Looking to Upgrade NOW...

After 4 months of not having my own Gaming Computer, I'm sick of waiting till 4 in the morning to use it. I recently got caught up in the Monarch Computers scandal and Lost a $398.24 Processor and Mobo. I'm looking to upgrade to something Fast.

My Old Mobo was a DFI Infinity and i had a Opteron CPU.

Here is what i have at the house after i lost my Mobo and CPU:

Case # 1:

Newegg.com - XION II XON-103 Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W Power Supply - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 11208008)

Case # 2:

Google Image Result for http://www.powmax.com/pics/gamer/519/519BLACK-LANGLE-200.jpg (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.powmax.com/pics/gamer/519/519BLACK-LANGLE-200.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.gearxs.com/gearxs/product_info.php%3Fproduc ts_id%3D8113&h=200&w=200&sz=10&hl=en&start=77&um=1&tbnid=vQX-0EMo4KDjXM:&tbnh=104&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3Fq%3DRed%2Band%2B Black%2BComputer%2BCase%2 6start%3D60%26ndsp%3D20%2 6svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl %3Den%26sa%3DN)

GPU:

Newegg.com - Open Box: SAPPHIRE 100154SR Radeon X1800XT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 14102008R)

RAM:

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 20231063)

DVD/CD Burner:

Newegg.com - LG Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE Super-Multi DVD Burner - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 27136103)

Hard Drive:

Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST380811AS 80GB Serial ATA 7200RPM Hard Drive at ZipZoomfly (http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?Product Code=101475)



I'm looking to go Nvidia and Intel. Below is the CPU and RAM that i would like to get.

CPU Choice #2:

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 19115004)

CPU Choice #1: but Only if ya can get everything else too.

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1681 9115003)

RAM Choice #1:

Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 20145034)

RAM Choice #2:

Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 20227089)

RAM Choice #3:

Newegg.com - Patriot eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 20220144)

My Budget Is:
$1000.00

What i need is MOBO,RAM,CPU,GPU,PSU,Gami ng Mouse and Headphones.

I want a Gaming Machine that will last me a while and will play Games like FEAR, T:V, CSS, and any other High Graphics Games FAST and SMOOTH... I also use Adobe Photoshop CS2 and i want it to be speady. I make Custom Logos for a Screen Printing Business and the Images are High Res.

Thank You all for your Help. I'm just looking for a Quality Gaming Computer.


P.S. If you are able to get a Nice Blue/Black Case in there to that would rock but it's not a must have.

CPU:
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 Conroe 1.86GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 19115015)
Cheaper, double the L2 cache, and outperforms the 6400.

GPU:
I'd keep the one you have now. But if you were to upgrade anyway, get Newegg.com - EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 14130082) Send me the X1800XT if you don't use it, rich fuck.

RAM:
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 20145034)

Mobo:
Newegg.com - ASUS P5B-VM SE LGA 775 Intel G965 Express uATX Intel Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 13131178)

PSU:
Newegg.com - FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX500-PN, ATX12V, V2.2, 12cm Fan, 2SATA, PCI-Express, 500W Power Supply 110-120/ 220-240V UL, CSA, VDE, NEMKO, TUV, CE, CB, FCC - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 17104037)

Mouse:
Newegg.com - Razer Diamondback Plasma Blue 1600 dpi Gaming Mouse - Full Retail Multi Language - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 26153005)

Headphones:
Newegg.com - SENNHEISER PC161 3.5mm Connector Circumaural Headset - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 26106158)

Case:
Newegg.com - XION Hydraulic XON-566TB Black with Blue LED Light Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 11208019)

Total-$855 w/ video card and $595 w/o.

INTEL CORE 2 DUO E6420 2.13GHz 4MB 1066MHz $189.00 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 19115016)
DFI INFINITY P965-S DARK P965/ICH8R $139.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 13136034)
PATRIOT PDC22G6400LLK 2GB DDR2 800 CL4-4-4-12 $107.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 20220144)
EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR 8800 GTS HDCP DL DVI GDDR3 640MB PCI-E $359.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 14130071)
SILVERSTONE ELEMENT ST50EF-PLUS ATX12V 2.2 500W $80.75 (http://deadeyedata.com/shop/index.php?main_page=produ ct_info&cPath=7_33_35&products_id=93)
RAZER DEATHADDER GAMING MOUSE 1800DPI BLACK $59.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 26153007)
SENNHEISER PC161 HEADSET $59.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 26106158)

NOTE: INTEL P35 CHIPSET AND ATI RADEON HD 2900 XL/XT ARE LAUNCHING VERY SOON.

Both very nice builds and still under budget. Thanks for your help.


