need more help with budget build

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svhsbaseball63

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Nov 29, 2008
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I made a post about 3 weeks ago asking for help with a build, but I had too much of an idea of what i wanted.. considering im trying to do this on a budget id like to get the best bang for the buck. Im looking to spend around 600-650$

I already have a dvd drive, 4 gigs of ram
I wouold like to use the Q6600,but im open to whatever


I want to use this for gaming, being able to play most recent games on high-max settings
I would appreciate any help since im looing to order everything within the next couple days
 
Dont know what size monitor 17? i think, not home or i would look.Im not worried about a keyboard , mouse or anything like that i can scavenge it off another one i have around the house
i need Hard drive, PSU, mobo, case, video card, processor

sorry about not putting it in the old thread
 
Which (brand, speed) RAM do you have?

Regardless...

$50 - Cooler Master Centurion 590
$67 - BFG Tech LS-550 (free shipping)
$185 - Q6600 (free shipping)
$85 - Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L (free shipping)
$75 - Western Digital Blue 640GB HDD (free shipping)
$150 - Asus HD4850 (free shipping)
=====
$612 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

If you need to reduce the cost, to cover shipping, swap out the Q6600 for the E8400.
 
My build is simply a variation of Danny's earlier build (in your first thread), so you should be good.
 
That's a solid Q6600 build tiraides just listed. Plenty power for a 17", 19", 22" lcd monitor resolution.. Here's another option. Dual Core build with a faster video card. You'll be screaming performance on your little 1280 x 1024 17" lcd.

Case - Cooler Master Elite 330 Chassis for $40.24 w/free shipping
http://www.buy.com/prod/cooler-mast...silver-cooler-master/q/loc/101/204561347.html

PSU - BFG LS-550 for $66.49($20 MIR) w/free shipping
http://www.buy.com/prod/bfg-tech-55...-eps12v-power-supply/q/loc/101/207955009.html

Mobo - GA-EP43-DS3L for $85 w/free shippping
http://www.buy.com/prod/giga-byte-s...rd-intel-p43-express/q/loc/101/208344187.html

Cpu/Video card (Combo Deal) - Intel Core 2 E8400(3.0ghz) + Sapphire Radeon HD4870 512mb($20 MIR) both for $345
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.149461

HDD - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB for $75 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218


Total: $611.43
 
I have been looking at a lot of comparisons between the dual and quad cores.. the general consensus is i get is that the dual core will be outdated before the q6600..am i wrong for thinking this ? and also i think i would like to get an EVGA card due to the step up program, but im unsure about Nvidia.
 
In the future, more games and programs will be "optimized" for use with quad core processors... but we don't know when that future will become reality.

EVGA and BFG are the only companies that offer a step-up program... and they both offer NVIDIA cards. The GTX 260 is the NVIDIA equivalent (performance-wise) to the HD4870, but the HD4850 is (arguably) the best of the mid-range video cards.
 
You need to step up your monitor first man before stepping up those GPUs we just listed. HD 4850/4870 is plenty power for a 17" or 19" resolution monitor.
 
well i might get a monitor for my birthday coming up in a couple months. Would it be worth my money to spend a little extra on a mobo?

Thaks for all of your alls help
 
Depends if you will utilize the extra features on a more expensive mobo. Features like extra Sata ports, E-sata, firewire, crossfire support.
 
so far my only questions or concerns are
will the motherboard be good enough for future upgrades or will i have to replace it in a relatively short amount of time.
and whenever it comes to the video card , i am pretty set on an EVGA card it may be because im very content with my current one. so i may cave and buy a gtx260, but will i notice that much difference between the GTX260 and the 9800GTX?
 
The motherboard will allow you to pop in a Core 2 Quad CPU if you decide to get one. Whether it be a 65nm Q6600 or a 45nm Q9550 cpu, it will support both processors, As far as RAM, it can support up to 16GB of ram which is alot. Highly unlikely you will even need 8gigs of RAM. It only has 1 x PCI-E slot. Not a big deal actually as you will not even need it to run Xfire. Why bother with Xfire if your monitor is only 17" or 19". Since the LGA socket is reaching its end or eventually will get outdated, I feel there's no sense you spend more money on a pricier LGA 775 mobo. Unless that is you really need firewire on the mobo, the additional E-Sata port etc. The Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L is a good board. It's sold out on NewEgg and that's why we are linking it to buy.com

As far as the GTX 260 vs the 9800GTX, at 1280 x 1024 res, you won't notice that big of a difference between these cards. It depends on the game. Some games you will some not really. But, since prices of a GTX 260 are at $200 or even below with MIR, you might as well get the faster GTX 260 video card. Later on upgrade your monitor I would say to at least a 22" lcd.
 
well Christmas eve went a little better than i planned and im willing to move up my budget to a whopping $700. so if anyone sees anything that could b improved with a few extra bucks here or there please let me know
 
HardwareGuru and I made variants of the same build, only he focused on the HD4870 and I focused on the Q6600. With the increase in your budget, you should now be able to get both the Q6600 and the HD4870/GTX 260. (At the resolution you plan on playing games, though, I personally believe that one of those two cards would be overkill for you.)

