$800-$1000 Intel Build... Ok?

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styx66

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Oct 21, 2007
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Another one of these. While waiting for my account to be approved, i read a lot of them and i'm getting pretty confident in this list...

Looking to upgrade 2 aging AMD 2800+'s to modern times w/o breaking the bank, for me and my lady. My goal was definitely under $1000 each, and possibly under $800. Monitors and peripherals are taken care of already.

So far (each):

CPUs: E6750's, ($194)
MB: Gigabyte P35-DSR3 ($129)
Mem: Crucial DDR2-800 2x1GB ($94.99 -$40 rebate= $54.99)
(I've seen there may not truly be a rebate on those at newegg? Should i go with the corsair?)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Purepower W0110RU 500W ($59.99 -$25 rebate = $34.99)
(Really cheap, but on the Tier 3 list. Haven't seen this mentioned in anybody's build though...)

Missing links are Video and Case.

Video: I am leaning towards an 8800GTS 320MB, but I don't know which brand to go for. There are a bunch of cards around $250-$280. Some with higher clocks out of the box than others... Right now i've got a default XFX 500mhz one at $249 after rebate, but am considering a Leadtek @ 540 for $264 or an EVGA at 576 for $274... argh. Want to get these ASAP so not sure i want to wait for the 8800GT. I guess i could go EVGA and step-up, but then our computers will be dead for a week or whatever.

Case: really hard to choose one online without being able to see it. What i want are: good air-flow, external connectors (USB/Audio) on the top or near the top of the case. I like Antec, and am thinking the Antec Nine Hundred. Has the top ports, and looks big enough with good cooling. But would love to find something cheaper.

Those choices put me around the right price, and is a pretty decent system. We don't play the latest greatest games but want the ability to last into the future a few years, at least as long as our last systems did.
 
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aadamszc

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Sep 8, 2007
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You can get one of these: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L for around $90.

If you had the time, you could wait on the 8800GT 512MB, which is rumored will be better and cheaper than the 8800GTS. they say it will be release OCT. 29th. I know you said you want it ASAP, but is 8 days too much for better performance?

Antec 900 is pretty expensive, imo. It really is a personal choice, but CoolMaster seems to have cheap ones.

Other than that, it looks pretty good. Depending on how many computers you are ordering, you could have quite a lot of money backed-up in those MIR for ram.

-Adam

 
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styx66

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Oct 21, 2007
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I like the HD expandability (and RAID) of the DS3R. I've had too many drives fail on me in the past, so I just mirror by habit. Also the R, from what i can tell, also benefits from the Ultra Durable 2 design, the L doesn't.

Will talk to the woman about waiting for the 8800GT.
 
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aadamszc

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Well, if you decide to not wait..they also say once the 8800GT releases, the price of the 8800gts 320MB will probably fall by ~$50. This is all real speculation. Other than that, looks like you give a solid budget build.
 
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aadamszc

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Well, it is tier 3. I think tier 3 is a "I hope I get a decent power supply" kinda thing.

For more information, see if jonny guru has anything to say about it.
 
nhobo

nhobo

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Nice to see someone doing their homework *before* posting here. Nice build, too. I'd go for an eVGA or Gigabyte video cards and I like the Gigabyte Triton case.
 
lunyone

lunyone

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Feb 22, 2006
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Totally agree, sad to say though, but truthfull. Okay here is what I'd get and try and save your $ for GPU upgrades.

PSU - $75 shipped - $10 MIR = $65! Can run a single 8800gtx system easily. Better PSU than the one you selected, plus has 33A on 12v rails, so you have more upgrade room than the 500w TT one.
CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W Active Power Supply Retail ***Free Shipping***
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006428

Case - $60 shipped - $20 MIR = $40! Can hold 2 8800gtx’s!! What a deal! Can't beat for this price. Only you can decide if you want the look of this or not. I personally don't worry about looks too much, because the case is usually buried in a corner or not visiable too much.
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Mid Tower Case Retail ***Free Shipping***
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006342

Review of case above:
cluboverclocker.com:September 2007
This is one nice mid-tower. While the case has a ton going for it, it could be a little better. There is no removable motherboard tray and the case is made of heavy steel. Those are very small complaints when you look at the case as a whole. A big plus for this case is it will fit 2 8800GTX's in SLI. I have an 8800GTS installed and you can see all of the extra room available. This case is also designed for nice airflow while keeping the noise down. The HDD trays have rubber grommets to eliminate noise causing vibration and the power supply opening is lined with a rubber gasket to do the same. The large 120mm fans will move more air at less RPMs than a 80mm fan. This will also cut your noise level down. Even the large rubber feet will help keep the noise level down. Overall this is a very nice case loaded with features that you'd find on much more expensive cases. Club Overclocker Recommended!

If your not waiting for the newer GPU's to come out, than I would get the 8800gts's. Any one of them will work fine, so you can decide. With the $30 or $40 savings by using the case I listed, you can select any of the 320mb 8800gts's.
 
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Learjet

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Oct 19, 2007
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Nice Case!
Thanks for the link!

The 8800GT is due out in 8 days (i think)

I am also building a very similiar system but I am waiting for the benchmarks on the GPU before I purchase
 
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