rkenshin09

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Jul 24, 2008
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18,510
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This week, although see below.

BUDGET RANGE: ~$700

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: statistical data analysis, gaming, surfing the internet, media

PARTS NOT REQUIRED:
Case (and maybe PSU)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156062
Monitor (28" LCD)
Mouse/Keyboard
Windows XP x64

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg

PARTS PREFERENCES: Don't care/best for the $

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
I recently purchased the RAIDMAX SMILODON case with 500W power supply when it was heavily on sale. I've heard the power supply has a tendency to suck, so I might have to upgrade that too.

Ideally, I would like to start with CPU/Mobo/Memory/HD/DVDRW and work on integrated graphics until my next paycheck, when I will buy the videocard (and new power supply, depending on the card and my experience so far with the included one). This method would allow me to spend a little more money (~$550 on the above purchase), then maybe ~$150 on the videocard (plus whatever the new power supply costs). If I had to buy the videocard with the above components, I might have to drop the total amount I'm willing to spend to $600.

 
Solution
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005&Tpk=650tx ($89.99 w/ $10 MIR)

Intel Core i5 750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215&cm_re=i5-_-19-115-215-_-Product ($206.99)

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128401 ($139.99)

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBRH - Retail...

rkenshin09

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Jul 24, 2008
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18,510
Okay, not too much response, so let me throw together a part list, and maybe y'all can give me some pointers?

Mobo/CPU: http://www.ewiz.com/combo.php?cat_id=374
Either the second or third. Is there much difference between the mobos, besides crossfire/sli?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128404&Tpk=GA-P55M-UD4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128405&Tpk=GA-P55M-UD2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215&cm_re=i5-_-19-115-215-_-Product
$280/$310

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193&cm_re=ddr3-_-20-231-193-_-Product
$85

HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152100&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-22-152-100-_-Product
$65

Graphics: This I'm kind of clueless about...Should I just buy a nicer card, or get the crossfire/sli mobo above and get two mid-end cards? I want to spend ~$150 ($125-175 is fine). If I get one card, do I need a new power supply (see above post)? I'm guessing I might need a new PSU if I went with a crossfire build...

Heatsink: same as above, mostly clueless...can someone find a good one on newegg?

DVD/CD: I have an IDE DVDRW, but would it be worth the $30 to get a new SATA one?

~$430 + graphics/heatsink[/DVD]


 

Transmaniacon

Distinguished
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005&Tpk=650tx ($89.99 w/ $10 MIR)

Intel Core i5 750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215&cm_re=i5-_-19-115-215-_-Product ($206.99)

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128401 ($139.99)

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBRH - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231276 ($89.99)

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181&cm_re=f3-_-22-152-181-_-Product ($49.99)

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151187 ($30.99)

Total: $607.94

Now here the problem, you want to purchase the video card seperately, which is fine, but this build does not have integrated graphics. The HD4870 1GB is a great choice for you, but its ~$150.00. You could get something like a HD4350 to hold you off until you buy the nicer GPU (Cheap temporary option), or go ahead and spend the money and get everything now. I would never use that PSU you have, and would probably just throw it away, it only stands the chance to ruin this new hardware you are adding.

Temporary GPU: GIGABYTE GV-R435OC-512I Radeon HD 4350 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile Ready Video Card - Retail*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125251 ($24.99 w/ $10 MIR)

*Do not expect to play games on this, save for older one, this will merely let you use the computer until you get something nice

Total: $632.93

GPU: SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102825&cm_re=4870-_-14-102-825-_-Product ($159.99)

Better GPU (~$25 more): SAPPHIRE 100269HDMI Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102852&cm_re=4890-_-14-102-852-_-Product ($174.99 w/ $20 MIR)

I would say go with the temporary GPU option, and then get the HD4890 when you plan on buying a good GPU.
 
Solution
Any decent aftermarket cooler will use a backplate and screws instead of the push-pins. That means you have to remove the motherboard to install the HSF. I would buy the cooler now if you think you're going to want to overclock (and who wouldn't want to overclock since it's so easy with the new CPUs?) :)