Gaming Rig ~$800

[jjodabell]

Hello everyone.

I'm planning to build a gaming rig for around $800.
I don't really expect the rig to last 10 years but obviously I'd like to punch in as much gaming capability as long as it can last.

I'd like to list Newegg components here like others do but I'm buying the parts overseas and prices are all wacky anyway.


I've settled on getting E8400 as opposed to E7xxx or even E5xxx for longetivity purpose.
2gigs memory, HDD, etc etc.


Two questions that's bothering me:

1. Asus P5Q STCOM vs Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R
Where I am those two are about identical in prices. Will either one offer more advantage in one way or another? Btw, with insane variants of mobos, who knows whats the right combo...

2. Sparkle 9800GT D3 512mb vs Saphire 4850 Blue VF1000 ...
4850 costs approx $50 more here. Is this a worthy upgrade?
Two brands are both a little iffy, I know, but it's what's available here quickly.
50bucks better spent on better CPU?


These options maybe minute in the long term, but I guess I'm asking for a peace of mind.


I appreciate any opinions you guys can give.
Thanks

 

[dirtmountain]

Either motherboard, make sure you check board lay out and if they include the features that you want. Pay the extra for the HD4850, not only is it substantially a better performer, but those boards can take crossfire at 8x/8x which gives a great option for upgrades in the future(the gigabyte if the asus doesn't have crossfire) Get 2x2 GB of DDR2 800 1.8v RAM, for OS get Vista Home Premium 64 bit. All a good balance between price/performance with upgrade possibilities intact.

 

[geofelt]

For gaming, get the best vga card you feel comfortable paying for.
Can you go to a GTX260/4870/9800GX2?

Both mobo's are good. Check out what the features are, and how they apply to you.

I would agree with dirtmountain on a 2x2gb kit of ddr2-800 ram.
Heres why:
http://www.corsairmemory.com/_appnotes/AN804_Gaming_Performance_Analysis.pdf

Also on vista 64 bit.