Computer for $1200- Need to have someone answer my last2 questions

[engineereeyore]

Originally posted by: MegaVovaN

Originally posted by: engineereeyore
I just finished upgrading my rig and here's what I went with.

Intel C2D E4300 = $120

MSI P965 Platinum = $130

2GB Super Talent Ram = $85

Corsair 520W PS = $70 (with Google checkout discount)

Scythe NINJA CPU cooler = $35

Sony 18X SATA DVD burner = $32

EVGA 7600 GS Video Card = $70

Total = $472 + ~$40 in shipping. This worked well for me. There's also a 500GB SATAII hard drive for $500 at Fry's.

:Q $130 for 500gb at the egg!

LOL, yeah, sorry about that. I was supposed to be $100. It's been fixed now though.

 

[harobikes333]

MegaVovaN, thanks for all the concern but I'm not really picky so 5.1 would just sound neater in my opinion, even if it isn't placed perfectly. Unless you think it would sound a lot better to an average person to just have 2.1 instead of having 5.1 and not having it perfectly placed. what do ya think?

O and this is for my mom's business so they aren't going to be backing out lol. even if they did I could buy it with my own money. Only difference is I'd probably spend around 2k and I'd bring it to college with me

 

[MegaVovaN]

Originally posted by: harobikes333
MegaVovaN, thanks for all the concern but I'm not really picky so 5.1 would just sound neater in my opinion, even if it isn't placed perfectly. Unless you think it would sound a lot better to an average person to just have 2.1 instead of having 5.1 and not having it perfectly placed. what do ya think?

Go with 5.1 then.
I am not saying perfectly placed - as long as your rear speakers are actually behind you, it's alright. It doesn't have to be "pixel perfect". But if you going to line them all up in front of you, then go with 2.1

 

[harobikes333]

lol naw I'll set them up as best as possible. Thanks for the info!

*****************The Quest For The Best Deal***************

PSU: I can get the Corsair 520W for only 70 dollars if I buy it from Buy.com and then sign up for google check out?
Sound good to you guys???
-------------
Should I get off brand Ram or stick with the gskill? I'm not OCing and they both have some sort of lifetime warranty...?
Whats the difference between the two warranties?...ocing is covered on the gskill?
80 - WINTEC AMPO 2GB - 667-lifetime limited
107 - G.SKILL 2GB - 667-lifetime
The wintec ampo ram is out of stock at newegg though so I'm not sure what to do...

Also I'm going to get a different mobo... I've been watching the reviews and tons of people are getting DOA's or just a lot of problems... any alternative you guys could suggest?
------------

 

[harobikes333]

$70 After $20 MIR - Corsair 520W Purchased

$67 - Logitech X-530 5.1 Speaker SystemPurchased

$232 - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600

$264.55 - Acer 20" 8ms DVI Widescreen (including the $14.56 shipping)

$139.99 After $15 MIR - EVGA 7900GS

$80 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB

$38 - SAMSUNG Black E-IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner - OEM - including 5.64s&h

Case= Chiefvalue then? since I'd save some money
Cooler Master Centurion [with S&h]
65.98 - Newegg
56.99 - ChiefValue
57.31 - mwave

$20 - Logitech keyboard/mouse - including $6.13 s&h
^ I'm not picky really... is that the ideal combo to get...?

Ram=See above post. I'd saved $27 if I got the wintec ram but its out of stock..
Does anyone know of any other good deals on non-ocing ram for a E6600
Motherboard...Decent mobo for around 110ish?? Help please!
OS: Vista 32bit Home Premium

 

[xtknight]

I love my Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3, honestly. The rev 3.3 one (I've got rev 2.0) is even better with 1066MHz FSB support. It should be great for OCing and it's as stable as a rock. I have never had it crash for a reason I could not discern. I regularly leave it up for two weeks at a time with no troubles whatsoever. I'm no pro at OCing so my feeble attempts didn't do much but I don't need it any faster anyway and I don't want to risk my CPU, board, and memory's health for nothing. Some have gotten Core 2 Duos up to 3.0 GHz or higher with this board.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...DEPA=0&Description=GA-965P-DS3&x=0&y=0

I don't know why they have a rev 1.3 and a regular one up there. I guess the regular is rev 3.3 I'm not sure.

I don't believe that it's possible there's a better deal out there for this price. Beyond this great deal you can only argue with nitpicks and doesnt-really-matter points.

 

[harobikes333]

Thank you!!!!!!

I need to find different Ram right? Since the gskill is 677 and this mobo says the standard for it is 800? correct?

