best cpu/mem/motherboard/videocard combo for $500?

[HOWITIS]

hey guys. i come here asking for advice. i have set a budget of 500$ and want to upgrade my pc. now this would be an easy choice for me. as i would just plug in the fastest AMD cpu i could afford, as i have looked at Pentium as overpriced and under performing for years. in fact i have never built a Pentium machine. the last one i owned was a P166. well, it seems now Intel's stuff isn't completely worthless, but i am still budget minded. i dont care who has the top performing cpu. i want the top performing cpu within the budget i have set.


some things i am looking at:

overclocking, no longer have an interest. i have a water cooled system and my current system is overclocked but it was more trouble than it was worth. I WILL NOT OVERCLOCK

i do not plan on upgrading the cpu again for 2 years.


ok, so i have looked on new egg and found an amd combo like this for 518$

amd 6400+
2 gb ddr2 800
nvidia 8600 512mb ddr3
motherboard (forgot the brand)


is there a set up on intel that will beat this for 500$?

 

[Build it Myself]

I've never run Intel either, but actually I'll be building an Intel machine because AMD seems to be slacking off, I was hellbent on them but after reviewing everything people told me, i went with Intel. The Abit board I picked up (Abit35pro) is supposed to be really good, but it's a little much @ $170 if you don't plan on overclocking. You could probably go with the IP35-E board, it's around $100, then pick up a 6750 for $180+/- and finally spend the last $220 on an 8800GT if you're willing to wait till prices settle, or just pick up a 8600GTS board for a lot less if you're not planning on gaming...for MEM, go with the HP RAM, it's $9 a gig for 667 and if you're not planning on OC'ing, having a lot more won't help you...

total:
2gigs HP ram $20
IP35-E $106 (clubit)
6750 intel $170
http://www.clubit.com/product_...l.cfm?itemno=CA9630947 $180 for an 8600 GTS + you get a free game that you can either play or sell on Ebay to offset the costs.

Total: $476

...got with better ram if you want, you can find corsair for around $60 on clubit...i think it's 800mhz as well...

 

[Build it Myself]

P.S. should you decide to OC, the 6750 won't take much to get it to 3.0 and that board will handle it along with the HP ram...all with stock cooling just for consideration...

 

[HOWITIS]

i want to have ddr2 800 ram. where is this 20$ ram coming from, cheapest i have seen is 90$. for 2gb ddr 800

on the intel side of things i notice the 6750 has a higher bus than most. does that limit your motherboard choices. is it possible to buiild a 500$ 6750 combo that can beat a 6400+ amd

 

[Build it Myself]

well I guess the HP rebate hasn't started up yet, so here it is for $20 a gig http://www.techonweb.com/produ...spx?id=D30292&ref=lmcd but then you're just better off getting something like this anyway http://www.clubit.com/product_...l.cfm?itemno=CA4330509 ($6 more, no big deal).

The 6750 does have an awesome FSB, but you've got to check out the boards you look @...pretty much anything over $100 supports 1333 FSB speeds...just check the specs, Gigabyte and Abit and Azus have it on most boards as do others, but I can't recall names exactly...as far as that 6400 goes...http://www23.tomshardware.com/...1&model2=873&chart=419 is a link to the charts @ Tom's...I can't find that 6400+ listed but that should give you a pretty good idea..this was running just CPU marks, when you get into things like games, you see that Intel SMASHES the AMD's... http://www23.tomshardware.com/...1&model2=873&chart=421 see? So the answer is...FSB matters.

Hope that helps.

 

[HOWITIS]

i dont do mail in rebates. also keep in mind my 500$ budget

 

[secretanchitman]

some e6xx0 c2d/q6600 c2q
2GB ddr2-800
8600GTS
some gigabyte/asus/abit mobo

you should be set.

 

[Build it Myself]

exactly what I was saying But rebates were a factor in my build...why pay full price when you can get them to send you a check later?

 

[balane]

I don't know if this will help you or not but today's Fry's ad had 2x1gb of PC6400 for $35.

 

[MarcVenice]

Abit ip35-e, $70AR. 2gb of crucial ballistix for $50 AR, E6750 or E6550. If you are NOT overclocking btw, then you might as well buy ddr2 667 ram, like the HP ram, it will be equally fast as any ddr2 800mhz ram. And I would fit in a 8800gt, wait two weeks for ATI to release their cards, I bet you can either get a nice, bang for buck ATI card then, or a $250 8800GT or maybe even less AR.

 

[HOWITIS]

what is the speed difference between a 6400+ amd and the E6550?

 

[Build it Myself]

I posted that link to tom's that will let you compare them...

 

[HOWITIS]

Originally posted by: Build it Myself
I posted that link to tom's that will let you compare them...

i dont trust that website, it has been less than truthful in the past.

 

[Build it Myself]

Then go to overclockers.com and look there...you're being very finicky about things...you don't do rebates, but you never said that, you don't want Tom's for advice, but you never mentioned that...maybe you should state your standards up front because it's rather hard to help someone that doesn't seem to want help...

Just a suggestion.