$1,500 August 2008 Build - Input Needed

[Method1246]

Preface
Ok, I lied . It's actually closer to $1700 final price, but who's counting! So I am building a new desktop machine. I have done research on all the various parts and have come down to the parts listed. Keep in mind that this is all-inclusive and I am starting from the ground-up. Now I ask of you great and helpful members to give your opinions on my overall build selection and offer different or better components for what I am trying to achieve. Also, can you confirm that all the parts will work together and that they are the optimal configuration for my price range? Required information is listed below, then the parts list:


Computer used for:
1. PC will be used for high-end gaming, multimedia, and productivity/home office/browsing apps.

Budget
2. $1,500 including LCD monitor.

Country
3. United States

Brand preference
4. Intel and Western Digital. Also nVidia to some extent. (I have used ATI cards as well)

Old Parts?
5. Nope, everything (OS, Monitor, Hardware, Peripherals, Printer, etc...) all is from scratch.

Searched similar threads?
6. Yes

Overclocking?
7. Yes, but not right away. Since I am going with Q6600 and the GSkill DDR800, I'm sure I will have good performance in OCing eventually.

When is it being built?
8. Preferably ordering parts as soon as this weekend, then building as it comes in. (August 1-15 2008).


Parts

http://secure.newegg.com/WishL...40514&WishListTitle=PC


Thanks guys!

 

[DSF]

I think there are better prices to be had on 1TB drives. Even if there aren't, you could get two 640GB WD drives for less than the 1TB, if that matters to you. Looks like a pretty solid build. I don't know that the AS5 is really necessary, as the Xigmatek will come with its own goop.

 

[Method1246]

Good point about the gooey stuff! Saved me six bucks. I'll also review that Caviar 1TB and explore further.

 

[modoheo]

You might consider getting a ATI HD 4870 instead of the GTX260, since the 4870 is faster in most benchmarks and about the same price. Otherwise looks good to me.

 

[Extelleron]

If you are set on a GTX 260 that card is probably not the best to pick. You can get a MSI GTX 260 OC that includes a copy of Witcher for $229 w/ free shipping: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...61&Tpk=GTX%2b260%2bMSI

With shipping considered that is around $60 cheaper than the eVGA model. I prefer eVGA for the Step-up / support but $60 is quite a bit of money to save. Also, if you are going for a 24" montior.... you might want to either consider a GTX 280 now or waiting until the HD 4870 X2 (much faster than the GTX 280 but higher price) is released in August. Those cards are more expensive, but if you trim a few other areas that matter less, then you should be able to fit it into your price range. For example the GTX 280 is currently available for as low as $374 shipped if you pay with PayPal: http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2212004&enterthread=y

The hard drive... do you have any real need for a 1TB hard drive? That is a very expensive drive and you can easily shave off $130~ by going with a 500GB drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136073, or $80-90 by going with a 750GB drive. In my experience at least, 500GB is more than enough for just about anything. Until recently I was fine with a 200GB HDD. Obviously if you are doing a lot of videos perhaps you need 1TB.

When it comes to the CPU....if the system is going to be used primarily for gaming plus everyday apps, then it may be worth considering buying an E8500 instead. The E8500 will hit 4GHz quite easily (unless you get a really crappy batch) and is faster per clock than the Q6600. If you run apps that support 4 cores, then the Q6600 is going to be better. But especially if you are going to run it at stock for a while... there's a pretty big difference between the Q6600 at stock (2.4GHz) and the E8500 at stock (3.16GHz) in gaming scenarios where only two threads are supported, if that.

Other than that the PSU is a bit overkill for the system, but it is high quality and the price is good so I can't see changing just to save a few bucks.

 

[Method1246]

I changed my build around a little bit. I sacrificed the 1TB (I agree, very expensive and I can always upgrade later for more storage), and went with the 640GB WD. Will the drop from 32MB to 16MB cache hurt my performance at all? I'd rather pay the extra money if the HD cache will make that much of a difference. Also, should I go with this board or the Deluxe or Pro version?? Motherboards are not really my strong point - so should I stick with this one?

THanks