Money is in, time to make me a new computer!

**runfromMURDER** · 11-08-2006, 08:33 PM

Well, my $1220 check is in. It's time to make a brand new computer :]

I was doing some research, and the Core 2 Duo E6600 seems like the best CPU for the money out right now. Thats a good start, but I would like some help to find the best bang for my buck.

I will mostly be using intense media/music making programs, perhaps a few FPS games sometimes too. I would like it to be decent for all this atleast, but not spend all my money either.

I'll be needing everything but a new moniter and speakers, and would like to not have to use all $1220 of my money on this, either.

Here's what I got so far:
---------

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115003

Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102188

---------

Anybody mind helping me with the rest of the computer?

Thanks, Ryan

**_Mystical_Night** · 11-08-2006, 08:53 PM

For ram I recommend G.Skill these sticks in particular can reach 4-4-4-12 DDR2 1000 with ease

1gb flavor
===========
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231063

2gb flavor
===========
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231065

I myself got a stick of this (1gb until prices drop a little, im not made out of $$ u know) and im very happy with it. If you read the reviews ppl rate it really high too

For motherboards theres lots of good choices out there but the top 3 are

1 - Asus P5B Deluxe WiFI (best bang for the buck,onboard audio has crackling noises on all of them tho but your going to use an X-FI card anyhow)

2 - Asus P5W DH WiFI (most expensive but it has the most features *many of them filler items to charge ppl more $$ for stuff they dont need) *seriously who needs a remote control for their pc when their sitting next to it most of the time?*

3 - Gigabyte DS3 (cheapest, great overclocker)

For video cards I heard the 8800GTX comes out on 11/15/2006 but its soposed to cost $600+

I would go with either a X1950Pro ($200), X1900 AIW ($200, slower but lots of multimedia features), or a Geforce 7900GS ($200 or less *faster then X1950Pro but lower texture filtering quality*)

**runfromMURDER** · 11-08-2006, 09:51 PM

The G.SKILL 2gb is about $300, and I have never heard of G.SKILL before in my life. Anybody want to help comment on that?

Those video cards seem to be nice in prices. I will be using www.newegg.com for all of this, so if you can find me cards/parts on there, that would be great.

**_Mystical_Night** · 11-08-2006, 10:28 PM

heres a review

http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2867

**runfromMURDER** · 11-09-2006, 12:10 AM

Any other member's opinions on RAM? I need a mobo too, case, etc.

**Rabbitrunner51** · 11-09-2006, 09:25 AM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131045

Seems to be one of the nicer Asus boards... spendy ..yeah?? but reasonable for its good features and OC's well also. Most all gave it five star reviews ..no problems.

**RockNRoll** · 11-09-2006, 12:21 PM

I recommend EPoX motherboards. If you decide to go with the Core 2 duo these will be compatible.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ubCategory=280

Low prices, great rock solid performance, lots of bios options, and great onboard audio. I love EPoX boards.

I used to have a Gigabyte board for my A64 3000+ but the voltage rails were all over the place so I changed my PSU, still the same. I RMA'd it to Gigabyte and they returned it in the same condition insisting there was nothing wrong with it. I returned it to Newegg and bought an EPoX and voltages are so stable now.

**runfromMURDER** · 11-09-2006, 05:12 PM

Ok, I picked a motherboard now. Thanks :]

Motherboard
ASUS P5B Deluxe Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131045

All I need now is RAM, and a case. Then a heatsink too. A video card as well.

**runfromMURDER** · 11-09-2006, 05:27 PM

How does this video card look to you guys? A good choice? Would it work with my motherboard and CPU choice? I never heard of this brand before.

Video Card
Leadtek WinFast PX7900GS TDH 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814122010

I only have about $1000 now. So far, I am at like $850 or so. So my next choices need to be cheap.

**runfromMURDER** · 11-09-2006, 05:51 PM

Well, that motherboard IS a lot of money. Perhaps there is a cheaper yet compatible still one?

**_Mystical_Night** · 11-09-2006, 05:54 PM

Originally Posted by Rabbitrunner51

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131045

Seems to be one of the nicer Asus boards... spendy ..yeah?? but reasonable for its good features and OC's well also. Most all gave it five star reviews ..no problems.

with the vanilla P5B at $180 why not just get the P5B Deluxe Wifi thats at $220 and I think it comes with something free too

Originally Posted by runfromMURDER

Well, that motherboard IS a lot of money. Perhaps there is a cheaper yet compatible still one?

All the good Conroe motherboards are made by Asus, since its the only company with good motherboards besides Gigabyte it has taken advantage of that and jacked up their prices

you could also get the Gigabyte DS3 if you want a good motherboard under $180

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128012

Originally Posted by runfromMURDER

How does this video card look to you guys? A good choice? Would it work with my motherboard and CPU choice? I never heard of this brand before.

Video Card
Leadtek WinFast PX7900GS TDH 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814122010

I only have about $1000 now. So far, I am at like $850 or so. So my next choices need to be cheap.

for $200 you would be better off with an X1950Pro

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102061

it has better picture quality and it benchmarks about the same. Also I dont have good experiences with Leadtek I owned a Geforce 6600gt from them and it died after a couple of months then the replacement they sent me had artifacts across the screen when i booted up my pc sometimes.

**Rabbitrunner51** · 11-09-2006, 06:33 PM

Well for one thing i wouldn't scrimp on motherboard prices.. since its the hub of anything else added for the computer to run well. Its alright to get something cheaper though. I am frugile by nature ,but always i look at the best value and features..plus very little porblems reported by users and the tech industry reviews.

Have you looked at the main SysOpt homepage? They give two boards a good review and recommend those. The newest ECS one they show looks awesome and usrs give it a heads up. The Foxcon P9657AA-8KS2H is a very popular board.
Even the board maker i use.. ' AsusRock have some nice boards out that cost less and perform well.

The first memory choice you chose is good although spendy. Corsair memory is a choice that cannot be beaten for dependability. Most testers in the industry use this as thier basic benchmark. Just look at some at NewEgg that meets Duo Core Dual specs. and the best value choice.
For video crds, i would stick with EGVA, BFG,XFX, or even Asus.

Please do not buy something just for the extra goodies .. thats kind of stupid reasoning.. god marketing it may be.., but thats usually because they want to compete and not for better products they make.

Gigabyte boards are OK.. they have gotten progressively better. They were my other choice over Asus on my last setup.

Most mobos are moree expensive due to added features. Pick one that has only the features you really want and use.. and you will save some money there. LOL

**runfromMURDER** · 11-10-2006, 05:20 PM

I can't afford all of this. I think I need a cheaper CPU, since it seems to be the part that costs the most.

I don't need a pure gaming computer. I will need it to be able to run intense music programs though, such as Ableton, Cubase, ACID, FL Studio, etc. I want to create music with the help/using this machine. The main thing I need is that X-Fi soundcard.

Any other guesses on what to do?
---------------------------------------

How about this laptop, and I can go buy an external soundcard for it?

Acer Aspire AS5102WLMi NoteBook AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-50(1.60GHz) 15.4" Wide XGA 2GB DDR2 533 120GB 4200rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 Integrated
$949.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16834115274

**runfromMURDER** · 11-10-2006, 05:47 PM

Sorry, here's the link:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834115274

**_Mystical_Night** · 11-10-2006, 06:02 PM

if you dont mind the integrated video

(onboard video), slow ram, low cpu speed, never being able to upgrade individual components, and haveing a 4200 rpm hard drive

check out the specs on that laptop, not to mention if it ever has any problems you will most likely have to ship the whole thing to the manufacturer to get it repaired

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