Since you wanted my input:
~~~ Processor ~~~
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core (
link ) = $120
or
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core (
link ) = $170
$50 for the extra 3mb cache, if you can personally justify it. You can easily overclock either. I would probably go with Ex's recommendation with the E7400 and save that money for some other area.
~~~ CPU Cooler ~~~
Artic 7
linkor
XIGMATEK Rifle
linkor
Thermalake 120
link~~~ Motherboard ~~~
You know what, I seriously don't fucking know. Prices seemed to have jumped up to start supporting ddr3 and higher ddr2 ram as well as the Pentiu processor. There doesn't really seem to be any good obvious choices. After looking for like 15 minutes, I chose this:
ASUS P5Q SE/R LGA 775 Intel P45 (
link ) = $105 - $15MIR
~~~ Ram ~~~
OCZ doesn't seem to have the greatest ram at ddr1066.
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit (
link ) = $60
Or your muskin. Price is the same for the same type. I would check mobo specs to see what's officially supported.
~~~ Hard drive ~~~
For me personally, I would select a smaller system drive and use your current drives / extra new drives for storage of files. 500 gigs is too big for a system drive. Speed is the main factor here, not storage capacity. It all comes to preference though. Me = One system drive, everything else in external enclosures with fans. That way, I can also reformat it easily. However, the price difference between a 500 gig harddrive and same brand/type 160 gig harddrive is small. Really up to what you need as far as storage goes.
Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10000 RPM SATA 1.5Gb/s (
link ) = $80 - $20MIR
Overkill: SSD flash harddrive. Newegg had a shell shocker deal on them the other day. I'm waiting till they advance a little more.
Ex's single platter Seagate is nice as well. <3 seagate.
~~~ Video card ~~~
XFX HD-485X-ZDFC Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 (
link ) = $140
IDK yet if I can personally recommend. Waiting for mine to be shipped to me. I'm kinda a nvidia fan from past great experiences (except my current shit MSI card) and slightly weaker experiences with older Radeon cards. I guess ATI stepped their game up, so we'll see.
~~~ PSU ~~~
Depends on your harddrive usage from before and whether or not you are really going to waste money buying two dvd drives. Really wish I knew what you do with your computer. I run almost everything from the 2nd internal harddrive cd wise, because I hate dvds and dvd drives and they hate me. They always fail me. Always.
Eh, screw it:
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V (
link ) = $100 - $20MIR
~~~ DVD / CD ~~~
The fuck? Where did my ASUS drive go? It was nice and cheap and even had lightscribe.
LG Black 22X (
link ) = $24
Didn't look up the differences with the two LG models. One had free shipping so I went with that.
~~~ Case ~~~
Really a great matter of preference. Just pick something with some good fan slots and bonus if it has a side vent. Window panel is preference. Looks is preference. Front jacks is preference. Tool-less case is nice, but can be annoying with some non-standard items (my card reader isn't long enough to use all the pins).
~~~ Case Fans ~~~
Go to newegg -> fans -> sort by what you need (usually 80mm / 120mm) and best rating. Pick whatever you want as far as noise / looks. Go for air flow especially on the 120mm fans (intake in the front, out on the back.
Edit:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185054Pros: Free shipping (cheaper), more airflow Cons: Louder
vs:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185060Some good fans with LEDs if you care or fan controllers if you desire. Anything with ~100-130 CFM.
So as you asked. Ex's setup is nice. OCZ ram at 1066 has worse timings than G.Skill and muskin.
I think Ex is a bit of an OCZ fan boy ;o ;o ;o
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Total: ~$670 without case / fans / thermal paste Shipping was only $8 to me, would definitely be more with a case. I would recommend the free shipping 120mm fans with extra air flow.
Post has been edited 3 time(s), last time on May 19 2009, 11:09 pm by isolatedpurity.
None.