# Best $1000 I'll ever spend



## 3991vhtes (Apr 3, 2008)

I plan on doing a highend gamer. Here's what I have so far

*Motherboard*- XFX MB-N780-ISH9 _$259.99_

*Proc*- Intel C2D E6850 Conroe _$269.99_

*Graphics*- 2x  XFX Geforce 8800GS 384MB _ $259.98_

*RAM*- 4x 1GB Corsair CM2X1024-6400C4  _$99.96_

*HDD*- Western Digital Caviar SE 500GB _$89.99_

*Optical*- Asus DRW-2014L1T  _$36.99_

*PSU*- Antec NeoPower 500 _$69.99_

Total Cost: $1086.89 Not including shipping

Comments? Critique? Suggestions?

Thanks


----------



## JC316 (Apr 3, 2008)

I would get a Quad before a 6850, that or an E8400


----------



## panchoman (Apr 3, 2008)

get a quad
make ram 2x2 
psu might not be able to cut 2 oced 8800's
good luck with the 780i 
better vga choice maybe?


----------



## DOM (Apr 3, 2008)

E3110 in stock here 

got my X3350 toaday from them


----------



## 3991vhtes (Apr 3, 2008)

JC316 said:


> I would get a Quad before a 6850, that or an E8400



I couldn't remember what I was originally going to get...a E8400! Thanks man!


----------



## newtekie1 (Apr 3, 2008)

I would get a single 8800GTS over the dual 8800GS's.  I also won't get the XFX 8800GS's if you are going to get the 8800GS.  They use slower 1.4ns RAM, the eVGA models have 1.0ns RAM on them capable of 1000MHz.  With the cut down bus, you want faster memory to make up for it.


----------



## PaulieG (Apr 3, 2008)

the e8400 is a faster and cooler chip than the e6850, not to mention it's $50 cheaper! There is also some evidence that the 750i board will overclock better than the 780i, and it is $75-$100 cheaper.


----------



## 3991vhtes (Apr 3, 2008)

panchoman said:


> get a quad
> make ram 2x2
> psu might not be able to cut 2 oced 8800's
> good luck with the 780i
> better vga choice maybe?



No point (I have nothing that will benefit from quad)
4x1gb is cheaper
OC'd video cards? lol.. I don't want to blow it up (noob OC'er with VGA)
nothin wrong with 780i afaik
8800 will run my games fine (CS:S, BF2, GTA:SA, HL2)


----------



## mandelore (Apr 3, 2008)

spend it on a great quality hooker j/k


----------



## panchoman (Apr 3, 2008)

get e8400 then
4x1 will lower your ocing potential a bit, more strain on the chipset, etc. etc. more heat, more power, less room for upgradability. 
w/e
suit your self
why are you sli'ing already, i would get a better card and then use sli to upgrade later, and not put two weak cards in sli and have driver and scaling and all kinds of issues and crap. not to mention increases power usage, heat, noise and less upgradability.


----------



## 3991vhtes (Apr 4, 2008)

newtekie1 said:


> I would get a single 8800GTS over the dual 8800GS's.  I also won't get the XFX 8800GS's if you are going to get the 8800GS.  They use slower RAM, the eVGA models have 1.0ns RAM on them capable of 1000MHz.



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130333 ?


----------



## 3991vhtes (Apr 4, 2008)

mandelore said:


> spend it on a great quality hooker j/k



LMAO!


----------



## sneekypeet (Apr 4, 2008)

IMHO Antec neo FTL...had one, smoked out, RMA'd it then sold it. Bought OCZGSX700 did so well I got another one. Great PSU

Rebranded FSP IIRC!


----------



## [I.R.A]_FBi (Apr 4, 2008)

e8400
2x2 ddr2-1000
1gb 8800gt
samsung f1 drive
any other motherboard, just not that one


----------



## 3991vhtes (Apr 4, 2008)

sneekypeet said:


> IMHO Antec neo FTL...had one, smoked out, RMA'd it then sold it. Bought OCZGSX700 did so well I got another one. Great PSU
> 
> Rebranded FSP IIRC!



