OK, time to build one

[Toad]

My old, old 'puter finally choked on it's mobo. The Dr. says its bits are too old to bother with replacing the mobo. I guess an AMD T-bird and a GeForce 5900 are no longer the cutting edge of gaming computers.

So I checked out Anandtech's suggested budget gamer. I don't need the monitor as the 21" NEC will do for a while longer and I'll get a 2ms LCD flatscreen when it croaks. I also have a legal XP Home, so I don't need the OS. I can have Mwave put this together (with a E4600) and tested for ~$825 shipped to my door.

Processor Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 (2.2GHz 65W Allendale 2MB L2) -

Motherboard Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Intel P35 ATX

Memory Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 PC2-6400

Video Card PNY GeForce 8800GT 512MB PCI-e 2.0 HDCP

Hard Drive Samsung SpinPoint T Series HD321KJ
320GB 16MB 7200RPM SATA 3.0GB/s

Optical Drive Samsung 20X DVDRW/DL SH-S202G -

Case APEX TU150 Black Steel ATX with 400W


Any obvious bad choices? Suggestions for low cost effective upgrades? Better dealers than Mwave?

[humble]

Nothing "bad" at all....except thew PS is bare minimum.

It's a P35 MB which is what you want IMO. The new ATI VC's are supposed to be very good for roughly $200 or so...I'd at least look at one to compare...

With no OS that seems a bit steep but I dont know the build market...

[eagl]

Double-check prices on newegg.com, since that should let you see where you might be able to make a jump in performance for not much $$$.  For example...

I'd go for a slightly faster cpu.  I'd try to get either the 4600 (200 more mhz for $20, not bad) or make the jump to the ones with 4mb of cache instead of the 2mb in the 4500 and 4600.  But that's just me.

I had good luck with g-skill memory.  Sometimes it's a bit cheaper than crucial.  Look into a 4 gb kit too (2x2gb).  Yea windows won't use all of it now (you'll probably get 3gb usable), but you keep your computers around so long that the NEXT operating system just might be able to use all 4 gig.  And memory is cheap right now.  No matter how much you get, try to get memory speeds that match the cpu bus speed.

I'd get the 500 gig version of that same samsung drive because the price/gig bottoms out at the 500 gig size.  I have 6 of these (4 in a RAID NAS box, 1 in my main rig, and 1 in an external USB chassis) and they all run fast, cool, and quiet.  You should pay about $115ish for the 500GB version.

For a power supply, I have had very good luck with seasonic.  Every review I've read, even the ones that stress the power supplies up to 100% of rated power in a hot environment, have good results for seasonic PSUs.  They cost a bit more but they're also very quiet.

The 8800GT is a good video card.  You'll be able to run a pretty high FSAA setting in AH with that sucker  You will want a decent power supply plugged into it though.

[715]

Isn't 400W the absolute minimum PS for a 8800GT?  Says it draws 26A from 12V.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Toad if you're going to upgrade don't upgrade to a 2 year old processor!

Even though you can overclock that 4500 like I did in my kids box, ever since I installed the cpu I've itched to upgrade it. If you see all that trouble to set up a new computer with 8800GT nonetheless(!) get a proper cpu. E6850 or Q6600 suggested.

Seriously, E4500 is not worth it. It's already generations old. Wrong place to save in that system.

[Getback]

Don't know about the motherboard. It's probably okay. That PS has got to be rated much higher. Probably around 600w and up. I have to agree with MrRipley on the processor, although I think intel is the right way to go from what others say.

One tid bit more of info. I don't know about the Nivida 8800gt. I hear they are very good. I use the ati 3870 and it is sweet!

Are we nit-picky or what. However, if you wan the best game play I like all the suggestions I have read so far.

[Max]

Newegg's "Choice Awards" for CPU's goes to the Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0 Ghz LGA 775. Cost = $280

I'm about to build a new box using that CPU as it got high mark reviews. Think about dropping back to a GeForce 8600GT 512MB and putting the extra $ into a CPU that will keep you on the high end of the curve for a couple of years.

