Help me build a C2D budget gaming rig

G

Gundam

Weaksauce
Joined
Sep 22, 2006
Messages
88
I'm set on the following components:

$115 - E4300
$120 - MS Vista 64-bit Home Premium OEM
$50 - XClio 500W
$45 - LITE-ON SATA DVDRW 20x

I will need the following:
Mobo
Ram
Heatsink/Fan
Vid Card
Possibly a sound card (is it worth it?)

I'm trying to keep my budget around $400 for the remaining components. It won't be a hardcore gaming system, but I do plan on overclocking it within reason. I honestly just need it to play current games at decent framerates.
 
Mobo: A cheap p965 mobo, something like the gigabyte DS3 for $130, the S3 for $100, or even the Biostar for $100.

2 gb cheap ram is probably the best thing. It can be 667 or 800, both speeds can be found for cheap. $70

Heatsink/Fan - stick with stock, since your budget is so tight. If your chip is OEM, then the arctic freezer 7 pro is supposed to be the best budget cooler. $30 for arctic freezer

Vid: You have about $200 to work with, so I would say go with an X1950XT, or if you can scrape up the cash and/or find a good deal go with the 8800GTS 320mb.

Sound card - stick with onboard for now
 
It's possible to get an EVGA 8800GTS 320mb (Superclocked or standard) from Circuit City for ~$250 after $40 mail-in-rebate. I would go for this if at all possible, considering this is going to be a gaming rig. Details here. Otherwise I agree with the recommendations thus far, particularly the Gigabyte DS3 rev.3.3, which can be had from ClubIT.
 
What size monitor do you have, and what games will you be playing?

$100 - Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express
$65 - Kingston 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-667 KVR667D2N5K2/2G
$22 - Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro

If you want DX10, you'll need more cash, I believe...
$290 - eVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB ($20MIR)

Though, since there's only 1 DX10 game out right now, and DX9 will still be supported for quite some time, I'd suggest upgrading to a DX10 card in about a year. in which case, just go for the X1950 instead:
$146 - Sapphire 100176L Radeon X1950PRO 256MB ($20MIR)
$190 - Sapphire 100186L Radeon X1950XT 256MB ($20MIR)
 
I have a 22" viewsonic and in all honesty, if i can play C&C3 at good framerates, that's good enough for me.
 
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