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Bare Necessities....

B

BaGGy

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 23, 2005
Messages
155
So I am going to attempt building a new rig here, and I have a few things in mind and unfortunately a budget to deal with. My goal is to get a system up and running with potential for possible future upgrades, currently my priority items are processor, motherboard, ram, and power supply. My budget is currently $600-800 it may change, so try to keep it atleast under $1000.

Processor wise I am stumped, between dual and quad core, which would be the recommended route, as I am told these are the better processors:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115003

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6850 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115028

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

Then for motherboards, I am stumped, I don't know what to be looking for, I don't know if I should go for SLi or what, then since I am clueless there that leaves me out deciding on the rest of the items.

*** NOTE: I am accepting any and all recommendations to allow me to create the best possible gaming rig I can! ***
 
For a good quality gaming rig that will cope with the games coming out this fall, quad core Intel with 8800GTX is the way to go. You gotta pay for the GTX but theres isnt a decent other option. Quad core is pretty cheap IMO :)
You're getting into expensive PSU's if you want SLI and a second GTX will break your bank.
If you game at 2048 res or higher you will need to revise your budget to get top performance.
 
SLI and anything over the 8800GTS is *not* in that budget. Sure it's "better", but some of us don't quite roll around in money. ;)

Anyway, keeping future upgrades in mind you're looking at a P35 board. SLI is just not in your budget and is probably not even needed, how big is your monitor?

I'll give it a shot, everyone is free to take shots at my suggestions ( oh and I'm assuming before shipping and taxes )

Q6600 $295
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Search.jsp
CorsairHX 520w $90 AR
http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=CA6200026
2×1GB DD2-800 $63 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227030
Abit IP35-E $71 AR
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA23929&RSKU=BA23929
8800GTS $260 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082
Total $779

However if you do a lower end chip like the E6420
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115016

Then that'll put you at $670, with room for a hard drive, aftermarket cooling if you want to overclock, and a case.

edit: found the hot deal with the IP35-E

What you could also do is get the Gigabyte P35C-DSR3, which has DDR3 slots, so that could help maintain system longevity. However, I don't think DDR3 will be mainstream mainstream for a while, but it's your call.
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=ba23889&CartID=done&nextloc=

Total would then be $754
 
I already own a 24" Samsung LCD widescreen at the moment.

The above system specs seem quite nice, I curious why the Q6600 was suggested over the E series. Also, I hear bad things about Abit so is that P35 really the board to go with? Is there any other variation of it? Also is SLi the future or is it really even necessary?

Don't forget this rig should have potential for future upgrades including a possible SLi configuration, and future might even be a year from now.
 
Sorry, made some edits.

I thought the Q6600 would be a good choice because software is heading in that direction. However, this was before I made estimates as to the price of the rest of the build, after assembling the list I think the an "E" series chip would be better because of your budget.

Abit had a not-so-great era, but I believe that they're headed back up with their IP35 series. They have three different versions, look in the Intel board subforum for a comparison It's your call still.

I picked the P35 because I think it's a superior chipset over the 680i and I don't think is really needed most of the time. However, since you have a rather large monitor and not quite so much money left for the video card, that might be a better route. You can also shell out the money and go the other way with a Crossfire setup, but I think for the 8800GTS offers the most for the price.

Oh, and your monitor...that changes things. You'll need something with more power than an 8800GTS to push that resolution. Maybe you will need the GTX...but there's no money?
 
I'd get

E4400 processor ($126)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115014

2GB 800mhz DDR2 RAM ($64)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227124

EVGA SLI 650i mobo ($80)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188017

XCLIO GOODPOWER 500W ($50)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817189005

GeForce 8600GT ($120)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150229

Western Digital Caviar SE 200GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive ($55)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144416

COOLER MASTER Centurion ($40)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119106

So that comes too......
-$535+ shipping.... and that is a pretty dam good system for the buck, that's pretty much what I'm running (actually you have a better graphics card then me =[)

Now you said you wanted it to be upgradeable, thats why I didn't pick the most expensive parts, the graphics card and processor should be good for a while, but they could be upgraded once quad 4 and 8800gt prices fall, but it'll be good for a while, as long as you don't lay the newest newest games on the top resolution and such, but it should be fine for everything. I've had no problems with a worse set up.
 
If you did the 8600GT route, from BaLaClavaAa's build, then you might have a problem running stuff at native ( games ), but you can also use it to hold you till G90/G92. That should also be around when the big DX10 titles are coming that would really push the system.

If you upped your budget, you could probably do an 8800GTX with a quad, plus a beefier PSU, which would run everything pretty well now...but who knows how the 8800GTX will perform in the upcoming games.

Really it depends on you, you could just get cheaper parts now to hold you until Penryn, G90/G92, and an X38 or something.
 
that's true, I'd definitely wait on the 8800GT. I think what I have for 550 bucks is good for now, and he could save the extra 500 for quad and 8800gt when the price drops. For now, I don't think much more is really worth it, except possibly the ds3r board, but I mean thats not even needed.

Also you could clock the processor to 2.8Ghz, which sould be more then good for whatever you want.
 
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