Having said that, I suggest going with HG's case suggestion, since it comes with free shipping. That "savings" would be more money that you could invest elsewhere in your build.
 
Truthfully, I feel that you would be better off saving that money towards a new monitor. The parts that HG and I have recommended are pretty good, and the HD4850 (my choice) is more than enough for gaming on your current monitor's resolution.

If you went with the Elite 330 case, the E8400, and the HD4850, with your "extra" money, you may be able to squeeze in a 20-22 inch gaming monitor as well. (For example....)
 
i think i have everything picked out, and i found a way to work in a monitor by downgrading to the 9800gtx

case-50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119152
Cpu-185
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
Hd-75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218
9800GTX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130339
Psu-100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
Moitor-170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009145
and the motherboard you all suggested for 85$

brings the grand total to 850 including shipping tell me if you see anything you think i should change
 
Get either the HD4870 or the GTX 260, as they will perform better on a 22 inch monitor than the 9800GTX would. Since getting one of those cards would cost around $200 each, here's how to free up some money:

Swap out the Centurion 590 case (that I recommended earlier) for the Elite 330 case (that HG recommended). That will save you at least $20 -- the Elite 330 is $10 less than the Centurion 590, and NewEgg normally charges at least $20 for shipping cases.

Never buy a Corsair PSU from NewEgg; you can often find them for less elsewhere. But since we're trying to reduce costs for one of those $200 video cards, get the BFG Tech LS-550 instead. It has plenty of power for your entire system plus one of the above two cards.

So you don't think that I'm misleading you...

$170 - Acer X223Wbd (free shipping)
$40 - Cooler Master Elite 300 case (free shipping)
$67 - BFG LS-550 550W PSU (free shipping & $20 mail-in rebate)
$85 - Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L (free shipping)
$185 - Intel Q6600 (free shipping)
(RAM pending RMA)
$75 - Western Digital WD6400AAKS (free shipping)
(Optical drive from old system)
$200 - Sapphire HD4870 or MSI GTX 260 (free shipping on either one)
(Do you have an unused Windows license?)
=====
$822 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)
 
i dont have windows but one of my friends has a copy of 32-bit vista that recognizes more the3 gigs of ram, an hes going to let me have it ..... is there a difference between the 4870 and the 260? or just personal preference?
 
There would be little noticeable difference between the GTX 260 and the HD4870, but either card would be a better choice than the 9800GTX. Neither card manufacturer is among the best, but my selections were based on price. (FYI, XFX, EVGA, and BFG are among the best NVIDIA-based manufacturers, and VisionTek is the only AMD-based manufacturer that currently offers a limited lifetime warranty.)
 
Would it be worth my while to give in and spend an extra 30 bucks and get an evga or xfx? because if im spending 800+ on it i dont want to half do something when i have put a ton of money into it.
and i dont really have a need for a HD that big thanks anyway though

Also what did you mean by Ram pending RMA?
 
so i ordered my motherboard power supply and case from buy.com......total came to 207$ that amount was charged to my account then three days later i get another charge from buy.com for 130$ i called to ask them why it was added. "becuase we charge you for the orders as they ship sir" (basically saying i should have never been charged the total amount of 207 but intsead 77$ because it was when then item shipped) okay i understand that ... billing errors occur. so they give me an email address saying that i needed to send them proof. I emailed them a screenshot of my bank statement showing that this had occured. wake up this morning hoping everything would be worked out, but i check my email and i have received an email saying that they cant open attachments........what kind of big company cannot open attachments..... all i have to say is DO NOT BUY FOR BUY.COM
 
svhsbaseball63 said:
but i check my email and i have received an email saying that they cant open attachments........what kind of big company cannot open attachments....
Click to expand...

It makes sense from a security standpoint actually. No matter how much money you spend on security software and setup, nothing will ever defeat human stupidity/ignorance. Yes your attachment should be free of viruii and trojans but many people can't tell the difference between a good attachment and a bad attachment. So rather than invest thousands of dollars in software and hardware that can easily be undone by an idiot rep, looks like they just implemented a corporate policy to never open emails. Kind of smart from a business/security standpoint. But hopefully they have some sort of security on their end.

Then again, the above could all be bullshit since Antec can and has open attachments from my email.
 
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