Best bang for the buck... ~$600... Please help ;)

[Guest]

Too much time has passed since I bought my last desktop system. At that time.. things were simple. 1 processor... 1 video card.. etc. Lately I've been playing most games with my xps m170 laptop, but have found major limitations with recent games such as mass effect, witcher, AOC (of course.. lol), and WAR.

So.. what's the best bang for the buck? Can I build a system that handles new releases with ease for under $600?

Core 2 duo? Overclocked? Intel or AMD?

SLI?

Motherboard?

Windows XP 64bit?

Any complete system package suggestions would be appreciated.

Many Thanks,

Act4earth

 

[Guest]

crickets... ferris bueller...

 

[coltoe]

Do not give up hope I am trying to build a desktop for $300

 

[dirtmountain]

Well here's a build, but had to cut some corners to make it.

CPU - Intel E5200 $84
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072
Motherboard G31 - $53
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128338
Case/PSU - Antec Sonata/ Earthwatts 500w $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024
GPU - Sapphire HD4850 $140 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102770
RAM - 2x1 GB OCZ DDR2 800 1.8v $20 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227124
HD Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 SATA 320GB $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148316
Burner- Samsung SATA $23
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171

OS Vista Home Premium 64 $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

$604.92 Rebates pay for shipping. Upgrades if you can afford them are a P45 motherboard for an extra $50, 2x2 GB of RAM instead of the 2x1, E7200 or a E8400

 

[gators1223]

you can over clock certaintly not sli and i didn't include os

CPU: E7200 2.53ghz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115052
Mobo: ep35-ds3l
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337
Ram: 2gb ddr2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134635
PSU: corsair 450vx
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003
GPU: 8800gt 512mb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133232
HDD: WD 640gb aaks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218
Case: centurion cac 5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068
CD/DVD: asus 20x rw+-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135156

it totals about $590

 

[Guest]

Many thanks for the suggestions.. I'll check it out!

 

[chihlidog]

Can you use your old Hard Drive with the OS already installed? That would REALLY help.