Please help me lower the cost of this $2300 build to $2000!

Hi, I'm planning to purchase this build in September (less than 1 month now) but I've been on newegg and the forums researching and playing around with the parts. I need this system for school work, internet, music, video, photoshop, possibly audio/video editing, and gaming (current games + Crysis and new releases). Because I currently only own a laptop now, I will need ALL accessories and peripherals. I plan on overclocking in the future, although nothing crazy...maybe bumping my Q6600 to 3.2 or 3.4 MAX. Here are my current parts that include everything I plan on purchasing:

Case: Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Video: EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

PSU: SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-550HT ATX12V/EPS12V, 80Plus, Active PFC, RoHS, 2PCI-E(6Pin), 550W Power Supply - Retail

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail

RAM: 4GB 2x Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2
SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model
BL2KIT12864AA1065 - Retail
Storage: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Sound: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

Mouse: Logitech G5 2-Tone 6 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Laser Mouse - Retail

Keyboard: Logitech 967738-0403 Black USB Standard Deluxe 250 Keyboard - OEM

LCD: Acer AL2223Wd Black-Silver 22" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail

Optical: SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology Black SATA Model SH-S183L - OEM

OS: Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM

Cooling: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM, Tuniq Tower 120 P4 & K8 CPU Cooler - Retail

Speakers: Logitech X-230 32 Watts 2.1 Black Speakers - Retail

That's pretty much it...am I missing anything? The total on newegg w/o shipping is $2299.59. I would like to lower the cost of this build to $2000 while sacrificing MINIMAL loss in performance. I realize there are cheaper parts that I could be using, such as the case, but I want excellent airflow and cooling. Could someone suggest me another one with plenty of room and good airflow? As for the sound card, I'm mainly purchasing it because I don't want any frame rate drops while gaming with onboard sound...or should I be fine? Also, for my optical, should I be purchasing the IDE or SATA version?

Thanks guys...I would appreciate any feedback from the forum. Also, I want this build to last me at least 2.5 -3 years before I consider upgrading my system again.

Message edited by asdftt123 on 08-12-2007 at 01:07:13 AM

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Hey there, that looks like a good build. It's hard to take somethings away because you're really going to need all of it. You can get a smaller monitor and in turn the GTS640MB card, since it should play just fine on that resolution.

Instead of the Armor you can get an Antec One Hundred, its cheaper and has really good cooling.

You might want to get cheaper DDR2-800 RAM that can OC well, like Super Talent or even Crucial. If you are going 3.4Ghz max, it should alright as long as the ram is high quality. The Super Talent can go up to 1020 with no stability loss.

For the drive, I would go Sata, its much easier to set up and will give your case better airflow since it's just a small cable and not a huge IDE one.

If you have questions, message me any time, Maximus9102 on aim and yahoo.

Reply to Solariscs

Thanks for your reply but I'm set with a 22" LCD with 8800GTX. If I drop down to the GTS territory, I'm giving up too much performance since there is a big gap. Also I'm having trouble finding the case on newegg...do you mean Antec 900?

Reply to asdftt123

Do NOT buy the 1066 ram. Your OC will not need it. the Q6600s OC better with a higher multiplier. You won't be going over 450mhz on your ram, so don't bother. I bought 4 gigs of the ddr2 800 ballistix ram and thats all I need. You can OC to 3200 without messing w/ ram speeds. That should save you 150 bucks or so. Plus the ddr2 800 is on sale. I think you'd save about 80 bucks and pay like 150 for 4 gigs of ram which is nuts.

You don't need sata for your optical unless you REALLY need good airflow. Just get eide, it'll be fine. If the sata is the same price, get it then.

You'll be running a quad. I doubt onboard audio will give you any problems. I will be using onboard as well. The P5K board appears to haev good audio.

The p180 is another great case that you can use. I think it might be 10 or 20 bucks cheaper. Keeps things quiet, has great airflow and is a nice looking simple case. If you want a window though, forget about it.

