OK so I have a budget problem, Help?

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JarokFL

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Hey everyone,

Well, I finally came up with a good config, however at checkout, it ended up being $1250!... :eek:

That's way over my budget.

I only have about $900 to spend on the config and prolly about $100 to pay someone to assemble it and test it/OC it/Flash it, etc...

So here is the list of components I came up with. from Newegg

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-06 -Retail Item #: N82E16827106072 - $5.00 Instant $37.99 - $32.99

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811129021 $20.00 Instant $139.99 - $119.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822148288 -$5.00 Instant $109.99 - $104.99

EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130318 -$20.00 Instant $30.00 Mail-in Rebate $219.99 - $199.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX ATX12V / EPS12V 650W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817139005
-$40.00 Instant $20.00 Mail-in Rebate $159.99 - $119.99

Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 B2L-00047 Black USB Ergo Keyboard Mouse Included - OEM
Item #: N82E16823109156 - $21.99

ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail
Item #: N82E16835186020 - $6.99

CORSAIR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820145184 -$25.00 Instant $40.00 Mail-in Rebate $139.00 - $114.00

MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813130081 - $20.00 Mail-in Rebate $129.99 - $109.99

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail - Item #: N82E16819115017 - $244.99

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116204 -$10.00 Instant $109.99 - $99.99

Thermaltake CL-P0114 120mm CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835106061 -$5.00 Instant - $49.99 - $44.99

SHIPPING: $31.00

ROUNDED TOTAL: $1250.00

Now let say I could get the 8800GT for 165 + shipping
and probablly the q6600 for $200 + shipping

That's a $80 saving, bringing my new rounded TOTAL to $1170

That's is still way too much, like $250 too much!

So I guess my solution would be to downgrade something, somehow, and this is where I need your help guys!

What should I replace for a cheaper component in this configuration but still keeping a decent rig for online gaming in order to bring my total expense to 850-900 dollars?
 
Hey this is my first post and I'm trying to figure out a new build too. Just registered a minute ago. Mine is going to be similar to yours but I think I'm only going with 2gigs of ram (save you 50ish probably) , a 250gb hard drive (save you 40), and a much cheaper case since I prefer performance over looks (could save you 60 easy). I have 750 gb of external storage and can always upgrade w/ extra HD and Ram later if I want.

That's about 150 and maybe you could find some better deals on the other items if you shop around...

I'm no expert though so I'll be paying close attention to this thread as well to get ideas for myself. Good luck!
 
Hey this is my first post and I'm trying to figure out a new build too. Just registered a minute ago. Mine is going to be similar to yours but I think I'm only going with 2gigs of ram (save you 50ish probably) , a 250gb hard drive (save you 40), and a much cheaper case since I prefer performance over looks (could save you 60 easy). I have 750 gb of external storage and can always upgrade w/ extra HD and Ram later if I want.

That's about 150 and maybe you could find some better deals on the other items if you shop around...

I'm no expert though so I'll be paying close attention to this thread as well to get ideas for myself. Good luck!

Good points.

But yeah let's wait to see what the others have to say about this before concluding, because for example the casing, I'd like to agree with you and there's a bunch of good 50ish dollars casing out there, man the antec 900 is just soooo insane that I really wanna keep that one.

That's the kind of casing that I'll probably still be using in 5-6 years from now, have you seen the crazy amount of fans?
That thing is so vented I'm afraid it's gonna lift up and fly away LOL :laughing:
 
A few things you can do...

Cut down the case to something else cheaper.
Buy another cheaper 8800GT with a better cooler, try to avoid MIRS or stick with smaller ones.
I don't think any of the G.SKILL ram has MIR's. They should cost the same as your corsairs.
Get the oem q6600 for cheaper as well.
Oh and cut down the power supply to something less expensive, even 500w is enough
 
You know what Kickin, after re-reading your post, I realised that my current HDD is a crappy 150GB and I have never had ANY kind of storage problems, since I don't store movies or any kind of heavy HD media.

Yet I have WOW installed, LOTRO installed, and a pletora of single players games, such as Stars Wars Empire at Warr, C&C 3, Sins of a Solar Empire and Age of Empires III and it's 2 expansions,, just to name a few...

So right there, I realise that 250GB is gonna covers all of my needs and then some.

I'm gonna start revising my own list and update it accordingly, see what I come up with, maybe you can list the components you'r looking at and we can compare?



*edit*
A few things you can do...

Cut down the case to something else cheaper.
Buy another cheaper 8800GT with a better cooler, try to avoid MIRS or stick with smaller ones.
I don't think any of the G.SKILL ram has MIR's. They should cost the same as your corsairs.
Get the oem q6600 for cheaper as well.
Oh and cut down the power supply to something less expensive, even 500w is enough

Hey dark,

Well cooling and venting is critical for me, my room is kinda small, and gets crazy warm with the xbox 360 and a Samsung LN-T3242HX 32" so I need to be careful with the PC especially when gaming online.

The place where the PC will be located is not well vented (under the desk, between two boards) so i need all the fans I can get.

However I may be just overreacting here and I may not need that casing as you said (I don't care about the look that much either)




*edit2*
A few things you can do...

Buy another cheaper 8800GT with a better cooler, try to avoid MIRS or stick with smaller ones.

What other 8800 GT btw?

If I were to downgrade the GPU, I was thinking going 9600 GT, whatcha think?
 
some suggestions to save a few bucks....

1) If you don't mind going to XP for a while then that's about $99.99 too much for an OS.

