My new *unofficial* rig

[MadPistol]

I'm ordering a new rig as soon as the checks clear. I will be depositing them in the morning, so the rig should be on order within a day.

My Budget has been UPGRADED from a generous $1800 to an amazing $2200! :D

And here are the specs w/ links

Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4Ghz (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115003) $317.00

EVGA Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813188009) $249.99

eVGA GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130072) $589.99

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145034) $276.00


Western Digital Caviar WD5000YS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822136032) $179.99

LG 18x DVD Burner - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827136103) $30.99

OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 - 240 V - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817341002) $149.99

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811129021) $124.99

Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2b w/Upgrade Coupon for Vista - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16832116171) $109.99



Final Price: $2028.93 :eek:

That's right! I have $170 left. I will more than likely use that to get a very nice keyboard and aftermarket CPU cooler.

Anyone have any suggestions as to what I can change or improve on and still stay within my budget?

[MadPistol]

BTW, There are over $100 worth of rebates on top of that final price. Once it's all said and done, that will be a sub $2000 build :D

[Shoreguy]

how about a creative soundblaster x-fi fatal1ty card and a nice set of 5.1 cans or speakers? you'll only blow the budget until the rebates come back...

[MadPistol]

LOL! funny you should say that... I was actually just looking at new sound cards.

I did skimp on the sound card. the fatal1ty costs $189.99 newegg, and I know I can get that money back. the problem is getting it easily without blowing my budget. I have some reserve money in another account, but I only want to tap into that as a last resort.

[Shoreguy]

...would you put an am radio in a Ferrari???

http://echolalie.free.fr/wiki/images/ferrari.jpg

http://www.silogic.com/MGB/MGB%2066%20GT%20AM%20Radio.jpg

...yes, I'm Santa's evil cousin...Shopping Claus
http://members.iinet.net.au/~michaelbolger/mp3/evil%20corporate%20santa.JPG

[MadPistol]

...would you put an am radio in a Ferrari???

Ferrari eh? :cool:

I think I'll splurge and add an X-Fi fatal1ty into this one. :D

[Shoreguy]

...and while you're at it...you could 'blow' $5 to enter Medusa-USA's drawing for
http://www.pressebox.de/uploads/images/19258_200_160.jpg
at WWW.Medusa-USA.com

..yes, the wife hates when I successfully 'justify' my purchases ;)

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Only thing i would say is, dont throw out your existing graphics card straight away. At present there are virtually no games functioning properly with the 8800's, largely due to Nvidias (recently increasingly) shoddy drivers, so dont expect to be able to play everything on it flawlessly just yet (SC4 and R6:Vegas are prime examples)

--Jakk:t

[MadPistol]

My current rig is not going anywhere. However, my current Video card is AGP, so there's no way that they will be interchangable.

I will heed your words and say that this rig is only the beginning of a bigger picture that will last for years hopefully. :t

[MadPistol]

IT has been ordered!

Will post benchies when it's done. I can't wait!

[Shoreguy]

Gratz! ...can't wait for your 1st "???" post hehe

[Rabbitrunner51]

SPAMOLA! love that dirty ole Uncle Sam Santa Pic. thats halarious..

Is that a ferrari? yeah ...stick some old AM/FM radio in the thing just to shock the jeezits out of people. But... also have a good backup.. I'm actyually old enough to have had one of those radios in one of my early cars. Remember 8 Tracks also...

"OH..Those were the days my friend....we thought they'd never end.."