I'm taking this into consideration !


----------



## 3991vhtes (Apr 4, 2008)

[I.R.A]_FBi said:


> any other motherboard, just not that one


Any particular reason?


----------



## newtekie1 (Apr 4, 2008)

3991vhtes said:


> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130333 ?



No point in getting the Superclocked version, just get the standard one and overclock it yourself.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130332


----------



## panchoman (Apr 4, 2008)

[I.R.A]_FBi said:


> e8400
> 2x2 ddr2-1000
> 1gb 8800gt
> samsung f1 drive
> any other motherboard, just not that one



sounds like a better plan! 

samsung f1 FTW


----------



## 3991vhtes (Apr 4, 2008)

@ newtekie1- Holy shiz! The price is way cheaper than the superclocked and xfx one!!


----------



## [I.R.A]_FBi (Apr 4, 2008)

3991vhtes said:


> Any particular reason?




i dunno but i think thats a bit much to be spending on a mobo, thats just me ...


----------



## Th3-R3as0n (Apr 4, 2008)

I think get 2 sticks of 2 GB as two ram chips increase performance alot rather then letting it only pass through one mem stick.. Trust me i know..  

As suggested rather get a High end GFX and SLi it later when you do want to play the higher end graphics games with beastly graphics..

Lastly the Power supply has to be a higher wattage.. 

Another post where i add my two cents


----------



## 3991vhtes (Apr 4, 2008)

[I.R.A]_FBi said:


> i dunno but i think thats a bit much to be spending on a mobo, thats just me ...



yeah $259.99 is a little crazy....


----------



## JrRacinFan (Apr 4, 2008)

3991!!!! Hey man, long time no chat!

Nix on everything. MSI P7N 750i board, 2 9600GT's, Adata 2x2Gb pC8500, your choice of proc but make sure its a Xeon dual or a Core 2 Yorkfield Quad. Power supply, I was thinking maybe a PCP&C 750 Silencer.


----------



## warhammer (Apr 4, 2008)

Get a bigger PSU 500 will not do 650 + SLI needs 750W


----------



## 3991vhtes (Apr 4, 2008)

JrRacinFan said:


> 3991!!!! Hey man, long time no chat!
> 
> Nix on everything. MSI P7N 750i board, 2 9600GT's, Adata 2x2Gb pC8500, your choice of proc but make sure its a Xeon dual or a Core 2 Yorkfield Quad. Power supply, I was thinking maybe a PCP&C 750 Silencer.



Yeah...get on AIM sometime 

How reliable are the MSI's? If they're anything like the older stuff, then I'll be a little worried. About the 9600's, I think I read that a 8800GT performed about the same or better? Maybe I'm wrong? I dunno.  Um, ATM I don't see a need for a quad, as I have no applications that'll benefit from it.. 2x2GB may be more, but hell, i dunno. I was looking at a PCP&C 750 silencer..I may get one of those bad boys. [as in good ]

I was also taking sneeky's post into consideration..


----------



## PaulieG (Apr 4, 2008)

MSI P7N SLI 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130159

Q6600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

2X PNY 9600GT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133216

Silverstone Zeus
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817163108

Gskill DDR2 800 2x2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

Seagate 'Cuda 500GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148294

$1087 shipped...


----------



## PaulieG (Apr 4, 2008)

3991vhtes said:


> Yeah...get on AIM sometime
> 
> How reliable are the MSI's? If they're anything like the older stuff, then I'll be a little worried. About the 9600's, I think I read that a 8800GT performed about the same or better? Maybe I'm wrong? I dunno.  Um, ATM I don't see a need for a quad, as I have no applications that'll benefit from it.. 2x2GB may be more, but hell, i dunno. I was looking at a PCP&C 750 silencer..I may get one of those bad boys. [as in good ]
> 
> I was also taking sneeky's post into consideration..