To Lamb:

I'm not rich at all, actually I'm pretty far from it. I just got 580 back in taxes and i'm on a construction job with my dad and should be making around $3000.00. I'm getting married in June and i need to get a PC up and running before then cause i also do Custom Logos and make around 200 a week from it..not all that much but it helps out. I'm also going to school too so i have to pay for a lot of things.

Any one else can post a build if they want too. I'm still putting a PC together and haven't got a final yet.

Here is something that I came up with. It's a little over budget but it's nice, and it still needs fixing.

CASE

None

CPU

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Conroe 2.13GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1681 9115016)

MOBO

Newegg.com - EVGA 122-CK-NF63-TR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1681 3188019)

RAM

Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1682 0145034)

GPU

Newegg.com - EVGA 640-P2-N825-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SUPERCLOCKED HDCP Video Card - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1681 4130080)

PSU

Newegg.com - OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply 100 - 240 V CB/CE/CSA/UL/FCC - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1681 7341001)

Hard Drive

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1682 2144701)

EXTRAS

Mouse

Newegg.com - REVOLTEC BG13390 Silver/Black 6 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Laser FightMouse Advanced - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1682 6704001)

Keyboard

Newegg.com - REVOLTEC BG13475 Black 104 Normal Keys 21 Function Keys USB Standard Fightboard Advanced - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1682 3327001)

Mouse Pad

Newegg.com - REVOLTEC BG13147 Gaming Mouse Pad Precision, Advanced - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1682 6999004)

Headset

Newegg.com - iCEMAT Black Siberia 3.5mm/ 6.3mm Connector Circumaural Headset - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1683 6508101)

Thermal Control Panel/ All-In-One Disk Drive

Newegg.com - XION XON-ATC001 Thermal Control Panel - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1681 1998017)

Thermal Compound

Newegg.com - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1683 5100007)

Instant Rebates and Mail-In-Rebates


Thermal Control/ All-In-One Disk Reader - $10.00 MIR

GPU - $30.00 MIR

PSU - $10.00 MIR

RAM - $50.00 MIR

MOBO - $10.00 MIR


Total Computer Price before Rebates : $1345.91
After Rebates : $1245.91

Well it's over my budget so if anyone knows of any of these Items being cheaper on anyother great sites please let me know.

These are the recommended changes I have made to your component selection:

SILVERSTONE OLYMPIA OP650 ATX12V 2.2 650W [+12V@54A] $128.00 (http://deadeyedata.com/shop/index.php?main_page=produ ct_info&products_id=137&currency=USD)
WESTERN DIGITAL WD3200AAKS CAVIAR SE16 320GB [160Gb/platter] SATA 3Gb/s NCQ 7200RPM 16MB $79.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 22136074)

There're plenty of reviews on the web talking about how the 320mb 8800gts cards perform the same/slightly worse than the 640mb versions. Not worth the $100+ IMO.

SLi isn't really worth getting on a budget (I'd just get the Asus board I linked), the performance gain is noticeable, but you're better off just getting the latest card than trying to find a card identical to the older one you already have. If I were going for dual-cards it'd definitely be with Crossfire, so I could put in a newer card with an older one. Then you could keep the X1800xt, and combine it with a better ATi card.

Looking pretty solid otherwise.

So going ATI and going Crossfire i can use 2 different Cards? The reason i didn't want to stick with the x1800Xt is because it's the 256MB Version not the 512MB. Other wise i would stick with it for now.

There is no difference in the graphics core between the 320Mb and 640Mb. The main difference in performance is therefore determined by the resolution and AA levels due to the memory requirement. Therefore if you are only concerned with 1600x1200 resolution and you are not concerned with the AA level then I would agree with Lamb and go with the 320Mb version. Also as Lamb has indicated SLI should not be considered an upgrade option.

AnandTech 8800 GTS 320MB/640MB Performance Comparison (http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2926&p=3)

So going ATI and going Crossfire i can use 2 different Cards? The reason i didn't want to stick with the x1800Xt is because it's the 256MB Version not the 512MB. Other wise i would stick with it for now.

I think it's X800 and up that are compatible with Crossfire. So, if one card's Crossfire-certified and the other's an X800 or better (Crossfire-certified or no) the two are compatible with one another.

SLI/Crossfire is a waste of money, maybe when they get to the dual 16X PCIe graphic slots it might make more sense performance wise but I still think you're better off with one powerful card rather than two medium cards working together.