2) Go with 2GB of ram only

3) cheaper 8800GT or possibly down to 9600gt, but lose a little with that down grade.

4) smaller HD

5) should be able to get that case cheaper somewhere else....i frequently see it around $100. If you can find the case cheaper locally you can save some on your S&H.

6) arctic cooling pro 7 cpu cooler and won't need any compound that way either.

Just some ideas....

[edit] lol, you guys posted too fast

cooler: Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

8800gt: Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

A couple there for 159, 169, 179...

RAM: Newegg.com - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

[/edit]
 
You can find the 250gb 16mb version of the Seagate Barracuda at many places for like 65 with shipping.

I just made my own post to figure out what I'm going to get so it's not nearly as defined yet as yours. I can put XP on my new build for free but I was also thinking about getting Vista 64bit. I'd like to hear some more thoughts from the pros on that subject. Vista uses more memory correct, but it also allows DX10, and 64bit should give some better performance as well if I'm not mistaken.

It's been said a bunch but I would definitely go for a cheaper case if you are on a strict budget, otherwise you'll have to cut a performance piece out. I'm guessing you can get a recommendation on a good cheaper case that still has very nice airflow and fans. I'll keep you updated on what I find since that is something I'm really looking to save on.

The 2gb of ram I'm looking at now is like 35 dollars, compared to your 114. And from what I've seen so far going to 4gb isn't that necessary unless you're running really high end other parts. My thought is I can go 2gb now, and when I do need to upgrade it will be even cheaper.
 
some suggestions to save a few bucks....

1) If you don't mind going to XP for a while then that's about $99.99 too much for an OS.

2) Go with 2GB of ram only

Hi fenwick,

Well I already have a PC with XP, it's some 5 year old rig, running on a athlon 64 3200 and a geForce 7800 GS and 1GB ram

So I wanna upgrade it and go Vista 64 or don't upgrade at all and keep my current PC which function just fine tbh

So if I go Vista 64, then I should also get 4GB RAM, don't you think?
The price difference is so small in the DDR2 RAM that I think this is something I should upgrade.

UNLESS of course you tell me that vista 64 and 4gb RAM for online gaming is just fluff for people like me who don't care about 3dmark06 ratings that much?


3) cheaper 8800GT or possibly down to 9600gt, but lose a little with that down grade.
Yeah I think this is where I might save some bucks.

4) smaller HD

agree

6) arctic cooling pro 7 cpu cooler and won't need any compound that way either.

Just some ideas....

Hmm good point, $32 for the artic
Instead of the Thermaltake CL-P0114 120mm CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835106061 $44.99 and the $7 compound.

That's about $20 saving, cool




*edit*
You can find the 250gb 16mb version of the Seagate Barracuda at many places for like 65 with shipping.

yep done ;)


I just made my own post to figure out what I'm going to get so it's not nearly as defined yet as yours. I can put XP on my new build for free but I was also thinking about getting Vista 64bit. I'd like to hear some more thoughts from the pros on that subject. Vista uses more memory correct, but it also allows DX10, and 64bit should give some better performance as well if I'm not mistaken.

Same here man, lemme know if you find anything about this, because the difference between going vista 64 (and obviously getting 4GB ram to make it worth) and getting vista x32 and just 2GB ram is pretty substancial.

I'd really like to hear something about this.

It's been said a bunch but I would definitely go for a cheaper case if you are on a strict budget, otherwise you'll have to cut a performance piece out. I'm guessing you can get a recommendation on a good cheaper case that still has very nice airflow and fans. I'll keep you updated on what I find since that is something I'm really looking to save on.

yeah let me know, I'm going back to look around for a cheaper case with satisfying fans

The 2gb of ram I'm looking at now is like 35 dollars, compared to your 114. And from what I've seen so far going to 4gb isn't that necessary unless you're running really high end other parts. My thought is I can go 2gb now, and when I do need to upgrade it will be even cheaper.

Well if I DO decide to go vista x64, then I'll also go 4GB so it makes sense.
 
Heh my PC is 4 or 5 years old too w/ AMD Athlon 64 3200 running XP as well. Only have 512mb ram though.

After browsing a bunch of articles and stuff online I'm leaning towards Vista 64 bit with 4gb as well.

People have been saying there's a price drop for 6600 and 6700 coming up this month, I think I'm going to hold off on purchasing till then and get the 6700 processor if it is reasonable.

Can you explain the cooling issue? You were going to get the Thermaltake cooler and additional compound. Why do you not need the compound with the Arctic pro 7 cooler?
 
People have been saying there's a price drop for 6600 and 6700 coming up this month, I think I'm going to hold off on purchasing till then and get the 6700 processor if it is reasonable.

yeah 4/20 expected price drop... some think the q6600 will go under $200.

However FRYS is selling them at $189 as we speak, so go ahead and order it if you'r sure about your rig, me I'm gonna still look around and order everything in one go

Can you explain the cooling issue? You were going to get the Thermaltake cooler and additional compound. Why do you not need the compound with the Arctic pro 7 cooler?

I'm no expert man, I just go with what the more knowlegdable folks tell me and from what i read on the net, and from what i gathered it had something to do with the stock heatsink and CPU compound it sucks or something and it's recommended to remove it and replaster it with a better compound.

However, I'm gonna forget this whole techno mumbo jumbo compound stuff and get a decent CPU cooler and that's it, less headache and saves some change by just getting the Artic pro 7 cooler.
 
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