The 8800GT is better. I just sold my 9600GT, and going back to a 8800GT. higher fsp, and about 1000 pts more in 3dmark06.


----------



## JrRacinFan (Apr 4, 2008)

No offense Paulie, that PSU looks a little weak on the 12v rail side of things for a 650W.

W00t w00t: 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817814006

Nah on a serious note:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817812004


----------



## 3991vhtes (Apr 4, 2008)

Mushkin one looks tempting..... plus it has a 5yr warranty


----------



## PaulieG (Apr 4, 2008)

JrRacinFan said:


> No offense Paulie, that PSU looks a little weak on the 12v rail side of things for a 650W.
> 
> W00t w00t:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817814006
> ...



No offense taken, but a friend of mine is running 2900XT's in crossfire with that Zeus. Not to mention 3 HD and 4GB of RAM. Perfectly stable. There are obviously better PSU's, like my 700w Tagan ITZ. But the price is right, under $100.


----------



## 3991vhtes (Apr 4, 2008)

2900XT's...how do they bench compared to the 8800GT's?


----------



## JrRacinFan (Apr 4, 2008)

Yeah, to each his own as well. I hate these kinds of threads, they can turn into such a big flamewar. Either one is nice. 

Really, 3991, I'd nix the whole 775 build and work on a Nehalem(think thats how its spelled).

EDIT: I cant really comment on the 2900XT's, but they are a power hungry card.


----------



## 3991vhtes (Apr 4, 2008)

Nehalem? AMD?

Blah..nvm then about 2900's... the power bill will be bad enough lol.


----------



## JrRacinFan (Apr 4, 2008)

No man, its Intel's new stuff.


----------



## 3991vhtes (Apr 4, 2008)

oh.. i guess it won't be LGA775?


----------



## [I.R.A]_FBi (Apr 4, 2008)

stick with 775 .. lket everyone else have teh teething pains and the initail high price


----------



## 3991vhtes (Apr 4, 2008)

[I.R.A]_FBi said:


> stick with 775 .. lket everyone else have teh teething pains and the initail high price



I was thinking of the same idea...


----------



## DOM (Apr 4, 2008)

DOM_ATI_X800XL_PCI-E said:


> E3110 in stock here
> 
> got my X3350 toaday from them



You didnt like the E3110 its a Xeon ver. of the E8400


----------



## PaulieG (Apr 4, 2008)

DOM_ATI_X800XL_PCI-E said:


> You didnt like the E3110 its a Xeon ver. of the E8400



I love my 3110. It's running cool and stable at 4.25ghz on 1.41v. 47c on full load OCCT.


----------



## PaulieG (Apr 4, 2008)

3991vhtes said:


> 2900XT's...how do they bench compared to the 8800GT's?



The 8800GT's bench slightly higher than the 2900XT, and require less power.


----------



## panchoman (Apr 4, 2008)

-legit reviews


----------



## EnergyFX (Apr 4, 2008)

I like that you are seeing past the quad recommendations.  A faster dual core is better than a slower quad for gaming.

I also have to agree against the dual budget vid cards.  Spring for a better single card and upgrade to SLI with another in the future.  Going SLI with budget is like shooting yourself in the foot twice and being stuck with it.


----------



## JrRacinFan (Apr 4, 2008)

9600GT SLi is considered budget??


----------



## PaulieG (Apr 4, 2008)

JrRacinFan said:


> 9600GT SLi is considered budget??



It shouldn't be. It's a great card for the money. $150 for a card that reaches 8800GT stock speeds when OC'd? May be the best mid range card Nvidia ever created. $300 for a 9600GT SLI would fly..


