Help me with a $600 build!

[Weavesy]

yeah the socket on the mobo and cpu have to match so you are right proto.

Id say get the board proto recommended but id say get an e8400 and upgrade in the future later on.

Would this be a better choice?

Keep in mind I don't have any plans to overclock, perhaps in the future...

Oh also;

WinXP or Vista?

2gb or 4gb of RAM?

I'm very close to my budget as it is, so I don't know if I should go with 2GB to start with then upgrade soon, or not waste my money and just go straight to 4gb.

 

[Prototype]

Would this be a better choice?

Keep in mind I don't have any plans to overclock, perhaps in the future...

Oh also;

WinXP or Vista?

2gb or 4gb of RAM?

I'm very close to my budget as it is, so I don't know if I should go with 2GB to start with then upgrade soon, or not waste my money and just go straight to 4gb.

show me what you have right now and what ur missing

 

[Weavesy]

Processor:

Q6600
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - CPUs / Processors

or

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

Motherboard:

Gigabyte G8-P35
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards


Videocard:

GeForce 9600GT 512MB Ram (Arctic Cooling)
Newegg.com - ECS N9600GT-512MX-P GeForce 9600GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

RAM:

2x1GB 240-Pin RAM
Newegg.com - A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

or

OCZ 2x2GB RAM
Newegg.com - OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Laptop Memory - Laptop Memory

Hard Drive:

Seagate 160GB
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

Power Supply:

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply 90 - 264 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Power Supplies

Corsair 550vx

 

[Luke]

if your not ocing and are going to upgrade the cpu in a year or so then the e8400 would be a better choice because it will perform better then a q6600 at stock right seeing as no games utilize all 4 cores.

since your not ocing you can get the a-data ram...i have hear a few good things about it...well it is better then buffalo and Kingston IMO.

so other then that everything looks good....it should be a great little budget build =D

 

[Weavesy]

if your not ocing and are going to upgrade the cpu in a year or so then the e8400 would be a better choice because it will perform better then a q6600 at stock right seeing as no games utilize all 4 cores.

since your not ocing you can get the a-data ram...i have hear a few good things about it...well it is better then buffalo and Kingston IMO.

so other then that everything looks good....it should be a great little budget build =D

Alright, thanks a lot for the help!

And thank you to Proto and everyone else who helped.

One last question: Looking at my parts (specifically mobo and vid card) do I need a full tower? I like my options and prices for the mid-towers and would prefer to buy a mid IF I can fit my parts in one.

Any comments here?

Oh and no one has commented on the WinXP VS Vista problem I'm having

 

[Luke]

those parts will all fit in a standard mid tower case...well i can't guarantee it but it is very unlikely that they wouldn't.

Since your getting 4gb of ram then you need a 64bit os...id say just get vista home premium 64bit..ultimate is a waste.

 

[blackhawk13]

Yah. The RAM depends on if you are going to have a 32 or 64 bit OS. If you plan on just using regular 32 bit Windows XP, then the 4GB is a waste, and Windows will only recognize 3 of it. Up to you.

 

[veg1992]

I thought you said you just had $600.. how tf did you manage a q6600 in there

 

[Weavesy]

I thought you said you just had $600.. how tech forums did you manage a q6600 in there

Im going with the E8400 not the Q6600, and I'm currently at $645 minus the case, but whatever.

 

[Weavesy]

Oh and is my 550W PSU still going to be alright?