[Chris]

Alright, I scratched my plans to buy the MacBook.. just doesn't seem like the right move for me right now.

So I'm going to take advantage of all my retail accommodations that I get for being a BBY computer tech.

Through Intel's RetailEDGE program I can get a Core 2 Quad Extreme QX6850 for $239... They're normally $1,100 or so.. I know the processor is a little old at this point, but is it still "good"?

That's the biggest deciding factor right now, is the processor.. From there, everything else should be easy to pick out maybe minus a video card.

[MSP]

That's a hell of a deal! Over 1000 bucks on NewEgg. It's built with the older 65nm process, and consumes a whopping 130 watts of power, but the multiplier will be unlocked so you can overclock a decent amount. If power consumption isn't an issue for you then I'd say buy it.

[-Sevendust-]

holy shit buy it now

[Chris]

130w of power? Holy shitttt, lol. I'm still going to buy it I think.. I have a day off today so I'm going to fill out the Intel form with my paystub and fax it over to them.

They also had the Lenovo Y510 notebook with Core2Duo for $499..

It feels good to have a job I love, making decent money and being able to afford to build a new PC again. I've been out of the game for a LONG time.

So from there, any recommendations? I just realized I'm a noob now when it comes to the new hardware. I don't even know what RAM or Mobo to pick out...

[Mr. Ali]

why not wait for the 2nd retail edge deal that comes around in november? That is for sure going to have a 45nm chip (i hope) and a motherboard combo for around $250-300.

I would stay away from older extreme processors but thats just me. (i hate cpus that gobble lots of power and create lots of heat...)

EDIT: btw, what sucks about that lenovo ideapad deal is that it has no descret graphics chip, just the on board intel one.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Mr. Ali

why not wait for the 2nd retail edge deal that comes around in november? That is for sure going to have a 45nm chip (i hope) and a motherboard combo for around $250-300.

I would stay away from older extreme processors but thats just me. (i hate cpus that gobble lots of power and create lots of heat...)

EDIT: btw, what sucks about that lenovo ideapad deal is that it has no descret graphics chip, just the on board intel one.

Meh, I CAN wait til the next deal, but who knows what it'll be, and even then, I don't have the "Status" on their page to order stuff off the bat.. I got the 3,000 chips I needed to start ordering stuff.

Yeah the chip definitely sucks a lot of power up, and may run hot.. The heat I'm not too worried about, I'll just use really good thermal paste and a sick heatsink.

[Chris]

Alright, so I'm still deciding on RAM and a motherboard..

This is all I've picked out so far:

Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

..and even then, I don't know if that stuff is even good for what I want to buy.

Last time I built, I did a 2500+M on an Asus A7N8X.. the non-Deluxe which I regretted. and 2x 256mb Geil PC-3200.. Should've did 2x 512mb like I have now..

I just want to futureproof this as much as possible without getting anything wrong the first time around, or spending a crazy amount of money.. As much as I'd love one of those new $300 Asus LGA775 boards, I can't justify it really..

Anyway, I'm thinking 4x 2GB (8GB) as well.. I can get 8GB of RAM for about 200 bucks give or take through my job. I'm just curious as to what type of RAM I should buy..

Help! I love you all

EDIT: Oh I'm building for Diablo 3, Starcraft 2 and Warhammer Online.. Those are really the only games that interest me right now.

[-Sevendust-]

just get a 4 gig kit of patriot mem

[Mr. Ali]

Anyway, I'm thinking 4x 2GB (8GB) as well.. I can get 8GB of RAM for about 200 bucks give or take through my job. I'm just curious as to what type of RAM I should buy..

thats a lot when you can get 2x 2gb for like $70 so 4x 2gb should be no more than $150. Just get your ram from newegg.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Mr. Ali

thats a lot when you can get 2x 2gb for like $70 so 4x 2gb should be no more than $150. Just get your ram from newegg.

Cool thanks for the heads up.. Any specific RAM I'm looking for? PC2-xxxxx?

[WoodButcher]

ram? DDR2-SDRAM PC2-6400 (399 MHz) DDR2-800 any brand name at a good price, check compatibility w/ your board, I have had an Asus or ywo that was fussy about voltage.
Also ditch that cooler, it won't cut it on a quad, consider Thermalrights if your up to lapping the sink or the Xigmatech line, this 92mm fan might be a better fit in that case. In another thread I posted an EVGA sale, don't know but it may be over. From what I understand ATI is the current top dog, bang for the buck.

[Mr. Ali]

If you have $270 or so for a video card, get the ati 4870 no questions asked.

If you only have $170 for a video card (in that case ditch 4gb of ram and spend the money on a better video card) get the ati 4850, but really get the 4870 if you want to cream your pants.

as for ram, whatever woodbutcher said is fine. just get something name brand like corsair or patriot.

[demonizeZ]

i designed one system for those game you looking to play. Also tried to keep in mind future proofing the system. For motherboard i used: Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards i have older version it was called GA p35c ds3r. So far that board is running just perfectly stable no problems. Cool thing about board it can run ddr3s. I don't care for SLI since one godly GFX is fine for any thing. Having two just double the heat and double the power requirement.
I would change that power supply since some card just base require 550 power supply. 600 to 700 should be decent.
As for GFX card, ATI sure is the best in market but i still got NVIDIA because my linux have hard time with ATI drivers. .
For RAMs i liked my Crucial Ballistix rams they overclock so nicely.

Gl on building new system. It sure is lots of fun.

[hans5849]

I designed this for a friend.

Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

[Chris]

Cool thank you everyone. I'm gonna comb through all of your suggestions tonight. I really do appreciate it a lot.

Is DDR3 worth it? Doesn't seem that much more than 2...

EDIT: Also thanks for the suggestion on the HD 4870.. I think I'm going to get that card for sure.

Newegg.com - VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

That one good? I've never owned a VisionTek card.

[Chris]

Updated look at everything.. Add $240 to the total for the CPU.

Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg PC

EDIT: Oh yeah, is that 500w Antec PSU that comes with the Sonata III enough for the entire system?

[gB dAvId x]

You realize you have CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-8500C5D - Retail and OCZ Special Ops 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3SOE13334GK - Retail

[Chris]

Hmm on my wishlist it just shows the Corsair.. weird.

Well thats what I want

[Mr. Ali]

Have you looked into the P45 chipset asus boards? The benifits of this newer chipset is PCI Express 2.0 which has double the bandwidth of normal PCI Express 1.0 and the ati 4870 supports PCIE 2.0

Something to consider. Plus I personally like getting the newest technology so I am a bit biased since the P45 boards are only a few months old and the P35 ones are over a year old.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Mr. Ali

Have you looked into the P45 chipset asus boards? The benifits of this newer chipset is PCI Express 2.0 which has double the bandwidth of normal PCI Express 1.0 and the ati 4870 supports PCIE 2.0

Something to consider. Plus I personally like getting the newest technology so I am a bit biased since the P45 boards are only a few months old and the P35 ones are over a year old.

Good call. Let me look at a few of those boards and I'll pick a decent one out.

EDIT: Heres a P45 board that looks good.. And cheaper than the 35 I picked out - Newegg.com - ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards