$800 budget, helpz me =D

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Big10Fan

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Messages
157
I haven't been paying attention since I last built my computer 4years ago, and I don't have the time right now to research every piece of hardware in depth like I'd like to, so I'm here where I am sure you guys already know it all(not being a smart ass).

Budget is $700-800

I need:
Case -- I don't enjoy cases with doors, prefer it to be mostly black
PSU -- I would really like one of the 80plus PSUs (unless I can save a considerable amount)
gfx card -- I want nvidia and want to get 1 now and another in a year or so to do SLI
mobo -- only thing I need on it is onboard network adapter and SLI support(I think thats all)
Ram -- 2GB+?

I'll need a 250gb HD in the future, but I have a 80gig I can use for now.
Have a soundcard
have CDRW drive I can use.
Have monitor


Anything I am missing? I really appreciate any suggestions guys, your always the first place I come for recommendations.

P.S.
I am a gamer so I am looking for a gfx card around the 8800 quality range, whatever is best bang in that area.
 
I dont have a preference for CPU

I play 1024x768

is 520watts enough for 2 vid cards?Remember I want to do SLI within the year. Some calculator said I'd need 700+

There are a bunch of the 8800 series cards, I really am lost between the difference in prices, any specific advice on those?
 
Don't bother with SLI. It never makes sense as an upgrade path. In a year there will be a faster single card, and you can sell the card you get now to offset cost. Spending $100 on a motherboard and $300 on a GPU now makes /far/ more sense with your budget than $250 on a motherboard and $150 on a GPU.

Gigabyte P35-DS3L, Abit IP35-E, DFI Blood Iron P35-TR2L, whichever fits your needs best. The DFI board is probably a few more dollars but gives you 6 SATA connections. ~$100

8800 GTS 512MB (G92) -- look around and you can find these for around $300-325. You could get an 8800 GT 512MB, but the price difference isn't that great and performance is a good bit better. Of course, at 1024x768 either will be overkill in most current titles. Best to buy something fast in case you get a bigger/better monitor at some point. If your current monitor is capable of higher resolutions either of the above recommended cards are good to 1600x1200+. Even 1920x1200 in most titles.

PSU ~$100 - Corsair 550VX or 520HX. Look around for this, as Newegg tends to charge too much.

RAM - 2GB or 4GB depending on budget. 2x1GB or 2x2GB. CAS 5 or lower. $40-80.

Case - $50-80 - your choice. Make sure it has all 120mm fans.

CPU - Intel Pentium Duo (E2xxx series). A 2Ghz chip that should OC to around 3Ghz will cost you ~$90

Heatsink - Sycthe Infinity - ~$40

Total is around $800 before shipping. If your current drives are all PATA pick up an SATA DVDRW for $30 as well.
 
silent-circuit said:
Don't bother with SLI. It never makes sense as an upgrade path. In a year there will be a faster single card, and you can sell the card you get now to offset cost. Spending $100 on a motherboard and $300 on a GPU now makes /far/ more sense with your budget than $250 on a motherboard and $150 on a GPU.
Click to expand...


The way I look at it is, if I put $300 on a 8800gts and $130 on an SLI compatible mobo and then a few more on a bigger PSU, in a year from now that 8800gts will be $100 and I can get them in SLI together.
 
at that resolution you definately dont need sli. its a waste of money. one single card will do you fine.
 
Big10Fan said:
The way I look at it is, if I put $300 on a 8800gts and $130 on an SLI compatible mobo and then a few more on a bigger PSU, in a year from now that 8800gts will be $100 and I can get them in SLI together.
Click to expand...

You'll be better served selling the 8800 GTS 512MB and buying a new card. Trust me on this. Also, at your resolution there is absolutely no reason to go SLI. Period. Ever. 1600x1200 or 1680x1050 or below, you need no more than a single card.

That said, you want SLI bad enough, buy my board. I'm selling for $120 shipped, used, and you're not going to see a 680i under $200 new.
 
I agree with those non sli guys, my 8800gt is good enough for my 1900x1200 resolution. It should be fine with your resolution.
 
alright now that I know SLI is a waste.

I realize now that I do need a hard drive since the one i have now is IDE and I'll need sata. So I'm working in a $70 250gb sata drive into the budget.

what about processors? where should I go there?

and PSU? how many watts should I look at getting to hold me over for 8years or so? I hope to not buy a PSU everytime I need to upgrade.

what kind of chipsets to look for for mobos? whats reliable?

I've been searching newegg all day at parts, but it seems there is so many different options than there was a few years back, and now I am clueless, but also don't want a dell.
 
Look at my post above. Buy it. Build it. End of problem.
CPU - E2xxx series, 2.0Ghz (cannot recall exact number) should OC to around 3Ghz with the Scythe Ninja heatsink - ~$90
Heatsink - Scythe Ninja - $40
Motherboard - DFI Blood Iron P35-TR2L or Gigabyte P35C-DS3R/DS3L dependent on budget and needs. - $100-130
PSU - Corsair 520HX - ~$90
GPU - any brand 8800GT 512MB or 8800GTS 512MB. You can pick up a Galaxy 8800GTS 512MB for ~$300. I'd recommend this over a ~$250 8800GT 512MB. Make sure it's a 512MB GTS though, one of the newer G92 based cards
Case - Coolermaster RC-690 - ~$60 AR
RAM - DDR2-800, any of these brands: GEIL, G.Skill, OCZ, Corsair, PQI, Crucial, Patriot, Mushkin. 2x1GB or 2x2GB, depending on budget, $40-80

Rounding a bit for simplicity's sake, $100 + $100 + $100 + $300 + $50 + $50 + $50 ish. $750, and the rounding will likely cover shipping. Add your $30 SATA DVDRW and your $70 SATA harddrive, you're at around $850 total. It's a very good build for the price. Don't just look at NewEgg, look at ClubIT and Zipzoomfly as well. NewEgg overcharges for certain things, like PSUs in particular. Sometimes GPUs. Check Froogle for the 8800GTS in particular. Again, make sure it's a G92 based 512MB card, not one of the older 320MB or 640MB G80 based cards.
 
I agree with silent-circuit. He's got you all set. Oh, the CPU is the E2180 (2.0Ghz). You can go with the E2160 to save some cash, or the E2200 if you have an extra few bucks you don't mind parting with.

~$80 E2160 1.8Ghz
~$85 E2180 2.0Ghz
~$90 E2200 2.2Ghz

All of those can OC to around 3Ghz on stock cooling. Don't worry about the smaller cache compared to higher model Core2 chips, you're only losing 10% performance, at most. mwave.com is another good place to check out, but make sure the cost of shipping isn't too much once factored into the total cost.
 
is there any parts in the next month or so that should see considerable decrease in price that I should maybe wait for?
 
Big10Fan said:
is there any parts in the next month or so that should see considerable decrease in price that I should maybe wait for?
Click to expand...

Are there any penny stocks that will jump up to $20 per share in the near future? What?!? you can't predict the future either? :(

As for scheduled price drops... no. Intel has recently started offering better products at current pricepoints instead of dropping prices. An example of this is the E6400 and E6420... The older chip, E6400, is still the same price as the newer E6420. Furthermore, both of those are more expensive than the E6750.

As for speculative price drops... always. RAM will probably get cheaper. Vidcards should drop in price since new cards are coming soon. HDDs are always going down in price as time goes on.
 
enginurd said:
Are there any penny stocks that will jump up to $20 per share in the near future? What?!? you can't predict the future either? :(.
Click to expand...

LOL, well I meant like what you filled me in on, if theres a new product coming out thatd make some of the stuff I am looking at drop in price.
 
Not substantially. Things might drop $50-100 over all, but that's just standard depreciation. There'll be new high end parts, potentially, but not in the range you're looking in.
 
Big10Fan said:
LOL, well I meant like what you filled me in on, if theres a new product coming out thatd make some of the stuff I am looking at drop in price.
Click to expand...

Well now you know. With your budget, nothing coming out within the next month or so that makes it worthwhile for you to wait. If you were spending $1000 to $1500 on the other hand, there might be a few items worth waiting for.

Anyway silent-circuit has you covered, just follow his advice. Especially the advice about SLI, since he himself owns an SLI mobo.
 
Yep, I've gotten the best help here. My only concern is the PSU, they have the corsair vx550 for $60 at compusa, or the coolermaster 750W at newegg for $90 after rebate.

I want a PSU that will last me through a few upgrades and hopefully years to come, I dont want to have to buy a new PSU next time I want a better gfx card. Whats your opinion there?

And I am wondering why your suggesting intel over AMD? because I'll get better bang for my buck OCing an intel?
 
Coolermaster PSUs are generally trash. Do not get one. If you want higher wattage pick up the Corsair 620HX, but so long as you stay with a single card setup (you can sell your card to offset cost and buy a new one when it starts seeming slow, after all) the 520HX should be plenty... and to reiterate yet again here, you should stay with a single card. So it should be plenty.

You could get the 550VX, but it is non-modular, and 30 watts either way makes no difference in the end, so if that matters to you keep that in mind.

Recommended PSUs tend to go:
Corsair 450VX / Xclio Goodpower 500 watt / Xclio Stablepower 460 watt (for budget builds)
Corsair 520HX (for general gaming builds like yours)
Corsair 620HX (for those running many many drives, watercooling, etc)
Silverstone Strider, Thermaltake Toughpower, or PC Power and Cooling Silencer series 750watt (for 8800 GTX / Ultra SLI)
1KW+ PSUs like the Enermax Galaxy line and Thermaltake Toughpower 1200 watt for Tri-SLI.

You really don't need, and won't need, more than the 520HX, for several years.

AMD is slower clock for clock right now, so a $90 Intel chip will beat out pretty much... well, /any/ AMD chip, save potentially a heavily OCed Phenom costing 3x as much, once you OC the Intel chip.
 
How much for the Coolermaster 750W PSU before rebate? Oh word of advice: never count rebates as part of the final price until that check is actually in your hands. Yes rebates do have a high probability of going through but it is not a guaranteed discount. The Coolermaster Real Power Pro actually got a decent review from HardOCP here. Though I would hesitate to recommend it due to its price.

And yes thats partly the reason why we recommend Intel. In addition, even at stock speeds, well the higher-end models anyway, Intel C2D CPUs still outperform similarly priced AMD CPUs. So if you want best bang for your buck, go Intel.

The only times I recommend AMD CPUs are when the budget is around $500 and below or if the OP is an AMD loyalist.
 
Also, Intel chips usually have more OC headroom than AMDs right now. Though, as s-c mentioned, even if the AMD can OC to the same speed, the Intel will still be faster, since clock-for-clock, they beat out the AMDs. If that confused you...

$80 - E2160 1.8Ghz stock, OC's to around 3.4Ghz with good air cooling
$100 - X2 5000+ Black Edition 2.6Ghz stock, OC's to around 3.4Ghz with good air cooling

The E2160 will beat the X2 5000+.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3112&p=14
 
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