$1500 budget setup (opinions)

wixostrix

wixostrix

New Member
Does anyone have any objections to this setup. I came into some money and my current computer is out of date (for me). Im gonna keep my cd drives. i also included a firewire pci-x1 card ($64) and an external harddrive case for my old one cause i dont want to use it after i transfer my files and i want firewire. is that a waist of money and I should just buy a better Mobo with firewire on board? i want a mobo suitable for gaming. im gonna get a Dell 2007WFP. so thats part of my $1500 budget

GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128012

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115004

CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145566

XFX PVT71PUDE3 Geforce 7900GS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814150183

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148140

Linkworld ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811164040

Airnet APS500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817138002
 
ceewi1

ceewi1

VIP Member
I'd stick with the DS3, but you can get firewire cards at a much lower price. 2GB of RAM would be better.

MOST IMORTANTLY, i'd upgrade the PSU. That one really is insufficient. Take a look at PSU101. The XCLIO 450BL would be OK, but spending more would be preferable.
 
ETSA

ETSA

New Member
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Mobo

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe

This and the corsair RAM I have in my current setup, athough I have 2 gigs. It's good stuff, quality, really.

Yes, the PSU does need to go, I would suggest an antec true power or neoH.
 
Nightrain

Nightrain

New Member
just looking at your budget...if you up ur ram to ddr2800 corsair xms 2 * 1gig sticks...without your gpu your about 800-900 with a better power supply. ur budgets 1500. you could up ur graphics card from the gs to a gt or gtx and still be way under budget. id go with a better graphics card if you do have the extra money to spend. if ur trying to stay as far under as you can then ya that will work
 
Saurian

Saurian

Member
I was gonna say, a 1500 dollar budget should get you more then that! 1500 dollars should have you cutting it close with an E6600, DQ6 or P5B DH, 7900GT/X1900 or better graphics, and a solid 500 watt power supply. It'd be cutting it close I'd say. Do you need a monitor as well? It sounds like you might be happy with closer toa 1000 dollar build.
 
Saurian

Saurian

Member
Ok, I didn't want to do homework so here's what I came up with first try on getting you a 1500 dollar machine. And it comes out to exactly 1500 dollars without a sound card, shipped to your door.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129017
P180 Case, what more can you say?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106019
2x DVD burners with lightscribe on each. Never know when you'll want to burn stuff off fast.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835186134
Arctic Freezer 7 Pro. Price/performance probably the best cooler. Not as good as Big Typhone or Scythe coolers, but those are also 2x the cost!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145590
2 Gigs of Corsair XMS 800Mhz. Nice MIR on this product.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131028
ASUS P5B Deluxe Wifi. Great reviews, either this or the DQ6 are some of the best boards to get with E6600/E6700's.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115003
E6600. Enough said.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835100007
AS5 for your proc-to-heatsink needs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148140
Same hard drive you Chose. Decent drive, esp for the money.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817189006
550W, Great amps on 12V rails, Modular, PFC. A VERY nice Power Supply.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102051
X1900XT 256MB crossfire card with 15 dollar MIR, looked good to me! :)

When I added this all up, it basically came to 1450, and when I added up all the shipping in my head it came to like 52 or 53 dollars, which we can call a 1500 total budget on! :)

Now you could call many parts down on this. You could go with a DS3 still and save like 70-80 dollars. An E6300 would save you 140. You could try adn go cheaper on the memory, but with a 40$ MIR, that's tough. Case, of course you could use your first choice of case and save like 60 bucks to put back into something else. However, this is a pretty well rounded system for the money. Makes me drool a bit... :)

That said, it does not include a sound card. I have nothing against integrated audio personally. I use my original Audigy Platinum still in my computer, and plan on doing so when I go Conroe here soon myself. That said, there is a HELLACIOUS MIR for a Creative Audigy 2 ZS Platinum right now, 100 dollars back. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102163 . That is huge! So if you had your heart set on an add-in sound card, then that is what I would recommend if you could delete some room from your computer to make room. However....that's a quality board that SHOULD have a fairly adequate integrated sound option.

Either way, hope this maybe helps you out a bit. A TRUE 1500 dollar build.
 
wixostrix

wixostrix

New Member
thanks a lot. actually i had to inclued the monitor in my $1500 budget which left me with about $1100 for the hardware. im pretty much gonna go with everything i have now and do updates later. i did change the PSU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817103937) and got thermal paste (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835100007) and the ATI X1900XT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102051) instead of the Geforce 7900GS. I have a history with ATI and i never really wanted to change. also i do have a creative audigy4 sound card which i will use and cd/dvd drives. thanks again
 
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