And my last question. Should I buy the case from newegg or chiefvalue. I'd save around 10 dollars if I go chiefvalue.

 

[xtknight]

Don't Chiefvalue and Newegg use the same suppliers? Chiefvalue I suppose I'd go with if you're that tight on money (I would always use Newegg even $10 more expensive, but that's just me).

New RAM? Umm I have no idea. I'm using DDR2-800 with it right now. I thought you could use lower but you're going to have to research that one.

 

[Synomenon]

For just a little more, why not get an 8600GT:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150229

And if you plan on keeping this system for a long time, get a C2D compatible motherboard. I think most of them will be able to run the upcoming quad cores from Intel. Maybe you can upgrade to one of those quad cores when their prices go down considerably sometime in the future.

 

[harobikes333]

I just looked on newegg at the mobo. the description says:

this exquisite motherboard utilizes the latest Intel P965 chipset to deliver up to 8 GB dual-channel DDR2 800/667/533 memory with Fast Memory Access technology for maximum platform performance.

Looks like I'm ok with 677 correct? if so, should I go with that kit of GSkill?

for 30 dollars more do you think its that much of an improvement? I don't really know. I'll go look at benchmarks... but I thought the 8XXX weren't as super awesome as they were suppose to be.

 

[Synomenon]

Yes, but if you plan on keeping the PC for awhile, then you should go with the 8600GT. It's still better than a 7900GS AND it supports DX10 (which you should have if you're going to keep this PC for awhile).

 

[harobikes333]

I plan on keeping the computer for as long as it lives... but I don't play a ton of games.

I'm going to just buy the case from newegg since I think I get a good enough shipping break since I'm buying a monitor, cpu, case, etc. from them.

Ram= I still don't know if I should stick with the Gskill kit.... seeing that there are other less expensive ones out there I just don't know...:\? Help?

 

[Synomenon]

Even if you don't play lots of games, why spend the money on an older DX9 card when you can spend that (almost) same amount on a newer model with features you might need in the future.

This GeIL RAM is good too:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144046

 

[harobikes333]

True... i just don't know if I want to spend anymore on a GPU... you may have convinced me... leme look a bit more... the reviews seem to be so so on the 8600:\.. I just donno...

As far as the ram does it matter that the GeIL ram you link me to is (PC2 5300) but the Gskill i'm looking at is (PC2 5400)...? the difference after shipping is only 4 or 5 bucks. GeIL Ram has less bad reviews....

Edit: Holy crap I've spent all day trying to decide on things when I thought I was going to just buy everything right away and do other things today! >_<

ok as far as the GPU is conserned the 8600 is about the same as the 7900GS around there...
I don't plan on ever having a hd dvd, bluray burner/player so i'm not really conserned on that aspect.

I'm about to pull my hair out>_<

 

[Synomenon]

DX10 is something that Vista uses and also future games will use. If you really are going to be keeping this PC for sometime, it wouldn't be wise to go with the 7900GS. It's only $15.00 more for the 8600GT. It's your choice though.

 

[harobikes333]

well its 30 dollars if you do the mail in rebate thing... I know I probably should get it... I'm just thinking of the stability of it and how few people have reviewed/bought it. >_< arg.

for the warranty, it didn't say what it had on newegg and when trying to go to the xfx website their server is messed up / it won't load the page. I know xfx isn't that bad but I'm just a person that worries>_<

Any comment on the difference in those two ram kits?

 

[KungFused]

For RAM: G.Skill 2GB (2x 1GB) - Well reviewed, reliable, and cheap. For your motherboard, you need anything between DDR2 533MHz and DDR2 800MHz. Anything faster than 533MHz won't increase your performance, but might be cheaper. You'll be fine with the linked G.Skill since you're not overclocking (and it gives you lower CAS latency than the 667MHz sticks for a good price, so it'll actually be a little faster). Just buy it.

The graphics card is your call, but a DX10 card will definitely last you longer than the DX9 7900GS. I'd agree with Islndboi and spend the extra few bucks for a significantly longer system life.

 

[harobikes333]

Ok I revised my parts list:

$70 After $20 MIR - Corsair 520W Purchased

$67 - Logitech X-530 5.1 Speaker SystemPurchased

$232 - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600

$264.55 - Acer 20" 8ms DVI Widescreen (including the $14.56 shipping)

$179 - XFX GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit

$80 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB

$38 - SAMSUNG Black E-IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner - OEM - including 5.64s&h

Cooler Master Centurion [with S&h]
65.98 - Newegg
56.99 - ChiefValue
57.31 - mwave

$20 - Logitech keyboard/mouse - including $6.13 s&h

$125 - GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3

OS: Vista 32bit Home Premium

$95 - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200)
^So there is no advantage at all for having higher than 533????
As far as the grahics card goes:

The thing is, 8600 is not reputed as an excellent GAMING card, but for OP's CPU will suffice.

