EDIT: Corrected mem amount, number of HDs, changed from an OEM DVD burner to a retail version (extra $2 but a brand I'm familiar with anyways) and got a way better deal on the same case AND the PSU. Changed the RAM again.

This is a really sad day for me ... I had a huge budget to work with quite some time ago, but rather than buying the system that I had configured ... I waited and my money seemed to disappear somehow.

Anyways, our financial situation has taken a massive downturn since then and my available budget that I can gather together seems to continue shrinking rather than what it is supposed to be doing. That made my wife and I have a talk and we have figured our budget to be exactly $1,500 and not a penny more ... so here I am looking for help and advice ...

I have configured a system that I really, really want. The problem is that I am already over budget and I just can't seem to find a way to squeeze my configuration small enough. There are several things that I can do to make it smaller, but those are changes that I'm not sure that I want to make. Also, several of the items that I am buying are OEM and as a computer building neophyte ... I have no clue what cables/connections/etc that I need to purchase for a complete system.

I will list my main interests and goals and then if you guys would ... please point me in the right directions and/or offer solutions/alternatives. I've also read that there are ways to get promotional codes for newegg (my most preferred site) to get discounts and such ... but I seem unable to find exactly where and how to find those.

Alright ... first of all, my computer is used for a vast majority of the time as a gamer. I do deal with lots of large files and do a lot of winrar'ing as well as burning massive amounts of DVDs. However, my first, top priority is for a gaming system.

My ideal goal is to end up with a super fast gaming machine that has massive storage space (I'm hoping to have two raid 0 configurations hence the four drives ... but again, I'm not sure if I have what I will need to do that or if I would have to purchase additional hardware).

Below is what I have configured so far, but remember that I would also like to purchase all the cables (or whatever else I will need) from newegg as well ... that way I know I have everything covered in one single, large purchase.


1 x LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model iHAS220-08 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827106265
$29.99 Free 3 Business Day Shipping
Total: $29.99

1 x Antec Nine Hundred Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - NINE HUNDRED
http://www.buy.com/prod/antec-nine [...] 97579.html
$149.00 -$50.47 Instant Savings
$98.53 Free 7 to 9 day Budget Shipping
Total: $98.53

2 x Seagate ST3640323AS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148335
$89.90 Free 3 Business Day Shipping
Total: $179.80

1 x SAPPHIRE 100251SR Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102768
$549.99 3 Business Day Shipping $10.17
Total: $560.16

1 x CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-tx [...] 78325.html
OP: $135.95 -$23.96 Instant Savings
$111.99 Free 7 to 9 day Budget Shipping
Total: $111.99 + $20 Mail in rebate

mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996587 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146731
$88.99 Free 3-7 Business Day Shipping
Total: $88.99 + $20 Mail in rebate

1 x ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131299
$139.99 Free 3 Business Day Shipping
Total: $139.00

1 x Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8500 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115036
$189.99 Free 3 Business Day Shipping
Total: $189.99

1x Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120mm "Core Contact Freezer" CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835207004
$39.99 Free 3 Business Day Shipping
Total: $39.99 + $5.00 Mail in rebate

1 x Arctic Silver AA-1.75G Thermal Compound - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835100014
$3.99 3 Business Day Shipping $6.99
Total: $10.98

Newegg Total: $1,233.53 (+$25 in mail-in-rebates after purchase)

Buy.com Total: $210.52 (+$20 in mail-in-rebates after purchase)

Grand Total: $1444.05


I realize that I could cut down on the hard drives to save $ (which will probably be my first downgrade).

I could also save big $ by going with a cheaper graphics card (I could probably get two cheaper cards and crossfire them and still save good $), but I'm really trying to find a way to avoid that.

The 8 gigs of memory could be chopped in half to save a bit, but again ... I'm really wary of going that route as I will be running vista ultimate 64 bit and I want as much memory as I can get my hands on.

I could save $20 by getting the e8400 rather than the e8500, but I've got virtually no OCing experience and I am not 100% sure that I will be able to OC it and/or feel comfortable leaving it at an OCed speed. While not much faster, the e8500 is faster than the e8400 at stock ... and for $20 I find it hard to change without knowing I'll be OCing.

The Zalman air cooler is expensive, but I've read that it is simply the best air cooling I can get in that price range and lower and if I DO try OCing ... with my limited experience I figured that the cooler I can keep the proc, the better.

