before I buy...

H

hungryduck

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 29, 2005
Messages
1,530
I'm upgrading a friends old socket 754 computer, heres what I me and him think would be best. He does NOT want to overclock, keep in mind.

-Intel Conroe E6400
-Intel BOXDP965LTCK Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail (is this mobo good?)
-G.SKILL 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Standard System Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-1GBNQ - Retail
-EVGA 7900gt 256mb DDR3

Would this be a good setup for gaming?
This rig is mostly for gaming; he has a 19in 4:3 LCD, so he'd be running 1280x1024 all the time. What do you guys think?
 
What's his budget? I guess intel boards are solid, but I'd still suggest the Gigabyte GA-965P-S3, in case he wants to get into OC'ing later. I'd suggest cheaper ram, but ram prices are so high, 10 bux more for ddr2-800 is fine. There's some wintec ampo sticks for 10 bux cheaper... same speed, but only 1.8v for better compatibility. Though, since he wont be overclocking, the ram will run at DDR2-533 anyhow, lol. He should really look into OC'ing, since these core2duos overclock so easily, its somewhat a waste of money to not unlock all that potential. Oh, and if he just wants good gaming performance, he can step down to the E6300 instead, to save a bit of money. Gaming performance is more dictated by the GPU right now (core2duos aren't bottlenecking any vidcard right now).
 
alright, what about this then.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400
Gigabyte GA-965-S3 Motherboard
EVGA 7900gt
A.Data 1GB DDR800 (2 x 512mb)
Western Digital 250GB SATA 3/Gbs
Antec Sonata II Case with Antec 2.0 Powersupply 450Watts
Is a 450watt powersupply going to be enough for all this, what do you guys think?
 
A good mobo is the Asus P5B-E
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131070

I'd suggest going with 2gb of ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231098

and depending on your budget and the type of games you play - a 8800GTS (Circuit City has it for 459, can get 10% off coupons too).

If you decide not to go with the 8800, take a 7950GT instead. Price difference is not much. You can also go with the 6300 and save a few bucks.

Double check the "do not buy" list for PSU suggestions in the PSU forum.
 
Whats his budget? He seems to be on a tight budget, therefore the Asus P5B-E wouldn't be worth it. The Gigabyte board is good... no point in paying more for the same chipset board if you don't need the added features.

A 7900GT will be good enough for any gaming at 1280x1024 on medium settings, with the occasional exception for some games. Check the benchmarks on the games he plays for a better understanding of what to expect.

Go with the Seagate 7200.10 250gb for only 5 bux more... a much better buy because its faster than the wd and has a 5 yr warranty.

The Antec Sonata is a good case. The SP2.0 450W isn't that great. If you're only using the components you listed and don't plan on OC'ing, then it will be fine. If you start adding more components (HDD, DVDRW, etc) or start OC'ing, you really should get a better PSU.

Since I dont have a budget to work with, I'll just throw this out there...
$180 - Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz
$116 - Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express
$100 - Wintec AMPO 1GB (2x512MB) DDR2-800 (1.8v) 3AMD2800-1G1K-R
$205 - eVGA 256-P2-N584-AR Geforce 7900GT 256MB ($225 - $20)
$75 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250620AS 250GB 7200RPM SATA300 16MB Cache
$55 - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver w/ Side Window
$50 - XClio GOODPOWER 500W ATX 500W
$30 - NEC 18X DVD±R DVD Burner 7170A-0B
===========
$811 + tax and shipping
 
sorry, forgot to say what his budget is....were trying to keep it around $800-$900
 
I case you haven't seen it you have to get 1.8v ram w/ your motherboard because of the chipset it has w/ out tweaking the voltage in the BIOS but in order to do that you would have to have ram to post first that is @ 1.8v so make sure whatever you get is close to that. I would also check the prices on zipzoomfly because you could probably save some money on at least some of the parts. I just got this case for a friends build and love it! http://www.pricegrabber.com/p__Enermax_ECA3050_Chakra_Black_Mid_Tower,__22032786/search=Chakra
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top