New build time

[Jeph]

First off, let me say that this place rocks. Chock full o' info. I haven't built a system in over 5 years but new this was the place to get up to speed fast. The amount of collective knowledge here is amazing....

and now that yer all buttered up

My pc died on Fri and I'm trying to get a new system up asap. Originally I was hoping to spend around a grand for everything but am having a hard time doing so. This is my main machine and see's everything from gaming to recording, I'd like to have enough power and upgrade ability for this one to last me another 5 years. Chances are I won't do much (if any) overclocking. I don't have enough time to rake leaves let alone learn all on oc'ing!

Here's what I have saved so far, picked mainly from reading threads here. Fill in the blanks, make edits, it's all good.

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail

Fan:
ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Heatsink - Retail

Motherboard:
eVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

RAM:
OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2P8002GK - Retail

HDD:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Graphics:
eVGA 256-P2-N554-AX Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

PSU:
OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply - Retail

Case:
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Monitor:
SAMSUNG 204BW Black 20" 6ms Widescreen LCD Monitor with Height Adjustments - Retail

Audio:
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum 70SB035000003 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

Speakers:
Klipsch Promedia GMX A-2.1 78 watts 2.1 Speaker - Retail

Mouse:
Logitech MX310 930928-0403 Black&White 6 Buttons 1x Wheel USB + PS/2 Optical Mouse - Retail

Keyboard:
Logitech G15 2-Tone USB Wired Standard Keyboard - Retail

 

[Jeph]

I think my list is now final. Anything to add?

 

[engiNURD]

What does that total out to? Will you be needing SLI anytime? If not, save your money on the motherboard and go for a Gigabyte S3 or similar. Whats your new budget? That looks around $1700. If I had that much to spend, I'd get an X-Fi and an E6600, since you wont be OC'ing. Also, the THX promedias are on sale at amazon.

$240 - BenQ FP202W Black 20.1" 8ms Widescreen LCD
$308 - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz
$116 - Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express
$200 - G.SKILL 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK (on sale)
$110 - BFG Tech BFGR76256GTOCE Geforce 7600GT 256MB ($145 - $30MIR)
$112 - Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX Certified
$95 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200RPM SATA300 16MB Cache
$73 - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Channels PCI ($93 - $20MIR)
$35 - Cooler Master Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver w/ Side Window ($50 - $15MIR)
$50 - XClio GOODPOWER 500W ATX 500W
$35 - Scythe SCNJ-1100P 120mm CPU HSF
$72 - Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard
$24 - Logitech MX310 6-btn Optical Mouse
=========
$1470 + tax and shipping (after rebates)

If you're budget is $1700, I'd bump that 7600GT to an X1950Pro or 7900GT to help drive that new 20" LCD.

 

[Jeph]

Thanks man, I appreciate your time. Yeah, my list comes in right around $1700. I think I'd like to keep the system open for any potential OC'ing in the future, actually might delve into that sooner rather than later. I'll probably go SLI once the gov't sends my money back to me next year. It doesn't look like the X-Fi you suggested has a front panel, which'd make connecting my mixer easier. Are the X-Fi's worlds better than the Audigy 2 ZS?

 

[engiNURD]

for a 20" widescreen, i dont think sli is worth it. it also depends on how much you game and what games you play. sli is really only needed for high resolutions (24"+ lcds). the gigabyte ga-965p-s3 is a great overclocker. Not sure if the x-fi's are that much better than the audigy2s... check with the guys over at the computer audio subforum for better advice on audio, hehe.

oh, i went with the scythe above because its as good as/better than the cnps9500 and its a bit cheaper. The 500w is all you'll need if you don't go sli.