New Midrange Gaming Computer suggestions, advice

no point buying an sli motherboard and n ATI gfx card .

Since those nVidia chipset boards have a poor reputation replace it with one with an intel P45 chipset . You will get improved stability , better over clocking potential , and the possibility of crossfire .

BUT having said that the e8400 is expensive compared to the AMD alternative .

Look on newegg for Phenom 720 be or 940 be combos with a motherboard with a 790 series northbridge chipset and a 750 series south bridge chipset .
The cost will be the same , but the performance is better .

and it will last a bit longer because of the extra cores.

I need help on the mobo, but from my reading on this site I was under the impression that the Phenom quad cores didn't compete very well against the i7 series. Given that, I don't really have a need for quad core, and after reading the Phenom II review/benchmark article is seems like the Core 2 Duo still beats the Phenom II most of the time, especially in gaming.

edit: changed the mobo to a p45 chipset. Thanks.

The other mobo I was looking at was the ASUS P5Q-E LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard but then you're locking into DDR2 1200 memory, and there aren't many cheap options for that.

Phenom ll is a little behind Ci7

But comparing the e8400 to a phenom , then even the triple core 720 clearly outpoints an e8400
Here its compared to an e8500
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/socket-am3-phenom,2...

The differences are small , but since the phenom is better at everything else then why invest in an e8400 thats being discontinued ?

+1^ for the phenom II

If you have to go Intel - go E7400 or E5200 - only way it is good bang for the buck
E7400 is just as fast as the E8400 clock for clock - E8400 is superfluous

So browsing Newegg and the internet, there's this combo. But isn't that a AMD3 socket cpu with a AMD2/AMD2+ mobo??

If I go with the Phenom II 940 I need help with the mobo.

This one got good reviews, but is it worth the price?

The combo deals on newegg are:

BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX 128M AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

ASUS M4A79 Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail. Same as the combo and mobo I linked above. Savings of 45$, but is is worth the money?

GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard

Thanks!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

2 best combos - don't worry about the 720 - it is AM2+ and DDR2 compatible
choose the one that meets your budget

Any more feedback on the mobos?

Also, with this setup do I need the 750W PSU or can I get by with a 650W?

Gigabyte and ASUS are both excellent brands

Seconded.

For using one 4850x2, you would need a PSU that had a 6 and 6+2 pin PCIE connector. You should be shooting for a PSU in the 550w-650w range for that GPU in your current setup. The Corsair 550VX fits the bill, as would these other options, keeping the price reasonable (except for last option, but its the best there is):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... <==Probably the best on the market

drop the velociraptor at this price point its just a wast of money

+1 on the amd

consider going with a am3 board and ddr3 the cost is more fore not much better performance but later you can upgrade the memory cheaply (just like ddr did ddr2 will become more expensive than ddr3) and you will most like like to be able to upgrade the cpu as well

also the 4850 x2 was fore a niche that the 4890 filed go with ether a 4890/275 or 2 4770

650w will be more than enough. this site can calculate the exact amount that your system will use, note: fore efficiency a psu should output 25-75% of its maximum output
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

Well, we make the kill with mouse & keyboard so I agree outlander if you're talking motherboards GET A RAZER feel you power!
I love mine you can get mid $ if you look www.razer.com & trust you will be so sorry if you do not get a Hyper-Threading Support: Yes Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor

Now think man if thats to much Hyper Transports is Hyper-Threading
for less AMD for gaming is the way not old Intel only New Intel rocks new AMD
AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor Model HDZ940XCGIBOX - Retail $189
hide details
Model
Brand AMD
Series Phenom II X4
Model HDZ940XCGIBOX
CPU Socket Type
CPU Socket Type Socket AM2+
Tech Spec
Core Deneb
Multi-Core Quad-Core
Name Phenom II X4 940
Operating Frequency 3.0GHz
Hyper Transports 3600MHz
L1 Cache 4 x 128KB
L2 Cache 4 x 512KB
L3 Cache 6MB
Manufacturing Tech 45 nm
64 bit Support 32 and 64 bit Support
Voltage 0.875-1.5V
Thermal Power 125W
Cooling Device Heatsink and Fan included
Manufacturer Warranty
Parts 3 years limited
Labor 3 years limited

get a non SLI bored use the 4850X2

[952]

Free 4GB flash drive w/ purchase, while supplies last

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail

4x Winner of Customer Choice Award - Processors - Desktops
Series: Core i7
QPI: 4.8GT/s
L2 Cache: 4 x 256KB
L3 Cache: 8MB
Manufacturing Tech: 45 nm
64 bit Support: Yes
Hyper-Threading Support: Yes
Virtualization Technology Support: Yes
Model #: BX80601920
Item #: N82E16819115202
Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy
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Your Price:$i7 +all but bored & GPU's $250 + $279.99

Find a cheep bored & maybe go 4790 (only $200) or take me out * get a 260 core

So If I drop the velociraptor what do I upgrade with that money?

either the graphics card or the CPU. Personally I would get a 790x mb and a PII 940 (which costs the same as that E8400 and UD3P MB) and then go with two 4870's or if you can swing it 2 4890's (it would be worth going with a PII 720 to make this happen if you want to play Crysis at AAx4 at all enthusiast shaders).

I just updated the initial list. Changed to the PII 940 + mobo for the same price. Would the upgrade to 4870x2 be greater than the velociraptor as an app drive?

The Vrap is only a little faster than the WD6401AALS drive, its not much of an upgrade at all. I would get 2 separate 4870's though instead of a 4870x2, it will give you better cooling for your GPU's.

So I'd like to do a raid setup with the 2 WD drives. If I drop the raptor, which you're right the more I read the less difference it seemed to make, can I partition the 750gb HDs into 150 and 600 GB? If I partition the two identically?

Thanks

I think you have to set up the raid array first, then make a partition, which it will do across both drives (I may be wrong on that though, I have never tried).