You might want to consider a better PS. I'm using a Silencer 610W ($120) with a Antec 900 ATX mid tower ($120)

All prices are Newegg.

[Max]

Btw... if anyone wants to offer comments/suggestions on the configuration I'm looking at, jump in.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0 ghz 775

Abit IP35 Pro LGA Intel P35 ATX

Silencer 610w PS

Antec 900 ATX mid tower

EVGA GeForce 8600GT 512 MB 128 bit GDDR3 PCIx16

Crucial Ballistix 2 X 1GB 240 oin DDR2 SDRAM

Seagate Barracuda NS 320GB 7200

Lite-On 20X DVD+R DVD 12X DVD-RAM

SB Audigy SE 7.1 PCI

[Fulmar]

Originally posted by Max
Newegg's "Choice Awards" for CPU's goes to the Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0 Ghz LGA 775. Cost = $280

I'm about to build a new box using that CPU as it got high mark reviews. Think about dropping back to a GeForce 8600GT 512MB and putting the extra $ into a CPU that will keep you on the high end of the curve for a couple of years.
 

I HIGHLY recommend not getting a video card lower than an 8800 series if you want to go Nvidia.

[republic]

Originally posted by MrRiplEy[H]
Toad if you're going to upgrade don't upgrade to a 2 year old processor!
 

I agree, that cpu doesn't offer much more performance than the E2180 which is cheaper.   I also recommend the Q6600.  The quad core won't help you much right now, but in time it will make a big difference.  Quad core is the best cpu to use in a system you intend to keep for an extended time period.

Dual core's will be cheaper and faster right now, but once software is written for that quad core....you'll rock.

[Max]

Originally posted by Fulmar
I HIGHLY recommend not getting a video card lower than an 8800 series if you want to go Nvidia.

Reasons please?  Any Radeon cards I should consider in the $150 or less price range? GF8800GT's are almost 2x the cost. Just curious.

Thanks

[republic]

Originally posted by Max
Reasons please?  Any Radeon cards I should consider in the $150 or less price range? GF8800GT's are almost 2x the cost. Just curious.

Thanks

I just bought a Radeon 3850 with 512mb of ram, I love it.  It runs everything I've thrown at it, including Crysis, at max settings.

You can pickup a Radeon 3850 with 256mb of ram for around 150ish.

[Getback]

Do not get the 8600gt. I think Skuzzy posted not to get the 8600gt somewhere (forgive me If Im wrong here Skuzzy) One of my Squaddies bought one and had to return it. I bought one and am currently not using it. I think it was AGP though. Look at the ATI 3850 or3870. I have the 3870 and it is sweet. It's around 250 bucks maybe cheaper now.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Nvidia 8800GT 512mb is the best bang for buck at the moment. The new 8800GTS 512mb is also awesome for $300.

[Toad]

OK, looking through the suggestions, I did a quick trip through the Mwave parts bin and come up with this:
 
ABIT IP35 PRO intel p35 chipset ATX form factor

CORE 2 QUAD Q6600 2.4G (1066Mhz)

CRUCIAL 2GB KIT BL2KIT12864AA1065

 XFX Geforce 8800 gt 512mb 625MHz DDR3 pcie 2.0  
 
COOLER MASTER rc-690-kka1-gp cosmos 690 (black) mid tower rohs cetified w/550w sli certified power supply    
 
WD 500gb WD5000AAKS SATA2 16mb 7200rpm      
 
SAMSUNG SH-S202G/BEBN black 20x DVD burner w/software    
 
~ $1150 shipped to my door; call it $300 more.

We bumped the price 40%. Did the performance jump 40%? Will I really notice a difference if I only use this thing for AH, Turbotax, E-mail and surfing the BBS?

I can spend it if there really is an amazing gain. But as has been pointed out, I'm not an "early adopter". I generally milk these machines until they croak simply because I don't really do that much that requires a lot of horsepower. In fact, AH is the most demanding thing I ask my puter to do.

Realistically, will I notice that much difference in playing AH over the next 3 years or so with the much more expensive machine when compared to the older tech cheaper one?

Thanks for the replies, btw; I enjoyed reading the input.