Building another rig!

[Kassela]

Hey all,

First I know this probably isn't the right spot (for sure) but, I'm building a $700 rig (max) for a friend and I would like to get some input for all the parts....I obviously want best bang for bucks and its not going to be SLi....

I was thinking off starting off with 2 or 4 gb's off this....

Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz E.P.P. Memory (2 x 1024) TWIN2X2048-6400C4 in Canada at TigerDirect.ca

I would love for some help with choosing (I don't know a lot of mid range stuff)

You guys are the best!

[Babrbarossa]

8800 GT for $170 at NCIX
Gigabyte GA P35 DS3Lfor $90
q6600 for $240
Seagate barracuda 320 GB for $70
BFG 650w PSU at NCIX for $56
DVD burner $26
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...anufacture=OCZ Technology&promoid=1020
OCZ SLI XTC PC2 8500 2X1GB for $44 at NCIX

all for under 700 plus tax

[Kassela]

Any good cases, that are known for their air cooling capabilities?

[Babrbarossa]

Probably the best value case is the Coolermaster 690 which can be had for 68 bucks at direct canada- if you're ordering from NCIX, just do a price match while checking out to get that price.

It's not a flashy case, but very roomy and well built

[Cardboard box with DSL]

I'll give the 690 my vote, if you want it to cool really well grab some fairly quiet fans and fill the case. Just don't bother putting fans on the side panel, I found that they created lots of noise and annoying vibration...

[low351]

I agree with Babr's list but $700 is a bit optimistic, you'll be hard pressed to get there without cutting some meat rather than fat.

Missing from that list are: Case, Heatsink, O/S. All stuff you'll need unless you have carryover parts and licensing.

I did a quick check and although the Q6600 and intel is the way to go it does put you at a higher price point than AMD. The Black Edition 5000+ is still the best budget gamer proc in my opinion. It's only $100 and can be easily overclocked on air to 3.2Ghz to get it close to the 6400+ stock performance, a $180 cpu. (only it's smaller cache keeps it under).

Here's a counterpoint list. Keep in mind there are $90 of MIRs, I believe Babr's list had MIR's too. I like that 8800GT for $170 if you see that grab it instead of the 9600GT... And the OCZ 8500 memory too if you can find it. I did this on DirectCanada so I couldn't add that special...

The CM690 is an awesome case for the money (I have it and love it) so you could get that too, only it doesn't have a window and isn't that flashy, the Thermaltake soprano would fill that need if your bud has a thing for bling. Nice window, airflow and piano black gloss paint.

Here's a cap of what I put together. If you can get your pal to stretch his budget then go for Babrbarossa's recommendation overall it's better, just pricier. This will kill too though if the budget doesn't allow.

I included a $200 Vista Ultimate 64 OEM version, you could knock back to the Home Premium and shave $100. The Zalman HS is killer though, unless you go with a Thermalright 120/90 I'd keep it. The Samsung burner has good reviews. The Mobo is supposed to be easy for OC'ing the 5000+ BE. And the Thermaltake has a short tray so you can probably hide the cables behind with a little slight of hand and cablemanagement. I'd get an extra 120MM Blue LED 1200rpm antec from Directcanada for $5 put it in the back and move the TT fan to the front to keep the harddrive nice and cool. The side scoop can be removed and more 120mm can be mounted if you like but that could be unnecessary and just contribute to fan noise.