Barebones Upgrade! $800 Budget

Most of us are either at work/school or going to work/school. I'll check back later, when I get back from work.

Meanwhile, check out some of the earlier build threads from this weekend. Many of them have parts you could include in your current build. (Also, you may want to include a new PSU within your budget... but I'll explain later.)
 
I would save up 200 more bucks are so to get this are i guess you could cut down on the case and use your own supply as well as cut from 8gigs of ram back to 4 gigs. But then do you know if you will be able to get 4 gigs of ram for 45 bucks at pc8000 ddr2 in 5 months are so when i7 is mainstream?
builduk2.jpg


sorry got tired of posting links:p
 
MSI P43 Neo3-F LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - $85
Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz - $83
OCZ Fatal1ty Edition 4GB (2x2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - $36
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB Hard Drive - $75
Antec Three Hundred Mid Tower Case $60
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W $120
EVGA 896-P3-1260-AR GeForce GTX 260 896MB $220
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model GH22LS30 - $26

$700ish
 
that fatal1ty ram is getting mixed reviews on newegg.com, and truth in them?
 
Both of those setups seem to be quality setups for what I'm looking for.

A couple of questions though. I am interested in the DFI boards simply because I've never owned one and remember them gettin big a few years back.

What main differences would I have between say that Asus board Sathsayin posted and a comparable DFI board?

I am starting to believe that I want to go with a quadcore for higher processing power.
 
I also have another question. Is that copy of Vista in the newegg post a limited license disc or is that a permanant copy? Sorry if thats a stupid question, but I've been burned by those "limited install" discs before and want to be sure.
 
Operaghost said:
Both of those setups seem to be quality setups for what I'm looking for.

A couple of questions though. I am interested in the DFI boards simply because I've never owned one and remember them gettin big a few years back.

What main differences would I have between say that Asus board Sathsayin posted and a comparable DFI board?

I am starting to believe that I want to go with a quadcore for higher processing power.
Click to expand...

I remember when the (LANPARTY..) Came out as well didn't have the money to buy them. I will say that severall board manufacturers have there shineing moments. The reason there are alot of asus fans is becasue the majoity of the time they stay ahead of most board manufacturers just under others shineing moments and ahead when the others aren't shineing. they seem to be good quality for as long as i remember keeping this same trend. Btw i messed up i think that board doesn't have sli. just crossfire. but as others reitierate the p45 chipset is superior for th socket 775 so here is a xfire build
build2uw7.jpg
 
Is running cards in SLI & crossfire even that beneficial or would I be just about as well off getting one solid card?
 
Operaghost said:
I also have another question. Is that copy of Vista in the newegg post a limited license disc or is that a permanant copy? Sorry if thats a stupid question, but I've been burned by those "limited install" discs before and want to be sure.
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If it says OEM, then it's a limited install. However, a retail copy will take up a 3rd of your budget.

Operaghost said:
Is running cards in SLI & crossfire even that beneficial or would I be just about as well off getting one solid card?
Click to expand...
Read this:
Markyip1 said:
Just some info on SLI / Crossfire: It's absolutely not worth considering if a) you're gaming at a resolution under 1920x1200 (as you'll see no performance benefit over a single card,) and b) if you plan to buy one card now and another later. SLI / Crossfire as an upgrade path is usually a very poor idea, as by the time you're ready to get that second card, a new single card solution will likely be available that will outperform two of your older cards in tandem. Furthermore, there really is no cost benefit to the SLI Upgrade Route, as any additional cost in getting the new card can be easily mitigated in most situations by selling the original. By avoiding an SLI / Crossfire solution when it will not be of benefit, you gain a cooler running, simpler to maintain system and more importantly, access to a much better (and broader) selection of motherboards.
Click to expand...

I'll come up with an alternative build in a few minutes
 
Alternative build:
Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 CPU - $120
MSI Neo3-F Intel P43 Motherboard - $85
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $40
eVGA 896-P3-1260-AR GeForce GTX 260 896MB PCI-E Video Card - $220
Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $75
BFG Tech LS-680 680W PSU - $78
Cooler Master RC-590-KKN1-GP ATX Case - $50
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle HSF - $29 & Retention Bracket - $8.50
Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit SP1 OEM - $100
----
Total: $806 plus tax and shipping.

- Single GPU setup for simplicity's sake.
- Better quality PSU than the Neopower 550
- Equal quality but cheaper case than the Antec 900
- Actually included a HSF so overclocking should be easier.
 
Thanks a bunch for your info and suggestions DB.

I'm definately not gonna go the SLI route then. I'd rather just get a top notch card.
 
Is there any reason I wouldn't be able to use my Lian Li PC6077 case for this new build?

Only thing I could think of is possibly needing more room if I get one of those bigass vid cards but anyone else have a reason I wouldn't be able to use it? I love the case and could put the money from a new one towards more hardware.
 
Operaghost said:
Is there any reason I wouldn't be able to use my Lian Li PC6077 case for this new build?

Only thing I could think of is possibly needing more room if I get one of those bigass vid cards but anyone else have a reason I wouldn't be able to use it? I love the case and could put the money from a new one towards more hardware.
Click to expand...

There's no reason why you couldn't use that case.

When were you planning the new monitor purchase? Which monitor are you considering?
 
Don't be scared of vista. It is just the stupid people who have problems w/ it. Also, w/ 4gbs of RAM u'll be fine. The only problem I had was watching for compatibilities w/ a 64-bit o/s.
 
BTW, you could probably still get good money for those s478 parts (from your current/old rig)... especially the mobo.
 
I will probably sell off my old parts once I get everything up & running.

I'll use that money towards my new display. Prolly only gonna go with a decent 24".
 
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