Fresh build, $1000 budget.

[anamaniac]

So, I've managed to somehow stumble upon tom's hardware, and I'm happy I did.

All help is appreciated, even harsh critics.
I have approximately one grand (Canadian) in my budget... An effective approx. $840 American with current exchange rate If need be, I can up the budget to by 20%, but I'd rather be under budget... a lot. So far, I'm liking newegg.com for the source, but I'm loyal to no one.

Okay...
I'm not terribly picky, but:

CPU - I'm a dual-core fan. Something that can easily and safely be OC'd to 3.5-4ghz, with a fat FSB. 64-bit for possible future upgrade. ~$100-200

GPU - Sapphire 4850. $160

RAM - 3-4 gigabytes 1.3-1.6ghz DDR3. ~$150

PSU - Cheap 650 watt. $50

CASE - Anything. I'll take a 20 year old IBM and use a torch to put holes for better air-flow if needed. ~$20

MOBO - I'm a nub when it comes to MOBOs, so here's my go... this is where I really need help. I'm clueless for the value. Something that has:
1-2 ATA
2-3 SATA
Supports both dual and quad cores (an option, not an must)
2-4 ddr3 applicable ports
2x16 PCI-E (though 16+8 will satisfy)
OC's easily
Likes XP (32 and 64)
Supports Crossfire
Lots of usb 2.0
~$50-150

HDD - 2x WD Caviar 7.2k 250gig. $100

DVD - None needed. I can salvage my current Lightscribe x16.

Cooling - Lots of fans, amd WC for the core. > ~$150 (shipping would likely be the main cost, so I may buy them locally.)

For the CPU, it doesn't matter whether it's Intel or AMD to me, as long as it's cheap, easily to OC, and can OC well. For the GPU, I like ATI, but nVidia is always an option. I don't know how much power this will actually use, so I just nabbed something 2x my current PSU, recommendation would be lovely.

I do plan to upgrade later.

So far, an approx. of $880 assuming mid-range for unknown variants (~). I'd appreciate any suggestions because this would actually be my first ground-up build.
If I forgot anything, please inform me quickly. If you can inform were to buy a part or two cheaper that's still quite reliable, I'd be quite happy.

Sadly though this won't be mine.

 

[mighty442]

This is a quick reply so I'm not going to link any products just give you a general idea of what parts and platform to aim for.

If you want a cheap good OC CPU then go with the E7000 or E8000 Core Duo CPUs from Intel. The E7000 being on the much cheaper side. They both OC very well and won't break your budget. The E7000s go for about the 120-150 range and the E8000 around the 150-200 range.

For mobo you'll want to go with the P45 Intel chipset. It offers a lot of great features. The main difference between the P45 boards will be if it has Crossfire support and DDR3. You'll want to get a board that has 2 PCI-E x16/x8 slots and since DDR2 memory is so cheap don't worry about getting a board that can support DDR3. Both Gigabyte and Asus offer good flavors of this board that is priced around the 100-150 (US) price range.

2 sticks of 2gig DDR2 memory is extremely cheap nowadays. Price range being 50-100 depending on brand and speed. The cost of 1066Mhz is not that much over the cost of a 800Mhz stick.

The 4850 is a great card, I have 2 of them in Crossfire config and it runs great but if I would of just waited a month I could of got 4870s for the same price. Depending on when you plan to purchase your GPU you may want to wait until Nvidia releases it's next high end card and watch the prices for all the other cards drop. Rumor has it that ATI will be releasing the 5000 series cards very soon also.

I'm using an Antec 900 for my case, it has great air circulation and was cheap from Newegg when they were running the deal. You'll want to look for a case that has good airflow with large fans for intake and exhaust. A good top exhaust can do wonders for high temps.

You don't want to go to cheap on your PSU. A 650W PSU will do fine for your build but if you will be upgrading to a dual GPU setup you may want to look for a 700-750W PSU. Go for a respected brand instead of a no name brand. You'll be thanking yourself later for the decision.

If you choose these parts your build should be well under your budgeted target.

 

[anamaniac]

Thank you very much.
I was just checking out http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145169 CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1142. for $80 Very nice.

I'm going for ATI because I haven't experienced yet, and I feel like it. I may wait the month for the 4870 $ drop.

Cream in my pants awesome thank you for the mobo.

I may go for a better PSU later, but for now, certainly if I CF, the short term, I'll go cheap.

 

[aevm]

You like Newegg.com but Newegg.com doesn't like you because you're Canadian. They won't ship to you. There's a www.newegg.ca which ships to Canada, and prices are in Canadian dollars, but they are normally higher than the Newegg prices multiplied by the exchange rate.

Try www.ncix.com and www.memoryexpress.com too. You might get lucky and find good sales at one of them for whatever you need. You can also try price-matching.

I suggest an E8400. Maybe E8500, if possible.

+1 for Sapphire HD 4850.

Get 2x2Gb DDR2-800, not DDR3. You can't get a DDR3 MB and RAM for your budget unless you make cuts in other places that actually matter more.

