Tom's Hardware: Topic New System - Gaming - $600 left
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Hi all!
I've been looking around here as well as Newegg reviews, etc. for ideas on my new system build. It's not my first system, but I'm still somewhat of a beginner.
This new build will be my main computer, primarily gaming.
I have already bought an Antec 900 case and this power supply:
Antec NeoPower 650 Blue 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
I'm also planning on using my existing hard drives and optical drive (for now - to save money).
I now have $600 left to spend, and am thinking about getting the following:
CPU: Q6600 - I have had my eye on this for a while. $189.99
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128344 I like this one b/c it's relatively cheap + has the PCI 2.0 Express 16 + allows up to 16GB of memory + is a Gigabyte. I see good and bad things in the reviews, however. $134.99. Anyone have experience with this one?
Memory: I'm not finding much in the way of 2gb modules that are supported by the motherboards "qualified vendor's list". Is that a problem? I'd love to just throw this in there: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231122 $64.99, but I don't know if it will cause problems or not.
Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product $149.99 with rebate
This totals to about $540, which leaves some money to throw at cooling and a nice down payment on Vista. 
Does this sound like a good idea - and does anyone have any input on my memory concerns?
Looks like a good build. I'd go with the quad also over the E8500 simply because future games will be more multi-threaded. The 4850 is definetly the best bang for the buck that still has a high level of performance .
I prefer Mushkin for memory since it's usually pretty good. The only time I've had a problem with them was when I ordered a Level II black stick that wasn't stable at the advertised timing. Mushkin was pretty good at sending me a new one that worked just great and it is probably the best DDR module you could have gotten at the time. If you're really worried about getting RAM that's on the compatibility list though go with Corsair.
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