Help me build a new machine for <$900.00

[HeXploiT]

Alright i've decided it's finally time to dump my 754 clawhammer system as it's been the weakest link at my local lan parties for some time now. My absolute limit here is $900 and i'll need a cpu, gpu, ram and motherbaord. The only hardware i'll be keeping from my old rig is an audigy platinum eX, dual sata maxtor 300's and my HIPER HPU-4K580 psu.
For the most part this is going to be a gaming rig and oc'ing is important to me.
I definitely want to go with an sli capable system but for obvious financial reasons i'll probably stick with one graphics card for the time being. Also i want to go with intel core 2 duo although i'm not set in stone on the issue. I'm thinking the Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz will be a nice place to start as it's the cheapest 4m cache core 2 duo processor. As for the graphics card and motherboard i just don't know as i skipped the whole socket 939 era and haven't dealth with p4's so my due diligence is a little rusty when it comes to the latest technology.

Tips, input, ideas? Any and all input will be greatly appreciated, this is a very important buy for me.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Asus P5N-E SLI $150
Conroe E6400 $220
2gb DDR800 $260
7950GT $260

Or

P5N-E SLI $150
Conroe E6300 $185
1gb DDR800 $160
8800GTS $400

 

[HeXploiT]

Looks like a decent mobo...think i'd better stick with 2gb of ram though lest i choke trying to play BF2...

 

[bamacre]

I would stick with an Intel chipset. Asus P5B or Gigabyte GA-965P-S3. Nvidia's chipsets for C2D have been buggy.

E6600
$312
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80860

2GB DDR2
$220 - $40 MIR
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4779779

X1950 XT
$250
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102067

GA-965P-S3
$127
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=322345

 

[Fast Fingers]

Yeah, you'd need any byte of RAM to handle the massive loading times.
Asus P5N-E SLI $150 (I recommend trying to find an Nvidia 600 series motherboard in general...they really improved OC'ing, or stick with Intel 965 for reliability/price: try reading this)
Conroe E6600 $309
2gb DDR800 $232 (with $30 rebate)
ATi X1950XT 256MB $250. This is the best single high end card value/performance-wise that will hold out until DirectX10.

 

[HeXploiT]

Also i'm wondering about sli. Are there any advantages to running two lower end cards in sli over one single more powewrful card?

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: Perry404
Also i'm wondering about sli. Are there any advantages to running two lower end cards in sli over one single more powewrful card?

No. A single higher-end card will almost always be faster than two lower-end cards.

That is why SLI is really only for higher-end cards, and not a good upgrade path either.

 

[UMfanatic]

ok go with the E6400 it will overclock real nice and you save 100 dollars almost dont worry so much about the 4MB cache, Get something like Buffalo firestiks or Patriot or Super talent for ram, as for a video card I would suggest a 8800GTS but that is up to you, and for a motherboard I would suggest the DS3 it is 130 dollars at newegg

 

[Fast Fingers]

Well, the 2MB cache difference is supposed to improve overall performance by 10%, which is a significant amount. If you want 2MB, just go with the E6300. And I second bamacre's statement about how 2 SLI < 1 Good card. I think it has to do with driver overhead and the inferior bandwidth between the cards (compared to PCI-e). Besides, you'll use up more energy.

 

[IEC]

Conroe E6300 $185
Gigabyte 965P-S3 $127
2GB DDR800 $250
nVidia 8800GTS $390

Or something like that. Graphics card is always the most important component for a gaming rig - don't want to short yourself on that one.

 

[Zap]

If you really want SLI, then you need an SLI board. Except for the new 600 series chipset, the older SLI chipsets don't overclock "well." By that I mean you will be motherboard limited with any of the current C2D CPUs. Of course once the E4300/4400 comes out with higher multipliers, the older cheap boards will gain new life.