$1700 for Gaming rig , Where to spend extra cash?

I've got $1700 saved for a new gaming rig , and I have some extra cash to spend in some areas.

Here's the setup I have come up with so far , thanks to you guys

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 $225

Mobo - Biostar T-Force $104

Ram - G-Skill 2gb ddr2 800mhz $130

Heatsink - Thermalright XP-120 Ultra Extreme $64

PSU - Corsair 520w $125

SoundCard - Creative X-fi ExtremeGamer $90

HD - Seagate 160gb SATA $53

Graphics Card - EVGA 8800gts 640mb $380

DVD-rw's - 2 Lite-on SATA DVDRW's $30x2

Case - Antec 900 $109 [shipping included , bc its from a different site]

The newegg stuff [everthing except the case] add up to about $1370 w/ shipping and tax already added in [I have to pay newegg taxes bc I live in TN].
Add the money for the case and I am up to $1479.
Basically leaving me $220 to play with.


Choices I can think of.
A.) Upgrade ram to DDR2 1066mhz
B.) Upgrade mobo
C.) Get 8800gtx instead of gts , add $136
D.) Skip seperate sound card and use the on-board sound [I'd like to try a seperate sound card for once , I've always used on-board sound] saving $100
E.) Different CPU? I could wait awhile for the price drops to come into effect , maybe get a quad core Q6600. If they ever drop.

Suggestions?


Notes:
No need to upgrade the HD , bc I am going to move the 2 320gb SATA Seagates from my current rig into that one. The 160 is to keep this one running.

I know little about oc'ing but I intend to try and oc this rig.

Id go quadcore once the prices drop. What sort of speakers are you running? If its your run of the mill PC speakers then you can get away with onboard with little to no sound different in quality at all. (A 16 bit SB ISA card sounds the same music wise compared to a 7.1 24 bit SB live card.)

First of all, go with the Gigabyte DS3R. Then drop the sound card. Most $100+ mobos have very decent onboard sound. My 5.1 surround speakers sound great on my DFI Ultra-D's onboard sound. I don't think upgrading to a GTX will be worth it, since you're already getting a 640mb card, but you may want to get a bigger hard drive (or more than one and put them in RAID). Quad isn't really worth it yet, unless you do very specialized SMP tasks, since most programs can't use more than one processor core yet. There's my 2 cents.

Appreciate the info guys.

I own the Logitech x-530's.


If I have the cash after everything is said and done I will still get the sound card , bc the onboard sound on my DFI NF4X , has given me nothing but trouble.



What's the max FSB on that board?

Also I don't need to upgrade the HD , bc I am going to move the 2 320's from this rig to that one , the 160gb is to keep my current rig running. As for a raid config , I don't understand it very well.


Should I upgrade the ram?

i would also recommend upgrading the mobo to a Gigabyte P35 board and dropping the soundcard. the xtremegamer is really not worth the $90 tag when onboard audio sounds just as nice to most people (not to mention the XtremeMusic, a much better card, can be bought for <$70). ALSO, the gigabyte p35 boards have excellent realtek AL889 onboard audio

that would leave you with about $280 to play with (220-30 for mobo upgrade, +90 for no soundcard). this money could be pocketed, or put towards a Q6600 which would probably last you longer than a E6750 would. as for the GPU, if you're running 1680x1050 or less, the 8800GTS 640mb should be sufficient

the ram is fine, you really have no reason to upgrade the ram unless you are a biiig multitasker, or if you plan on running vista, although 2gb of ddr2 800 is good enough

The max res my 19in lcd runs at is 1280x1024.

Could use the extra to get a 22in Acer widescreen $230 , but I am alitle wary of widescreen for gaming.


Also I don't run vista , but I may later.

Sj_GrenDeL said:

The max res my 19in lcd runs at is 1280x1024.

Could use the extra to get a 22in Acer widescreen $230 , but I am alitle wary of widescreen for gaming.


Also I don't run vista , but I may later.

