I Gots money... what do i do?

[benjester]

So, I've been out of it for awhile... and once again, I am considering building a new pc... I have a budget of $800 give or take... all I need is the box... no monitor. My current system is 5 or 6 years old, and for the first time, i can't play a game on it.

 

So, what would you guys recommend? I am thinking core 2 duo build... but ultimately, I would like to be able to play bioshock on this system. I can get the proc and vid cards at a really good deal... as for mobo... i can get asus at a good deal, but would consider something else if it is better.

 

so.. hit me with it... what would you recommend?

[anonymo]

I would check out Nick's build as it's one of the most recent and he went for performance. Mind you I don't think you want to spend the same money but the recommendations are still good and you can get the same parts without certain features (like getting a P35 mobo, just not the balls to the wall version).

 

I definitely recommend at least the core 2...I would also say get a mobo that you can get 2 vid cards on one day...just incase you have to

 

If you can salvage things like harddrives, memory (for now) and the sound card, you should beable to put your money to better use on better gear

[NOFX]

I recently did an upgrade( about two weeks ago) Recent enough that the server crash didnt save my thread.

 

I went with a

core 2 duo. 2.33Ghz (1333Mhz bus) I think its the e6550

gigabyte -DS3 P35 Chipset. Its rock solid and great for overclocking. Im running about 2.8Ghz on air, with no change other than fsb

and I picked up 2 gigs of DDR2 800 memory for $55 after rebate.

 

I already had a 7800GT, But I did this build for under 400.

 

The board isn't the fancy board with all the crap you don't need like SLI and other bells and whistles, but it works awesome for under $100. The processor is $175, but you can get a quad core for only $100 more. You could build a beast of a comp for $800, if you all you needed were the guts.

Edited August 27, 2007 by NOFX

[Nick Soapdish]

one thing about my build, the mobo and 8800 gtx i got are working wonders.

[benjester]

Thanks guys... I will look up that stuff... although, I can't salvage anything from the old system... staying complete and going to my brother.. so I have to do a total replacement unfortunately. I might be able to stretch a grand if I had to though too... 8)

[ZeroDamage]

I still have my Core 2 duo 6420 for sale. I sort of gave up on selling it and was looking to keep it for a future multimedia system. Only had it a couple of months before I picked up the Quad. Only asking $140 for it.

[[LaW]Maverick]

I did an upgrade...got it up and running this weekend:

 

--Core2Duo 2.44ghz (E6600, I believe)

--EVGA 122-CK-NF68-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

--Mushkin DDR2 800 (2 gigs) RAM

--BFG OC'ed GeForce 8800 GTX

 

 

Stuff is kinda pricey, but I have the Core2Duo cranked to 3 ghz, and it's stable...it's smoking fast. I went with an SLi board so that when the prices on the 8800GTX's goes down I can stick another one in there and I won't have to worry 'bout upgrading anytime soon.

 

 

If you want to go ASUS and keep the price somewhat reasonable, I'd go wit this: Open Box on NewEgg

 

The board is getting some good reviews. I went EVGA this time only because Slaughter bought the same board and had such good results overclocking. I got around 2500 higher in my 3dMark score after I overclocked the processor and PCI-E. I was impressed.

[dragonfly]

I've got the same board and proc. My proc is at 3.15 on air, and I've had it to 3.4, but I wanted the temps a little bit lower. It'll do it no problemo though. So I can vouch for those two pieces for ya!

Edited August 27, 2007 by DarkArchon

[benjester]

so, this is what I put together... let me know what you think.

 

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/wishli...tNumber=8046367

 

yeah, I went past my budget.

[dragonfly]

I think the P35 chipset is now out. You'll probably get told to look at that. And if you're planning on going SLi then get that board, if not, then I think that there are nice ones that dont make you pay for SLi that you wont use.

 

Personally it looks like a nice PC to me though. I think the Q6600 are not much more in price from that, or look at what the E6600 was replaced by (E6750 or something like that). I think the 6600 is discontinued...

[anonymo]

I also recommend sticking with the P35 board. You might also want to get a video card with slightly more than 320 mb of ram...don't really need it now but you will want it sooner rather than later. Also, I make it a rule to only buy WD HDDs...people in the comments are already complaining of that HDD dying on them (and for about $30 more you can get a WD 500gb drive)

[benjester]

Thanks gang. I did look at the P35 chipset, and switched to a gigabyte board... never owned a gigabyte, but worth a try I guess.

I upped the vid card to a 640MB one. There is another one that is a bit faster, but money is an issue. I left the drive as I have had good luck with both seagate and wd... so 6 on one side, half a dozen on the other.

 

Thanks for the input... I will probably go with this build, but also debating waiting till November to see the new hardware come out and price changes.

[Cujo]

that's a sexy system. only thing i would do is bump to the 750w thermaltake only because i know it got amazing reviews and with thermaltake almost every different model is made by a different company and therefore different quality. the 700w might well be good though. maybe check a review or two just to see.

Edited September 4, 2007 by Cujo

[benjester]

Power Supply question: There are two 750w thermaltake... one is modular and crossfire certified, the other is NOT modular and sli certified. I am buying an Nvidia card which would be sli... i will never be using dual vid cards anyways... at least not this build...

 

so, is there a difference between SLI certified and crossfire certified... besides the obvious fact one is ATI, and one it Nvidia...??

 

I did change the proc to a Q6600 as well...

[[LaW]Maverick]

Meh, as far as I know SLi and Crossfire certifications are just a marketing ploy. I know people that have purchased power supplies that are not SLi certified, but they work in SLi just fine. The same thing goes for RAM. Slaughter has RAM that didn't say SLi certified on it, but he's running two 8800 GTX's.

 

In other words, I don't really think it matters as long as it has the right number of PCI-E ports. That being said, I would consider (were I you) going with an SLi board. I know up there they said not to, but here's my reasoning: If your system starts to get a little bogged down, instead of upgrading several components, you just jam another 8800 GTS in there and you're set for quite a bit longer. I went with an SLi board, and aside from loving the chipset options, as soon as the price on my BFG 8800 GTX goes down, I'll buy another one.

 

In otherwords, it leaves you with a comparatively cheap upgrade path. It's not a necessity, but it's nice to have the option later.

 

Also, consider this Antec power supply. It's what I'm using, and it has some of the steadiest power output I've ever seen. If you do a little research on the 'net, you can find reviews of the things down to a guy that pulled it completely apart and tested every aspect of the supply. I'm quite happy with it and it's gone down in price just a little bit. I know it's a little bit more than what you have on your list, but if you're worried 'bout SLi certification, this has it AND it's modular.

 

Hope that helps! You can always PM me if you have any questions or hit me up on Xfire (cslsMaverick)

[dragonfly]

If you do go sli, get the eVGA 680i board then. I love mine.

[[LaW]Maverick]

If you do go sli, get the eVGA 680i board then. I love mine.

 

As do I...it's a killer chipset, and it's smoking fast :-) Overclocked to 3.0ghz on air and it stays below 100 degrees most of the time