I realize that I am trying to build a higher-end 'budget' system on a lower-end budget ... but I'm desperate to try and find a way to get the most for my $s. Any help/advice/suggestions would be seriously welcomed!

Also, I know that it will make things even more difficult ... but to know exactly where I stand I will also need to know what stuff I need to buy to make the OEMs ready to run. I desperately need that figured in as well when any suggestions or changes are made (and even if they aren't I still need to know). I might be able to come up with a few more hundred dollars, but that isn't 100% gauranteed.

Thanks for any and all help!!

Narcissus

Order that case from here, save $60 99$ + (free shipping)
cut the HDs, cut the RAM in 1/2, (you can add it when you can afford it)
That's $320 = Budget
http://www.buy.com/prod/antec-nine [...] 97579.html

I have 4GB of ram in 64-bit Home Premium and it's butter smooth. Don't get 8GB of ram when DDR2 has its days numbered.

Hard drives are only going to get cheaper. Unless you have 3TB of stuff now, just get more as yours fill up.

After dirt's suggestions it's looking to be an extremely capable gaming system for the price.

@ dirt = Nice idea! I have been trying to get it all from a single place (plus I'm a huge fan of Newegg), but when you are talking about a $60 difference ... the tiny extra bit of hassle makes me think it is worth it. Thanks for that!

I'll update the first post to reflect the changes.

@ chris = Really?!? My understanding (obviously I was wrong) was that vista = ram eating monster and that 64-bit vista = far, far worse. Thanks for the correction and I'll update that change as well.


Also, I want to throw out there that I still don't have the cables and such that I need to make the OEM parts 'ready to slap in'. Running on the the above configuration, could you let me know exactly what I'll need (so I can add cost + shipping, etc).

Also ... should I chop the HDs in half (2) or just knock it all the way down to 1? If I do have 2 ... will I need anything else for a raid 0 set-up?

Thanks a billion!

Narcissus

Chris is right, 4 GB is plenty for all but a few applications. More won't hurt, but no rush.
Your motherboard will come with the SATA cables(4). The motherboard has the ICH10R SB, you won't need anything else for raid 0

While you're on Buy.com, your selected PSU is over there for cheaper as well:
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-tx [...] 78325.html

Thanks for the confirmation on the ram. Good stuff to know.

As far as the SATA cables ... I realize that would cover the hard drive(s), but is that also what the DVD burner would need?

I'll take a look and make that change as well! Thanks much!

If there are any changes in hardware that anyone thinks they might suggest, please let me know as I will probably be ordering some time tomorrow. Did I make a good choice or should I aim in a slightly different direction instead?

Narcissus

Spend an extra $5 on a retail burner and get the cable and the software disc at the same time.

Sounds like a good idea to me. I'll go look around and see what I find (then update first post). Thanks yet again!

Narcissus

There we go. Edited the first post to reflect the new burner.

Now that we have that worked out ... I have an extra $110 to spare. Where and to what should I put it? Should I go with more ram or maybe upgrade that 4 gigs to something better? Keep in mind that I would like to OC this computer some (yet keep it 100% stable). I'm not sure, but I believe that RAM can have an effect on OC abilities, correct me if I'm wrong. So should I get more or better ram?

Or maybe I would be better served to up the hard drives back to 2 so I can throw them into a raid config?

Thoughts?

I would buy and install this RAM if it was my system DDR2 800 Mushkin 1.8v
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146731

Headset? card reader? USB toys? Flash drives? external hard drive?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6800998108
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/608

OMG! I was just reading the reviews on that ram when I came here! I'm between pages 3 to 4 of the reviews.

Got a fantastic headset, keyboard, mouse, and monitor. I'll follow those links and take a look around. I'm still laughing about the ram. Hahaha!

Narcissus

USB cup warmer - Retail? ROFLMAO!

Wireless USB ... I had never even heard of it till reading that article. I'm not a huge fan of wireless keyboard/mouse items as I always seemed to have issues with them working well. That has been a year or two ... but wireless USB? Bah ... I'm starting to feel old.

I still haven't decided on more ram or another HD ... but I have to admit that the USB cup warmer just might win the race!

I think u can spend the extra cash for a higher output power supply as u are goin for the 4870X2, U can crossfire it later when the prices come down and then u don have to spend xtra cash on the power supply again...and check if the mobo provides full x16 lanes on both the slots so u can utilize the power of the gpus fully....jus a thought...