----------



## philbrown23 (Apr 4, 2008)

ok here we go this  is a way better setup=cheaper

gigabyte ex38 ds4 @ www.clubit.com
same ram
2xhd3870 from neweg 
buy my powersupply I'm selling 800watts &80.00
e8400 I'm selling for $180.00


----------



## Kursah (Apr 4, 2008)

Did a quick scan, didn't see this posted...I may have missed it...but after MIR's, you can have 2 Palit 9600GT 512's for about $220...talk about a bang-for-the-buck SLI setup! Fairly decent cooling, from what I've read these are pretty good cards, plus the price is just kickass!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261002

149.99 - 40 MIR. Pretty sweet deal, good till the 30th too!

I think you can only have one MIR per name/household, but have a buddy order one for ya and you're good to go!


----------



## btarunr (Apr 4, 2008)

3991vhtes said:


> I plan on doing a highend gamer. Here's what I have so far
> 
> *Motherboard*- XFX MB-N780-ISH9 _$259.99_
> 
> ...



Dude!

Get a 750i SLI board such as ASUS P5N-T or MSI P7N SLI Platinum. SAVE upto $110.

Get a single 9800 GTX instead of the two 8800 GS !

Get a Q9300 instead of the E6850. There's a price slash.

And you'll not end up spending more than your budget.


----------



## Triprift (Apr 4, 2008)

Just get a quad instead of the c2d and vista ultimate 64 bit it will be sweet


----------



## PaulieG (Apr 4, 2008)

btarunr said:


> Dude!
> 
> Get a 750i SLI board such as ASUS P5N-T or MSI P7N SLI Platinum. SAVE upto $110.
> 
> ...



Yeah, suggested a MSI 750i board already. Honestly, if a Q9450 is not in the budget, I'd stick with a Q6600. The Q9300 with it's low multiplier is not worth the current price premium, especially when a Q6600 will only cost $200-$250, compared to $300+ for the Q9300. The 9800GTX is a good option, but if he can get 2 9600GT's for 00, he may get slightly more performance for his money.


----------



## btarunr (Apr 4, 2008)

Paulieg said:


> Yeah, suggested a MSI 750i board already. Honestly, if a Q9450 is not in the budget, I'd stick with a Q6600. The Q9300 with it's low multiplier is not worth the current price premium, especially when a Q6600 will only cost $200-$250, compared to $300+ for the Q9300. The 9800GTX is a good option, but if he can get 2 9600GT's for 00, he may get slightly more performance for his money.



The ASUS P7N-D  sells for < $140. If he can sqeeze in two $169 worth 9600 GT units he can have better performance. PCI-E 2.0 x8 poses no bottleneck for the 9600 GT.


----------



## PaulieG (Apr 4, 2008)

btarunr said:


> The ASUS P7N-D  sells for < $140. If he can sqeeze in two $169 worth 9600 GT units he can have better performance. PCI-E 2.0 x8 poses no bottleneck for the 9600 GT.



I think the MSI 750i board is getting better review, tohugh I don't have time to dig up the reviews right now.


----------



## btarunr (Apr 4, 2008)

I have a spot explanation. The 750i SLI northbridge gets extremely hot at load. While MSI has the better chipset cooling technology, ASUS used just a fairly big anodised aluminum heatsink. But what's new is that ASUS has started to bundle a chipset fan with the current stocks of P7N-D SLI. So the active cooled 750i SLI should perform on par with the MSI board. Though yes, I've heard people say that the MSI P7N SLI Platinum overclocks better than some 780i SLI boards.


Twinkle twinkle little star


----------



## 3991vhtes (Apr 5, 2008)

Twinkly twinkle little stars


----------



## CrAsHnBuRnXp (Apr 5, 2008)

I have a B3 Q6600 that I will be selling along with 4GB (2x2GB) of DDR2-1066 of Transcend RAM if you would like them. RAM is only two weeks old and has been used at stock the great majority of the time. Q6600 ive been using since August of last year up until the other day.


----------

