Suggestions: Help get this build under $500

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mighty21

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Jul 8, 2008
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I've been building for almost nine years, but I would like to see if i'm overlooking something:

This will be my boss's gaming/everyday computer. The case, OS, monitor (CRT - buy LCD later), keyboard and mouse will be reused.

Looking to buy in the next few days. We live in NW burbs of Illinois, so TigerDirect has B&M's nearby. However, TigerDirect seems more expensive than newegg regardless of tax / no shipping :mad:

We would like to use a second Video Card down the road, so SLI is preferred. :D

We are not planning on overclocking

From Newegg:

OS: XP-64 $0
MB: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P SLI $134.99 - $20 MIR
CPU: Intel E7400 Wolfdale $119.99
RAM: OCZ 2 X 2GB DDR2 1066 $47.99
HD: WD Caviar GP 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s $59.99
PS: COOLMAX CXI-500B 500W ATX12V SLI Certified $54.99
VC: GV-N98TOC-512H GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 $114.99 - $30 MIR
Shipping: $9.25
Total: $542.19

There used to be a combo deal for the MB/CPU, but minus SLI.

Should we:

Wait for prices to drop on the E7400?

Downgrade VC or use variant?

Drop RAM to 2GB instead of 4GB?

Wait for E7400 combo?

And, just to be sure without instigating WW3, Intel is the better gaming platform than AMD at this level, correct?

Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated. :)
 
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From Newegg:

I just would not choose these parts unfortunately. In this build price range unless you really want to go nvidia I would go ati as well. This is what I would build for around that price.

cpu: Intel e5200 = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072 70.99
mobo: gigabyte g31m-es2l http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128357 52.99
hdd: 640gb wd black http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 74.99
ram: 2x2 Gskill ddr2-800 ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122 42.99
psu: corsair vx550 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004 89.99
or
psu: corsair vx450 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003&Tpk=450%20vx 74.99
gpu: gigabyte gtx260 http://www.newegg.com/Product /Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125267 184.99
or
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102822 Sapphire 4830 86.99

You would need the bigger vx550 for the gtx260 but the 450 would be sufficient for the 4830. Personally I built a similar system to the 4830 variant recently and it fly's. Even without overclocking. After overclocking its a blast :)

CAVEATS: This mobo will not do sli or xfire. I have found in practice that those that plan to do sli or xfire and do not do it right away would be better served by buying the best gpu for their money now and when they plan to get a second gpu. Selling off their original and spending what they were planning + whatever they recouped on the orig card.

At this budget range as well. I would choose going for a lower end yet still kick ass mobo / cpu such as I did. socket 775 is a dead platform and I would not sink much money into it at this time. The mobo/cpu combo I choose and also the memory have gone through many depreciation cycles and are at rock bottom basement pricing. They are practically giving them away at this price range.

If it were me, I would choose the vx450 route/4830 just for my own personal choices. It is a very safe and stable build and will allow you to overclock quite a bit when the time comes. There are various rebates on some of the stuff in here that I did not note in the price.

This cpu/gpu combo would be fine for any resolution up to 1280x1024, maybe higher depending on the game. If you were going 1920x1200/1080p I would go the first route, i.e. vx550/gtx 260 route.

Could not figure out shipping but pre-shipped price from newegg would be around 516.94 So comparable price and in my opinion a VERY solid build.
 
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I second Sway build... It would stomp mud hole and walk it dry in ur current build.
 
Nice suggestion on the MB in that it would take a better processor down the road, and good idea that I should spend twice as much on the VC than the CPU.



However, the board is not SLI capable and is a deal breaker.
 
Green hard drives are not for operating systems for primary computers, especially systems with intent to game. The WD6400AAKS and WD6401AALS are excellent OS drives.
 
Because of the VC, right?

I thought more games are becoming increasingly dependent on the CPU/FSB.

I think you guys are right about the VC.

Thanks for your suggestions.
 
GTX 260 is faster than two 9800 GT in SLi... so you are not missing anything.
 
Didnt realize it was a green HD.

I agree, that's not as effective as a standard drive.
 
didnt know GTX was batter than two 9800 GT's

Awesome.

I still think SLI is the way to go, though.
 
Game performance, yes. Loading levels and such are on the hard drive. Green hard drives are designed to conserve power, and most are static at 5400rpm. Some are variable (5400-7200rpm).
 
OP: I have added some methods to my madness and whatnot information to my build ideas. Please make sure you note what games and resolutions your boss wants to play. If this is 1280x1024 or lower as the average consumer is today then you would be well served by the second option. SLI at this system range and price is also not the most efficient use of budget in my opinion.
 
Sway: Agreed. He will be playing mostly older games, but the 1280x1024 will do for newer games.

I am quite convinced of your choices, except for SLI. This really isn't efficient?
 
in my opinion its not. At least not at this price range. If you were running extremely high resolution and had the budget to support it. I.E. 2560x1600 resolution on a 30 inch lcd, budgeting 1000 to 1500$ in video cards for crossfire or 2 to 3x sli on a core i7 platform would be doable. For 1280x1024 ESPECIALLY with older games. a radeon 4830 or the gtx 260 would be plenty, either of them. Not saying that the 4830 is fast as the gtx260 cause it is not. But the 4830 is plenty fast, especially for older games. For 75 bucks after rebate its a awesome deal. Now if you want a faster card and your budget will cope with it. The gtx260 is a great card. You could also grab a higher end radeon if you like ati cards. I believe the newly released radeon 4890 is pushing under the 200 range and surely the 4850/70 models are under the price of the 260 and lower. As for me, for the radeon camp I would not choose anything lower than the 4830. Nvidia camp I would not go anything under the gtx260 unless it was a astounding deal.

Power supply choices: there is a power supply recommended post in the PSU subforum here. I suggest you go through that. Coolmax is definitely not my first choice when it comes to a safe and sane powersupply.
 
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