Need advice for new Conroe PC

[monolithx]

Hi, I would like to upgrade my

ASUS P4C800 i875P Gold
P4 3.0GHz Northwood
2x512MB 2.5-3-3-6 TwinMOS DDR
Gainward GF 6800GT GLH AGP 256MB
4 x S-ATA 320GB Seagate 7210
SoundBlaster Live!
Thermaltake Bigwater SE LQDCS
Pioneer 111D DVD+-RW
Thermaltake PurePower 480W (peak load 550W) 480APD PSU : [+12V:18A, +3.3V:30A, +5V:40A, -5V:0.3A, -12V:0.8A, +5VSB:2A]

to a new PC by upgradeing CPU, MBO, RAM ang GFX.

just to note, 8800 series prices here are like this:

8800GTX (Gigabyte) = $875
8800GTS (Gigabyte) = $660

So I need suggestion which will not go over $1700 (including PSU which is like $215...

 

[tisb0b]

which country are you in?

 

[tpfaff]

why is the psu 215???

 

[keldegar]

which country are you in?

Im gonna guess Canada

 

[tisb0b]

Im gonna guess Canada

I'd be putting my money on Australia but then again I don't have a clue XD

 

[monolithx]

I live in Croatia, Europe, and prices are in US bucks.

Yes. I'm being ripped off. But unfortunatelly that's my reality.
$215 is for PSU Enermax EG701AX-VE(W) SFMA 24P ATX2.2

If you want to know my prices, I'm on par with UK. Still I don't get payed as good as I would get in UK (about 4 times less)...

So, any suggestions?

 

[Wonda-Boy]

Try to buy of EBAY!!!!

 

[tisb0b]

Your prices seem fairly consistant with what I can get in Australia so I'm going to give you some approximate values.

$200 - Gigabyte DS3
$400 - 2x1gb DDR800
$660 - 8800GTS
$215 - that enermax power supply which is a good choice

TOTAL= $1475

Try to buy of EBAY!!!!

He wants helpful suggestions not utter spammage crap

 

[DemonDiablo]

He wants helpful suggestions not utter spammage crap

Your point? I've bought plenty of pc parts off of ebay. If its cheaper for him to get parts off of ebay as opposed to being "ripped off", as in his own words, then why not?

 

[tuffgong]

I also suggest buying off eBay...just talk to the seller first and make sure he/she will ship to you.

Trust me you will save a bunch of cash. I've sold stuff to Austria before...I know that's not Croatia, but it's still Europe.

 

[tisb0b]

Your point? I've bought plenty of pc parts off of ebay. If its cheaper for him to get parts off of ebay as opposed to being "ripped off", as in his own words, then why not?

my point is he wanted parts suggestions not suggestions on where to buy.

 

[chrisf6969]

my suggestions for any new build:

e6400/6600
Asus P5B-E or Gigabyte DS3
2x1Gb ddr2 800 (G.Skill has some of the best price/performance)
8800 if you can afford it, if not 7900GTX (used)

You probably don't need a new power supply. I had that same PSU, its not bad.
Why don't you try to get by with out it. The only reason I "upgraded" is b/c I wanted a more quiet PSU.

Look at this: http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=36066
QX6700 + SLI680i + 2 x 8800GTX's on a 500W PSU.
Thats a serious power hog system with a quad core & SLI 8800's.

 

[theelectic]

An 8800 draws a lot on the 12V rail, that Thermaltake with 18A on the 12V may be pushing it. Especially with 4 HDs and if you go for some overclocking. Most card makers give a minimum requirement of 26A for a 8800GTS (total system load). I know the theoretical max draw from it is 12.5A, though it won't actually pull that much in practice.

Anyway FWIW I ran an 8800GTS on a 350W PSU that was rated for 28A on the 12V rail, and the whole thing never drew more than 340W from the wall with 3DMark06 looping, measured with a Kill-A-Watt type meter.

 

[monolithx]

ebay could sound good, but then i cant complain if something is wrong and if components are damaged or so...
there is no way to be sure you will ever get the stuff someone buys for you and you can't get the law involved.. and that's a lot of buck there to loose...

for the psu.. well, this psu already makes me problems.. i had to turn my 4th drive off because it just couldnt provide enough so the pc crashed like hell randomly...

 

[Parabellum]

From someone buying from the [H] forums since five years, I would suggest to look into the forums for your purchase. Much better than ebay in my opinion as I consider ebay as a last resort when I don't find the actual part I am looking for. In five years of buying used hardware, it has proven me that it is an as good option as to buy new stuff since you know that it worked for the people before you (as long as he don't scams you but well).

For hardware suggestion :

Core 2 Duo E6600
Asus P5B-E (or the newest "Plus" version since you are in europe)
I prefer Asus since they have proven to be very reliable and they have a strong user base (useful when troubleshooting)
2gb DDR2-800 (G.Skill, Corsair, OCZ, etc. your pick)
GeForce 8800 GTX if you can afford but a 8800 GTS will be quite enough but your choice should be based upon the resolution you are gaming at. If 1280 X 1024 or lower, GTS or if higher, GTX.

Hope this helps,

Para

 

[uniwarp]

I think some of you guys are missing the point. It is always better to be ripped off buying from a shop that can give you a decent warranty on your product rather than to save 20-25% and end up with a product that can't be RMA'd easily when things go wrong. For example, how many people had their memory sticks die on them within the first 3 months, my guess is a lot. Now, if it costs you nearly 50 bucks (or possibly more) to ship it to corsair whenever something goes wrong with your memory, your decision to save a few bucks might not end up being so smart and economic after all. Also consider the extra time you will wait for your product to be returned from RMA is much longer etc... IMHO it's much better to have the middleman there to figure these things out for you. Where I live (Turkey) I have always preferred to buy local so that if something goes wrong I can have a replacement part within 2-3 weeks tops and without paying a buck during the process. Perhaps you can order from Germany as there are lots of e-tailers that ship all over EU countries and shipping back wouldn't cost as much as shipping to USA.

My suggestion for the parts are

Core 2 Duo E6300
Asus P5B-E Plus
2 GB GEIL PC6400 Ultra
8800GTS (Gainward is my thing with Nvidia cards) 420€ for this card cheapest in Germany