the higher price? What other options are there?

i found this mobo on newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131291


its a 790fx and seems pretty solid, has all the stuff i was looking for and seems to handle 2 vid cards just fine.(considering it has 4 slots for them).

But i still dont know if this is the way to go, is there another option in the same price range?

I also found the processor prices have changed, i can get a 5400+ at the same price as the 5000+ was yesterday.

here, this is another setup which is ALOT better.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale
$189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115037


ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45
$149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131299

ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850
$164
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814121253

Corsair (2 X 2Gb) 240 pin 800 DDR2 $87
Seagate Barracuda 250Gb 7200 rpm 3Gb/s SATA $55
Pioneer 20X DVD+-R DVD Burner $33
Aerocool Masstige Silver SECC .8mm Atx Case $100
Corsair 750 watt $109

this is 888$ and rapes your current amd build.
you can adjust it howecver you like, but im just showing you the light

that build would cost 1052 when you factor in the other vid card, and i forgot b4 that i need a cheap copy of vista, home basic, for $90. The only reason i want it is for DX10, i dont care about it's features.

But thanks for the idea, ill consider it. Prob with the mobo is that it doesnt have X16 X16 crossfire, i dont know much about this but ive heard theres a decent difference from X8 to X16. The mobo i found with the link below is more expensive, but it has X16 for dual crossfire, and has the ability to handle up to 4 vid cards in crossfire if i ever feel like bumping it up some more.

My prob with the processor is i can still get a 64 X2 5600+ (2.9Ghz) about 87 dollars less. Plus doing a little research, and i realize this site is probably biased, CNET compared the two companies dual core cards and AMD won, and was still cheaper. http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10442 [...] l?tag=lnav
I realize this was an old test but it certainly doesnt say the AMD dual cores are bad.