Building a Budget Yet Powerful Rig

[iCzMan]

It's been 5 years since my last build (Athlon 2400+), and I want to get a new rig to play games while keeping budget as low as possible. I am aiming to play Crysis at close to max detail without selling an arm and a leg. Since I'm not planning to get the top end of the rig, I will try to overclock on air, using stock fan if possible.

Below is what's on my mind at the moment:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 (Aiming to OC 3.5GHz)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...p?item=N82E16819115029
$211.99

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P34-DS3L
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...p?item=N82E16813128059
$94.99

RAM: Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...p?item=N82E16820146565
$109.99 - $30 Rebate = $79.99

Graphics: EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 320MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...p?item=N82E16814130082
$279.99 - $20 Rebate = $259.99

Sound Card: Creative Labs XtremeGamer
http://us.creative.com/local/1...o/blizzcon/welcome.asp
$59.99

Power Supply: Antec NeoHe 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...p?item=N82E16817103940
$99.99 - $50 Rebate = $49.99

Case: Antec P180
Waiting for deal to buy it at $70 AR

Hard Drive/DVD-Row/Monitor: Use old parts.

Shipping+Tax: $20.38

Total: $847.32


Please feel free to tear it apart and point out any incompatibilities. If you can find better price for these parts, by all means please let me know too :laugh:

Thanks in advance!

(Micro Center raised E6750's price to 209.99, darn... missed my chance to score it cheap)

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: iCzMan
I want to get a new rig to play games while keeping budget as low as possible. I'll be overclocking, but not to the extreme.

If you can find better price for these parts, by all means please let me know too

* No reason to go with an E6750 if you want cheap OC'd gaming... An E4300-E4500 will do the job on the cheap.
* Drop the X-Fi card and go with onboard.
* Hunt down your own "best deals" like we all have to do.
That is, unless your one of the Bush sisters, Prince William or Prince Harry...
In thoses cases, we'd track down the best deals for you.

 

[Appledrop]

dont drop x-fi, most onboard sounds crap and uses up cpu
looks like a decent setup to me
i'd shoot for an "xtreme-music" though.

 

[iCzMan]

Originally posted by: Blain
* No reason to go with an E6750 if you want cheap OC'd gaming... An E4300-E4500 will do the job on the cheap.

Actually I would rather go with E6750 as it's only $50~$60 more than E4500. Plus I will be use it to program, and would like a snappy system for the task

Originally posted by: QuaziK
dont drop x-fi, most onboard sounds crap and uses up cpu
looks like a decent setup to me
i'd shoot for an "xtreme-music" though.

I was puzzling over that too. From what I've read, XtremeGamer is the compact version of XtremeMusic, with only less software bundle and slightly but probably unnoticeable lesser sound quality. XtremeMusic is discontinued, and I can get XtremeGamer at a discount ($70 shipped), should I be really grab XtremeMusic instead?

 

[Blain]

If you are adding tasks into the "cheap OC gaming" mix, please edit your original post with that information.

Members of this forum will give you the most accurate advice they can, given parameters that you set.
The more detailed you can be about exactly what you will be using a PC for and what you're willing to do or pay to get that performance, the better.

Example of a bad request... "The best parts to get?"

 

[iCzMan]

Please let me detail my intention for this build: I am aiming to play Crysis at close to max detail without selling an arm and a leg. Since I'm not planning to get the top end of the rig, I will try to overclock on air, using stock fan if possible. Btw, is E6750 reaching 3.5G on stock fan feasible/stable? Actually, now thinking about it, adding a <$50 of investment in HSF is probably not bad at all.

What do you guys think?

 

[asdftt123]

From what I've heard, overclocking with the standard HSF is not possible because it's nothing more than a piece of crap. I suggest ditching the XtremeGamer and using the money for a better cooler. Get the Tuniq Tower if you can. I also agree that if you plan to OC your CPU to the max, it's a better idea to get a lower end C2D such as the Allendale E4300 or 4400 because it has very good OCing potential and you can take it very far. If you don't plan on upgrading your GPU, it may be wise to go for the lower C2D, ditch the XtremeGamer, and upgrade to a good cooler and get the GTX instead. You may end up paying closer to $1000, but if it's worth it is completely up to you.

 

[asdftt123]

Oh yes, if you'd like an example of a very effective budget build, Tom's Hardware created a build similar to yours and OC'ed it with comprehensive benchmarks and comparisons to top-tier systems. Article can be found here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/20...uilder_marathon_day_3/

Their build was a grand total of $1174 (including 8800GTX). The parts may be a bit cheaper now from price fluctuations, and if you're willing to wait they may drop even more from rebates and future sales. I'm not sure what your budget limitation is though. Good luck!

 

[Rumple]

Ebay. I just got a brand new sealed retail X-FI XtremeMusic for 79.99 Shipped.

 

[ethugholla]

Depends on the budget..


I'd personally drop the processor, get an E4300-4500. OC it.

I'd also probably get rid of the motherboard. Get an aBit P35 board. Whichever it is... IP-35? It's cheap and OCs well. Or if you have the extra money to shell out, Gigabyte P35-DS3P supposedly owns.

 

[tigersty1e]

Don't drop the sound card. Easily one of the best parts of playing a game is with good sound.


As for RAM, I would get this. Actually, I did get it. Just waiting on delivery. It has slightly worse timing than what you posted, but you won't notice the difference.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227189


I would also get the e4400 chip.