2-Year Build as of Q2 2009?

Your processor is "ok"... I would say it's good, others will argue otherwise. Trust me that it will be fine regardless.

Your motherboard is complete overkill, go with a P45 instead.

You should get 2GB sticks of memory and not 1GB sticks. Go ahead and get 8GB, it's too cheap not to unless you will not be running a 64bit OS then eh just get the 4GB.

HDD is fine

At least get a 9600GT video card, and I think you would benifit more from a 4870 with 1GB of memory. Either way just do NOT get a 9500.

Nice power supply, keep that choice.

I personally have the coolermaster 590 case and like it alot, the 690 has esata though, both of those cases are around $60 to 75.

I would get a less expensive motherboard and a much better video card. at least a 9800. For $40 more you'll be getting much better performance. I would also bump up the PSU to about 650W.

GPU- EVGA 9800 GTX+ $135($125 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
PSU- CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V $100 ($80 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
MOBO- EVGA EVGA 123-YW-E175-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i $160 ($130 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

I would also probably go with the
Antec 300 Case $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

That would bring it to a total of $980 ($920 after MIR).


Edit- Recent benchmarks have shown that the difference between 3GB, 6GB, and 12GB of ram really are not that great.
A 64-bit system will only recognize 3-3.5GB of RAM depending on the motherboard. Getting 2GB stick will help improve the system longevity and upgradability.
Here's G.Skill RAM 2x2GB for $5 less.
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Thanks guys! So the final proposed setup reads:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo Q6600 ($190)

Motherboard: EVGA 123-YW-E175-A1 ($160) or ASUS P5Q Pro ($135)

Memory: CORSAIR 2 x 2GB ($51) or G.SKILL 2 x 2GB ($55)

Video Card: EVGA 9800 GTX+ ($135)

Hard Disk: Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB ($75)

Power Supply: CORSAIR 650W ($100)

Optical Drive: LG DVD-Writer ($25)

Case: Antec 300 Case ($55) or Coolermaster 590 ($65)

Display: HP L2208W Black 22" 1680 x 1050 ($180)

That gives a total ranging from $945 to $985, if I'm not mistaken. Maybe there's a display out there that provides better value for money? Also, is the 2-year build under $1000 possible with an AMD/ATI setup?

Well AMD/ATI is usually less expensive than Intel, but you also sacrifice performance which can cut down on longevity.

The Q6600 can overclock very well. You might also want to invest in a good aftermarket cooling. That will definitely increase how long the computer will stay mainstream. Don't be scared by OCing, there are dozens of tutorials for that specific combination of mobo and Q6600.

if you didn't need a monitor than an i7 could fit in your budget.

but since you need a monitor amd 720 BE + 790GX mobo base all the way.

and drop the 9800 for a 4850 unless you use cuda based apps.

Happen to know of any Cuda based apps off hand?

asus p45 (p5q se) ($96.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

ati 4850 $115
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

ArcSoft is a beta program which uses CUDA.

You might use it in the future because it converts SD to HD while watching and if pic's of what it can do have anything to do with it you'll probably use it for dvd's (and maybe pirated movies, Disclaimer: I do not encourage downloading pirated movies)

Good idea... which i7 provides best value for money in your opinion?

i7 920
But they tend to be more expensive than a Core 2 Quad build so you might have to expand your budget. For instance, my i7 build is around $1,500 for the basics. It's $2,700 after all the bells and whistles.

Hmmmm...

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 ($289)

Motherboard: MSI X58 Pro ($200)

Memory: Kingston 3 x 1GB ($52)

Video Card: EVGA 9800 GTX+ ($135)

Hard Disk: Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB ($75)

Power Supply: CORSAIR 650W ($100)

Optical Drive: LG DVD-Writer ($25)

Case: Antec 300 Case ($55) or Coolermaster 590 ($65)

Woot! Total now ranging from $931 to $941 (no more display though). This build good? I can now see what you guys mean by upgrade options.

EDIT: Also, if we wait for the HD 4770 to come into the picture, this build can actually cost less than $900, leaving enough moolah for a decent display, right?

yeah, any cheaper i7 boards you can get?

P6T, that really cheap gigabyte one?

edit: for your hdd, go with a caviar green 640gb and wait for the 4770. it'll give you save you a bit of cash and give you more oc space.

Never ever go with 4 x 1 gigs of memory if you can help it. Do you really want all those sticks of memory stuck side by side producing all that heat? Not to mention it makes it a pain in the arse to over clock. And 1066 is a waste unless you plan on going for a super high over clock...which by the looks of your choice of heatsink we know that's not going to happen.

Take this cpu down below and move up your fsb to (10.5 x 333) and run it at 3.5GHz @ 1333 fsb if you choose to o/c. It's a simple yet effective o/c and is very doable with the cpu/hs/mobo and ram in this build.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... <=== more pics, specs, and customer reviews of the case used in this build

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... <=== more pics, specs, and customer reviews of the mobo used in this build

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... <=== more pics, specs and customer reviews of the cpu used in this build

==========================================================================================================

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=CA-ANTE300 $48.45
Antec Three Hundred No PS Mid Tower Gamer Case (Black)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $69.99
OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Free 4GB flash drive with purchase, ends 4/30

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-43-UD3L $79.99 after rebate Free Ground Shipping
GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L Core 2 Quad/ Intel P43/ DDR2/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=E7400 $106.75
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 2.8GHz 1066MHz 3M LGA775 CPU, OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $29.99 ($19.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate)
Sunbeam CR-CCTF92-4 92mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $189.99 ($159.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate)
MSI N260GTX-T2D896-OCv2 GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
OC Edition overclocked at 655MHz

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $40.99
G.SKILL HK 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $74.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $24.99 Free Shipping*
LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $169.99 ($149.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
ASUS VW224U Black 22" 2ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor w/ HDCP Support 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 5000:1) Built in Speakers - Retail

Total: $911.11 *not including shipping | $851.11 w/rebates

*Did you need an os? If so, change that vid card up above to a gts 250 1gig to make your budget

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $99.99 Free Shipping*
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM

Lemme adjust the i7 build list with the new mobo, Helloworld_98. Wasn't able to find the motherboard you were talking about though, could you be more specific? One thing I've realized while making these lists is that the price difference between i7 and older platforms is actually relatively small.

Great stuff Why_Me! (and thanks for the advice on keeping the number of sticks minimal) I like how you've managed to squeeze in a display and the OS. And from what you say, the performance potential is immense.