New gaming PC, <$2,000

[scapino]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Gaming, with some light media. I play mostly WoW at this point, but that's just because my PC has been woefully inadequate for a while now. I would like to play significantly more graphic intensive games in the future.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

Under $2,000

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

US

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.

Doesn't matter.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

My mouse, keyboard, and Samsung 226CW LCD.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

That's where I've come up with this tentative list.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

I may do some light overclocking.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?

In the next couple weeks.



So far, this is what I'm looking at:
__________________________________
CPU - $189
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115037

__________________________________
RAM - $88
OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227289

__________________________________
Hard Drive- $110
Western Digital 640gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136218

________________________________
Video Card - $300
ATI 4870 512mb
Shipped!

__________________________________
CPU Cooler - $37
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Coole
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233003

__________________________________
Optical Drive - $27
Lite-On DVD/CD/DVD-RAM Combo Burner/Reader
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827106226

__________________________________
Case- $139
Antec P182
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129025


__________________________________
PSU- $130
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...06&Tpk=corsair%2b750tx

__________________________________
Motherboard- $185
DFI LANPARTY DK X38-T2R LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813136045

__________________________________
OS- $100
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16832116488

Total: ~$1350 after tax and shipping

I've still got quite a bit of money to play with here as well, so if there's anything above that seems to be a glaring upgrade, please let me know.

Thanks all!

 

[DaveSimmons]

For gaming an intel E8400 3.0 GHz makes more sense than a slow 2.4 GHz Q6600 if both are at stock speed.

 

[MarcVenice]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233003 is much cheaper then the TRUE, yet is very close in performance. The TRUE is very good, but twice as expensive, so I have to at least show you the Xigmatek.

e8400 > q6600 in games, and for light overclocking you barely need such a big HSF btw?

What about a case ? PSU ? I'd say something like a cm590, cm690, antec 900, antec p182, or if you keep looking some lian-li's. PSU probably 520hx, unless you're getting a crossfire mobo, like a x38, then you should probably buy that corsair 750tx from newegg.com for 120$, so you could later on crossfire 2 HD4870's. That's it I suppose? No way you need to spend 2000$ on this rig, 1200$ should cut it easily.

 

[Reynard]

Not to portray myself as an expert, but you sound just like me a week ago, so here's the link to what was pretty much my final build topic.

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=27&threadid=2200459

That's about $1600, but that includes a $400 monitor and $100 for Vista. Pick your own preference in case, of course.

 

[scapino]

Thanks for the help, guys. Updated the list. To be honest, I'm completely lost about motherboards. I DO want one that can do crossfire, as I'll probably eventually get another 4870. Do I need a soundcard, or will the motherboard handle it?

Yes, I am repeatedly being happily surprised at how cheap everything is.

Reynard - Did that heatsink fit comfortably in your case? I was worried about that!

 

[MarcVenice]

Reynards mobo can't do crossfire, you'll need X38 for that, since you're going with Intel. This is the cheapest X38 mobo I know of with dual pci-e 2.0 16x slots. http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813136045

People do think highly of this mobo too, but it is more expensive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128336

AMD mobo's for crossfire are slightly cheaper, around 150$, but that means you have to use a AMD cpu.

As for the soundcard, no need for one, the onboard sound will be just fine unless you own $300+ speakers, and even then you'll be hard pressed to notice a difference.

 

[scapino]

Updated again, just to make sure there aren't any compatibility issues I'm missing. I've used Gigabytes in the past and have had good experiences, so I went with that one.

Thanks again for the responses!

 

[Reynard]

I'll let you know if the Xigmathingummy fits when I get my parts and try it. One of the reasons I went with a big-ish case. And yes... mobos are definitely the hardest piece for me to understand. I still just eventually had to give up and trust to some recommendations...

 

[s44]

If you're going to do crossfire, you should get a bigger PSU. The 4870 draws tons of power.

 

[MarcVenice]

s44, I can't exactly recall what website did, but they used a 750tx to review crossfired HD4870's. That PSU will be just fine. Crossfired HD4870's used 420w under load measured by AT, so a quality 750w PSU won't even be pushed a little.

 

[Chosonman]

That Gigabyte Motherboard cost more than my AMD X2 4800 2GB RAM and ECS Motherboard combined.... eek

 

[scapino]

Updated one more time, after reading some reviews I went with the DFI motherboard.

As far as the case goes, I chose that one because pretty much everything I've read about it has been complimentary and I liked the style. Price was not the defining factor.

I also saw a review that used a 750W PSU for crossfire 4870s, it was somewhere in the 4870 review thread in the Video Cards forum here.

Probably going to order all the parts tomorrow; thanks for your help, everyone!