New budget gaming rig, need advice/opinions

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MageLuingil

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I have a budget of $1000 max to build my machine. I'm trying to design it to be power efficient and quiet (though 'gaming' and 'power efficient' almost seem like an oxymoron together). I also like to use multiple monitors (2, maybe 3), so if I'm doing that should I go with crossfire instead of nVidia cards? I understand SLI isn't compatible with multi-monitor setups. I'm not a big fan of SLI or Crossfire anyway, since the performance increase doesn't seem that great for the price, so if I have two cards it'll just be for more monitors.

I could also use some advice on a good CPU cooler, I'm trying to balance noise level and cost.
Anyway, here's what I'm looking at so far:

Newegg.com - ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Power Supplies

Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N862-AR GeForce 9600GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

Thanks in advance for any help.
--Mage Luingil
 
nice, get a8800gt over the 9600gt, a wd 640gb, a rifle cooler.

For the multi monitor thing, if ur using three then just grab a cheap pcie or even pci card for the third.

If you are not going to upgrade that cpu in about 10 months to a quad then don't get it and get a q6600 right off the bat.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the 9000 series video cards more efficient than the 8000 series cards? Maybe it won't make any difference at all, in which chase I will go with the 8800. It didn't seem like that huge of a performance difference when I was researching, so I went with the more efficient choice.

As for the q6600, I didn't go quad core because as of right now, it seems nothing really takes advantage of all four cores, and I can get a higher clock speed for cheaper with dual core.
 
get a 550vx psu (cheaper still run system fine) save u about 25. i second gettin a quad to, its the smarter choice. also crossfire would be the better choice if your going to go crossfire because sli doesnt support dual monitors and ATI cards a alot better for price/perf atm.

with Xfire disabled you can go three monitors with 2 cards. So either way for dual monitors or more you need 2 cards, ati is the best choice maybe 4850's if you dont have alot of cash.
 
^there is no need to go cross fire just for the capabilities having more monitors, like i said, get a cheaper pcie or pci for the thrid monitor. No the 9600gt is not better, the 8800gt beats it by a minimal amount but performance is performance, why get a less performing on when you can get a more performing one for a little bit.

Hey baron, if he wants to spend the extra money to get modular, let him.

Mage, pretty soon you will see a lot more applications and games utilizing 4 cores, so by not getting one you could very limit your computer.
 
Okay, you've convinced me on the quad core. Thinking about it, I'm a programmer, so at the very least that'll allow me to learn how to use 'em.

Now atm I'm looking at this rifle cooler:
Newegg.com - XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
Will that fit in my case? I'm getting the CPU OEM now, so I'd really like to have a working cooler on it when it comes....

On the power supply, I wasn't that particular about the modular, I just didn't see that other one honestly. Maybe I'll switch before I order.

On the video, I'm not going to go either xfire or sli, since I'm not a fan anyway, so if I want a third monitor, I'll take luke's advice and just get a cheap card for it.

BTW, luke, I notice in your sig a 9600gt. If you don't mind me asking, why did you choose that one?
 
yes that rifle will fit in any standard case.

I chose it because i didn't have a lot to spend on a video card at the time, it had a $50 mir (which would have made it only 130 if they had honored the MIR) and it came with a great dual slot stock cooler that allowed me to overclock it nearly to 8800gts 512mb performance.
 
^there is no need to go cross fire just for the capabilities having more monitors, like i said, get a cheaper pcie or pci for the thrid monitor. No the 9600gt is not better, the 8800gt beats it by a minimal amount but performance is performance, why get a less performing on when you can get a more performing one for a little bit.

Hey baron, if he wants to spend the extra money to get modular, let him.

Mage, pretty soon you will see a lot more applications and games utilizing 4 cores, so by not getting one you could very limit your computer.

if he wants to play games dual monitor he would. i was assuming he does.
 
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