Here's what I have so far: Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT25664AA80A - link edit: or am i better off with one of these that match my mobo ddr2 speed: newegg ASUS P5QL PRO LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - link HITACHI Deskstar P7K500 HDP725050GLA360 (0A35415) 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - link BFG TECH, GeForce® 8800 GT OC 625MHz, 512MB GDDR3 1800MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, DVI /2, HDTV-Out - link Heres the big mental headache I'm having right now. I want to do alot of regular applications, but I also want to encode, picture edit, and play lots of games. Which one would be better for me, the Q6600 or the Q8200? Also, I've heard the Q6600 can overclock better than the Q8200. If I choose to do that, would the rest of the rig keep up? Also, I need a case, fans, and a good, but cheap PSU that's not going to destroy the rest of the rig. Is there any chance I can go under $50 for the psu?
The Q8200 is probably about the same as the Q6600 for overclocking, but it's a better performer to start with, and it's also much more energy efficient. Not to mention, it's also a lot cheaper. The cheapest PSU I would recommend for that system is this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008 Not quite under $50 but seriously, don't go any lower than that. Just be aware that you've bought a cheap, low quality motherboard. You should not overclock any quad core very far (especially not the Q6600) or else you will likely melt the voltage regulators on the board.
OK thanks man. I haven't actually bought anything yet, I'm going to get it all at once, when I figure everything out. But here's an updated list based on your advice and others: DVD - LG 22X DVD±R IDE GH22NP20 HDD - HITACHI Deskstar P7K500 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" RAM - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q8200 MOBO - ASUS P5QL PRO LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX CASE - NZXT Apollo Black SECC Steel Chassis ATX Mid Tower GFX - BFG TECH GeForce 8800 GT OC 625MHz, 512MB GDDR3 1800MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, DVI /2, HDTV-Out Also, can that MOBO do sli on the graphics card(s)? Forget about the $50 price point, I want something that will be reliable and last. Something that will always provide more than sufficient power to my components listed.
I tend to go with S-ATA DVD drives these days, it's simpler and the cable is much smaller, not to mention they are at less risk from being damaged by Starforce copy protection in games. I also don't really buy Hitachi HDDs as they're the cheapest and also one of the least reliable brands. My personal choices would be the GH22NS50 DVD drive and a WD5000AAKS from Western Digital. The G-Skill PC8500 RAM is good, and the Q8200 CPU is fine (though in many cases the Q8400 isn't much more expensive and is a significantly faster chip - if you can afford that, do so) The P5QL Pro is a low end board though, and in particular, a low end board from Asus which is never good news. On its own, a P43 grade board is fine for a quad core, but if you want to overclock by a substantial amount you should really have a P45 board like the EP45-UD3R with heatsinked regulators: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359 The case is fine, but the graphics card is very out of date and overpriced. You can get much better performance for that price nowadays: Intel Core 2 boards can't do SLi, you need an nforce chipsets to do that, and I would strongly advise against buying one, they're very unreliable. Get an HD4850 instead of the 8800GT, that's at least a 30-40% performance boost: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150337 The Corsair 400W CX PSU I posted earlier will be fine for this build.
you definitely sound like you know what you're doing, so im basically building what you told me. Ordering tonight, List release candidate 1: CASE - NZXT Apollo Black SECC Steel Chassis ATX Mid Tower PSU - CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 GFX - XFX HD-485X-YDFC Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported MOBO - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX HDD - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" DVD - LG DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS50 CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Yorkfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q8400 RAM - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK Approval? Am i missing anything?
Looks good to me. Obviously assumes you have an operating system, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers etc.
yep got a 22" 1080p asus, logitech 2.1, microsoft wireless laser desktop 7. will get vista Should i get 32 bit or 64 bit?
The requirement ratings for graphics cards are very conservative, the 450W rating is if you have a very cheap PSU that can't put out as much power as it says it can. You could actually run two of those graphics cards off that 400W PSU with an adapter, the Corsair units are very powerful.