650W is a very smart choice IMO for HD 4850 and a Crossfire MB. Minimum recommended for HD 4850 CF is 550W, but with overclocking it's good to have more juice. Try an Earthwatts or a Corsair for example, or a PC Power & Cooling 610W.

I'd rather have a single 640GB disk than two 250GB disks, and I think it costs about the same. It will be faster and more roomy.

You have two choices for PCI-E lanes:
16x+16x which requires an x48 motherboard, which would blow your budget.
16x+0x / 8x+8x i.e. a P45 which gives (16x to a card when alone) or (8x to each card when two cards are present). 16x+8x is not possible. There just aren't 24 lanes in the chipset. Lots of manufacturers claim 16x+8x but conveniently forget to mention that you can't have 16x + 8x at the same time.
Anyway, 8x+8x is still fine for HD 4850 cards. It will hurt only a little and only at high resolutions and not in all games.
http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1472/intel_p45_vs_x48_crossfire_performance/index.html

 

[drip50291]

I agree accept for the case go for an Antec 300. Amazing for the price. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042&Tpk=antec%20300

 

[aevm]

Some ideas for MB: GA-EP45-UD3P, GA-EP45-DS3R, P5Q Pro.

 

[mighty442]

You may want to take a look at this memory.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL010609&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL010609-_-DesktopMemory-_-LI1A-_-20231166

 

[aevm]

Guys, links to Newegg.com won't help the OP, he's in Canada. Try newegg.ca instead.

 

[anamaniac]

Thanks for all the assistance.

 

[anamaniac]

Oh... damn you newegg... the american to canadian mark-up is less than 20%... apparantly not, ouch.

 

[mwayne5]

Ok, made everything link to newegg.ca, not newegg.com

Post in Canadian dollars:
If you don't plan on doing a crossfire setup with your HD4850, I would suggest doing a crossfire with a pair of HD4670's. For example, a Sapphire HD4850 is $195.29, while two Sapphire HD4670's are
$178.10. Both items without shipping. Here's a link to some test results comparing the two side by side. Link




Post in USD in case someone else is interested in the links:
If you don't plan on doing a crossfire setup with your HD4850, I would suggest doing a crossfire with a pair of HD4670's. For example, a Sapphire HD4850 is $159.99, while two Sapphire HD4670's are $145.98. Both items without shipping. Here's a link to some test results comparing the two side by side. Link

 

[anamaniac]

Well I'm grabbing the sapphire 4850 1gig for $203.99 Canadian
And I do hope to eventually crossfire it. Thanks anyways, good to know.

 

[mwayne5]

Sounds good then.

 

[anamaniac]

Now, the only real last question for now...
Which p45.

 

[aevm]

I think that's a smart idea. In general a single powerful card is better than two weaker ones. In particular HD 4850 has 800 stream processors, while two HD 4670 cards together have 2*320. That is, even in games like CoD that scale very well in Crossfire, the HD 4850 would still win. The HD 4670 Crossfire is really good if you want to use 3 or 4 monitors, on the other hand, because you'd get all the DVI outputs you need.

 

[mwayne5]

I have heard good things about Gigabyte's GA-EP45-UD3P

 

[aevm]

Now, the only real last question for now...
Which p45.

LOL, I already answered that one, I think. Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P, Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R, Asus P5Q Pro are all P45 motherboards with Crossfire support and good overclockers. At Newegg.com they are all between US$100 and US$120 and they're worth it.

There's also P5Q-E, great overclocker, lots of features, but more expensive.

TBH I can't think right now of any P45 I like from other companies than Asus and Gigabyte.

 

[anamaniac]

Hmm... think I'l nab the gigabyte... has done me well so far... but I got nothing against asus... think I'll find a coin to flip. lol
I hate there being so damned many brands...

 

[anamaniac]

Thw ga-ep45-ud3p seems quite nice, thanks.

 

[anamaniac]

Hmm... possible idea...
Buy most of the gear now, but wait until the 4870 is cheaper. Until then, use my current gpu... my proud baby, the nVidia 7500 LE :lol:

After I insert the 7500 LE into the mobo, and start the new computer up, "Warning, fatal error occured. Detected 7500 LE", check the error report, "**** You!"

 

[anamaniac]

OK, how effective would one assume http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118019 would be to OC?

 

[Koolaidman23]

Best cooler on the market is $20 less. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003.

 

[anamaniac]

Care to specify a little more? All i get is 35-233 in the search box.
Are you referring to XIGMATEK?

 

[aevm]

I think he means the Xigmatek HDT-S1283:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
The problem with this one is that it works much better if you also buy the ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket, and the Canadian Newegg doesn't have it.

The Zerotherm Zen is pretty good too:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835887016

The Noctua NH-U12P is better than both but it's more expensive:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=27130&vpn=NH-U12P&manufacture=Noctua

 

[anamaniac]

Thanks. Appears I got about 4-6 weeks until I actually have the funds, so time to wait and see what gets cheaper.

Only dilema is whether or not I wanna go for x32 or x64...