Click to expand...

well, the REAL benefit the 640mb 8800gts has over the 320mb is that it makes a world of difference when gaming at high resolutions. at 1280x1024, I think the performance gains of doubling the memory are somewhat marginal.

for widescreen gaming, I suggest you check out http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/wiki/index.php/Master_Games_List_-_A

anyways, I see no real reason for you to upgrade your memory, whether increasing the total or buying faster RAM. 2GB is more than sufficient for most purposes with WinXP, and anything faster than ddr2 800 may not give you significant performance gains, as even enthusiastic overclockers may find it difficult to push ddr2 800 to the limits at which ddr2 1066 becomes the better choice

Will the current DX-10 cards last , or once the DX-10 games start coming out , with the current cards not be enough?

Sj_GrenDeL said:

Will the current DX-10 cards last , or once the DX-10 games start coming out , with the current cards not be enough?

Click to expand...

the current high-end (read 8800 and HD2900) DX10 offerings by ATI and nvidia will definitely be "enough" for the DX10 games that are scheduled to come out soon. IMO, I'd go as far as to say that any 8800gts will perform more than satisfactorily at 1280x1024 on any game that comes out this year. personally, I plan on buying an 8800gts 340mb and then upgrading to a nvidia 9 series (9xxx) card by early 2008

shirker said:

the current high-end (read 8800 and HD2900) DX10 offerings by ATI and nvidia will definitely be "enough" for the DX10 games that are scheduled to come out soon. IMO, I'd go as far as to say that any 8800gts will perform more than satisfactorily at 1280x1024 on any game that comes out this year. personally, I plan on buying an 8800gts 340mb and then upgrading to a nvidia 9 series (9xxx) card by early 2008

Click to expand...

That's cool , I want to leave this rig alone for as long as possible.

I'm tired of spending $1000 every year to upgrade parts.

Are the oc options on that board easy?
Also what is the max FSB?

since your spending almost $2k for your new rig, dont go cheap! i would get a better mobo and pick up a q6600. look into the asus p5k series or the abit version. and honestly these first generation dx10 cards arent that great. i would seriously wait for the nvidia 9 series if your going to put down $300-$400 for a video card. i have a 8800gts and the performace gain from my 7900gtx is VERY minimal. also since you stated your not going vista then theres no reason to get a dx10 card now. wait for the next gen. video cards and then upgrade to vista. spend the extra cash you have in getting a better mobo/cpu. and you can get the best dx9 card the ati x1950 for CHEAP and the performance is incredible. oh and also get 4gigs of ram. ddr2 is CHEAP you can get high quality 4gigs for $200~

I'd say drop the sound card, get a quad core (Q6600), and for goodness sakes make the change into 16:10 widescreen. I've been using widescreen monitors for over 3 years now, I absolutely hate using anything but.

ok this is what i think you should get.

Q6600 http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80864 $309
(WOW newegg is selling their q6600 for $75 MORE)
ASUS P5K-VM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131187 $116
G.SKILL 2GB x2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098 $180 for 4gigs
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102007 $65
SAPPHIRE Radeon X1950PRO http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102061 $136
or a 7900GS for $100 http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4970851?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG (go with the x1950)

wow.. the parts i listed, your total comes up to $800, add another $100 for the powersupply, thats $900... add in the case, dvd drive, harddrive and your just a lil over $1k. thats $700 off from your projected "$1700" AND you have faster, better parts lol use that extra $700 in getting the 9 series card from nvidia when its released. you will have more than enough to get the 1gig version.

xbiker321 said:

I'd say drop the sound card, get a quad core (Q6600), and for goodness sakes make the change into 16:10 widescreen. I've been using widescreen monitors for over 3 years now, I absolutely hate using anything but.

Click to expand...

if you have a audigy or live, yes drop the sound card but for $65 you can get a x-fi... but NEVER use the onboard sound. spending all that money on getting a high performance machine and resorting to onboard sound is .... well you get the idea haha

Oh man , a quad core? yesh.
If I did get the quad , I would still get it from NewEgg , even with the $75 dollar difference. I am a bad experience with ZZF.


Anyone have any opinions on the setup Kiltz is talking about?

get the quad core somewhere else for you own sake

at mwave its essentially 280

Does the quad core overclock as well as the dual cores?

well, the quadcores generate more heat so if your running with water im sure you can get a good OC. but even if you couldnt the extra cores surely makes up for the lack of oc compared to a dual core. plus quad core is the way of the future (if your planning to be future-proof for a couple years)

Water is too intimidating for me.
I don't know that much about pc's , and will have to have a friend help me put it together , and he knows nada about water.