Fashionable or Functional but Froogle

dstyle347

Thats right, It's a question. I am looking for the board that will allow me room to grow but allow me also to purchase technology that is affordable. I would like a little more than a yes or no though. Basically I am on a budget and building a new rig. My last build was over a year ago and I have completely fallen out of the loop as far as the current and new technologies available for gaming and general performance. I want to buy a board that is going to allow me to build a complete rig capable of above average gaming performance for around $7 - $800. But I'm not sure what socket is going to allow a budget proc for now and something nice when the money is around. also im not sure whether to go amd or intel anymore but I really want AMD (Arguments for all will be considered). should i go full x16 on SLI? DDR or DDR2? I want to OC but I'm new at it so simple yet capable is my target. I know this is an offshoot but I have yet to decide on multiple or single core for the proc.at this point. The machine is only for games and browsing. I would like to keep the board price at around $130. While you guys are at it a good baseline core system suggestion would be nice. I really appreciate any input from you guys.

Sledgehammer70

At this point in time it looks as if Intel's Socket 775 supporting Core 2 Duo and Quad Core CPU's is the way to go. You can jump into a new build pretty cheap and get great performance & have tons of room for upgrades.

With AMD phasing out the 939 and 940 sockets DDR will soon be the dying tech when it comes to memory. Both companies now are selling product all based on DDR2 and soon to be DDR3 for Intel.

X16 is pretty standard on just about all non integrated graphic motherboards, but going dual X16 I don't think is worth the cost currently. Having a SLI setup with 1 lane 16x and the other run 8x will do you just fine in gaming and will allow future upgrades into bigger and better graphic cards for years to come either non SLI or SLI.

I wouldn't settle for anything less than a dual core these days. They are starting off so cheap it is a no brainer.

I don't have time to link to products but I am sure others can help you find the right product for a good build.

dstyle347

Anyone else agree on the socket? What brands are good for that socket right now? Any star boards? Asus? DFI?

dstyle347

I know this is kind of annoying because yes there are a million combinations that work and work well and it comes down to preference but does anyone see potential in the parts assembled below or are there some alternatives I should consider? I'm gonna start buying a piece a week so it's not set in stone but I hate starting in one direction just to change it up halfway through and end up with 3 MOBO's and no money for a proc. because I kept changing my mind. Thanks,


CASE = RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black SECC STEEL ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail $89.95

MOBO = ASUS P5N-E SLI Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $149.95

VIDEO CARD = XFX PVT71PUDP3 GeForce 7900GS 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 EXTREME Video Card - Retail $189.99


PROCESSOR = Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail $222.00

MEMORY (Whatever is on sale just to start the machine off)= G.SKILL 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-1GBNQ - Retail $109.99

Madball

That would run most games very well. As for upgradability, I don't see anything to be concerned about. You'll probably want more memory if you plan to upgrade to Vista. I'm not too familiar with that powersupply, but it should do fine if you aren't planning any extreme overclocking.

That cpu will overclock nicely for you. Probably around 2.6ghz with all stock timings and voltages.

Leonardo

Anyone else agree on the socket?

LGA 775 - no question about it.

I would get at least DDR2 667, or DDR 800, which is becoming the new standard for decent performance. For your price range for a system, I would not worry about the expensive 'high performance' memory. In my opinion, the performance gain would not justify the extra expense. Geil, Patriot, and G.Skill make excellent quality mid-range DDR2 for very reasonable prices. Check both Newegg and brick and mortar for hard drives. CompUSA has been having outstanding deals on both P-ATA and S-ATA drives lately. If I were building a 775/Core Duo system right now, for motherboards I'd look first at Asus, second at DFI, and third at MSI. If you plan on overclocking, please seek additional advice concerning motherboards. There are excellent, rock solid, quality boards from both MSI and Asus that will die an early death with overclocking. Must be careful in that arena.

dstyle347

Yeah I would not say I'm planning on spending much time tweaking things right out of the box but I do want the ability to OC when time passes and I am not so impressed with my rig anymore. It's always a little easier for me to push things when they're not so shiny new because if they did break it would just afford me the opportunity to upgrade and replace without getting too much flack from the wife.

So any OC'rs have an opinion on the Asus P5N-E? Remember I'm not looking for bragging rights on this thing. Just the capability to get a little more (stable) than I start with when the rig gets old and I want to push it.

Thanks,

edcentric

I just ordered a MSI P965 Platinum mobo ($135), C2D E6300 CPU ($189) and 2x1GB OCZ DDR2800 memory ($246 - $32 rebate).
I am using an existing case, but a new PSU ($55), and Seagate 7200.10 HDD ($71).
I am buying an X1950pro video card, because I will be folding with it. Actually the card will go into my DFI AMD X2 machine and this one will get the X800GTO2.
You could easily cut the memory back and get a nice video card. If I were a gamer I would be all over a 7900GS. It is a great value.