Building a new computer... suggestions?

[Sqrl]

Galaki said:

$179.99	Amd Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Dual Core Processor Socket AM2 Windsor 3.0GHZ 2000FSB 2X1MB 90NM Retail Box
$49.68	Coolermaster CAC-T05 Centurion 5 Aluminum ATX Tower Case 5X5.25 1X3.5 4X3.5INT SILVER-BLACK No PS
$109.18	Corsair HX520 CMPSU-520HX 520W Atx Triple 12V 40A Continuous 24PIN Atx Modular 120MM Power Supply
$137.55	EVGA NF59 Nforce 590 SLI ATX AM2 2PCI-E16 1PCI-E4 1PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 RAID Sound GBLAN Motherboard
$170.13	Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X2048-6400C4 2GB 2X1GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 Cl 4-4-4-12 240PIN Dual Channel Memory
$303.06	Evga E-GEFORCE 8800GTS 500MHZ 320MB 1.6GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I Hdtv Hdcp DIRECTX10 Video Card
$109.99	Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache Ncq Hard Drive

Total: $1059.58 - $50 rebate

Total after tax and stuff: ~$1160

With this build. I can easily add ram and another video card in a year or 2 and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

But that also cost me an arm and a leg right now...

options:

• cut back on MB and save $40 (nforce 590 to nforce 500)
• cut back on cpu by $100 (down to 3800)
• cut back on case/psu by $100 (to generic combo)
• cut back on video card by $150 (down to 8600)

For HDD, i think 500G is the best GB/dollar, so, there's no need to cut there. Anymore ideas? keep? cut? I probably end up waiting a bit longer to get a new monitor with this kind of spending. Currently using 19''.

SLI: Few things I wanted to point out for you. You will probably want to upgrade your PSU in the future if you try to add another video card for SLI or crossfire. If you try to SLI anything in the 8800 series you are looking at 700W or more (check Nvidia's site for details, just keep in mind they tend to go a little overboard..but only a little). This sounds rediculous (and it is to some extent) but realise that like the monitor PSU's last a very long time and these kinds of PSU's usually have modular cables making them very versatile for the future.

Monitor: If you currently have a nice 19" and are willing to wait then doing so may be best option for you for now as prices will come down (they always do). And I always like the idea of rotating upgrades so I am never spending huge sums of money.

MB: nForce 500 is really just nForce 4 rebuilt with SLI support, where as nforce 590 was actually built from the ground up for SLI and is more like a full package. If you don't need all frills save the money, but if you want the nice extras its worth the cash.

Processor: Do not drop down to anything less than a 5200+, the reason for this is quite simply that the L2 cache got a big jump in the 5200+ and later. You want to look for "1MB x 2 L2 cache", it actually matters more than a lot of people know. (Avoid opterons as they are server chips). Oh, also...there is nothing wrong with AMD or Intel like Kwaad seems to think. It is just that for your price range I think the X2's fit your needs much better.

Case: Absolutely go generic, its not a big deal, looks are secondary unless you really must have something cool looking.

PSU: Make sure you get something 500W or better for an 8800 and if you are planning using this PSU for SLi get something 700W or better for 8800s. And if you are concerned with power consumption look for "80PLUS" certified on newegg, it will cost more initially but should pay for itself over time.