Reply to Synthetickiller

hey yeah the 900 sorry

Reply to Solariscs

Thanks synthetickiller, I'll take your advice and try the Ballistix DDR2 800 instead, but I won't be purchasing for at least another 3 weeks. Also, for OCing Q6600, I thought that you could only modify the FSB speeds since the multiplier is locked...? Also, I've always been confused with RAM speeds and OCing. Is there a certain rule of thumb that I should follow? For what kind of system should I consider 1066 RAM for? Also, if I go for the 800 vs 1066, will there be an performance deficits?

Reply to asdftt123

you can change the multiplier or the FSB though I think there is an upper limit to the multiplier where there isn't for the FSB (but im not an expert my education was stunted by having crappy ram and the need not to upgrade again until i get a completley new system)

Message edited by spuddyt on 08-12-2007 at 02:00:42 AM

Reply to spuddyt

synthetickiller, I agree cheaper RAM. Kill the sound card and get it later if unhappy, 180 is the same price.

@ OP Get the Silencer® 610 EPS12V Power Supply
http://www.pcpower.com/products/vi [...] how=S61EPS

Tier one, single rail, more current and watts. Be careful, the single rail delivers a lot of current before it shuts down due to overload. check your connections twice. And it's $119.00

Message edited by Zorg on 08-12-2007 at 02:36:02 AM

Reply to Zorg

This is totally off topic of this post, but I've been having problems with my computer and it is related to the last reply. Heres my setup:
Asus M2N-Sli Deluxe
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+
Corsair XMS2 Dominator 2GB PC2-6400
EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB
Hard Drive 2X 120GB
Sony DVD+-RW
Thermaltake PurePower 480W

When I get under intense graphics the computer will just turn off. I believe it has to do with the power supply not giving enough power.

It is an older unit and there is only one 12v rail with only 18A.

The link with the psu has another link explaining that the newer graphics and cpu setups require more power and having multiple 12v rails is not as good as one with more amperage.

Someone tried to explain to me that the different rails use amperage from eachother to supply 26A demand of my graphics card.

Can someone verify one or multiple rails are better or that my conclusion that the psu is even the problem?

By the way, I agree with cheaper RAM, and most definitely getting rid of the audio card. My brother decided to get a $200 audio card and uses his headphones most of the time. If you're upgrading the audio card you should have a decent surround sound system not just headphones or a 2.1 setup. Ive been using the MOB audi with a nice surround sound and it works great.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by FriendORfoE on 08-12-2007 at 06:32:32 AM

Reply to FriendORfoE

3 weeks to a month can also make a difference with the price of these items too. I have a few wish lists on Newegg and in the span they've dropped in price 15 percent. Not 300 maybe, but 100 for sure. Might make a difference in cost cutting. See where you are when you're ready to take the plunge and go with the good suggestions of the posters who've replied.

Reply to overlandpark4me

Why not look at a 6750 also, most apps and games are not optimized for 4 cores, and it'll probably be awhile before they are, especially MOST games.

------------------------------ E8500,GA-EP45-UD3R, 8 GIG MUSHKIN, XFX 4890 , ASUS 22", WD 640 X 2, CM 532, CM 650TX
Reply to royalcrown

Yea I'm definitely with Overland on this one. I'm willing to bet that by midway through September you'll be saving around 300 bucks just off price reductions/sales anyways. I mean, September is usually the time of the GPU refresh isn't it? If that's the case, the 8800GTX will drop in price, cost of DDR2 is always going down (praise the Lord..of DDR3) and various other bits and pieces here and there.

Reply to J3EBS

I really don't see the advantage of a laser mouse also (placebo) over an led one.

