Need Help on New Build!

[xeodragon]

Hi everyone,

I'm in the process of building a new computer designed mainly for work but still offering a competitive edge in gaming and multimedia. My budget is around $2000 (Canadian) taxes in. I'm just a casual gamer and have no experience overclocking and don't intend to anytime soon.

Here are the specs so far:

CPU = Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775
-How is this processor in terms of OC'ing ability? It happens to be cheaper than a E6600 right now but is E6600 a better processor?

Motherboard = ?????

RAM = ?????

Case = Cooler Master Centurion 5 Black Aluminum Mid-Tower Case

PSU = Corsair HX 520 Watt Power Supply

Video Card = E-VGA GeForce 8800GTS 320MB PCI-E Superclocked

Monitor = Dell 22" Widescreen

OS = Windows Vista 32-Bit

Including all the other non-core components, my total comes to: $1600 tax in.

As you can see, I really need a recommendation for the motherboard and RAM. I was considering the following motherboards: Asus P5N-E, the Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus, the Gigabyte GA-P965-DS3 and the Gigabyte GA-35P-DS3R? Another motherboard recommendation is also np. As for the RAM, I'm not really sure what I should go for either! Can anyone suggest a good combo of Mobo + RAM?

Any suggestions for improvements are definitely welcome and appreciated

 

[xeodragon]

Bump!

 

[Sinn707]

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R + a kit like this one would be a great choice. Also 320MB of VRAM won't be enough to game at 1680x1050 resolution, which is default for your 22", you might wanna spend a little extra on 640MB version or get a GTX.
Good luck.

 

[bladder23]

nice build there

 

[xeodragon]

Hey guys, thank's for all the recommendations so far. It seems I might go for the GA-P35-DS3R and the Crucial Ballistix 2GB Kit RAM. I don't know about the 320MB --> 640MB video card though, because that's about $500 total Canada! Would I really need the 640MB to game on 1680x1050? I don't mind having my settings not maxed out completely or anything . I wouldn't want a slowdown in gaming though, so should I switch over to a 20"~ monitor?

 

[drakore]

I think the kit may be cheaper at www.ncix.com.. but that is probably after rebate...

I'll check out some video cards for you..give me 10 mins xeodragon

 

[drakore]

Ok after a quick browse i found:

EVGA 320MB 8800GTS
ASUS 8800GTS 640MB
ASUS 2900XT 512MB w/ STALKER

This is all from infonec.ca
Personally i would dish the cash for the 2900XT... with the new drivers the card performs very very well...

 

[xeodragon]

Awesome thanks! I think I'll be able to afford only the 320MB 8800GTS though and possibly downgrade the monitor if the performance isn't that great? Should I go from 22" to 20"?