Building a System with $1,000: help appreciated

[JinKazama]

Hi All,

I am in the midst of selecting all of the components for my new system but I ran into a bit of a snag. The motherboard that I had originally selected is not in stock locally and rather than buying online I was seeing if I could find a board that may do the job.

Here is what Ive got so far:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Socket LGA775, 3.16 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache, 45nm (Retail Box) (BX80570E8500 )

XFX GeForce 9800 GTX Video Card - FREE Company of Heroes PC Game, 512MB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, HDMI Support, Dual VGA Support

Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz E.P.P. Memory (4 x 1024)

and for kicks... NZXT LEXA Blackline ATX Case Red No PS Temp Display Window Front USB & Audio

Now I had originally decided to go with the Asus P5K-C but as I mentioned that is no longer available, chiefly due to the fact that it is an older board. Can anyone suggest a suitable motherboard given the build that would be in the same price range? Im building with about a $1,000 budget.

Now Im dont intend to overclock from the get-go, but that is an option that I may look at down the road.

 

[auscanzukus]

ASUS P5Q PRO.

 

[Why_Me]

Hi All,

I am in the midst of selecting all of the components for my new system but I ran into a bit of a snag. The motherboard that I had originally selected is not in stock locally and rather than buying online I was seeing if I could find a board that may do the job.

Here is what Ive got so far:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Socket LGA775, 3.16 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache, 45nm (Retail Box) (BX80570E8500 )

XFX GeForce 9800 GTX Video Card - FREE Company of Heroes PC Game, 512MB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, HDMI Support, Dual VGA Support

Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz E.P.P. Memory (4 x 1024)

and for kicks... NZXT LEXA Blackline ATX Case Red No PS Temp Display Window Front USB & Audio

Now I had originally decided to go with the Asus P5K-C but as I mentioned that is no longer available, chiefly due to the fact that it is an older board. Can anyone suggest a suitable motherboard given the build that would be in the same price range? Im building with about a $1,000 budget.

Now Im dont intend to overclock from the get-go, but that is an option that I may look at down the road.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137 $79.99
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001 $89.99 ($59.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate)
OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI 600W ATX12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V CB/CE/CSA/UL/FCC - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037 $174.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233001 $24.99 ($14.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate)
XIGMATEK HDT-S963 92mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019 $6.99
XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131295 $129.99
ASUS P5Q LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - EPU w/ 8-Phase power, deluxe OC features

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150287 $189.99 ($169.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate)
XFX PVT98FYDF9 GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731 $89.99 ($64.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate)
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262 $59.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106263 $26.99
LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020&Tpk=mx-2 $6.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488 $109.99
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM

Total
$990.88
$910.88 w/mail in rebates

The E8500 is a crap cpu for any kind of overclocking...get the E8400, move up the FSB to 9 x 400 = 3.60GHz and call it good. Also your short changing yourself by getting 4 sticks 1 gig memory by shorting yourself for room for any kind of future expansion not to mention 4 sticks sitting side by side make for heat issues.

Download "Riva Tune" and bump up the card a bit, and your good to go.

 

[hkg36]

is the E8500 really bad?
how can it be worst than the E8400, I've just bought the E8500 for 12$ difference

 

[thepowerofdonuts]

Don't worry, Why_Me has been posting that lie all over the forums. I'm sure it's because he doesn't know, but the E8500 has a higher, not lower multiplier, making it better. The multiplier is 9.5, and he thinks it's 8. I'd go with the 8500 if you can afford it. I'd really suggest getting an HD 4850 instead of the 9800 GTX. If you look at reviews, it's better in just about anything besides Crysis, sometimes completely destroying it. Also, if you get it with a P5Q Pro by Asus, you get a discount.
The P5Q Pro allows crossfire, but the PCIe slots are x8/x8 when in crossfire mode. To get x16/x16 you need to spend about $225 for an X48-DS4 by Gigabyte.
If you decide to go with just one GPU, the Corsair 650W PSU is great. If you want to go with two, get the 750W. The OCZ has unnecessary multiple 12V rails that make putting it together more complicated.
I agree with his suggestions for the cooler, but there are better HDD and optical drive choices.
There's a Samsung 22X SATA burner /w Lightscribe for $28
Also, that hard drive is kind of old. Get a newer Seagate, or, even better, a WD Caviar. The 640 is great, one of the fastest hard drives, and at a great price.

 

[hkg36]

phew!
thanks,
For the computer config I've ordered a very similar one and I've chosen the caviar 640gb, I've read that it's the fastest and the price is very close to 500gb drive such as the Seagate 500gb 7200.11

 

[auscanzukus]

Go with E8500 if it's just $20 more especially if you're not overclocking right away.