Newegg is a great site with excellent customer support (for the most part) but their prices haven't been all too good lately, checking places like pricewatch can lead to minor to major savings.

example, your powersupply:

Newegg.com - OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 - 240 V - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168 17341002)

ClubIT Product - OCZ GameXStream ATX12V v2.2 & EPS12V Power Supply - 700 W Single Fan - - ATX12V & EPS12V (http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno =CA6276522)

Hate to reference Wikipedia, but I'm lazy.
ATi has opened the Crossfire architecture to Intel, allowing CrossFire to be enabled on certain Intel chipsets which boast two 16x PCI-E slots. SLI, however, requires a motherboard which is SLI certified (usually based on nForce chipset, such as the nForce 590 SLI).

Same thing applies to some SLi boards now, too. It was just a past problem of having the lanes be cut to 8x, but it's been solved.

Good thing about Crossfire is that he can keep his already excellent X1800xt, then when it starts falling short he can just use it on top of a new card. So, it'd be a high-range card paired with a medium/low-range, instead of going with SLi and ultimately ending up with two slower cards (assuming you're getting one to be paired with the same card later).

Well i did add all the same items i had chosen at Newegg.com to Clubit.com and it was close to $200.00 cheaper.

Well im guessing my 1800 will run better with a core 2 duo then it did with my older opteron. So what i'm asking is (I'm not going SLI if i get a 8800 GTS) will it be better to go with the 8800 GTS 640mb or stick with my 1800 for now?

Well i did add all the same items i had chosen at Newegg.com to Clubit.com and it was close to $200.00 cheaper.

Well im guessing my 1800 will run better with a core 2 duo then it did with my older opteron. So what i'm asking is (I'm not going SLI if i get a 8800 GTS) will it be better to go with the 8800 GTS 640mb or stick with my 1800 for now?

I'd stick with the X1800xt. It's still a really good card, and ATi's new DX10 cards are coming out soon, so the price of Nvidia's cards might drop.

Very True, but how great will my x1800xt 256mb run with better mobo and better cpu and better ram. I was getting anywhere from 70-150 with 1280x1024 with everything high in CSS and useing High-Res Skins that replaced everything ingame. How much better will it be with all better parts.


EDIT


One more thing, will a x1800xt work on a EVGA Mobo with Nvidia chipset cause i dont want to get a bad mobo..


I've decided to just stick with the Radeon X1800XT and spent a little extra on mobo and extras.

Motherboard chipset has no bearing on video card compatibility, of course when you're talking Crossfire or SLI then yes - though I've seen 8800GTX cards working in SLI on a Crossfire board with hacked drivers.

awesome, well i have good news. I'm getting ready to order soon, either today or tomorrow. I ended up going to a couple different sites and getting some stuff different like i found the Antec 900 Case for 109 at zipzoom and it's 139 at newegg.com. and i'm keeping with my ATI Radeon x1800xt, so that saved me 360.00. Thanks all for the help.

Don't see the 109 deal for the Antec 900 case on ZZF but...

Computer Components and Cases and other kinds of Computer Accessories electronics at circuitcity.com (http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/Search.do?c=1&context=&keyword=antec+gaming&searchSection=All)

104.99 shipped

well clubit.com has that deal with Antec 900 and the Thermaltake Armor. Which would be my best choice. Case is my last thing to do before i order.

I'm not a fan of the 900 because it doesn't have any filters on those intake fans, southwest desert = a ton of dust. That and it's a little too open leading to probably a little more noise than I would want to put up with.

I'm going with the Antec P182 myself, little more expensive than your average tower but it's a heavy steel case with lots of nice options (fan speed switchs on the back of the case, dual chamberd power supply / main system board, 120mm fans throughout (I don't know where you would get a replacement fan for that 900 case, what is it 240mm or something?), front side ports for USB/Audio etc) - those top port cases wouldn't work for me.

Antec PERFORMANCE ONE SERIES P182 ATX MT NO P S BLK 4 1 (6) ROHS USB AUDIO IEEE [P182] | BK Computer Professional Inc (http://www.bk-computer.com/ANTEC_PERFORMANCE_ONE_SER IES_P182/P182/partinfo-id-37376.html)

(it's black gun metal finish not a shiny mirror like the picture shows)

I like this case too:

Amazon.com: Antec P160W Anodized Aluminum Super Mid Tower PC Enclosure: Electronics (http://www.amazon.com/Antec-P160W-Anodized-Aluminum-Enclosure/dp/B000BPRGKG/ref=sr_1_1/002-6854459-5403254?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1178923333&sr=8-1)

Lightweight Aluminum, removable motherboard tray makes putting the thing together all that easier, 120mm fans, rubber shock mounted HD trays, it's got two temperature probes that you can place in the case with front LED that alternates between the two - great for quick glance at how hot your system is running. Side window is cool if you're into that sort of thing.

I built one up for my brother with this case and it looks sharp.

Picking out your computer case is more a personal thing though really, different strokes for different folks.