I never had this cpu or seen benches, but if you buy c2d and new ram and mobo, it would make sense to buy 8800gts then.

o well its sorta future proofing

 

[ribbon13]

any reason you're avoiding a SATA burner?

E6600... cheap cheap cheap keyboard and mouse... heh.
8600GT... cheap cheap cheap keyboard and mouse... heh.

At least get a Logitech MX310 mouse man... 90% of the time you're going to be interacting with

1. Monitor
2. Keyboard
3. Mouse

 

[harobikes333]

No, not at all, do you have any suggestion for a sata burner???

... I donno, I just don't wanna spend a ton on keyboard and mouse.. :? i'll look up that logitech

so you think I should keep with the 8600GT? how about the ram???

 

[KungFused]

The reason people buy DDR2 667 (or 800, or higher than that) is to give themselves overclocking headroom -- if I push my processor to a 1066 MHz FSB, I want RAM that operates at DDR2 667 to match that -- and if I tried to make 533 MHz ram do that, it'd probably asplode from overheating. You want your RAM's speed to match your CPU's FSB; the Core 2 Duo Conroes, including the E6600, operate at a 1066MHz FSB stock, so you want RAM that operates at 533MHz speed.

The MX310 that Ribbon mentioned is a very good mouse for its price. My parents and my girlfriend use 'em (I use an MX510, for great gaming justice) and rave about 'em.

Personally, though, I have yet to meet a desktop keyboard that I like better than a standard no-frills but well-built Logitech like you have there.

 

[Synomenon]

Just get the 8600GT. As for the SATA burner, it really doesn't matter unless you really want to have thin cables. Right now it's just a matter of how you like the inside of your case to look. You don't get any performance benefit from SATA on optical drives. I recommend you go with a NEC / Optiarc 7170A IDE or SATA. There's some really good, stable, 3rd party firmware for NEC drives over at the CDFreaks forums by a duo named Liggy&Dee.

I personally don't like having all those shortcut keys on keyboards and I don't like all those flashy, wavy physical designs. I've been happy with my simple Dell RT7D50 USB keyboard for awhile now.

 

[harobikes333]

Completed Price List!!!
$70 After $20 MIR - Corsair 520W Purchased
$67 - Logitech X-530 5.1 Speaker SystemPurchased

$232 - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
$264.55 - Acer 20" 8ms DVI Widescreen (including the $14.56 shipping)

$169 - XFX GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit
Are these the same card? aka should I save ten bucks and get it from zzf?
https://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=321123">$159 @ zzf </a>
It says 600 for core spead on the zzf one instead of 620... misprint? because the model#s are the same
ribbon, do you agree on the GPU that I should get the zzf one? Just double checking.

$80 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB

Cooler Master Centurion
65.98 - Newegg

$23 - Logitech Ultra X Keyboard & MX310 Mouse ComboPurchased
^Note the change
$125 - GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3

$111 - OS: Vista 32bit Home Premium

$68.50 - Corsair 2GB Kit DDR2-533 PC2-4200 Value Select Memory
^just as good as other 533s? if I'm not OCing? if its not really noticeable then nvm

$38 - SAMSUNG Black E-IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner - OEM - including 5.64s&h
vs.
39 - Sony NEC Optiarc Black SATA DVD Burner - OEM
^ So the difference is the Sony has non ribbon cable thus = better case flow and better cable management? and that its a tad slower? y/n? I haven't a clue. I'm just seeing one with 400+reviews and one with 12. You know your stuff though so I'll go with the sony one.

Total:

 

[harobikes333]

bump for my sanity


seriously PLease!!!!!!! If you'll answer my questions about the ram and the GPU I'll be all set.

Edit: Ok i'm going with zzf with the GPU

if anyone will just tell me if the corsair would work or not I would be insanely greatful!


Thanks again for all of your help!!!!!!

PyroHaro

 

[KungFused]

If you are not overclocking, there is no advantage to getting RAM that is faster than your stock FSB (which is 1066MHz, I made a typo up there. You'd have to overclock to 1333 MHz to get full benefit from DDR2 667 RAM). Go for the DDR2 533MHz.

I believe the card at ZZF is actually *better* than the card from NewEgg (small factory overclocks on the RAM and core clocks). Get the card from ZZF.