New Summer Build Start Date Questions

[distantstar]

I haven't built a computer for about 2-3 years now and my 2500+ XP-M is getting older and older everyday. I have a budget of about $1000 and was wondering if building right now is any better/worse/neutral than building in a month's time (I'm not up to speed on current technology releases).

This budget will also have to include a monitor of decent size (read: 20") and I want to include a 4850. Other than that I'm open to suggestions.

EDIT: Here's my current plan; I'd like to cut the prices as much as possible. Minor sacrifices in performance are acceptable, any help would be awesome!

Case:
Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115052

Video Card:
SAPPHIRE 100242L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102747

Memory:
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar SE WD800AAJS 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136195

Monitor:
Acer AL2016WBbd Black 20" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 800:1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

DVD Drive:
SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151155

Subtotal: ~$880
Grand Total (Tax + Shipping): $992.62

 

[Dangman]

For you, no reason to wait a month to build your PC outside of budget constraints.

Look around the forums here. You'll see at least three or so threads with similar budgets and needs made within the last week or so. You should be able to find out what's the recommended parts around here and why.

 

[engiNURD]

So yah, come up with a list of parts you think fit your needs and we'll tailor that list to your needs. If you wait a month, prices on things should be lower.

 

[distantstar]

alright I fixed my first post with your suggestions

 

[onedestinazn2]

build looks good but maybe 2gb ram and put that extra 40 towards a larger hdd

 

[Dangman]

You can shave off $25 from shipping if you go with this case and PSU combo:
Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU - $60
Antec 300 ATX Case - $60
--
Total $120 with Free shipping.

You could shave off an additional $60 by going with the $70 E2180. And you can cut out $35 if you go for the 2GB set of that G.Skill RAM:
G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 RAM - $45

 

[distantstar]

Hmm I heard that the E2180 isn't nearly as fast as the 7200. But the other suggestions are definitely awesome, thanks.

 

[engiNURD]

You'll lose up to 10% performance at the same clock speeds. Thats a minimal performance loss for a significant savings, IMO. But hey, if you have the cash, stick with the E7200.

 

[tiraides]

If you want the Antec Sonata III, get it from Buy.com.

For a little bit more, right now you can quadruple your storage capacity by getting the Hitachi 320GB HDD.

As enginurd mentioned, an overclocked E2180 can compete with a stock E7200. But in order to keep it cool, you'll have to spend a bit extra for an aftermarket CPU cooler like the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro or the Xigmatek HDT-S963.

You don't really need 4GB of RAM... so you could buy the 2GB kit that Danny recommended earlier.

 

[distantstar]

I think I'll go with the E2180 / 2GB of ram and hunt down some more case/PSU deals. The E2180 should be better than the E7200 if i'm planning to upgrade to a quad-core sometime in the future right? Thanks again for all the help.

 

[engiNURD]

The E2180 should be better than the E7200 if i'm planning to upgrade to a quad-core sometime in the future right? Thanks again for all the help.

Yup. You'd save more money towards the future upgrade with minimal compromise in performance.

 

[distantstar]

Have some new questions here, thus the bump:

I've recently decided to go for the E7200 and the EP43-DS3L from Gigabyte. I was looking through some of Newegg's combo deals and found this:

http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/AddToCart.aspx?Submit=ADD&ItemList=Combo.118193

Is this a better alternative to getting the E7200 + the G.Skill ram everyone here recommends? Or is this OCZ ram no good?

EDIT: fixed the link

 

[Dangman]

Is this a better alternative to getting the E7200 + the G.Skill ram everyone here recommends? Or is this OCZ ram no good?

Not really a better alternative. $7 more expensive the G.Skill RAM and E7200 once you factor in shipping. The lower timings of the OCZ RAM won't help in real world apps.

 

[distantstar]

Awesome thanks, that MIR is teasing me but I hate rebates anyway.