rate this build

[QueBert]

She trusts me, but is the type to like to see at least 1 other person agree with something before she jumps. Here is a list of what I'm telling her to get, she's a pretty big gamer. LOTRO is her main thing.




Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield
BIOSTAR TForce TP43D2A7 LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
SAPPHIRE 100242L Radeon HD 4850
OCZ ATI CrossFire 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 - x2 (4 gigs total)
SILVERSTONE ST50F 500W ATX12V Power Supply
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit

I'm not 100% sure on the Q6600, a 3.0ghz C2D might be better for a gaming system, and they're only like $10 more. PSU seems amazing for the price Right now it's right at $720 bucks before rebates, about $60 total in rebates. I'm also debating Vista for her, I'm not a huge fan myself but if she wants 4 gigs I guess she might as well upgrade to it.

Like I said, she somewhat computer component literate and likes the list herself, but she wants to see another person or 2's opinion. I think it's a pretty solid build, that MB looks very sweet for the price ($90 bucks + $10 rebate) she won't be OC'ing so I figured the stock heatsink would be good enough.

 

[Dillybob]

Go for 2x2 Gb Ram instead of 4x1 Gb....get better results and save space for later. Also, don't skimp on the mobo. Go with P45 at least.

 

[DSF]

If you aren't overclocking, the P43 really is fine. If you are though, you'll probably want either P35 or P45. I agree on the RAM issue as well. Don't get four DIMMs when you can get two. And I'd vote for the E8400, especially if you aren't overclocking.

 

[Comdrpopnfresh]

boo on the biostar. overclocking or not, go with asus or gigabyte. and do the environment a favor and get one with epu or des. I agree with the ram- if you plan on overclocking, having less dimms populated may help. If you plan on overclocking, def go p35 or p45, and possibly consider the e8300- 6mb l2 cache, but ~150, so it is less expensive than the 8400. Unless she plans on doing video editing or folding, I'd just go with an e8xxx. What about hdd? 16mb cache, or 32? That wd 640 seems popular and inexpensive.

 

[Dillybob]

I say P45 b/c it's got some more current-gen features than the others, and you won't be using built-in video. Also, how serious is she about gaming?
What does she play? We could make better recommendations based on that info.

 

[QueBert]

NO OC'ing that why I went with the P43, it's cheaper and will perform on par, she plays LOTRO, besides that in the past has played Oblivion, Might & Magic Dark Messiah, games like that. The 4850 seems to be a whole lot of card for about $150 bucks.

Will kick the memory up to 2x2GB sticks, I like the Biostar board, especially for the price. She wanted to keep it around $600'ish but she also wants to not have to upgrade again anytime soon. Probably will switch to a C2D and I'll look to step up the MB a bit.

thanks for the replies

*edit* new

GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L - I know it's not a P45 but she won't OC at all
E8400 Wolfdale
OCZ Reaper HPC 2x2GB

 

[Dillybob]

Go E8300. Slightly slower clock, but not that huge of a difference. Also, where did you find a 4850 for $150? They're supposed to be $200-$250. I would get the 4870, but the budget IS a little tight, so that's forgiveable...and Oblivion is the most use she'll get out of it, so that's fine. If you're going Vista, get 64-bit. Drivers shouldn't be an issue. If she EVER listens to music /watches movies on it, get a sound card.


EDIT:

Sorry...didn't notice you were already planning 64-bit 'till I re-read. XD

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: Dillybob
Go E8300. Slightly slower clock, but not that huge of a difference. Also, where did you find a 4850 for $150? They're supposed to be $200-$250. I would get the 4870, but the budget IS a little tight, so that's forgiveable...and Oblivion is the most use she'll get out of it, so that's fine. If you're going Vista, get 64-bit. Drivers shouldn't be an issue. If she EVER listens to music /watches movies on it, get a sound card.


EDIT:

Sorry...didn't notice you were already planning 64-bit 'till I re-read. XD

Newegg doesn't seem to have the E8300, the 4850 is actually $174 with a $20 rebate. I was thinking maybe telling her a 4870 or a 3850 x2 but that would pump up the price even more. It will probably be around $700 when all is said and done as it, which is about $100 more than she wants to spent. I might tell her to forget Vista, stick with XP and use the $110 Vista towards a video card.

Right now her system is a 3200+ with 2 gigs of memory & a 1950Pro, not a bad setup at all but it's getting a little long in the tooth. It's AGP, all she really wanted to do was get a new video card but I told her to forget about a new AGP card and just do a big upgrade.

 

[DSF]

What speed is the RAM? Since she's not overclocking you don't need to go past DDR2-800, and 4GB of DDR2-800 shouldn't cost more than $60-65.

 

[QueBert]

it's 800, I think AR it's like 55, the OCZ has pretty good timing, worth a few extra bucks to get a bit of performance boost.

 

[DSF]

The timings have essentially zero impact on real-world performance, especially for what your girlfriend is doing. Decent price though.