------------------------------ E8500,GA-EP45-UD3R, 8 GIG MUSHKIN, XFX 4890 , ASUS 22", WD 640 X 2, CM 532, CM 650TX
Reply to royalcrown

Yeah, it's a good thing I won't be purchasing until Septemberish, so we'll see how the prices work out. Also, I'm pretty much set on a Quad core processor and there's little that can sway me towards Dual core. I want as little slowdown as possible from multi-tasking, plus I may be doing some audio/video editing at one point, which will save me lots of time. Plus, Crysis is said to be optimized for multi-core processors. I've taken the advice of this forum and I've swapped out the 1066 for 800mhz RAM (Crucial Ballistix).

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to asdftt123

a good case for cooling would be a centurion ?

------------------------------ E8500,GA-EP45-UD3R, 8 GIG MUSHKIN, XFX 4890 , ASUS 22", WD 640 X 2, CM 532, CM 650TX
Reply to royalcrown

asdftt123 wrote :

Yeah, it's a good thing I won't be purchasing until Septemberish, so we'll see how the prices work out. Also, I'm pretty much set on a Quad core processor and there's little that can sway me towards Dual core. I want as little slowdown as possible from multi-tasking, plus I may be doing some audio/video editing at one point, which will save me lots of time. Plus, Crysis is said to be optimized for multi-core processors. I've taken the advice of this forum and I've swapped out the 1066 for 800mhz RAM (Crucial Ballistix).

Yeah, I mean coolermaster centurion 5. and a core DUO IS multi core, 2 is multi...lol. I am awaiting Crysis myself.

------------------------------ E8500,GA-EP45-UD3R, 8 GIG MUSHKIN, XFX 4890 , ASUS 22", WD 640 X 2, CM 532, CM 650TX
Reply to royalcrown

Ahhh, I was considering the Centurion Coolermaster 5 as well. Is there a reason it's $100 cheaper than the Thermaltake Armor? I want a system that's well cooled and that has a lot of room so the case is pretty important. I'm willing to go with the Centurion if the performance is justifiable. But yeah, I know the the C2D is multicore, but Crytek themselves have mentioned the game will run optimal with a Quad core.

Reply to asdftt123

FriendORfoE wrote :

When I get under intense graphics the computer will just turn off. I believe it has to do with the power supply not giving enough power.

It is an older unit and there is only one 12v rail with only 18A.

The link with the psu has another link explaining that the newer graphics and cpu setups require more power and having multiple 12v rails is not as good as one with more amperage.

Someone tried to explain to me that the different rails use amperage from eachother to supply 26A demand of my graphics card.

Can someone verify one or multiple rails are better or that my conclusion that the psu is even the problem?

That PS is weak, it doesn't have enough 12v current. Some of the new PSUs are doing rail sharing. Basically all that they are doing is raising the current limiting to a higher value on each rail, so that each rail can deliver more current. But the PS is still limited to the max current across all rails. It's a cross between the PSUs that are limited to the 20a and the single rail PSU. Based on your post, I assume you read the PSU myths. Here is a link in case you missed them.

http://www.pcpower.com/technology/myths/

Pay special attention to "8. ARE MULTIPLE 12-VOLT RAILS BETTER THAN A SINGLE 12-VOLT RAIL?" it should answer you questions. Again if you go with the Silencer or any other single rail PSU be careful. It can deliver a hell of a lot of current and never trip (shut down). They are not for the faint of heart or noob.

Reply to Zorg

Yes, use DDR2-800 RAM and drop the sound card. Add my vote to the others for a SATA DVD, in part for the smaller cable; less mess and better airflow.

The low-end cases won't be as durable and may not be as quiet, nor offer some cable management options. Still, their airflow and cooling can be quite good. My wife's PC that I built in an inexpensive CoolerMaster Elite case is nearly inaudible. We don't have any monkeys that might knock it over or otherwise abuse it, so durability isn't an issue.

While there are some decent optical rodents out there, the laser G5 is really nice and something you won't regret buying.

------------------------------ There is ALWAYS a drone. Exactly where, or how many drones you will encounter may vary, but that there will be at least one will not.
Reply to jtt283

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