Need help deciding a system

timot

Member
Feb 26, 2008
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Hey, i m trying to build a computer for my friend, his budget is <1000CAD with monitors, i will sell him my monitor for 140CAD for the 20" i got, so that's left <860CAD for the system. He plays some moderate gaming most of the time, like DOTA and such, no FPS game that i know of that he plays.


1. Power supply : OCZ StealthStream 500W OCZ500SXS
2. Case : Antec Three Hundred
3. Motherboard : need some recommendation
4. CPU : Q6600
5. Heatsink/fan for the CPU : Stock
6. Memory : Gskill DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 2x2GB
7. Primary hard drive : from his old system
8. Primary optical drive : from his old system
9. Video card (unless you?re using onboard video) : eVga 8800GT 512MB
10. Monitor(s) ? BENQ 20" (mine, i will sell this to him)
11. Mouse/keyboard : old
12. Operating System : not included


i need recommendation for the mobo on this... i heard the p35-ds3l was good, but now it has been changed to ep35-ds3l?
 

DSF

Diamond Member
Oct 6, 2007
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Are you overclocking? My guess is no, given the stock heatsink.

In that case the Q6600 is a poor choice for most games. If he plays Supreme Commander or FSX it might be worth it, but otherwise I'd go with a fast dual core. In the same vein, there's no need for aggressive timings in a system that isn't being overclocked. Save money on the RAM - any inexpensive DDR2-667 or DDR2-800 from a good manufacturer will be fine.
 

GuitarDaddy

Lifer
Nov 9, 2004
11,465
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I agree on the CPU, and E8400/E8500 would most likely be the better choice if overclocking or not. Unless you know he's using apps that will benifiet from a quad the 45nm duals will be better across the board.
 

DSF

Diamond Member
Oct 6, 2007
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The E8400 is a better value than the E8500 for someone building on a budget, even after the Intel price drops.
 

timot

Member
Feb 26, 2008
152
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Hmm i c.... but i think wat he wants is future proof and i m mistaken, he does play fps, but with his old system, he never plays on it.. lol ..

so any mobo recommendation?
 

GuitarDaddy

Lifer
Nov 9, 2004
11,465
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I recommend the gigabyte P35-ds3l it's a great stable board that overclocks well for under $100 if you don't need onboard raid or firewire. If your a hardcore overclocker and want to get the highest O/C I would go with a P43/P45 chipset board
 

timot

Member
Feb 26, 2008
152
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lol went with p5q pro instead.... i guess ur reply was too late.. lol but yah thanks anyway