Budget Build $700 - Need Advice Please!

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minime2999

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Aug 15, 2008
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I still need a case and power supply... so recommendations needed on that as well. Not looking to spend more than $150 for the two. Thoughts? This is my first gaming build... heard the E8400 is better than Q6600 for gaming currently... so going with that. Don't need SLI really... unless I can cheaply upgrade my board to have the possibility down the road. I am very new at this... anything helps.

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
$169.99

MOTHERBOARD:
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
$84.99

MEMORY:
OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
$102.99 (AFTER REBATE)

VIDEO CARD:
XFX PVT96GYDSU GeForce 9600 GT XXX Alpha Dog Eddition 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
$119.99 (After Rebate)

HARDDRIVE:
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard $74.99

CD DRIVE:
SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223F - OEM
$26.99

Total Cost Currently: $579.94

Thanks!
 
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Wanker79

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Jul 11, 2008
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Definitely drop the 1066 RAM for 800 (this Mushkin kit is $68 after MIR).

The 9600 GT XXX is a pretty good choice, but there are several 8800 GTs on newegg that are a little better and also a little cheaper. Or, if you could fit it in your budget, get one of the HD4850s for $150-155. They'd kill the 9600 GT and are only a few dollars more.

And the Western Digital Caviar WD6400AAKS 640GB HDD is faster than the one you listed, is 140GB larger, and only $10 more.

And it's nearly impossible to beat the Antec Sonata III w/ 500W Antec Earthwatts PSU and free shipping from buy.com for only $80. It's built for silence not cooling, so definitely pick up a 120mm fan for the open fan mount up front (like this one for $10 after MIR).
 
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dirtmountain

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Nice case and PSU combo for $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119142
Better choice in RAM DDR2 800 Mushkin $67 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731
A P45 motherboard with potential 8x/8x crossfire for future upgrade Biostar TP45HP $106 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138123
HD4850 $150 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125224
should be under $700 after rebates and before shipping
 
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minime2999

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I am not experienced at overclocking... and probably won't be doing much of it. Would you still recommend all of these things? Why not go with 1006 RAM? Not worth the money for the extra performance?
 
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Wanker79

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There's hardly any extra performance. The only reason to ever spend the extra money on 1066 RAM is if you're going to very heavily overclock your system. Technically I believe if your not going to OC your E8400 at all you could even drop down to 667MHz RAM without any performance difference (667 RAM is still 1:1 with a 1333 FSB), but since it's just as expensive as 800MHz RAM it doesn't make any sense to drop down that low.
 
zenmaster

zenmaster

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Nice Case PSU Combo.
You need to be careful with Case PSUs, but it ships with a legitimate PSU.
 
bdollar

bdollar

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Apr 18, 2008
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+1 800 ram. no it isn't worth the money to go 1066 unless big time overclock.
+1 640gb wd drive. for only $10 you are getting 140 more gb and better performance
+1 for the 4850. performance vs. price is awesome and better than the 9600gt. might not be able to afford it but if you can totally worth it.
 
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minime2999

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Should I go with the $79.99 Combo off Buy.Com? I will get an extra fan... but I want to make sure the cooling is legit. I am going to go with the recommended changes... but hold onto the E8400 because I don't know if I will overclock.
 
Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
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DEFINITELY go with DDR2-800 RAM. I'm using that Mushkin they linked and it works perfectly. P35 boards have issues with 1066 RAM.
The CM-690 case is very nice, but CoolerMaster makes crappy PSUs. You can get the case by itself for $20 less (shows what the PSU is worth...). Antec Earthwatts are nice, but the deal 50bmg linked can't be beat; bigger than you need, but would allow Crossfire, and is a top-tier PSU.
 
Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
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You say you're not sure if you will overclock, so the buy.com deal might be good. The only drawback is reduced cooling, but that should only matter if you do want to overclock, and by a fair amount.
 
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Wanker79

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The Antec 300 is a very popular choice. It's only $55 from buy.com with free shipping and offers plenty of cooling. It comes with a 120mm rear fan and a 140mm top fan and it also has mounts for two more 120mm fans up front and another 120mm on the side.
 
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ohiou_grad_06

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Dec 19, 2006
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A lot of guys say the 1006 ram is really just the 800 mhz ram, but overclocked. If you really don't want to OC, and want the 1066 memory, why not go with an AMD build?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227178

There's a link for 2 gb worth of OCZ memory, but go to the bottom where it shows combos and view all, they have an AMD Phenom quad core with 2gb of that memory for 175ish. So that's like as much as you were going to spend on just the intel chip. If you want, they had a 9850 Phenom quad with 2gb of that ram for 213 I think, I believe they have a couple of other deals too. If you wanted to though, go with the deal for 175, add 2 gb more of memory for 40 bucks more, and it would not be quite as fast as the intel, but would probably still do what you want. That would free you up about 50 bucks, then go and get the 4850 graphics card. Or do the Intel e7200.


Also, they had some of that memory in the 4gb kits with intel chips on the combo lists.


If you are considering AMD, here's a motherboard that might do well if you don't ever want to do SLI or crossfire.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138117

Might save you a few bucks too.
 
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minime2999

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Here is where I am at.... thoughts? Is that PSU compatable with Crossfire? Or Just NVIDIA SLI?

mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
$67.99

BIOSTAR TForce TP45HP LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard -
$105.99

GIGABYTE GV-R485-512H-B Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI
$149.99

PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V
$79.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA
$84.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core
$169.99

SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223F - OEM
$26.99

Subtotal: $686.00 (Without a Case)....

or $606.00 without a PSU and Case
 
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Wanker79

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If you're buying from newegg, you may want to consider this HIS HD4850 for $155 after MIR, this MIS HD4850 also for $155 after MIR, or this ASUS HD4850 for $158 after MIR because they all come with a free game and they're also clocked a little higher. I don't know anything about any of those games, but for an extra $5 it might be something to think about (although they're more money upfront, so it might depend on if you can wait for the rebates to come in or not).
 
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minime2999

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I can get the Antec 300 Case off Buy.Com w/ Free Shipping for $55 and then buy the PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W off NewEgg for $80 (also with free shipping).

Total: $135.00

OR....

Buy the Antec 300 w/ the Antec Earthwatts EA500 500W for $100 (with free shipping).

Total: $100.00

The Buy.Com case seems to include 5 fans... where the NewEgg one only has 2 fans... If I want to Crossfire in the future, do I need to 610W?

Thoughts?
 
bdollar

bdollar

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disagree on the seagate. wd performs just as well and you are getting another 140gb memory. i don't think there is a hard drive out there that is a better buy per GB then that WD drive.

i know a lot of people on here like to tow the line on PSU. I tend to error on the side of too much vs. potentially too little. for $35 more to get another 110 watts. I would do that. But i can't tell you if you absolutely need that much.
 
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Wanker79

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This is from the buy.com description of the Antec 300.

Cooling System
1 rear 120 x 25 mm TriCool Fan with 3-speed switch control.
1 top special 140 x 25 mm TriCool Fan with 3-speed switch control
2 front (optional) 120 mm fans to cool the hard drives
1 side (Optional) 120 x 25 mm Fan to cool graphic cards
Click to expand...

It's not saying that it comes with the optional fans, it's just saying that there is a spot to place the 3 optional fans.
 
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dirtmountain

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I wish someone would show me a reliable review of the CoolerMaster 550w that says it's an garbage power supply, i sure haven't been able to find one. Then people will keep recommending the Antec Earthwatts 500w power supply even though all the great reviews of them were when they were manufactured by Seasonic and now Antec is having them built by Delta to different specs. Go figure.
 
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