Best computer for the money?

Sparky6string

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Aug 27, 2007
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Hi- noobie here. This is my first build. What I've selected thus far comes to more than I wanted to spend actually already, so if there are suggested replacement of parts please make them around the same price or slightly less. I feel that in theory here I have created a computer that is well suited for gaming and is easily upgradeable. What I tried to do was put the money where the performance is. Let me know how I did here.

$59.99 - Sunbeam Transformer IC-TR-BA Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
For a case I wanted to go cheap and cool.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811166004

$74.99 - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822136074

$219.99 - SAMSUNG 906BW Black 19" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16824001094

$299.99 - EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130038

$61.99 - Rosewill RP550-2 550W,ATX12V v2.01 Power Supply 115/230V CSA, CB, TUV, FCC, UL - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817182017

$139.99 - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820231065

$204.99 - Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115029

$124.99 - GIGABYTE GA-N650SLI-DS4 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128044

$29.99 - SAMSUNG Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache E-IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827151133

$17.99 - Sony NEC Optiarc Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827101131

$89.99 - Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16832116056




What do you think? I appreciate all suggestions and recommendations.
 

Sparky6string

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Aug 27, 2007
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Nice ram, I'll change to that. The card though... I don't think I'll have enough need for the 640 mb with a 19" or 20" monitor using 1680 x 1050 at the most. Yes I would prefer it but like I said I'm already over my limit there.
 

Seraphic

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Only thing with that ram is it doesn't look to have EEP. But I really don't know how much EEP helps ram, I know it adds to the cost.

Maybe someone else can reply that knows?
 

qwertycopter

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May 30, 2006
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I second the Crucial Ballisix suggested by Seraphic. It's great RAM and will save you $70.

You could save another $20 by going with one of these Coolermaster cases:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119047
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119115
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119106

I don't think you need the DVD-ROM unless you copy a LOT of CD/DVDs.

Don't go with that PSU. It is really low quality. I wouldn't trust running an E6750 and 8800GTS on that thing. For your rig this is a good deal at $70:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003

The only problem is that it doesn't have room to grow. That PSU is solid, but it won't do SLI (although at 1440x900, you don't need to do SLI). For better upgrade potential, check out this at $115:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001

Now that's a sweet PSU for that price.
 

Sparky6string

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Aug 27, 2007
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Thanks quertycopter. The ram suggestion is a lock- already in my wishlist in place of the GSkill.

The case- I initially had the first Coolermaster case you suggest there on my list but started to worry about space for the Video card. Will those two work together?

I'll switch to the Corsair PSU if the 450 watts will be enough for the system.

Thanks for the suggestions guys! It's been very helpful.
 

qwertycopter

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Yes, the 8800GTS will fit. It will extend into the hard drive area, preventing a drive in that location. Luckily these cases come with a bunch of 3.5 internal bays, just install the hard drive in a lower bay.

The Corsair 450 provides 33 Amps on the +12V rail. The extreme PSU calculator says your system only needs 24 Amps on +12V. Should work great. I usually add 15% to the caluclator, to be safe. That's still well within range (27.6 Amps).
 

Sparky6string

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qwerty- do you contend then that the Coolermaster would be as good or better than the Sunbeam? I'll go ahead and go with that Corsair PSU too.

mousemonkey- I had entertained SLI possibilities for future upgrade ability but I think you may be on to something there. Before the SLI board I had my sights set on this Gigabyte board. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059

Which would be better between that Gigabyte and that second Abit you suggest there?
 
I would get a GA-P35-S3L and a Corsair 520HX.

Maybe take out the DVD-ROM. You can always copy DVD to DVD with a single drive and it's actually improving your chances of a good burn. Apart from that, why would you need 2 DVD drives, to watch two movies at the same time? (Note to self: try this :) )
 
TBH its down to personal preference I could argue that the Gigabyte might not have a HDMI header for the graphic card but I'm not sure if it does or not, I just like the Abit boards and have not had any problems with them and I do notice that a lot of posts from people with problems usually begin 'GA - <insert number> or Asus _ <insert number> not posting, bios problem, blue screen etc.' but not many Abit problems and as such I think they should be considered a bit more often rather than just suggesting that you get the same thing that everyone else gets, and I like to set trends rather than follow them. :sol:
 

Sparky6string

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Aug 27, 2007
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Seraphic- nice cases but a little more than I want to spend.

aevm- I've already aced that second dvd rom- good idea.

I'll have to decide between the Gigabyte and Abit, but definitely one of the two- that SLI is gone.

Theres these choices going through my head as well-

This monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009105

vs. this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16824001094

and this cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115003

vs. this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115029
 
For sure, I think the 650i was superseded by the 680i which is now almost a year old itself and as such a new one must be on the horizon and I don't know if either can run at 1333 FSB. For a single card solution the P35 is the only chipset to consider at this moment in time IMHO.
 
A decent RAM and PSU combo to consider.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCombos.aspx?
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
Thermaltake Purepower W0129RU ATX12V 600 W Power Supply 115/230 V CE, FCC, UL, CUL, TUV certification - Retail
Item=N82E16820231098&SubCategory=147&SortField=0&PageSize=10&page=1

$155 with $30 MIR = $125!! Try and beat that for decent PSU and Memory!!