Best Bang for the Buck

[goobernoodles]

I just ordered an 8800 GTS the other day, and well.. when it rains, it pours.

My current rig is in my sig.

From what I've read lately it seems like c2d is the way to go. I'm going to be running XP, but I might as well get 4gb of ram since it's so damn cheap these days.

I need motherboard/cpu/ram suggestions. And... hopefully I'll be able to play Crysis?

 

[scottrick49]

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - $100
Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 - $125
A-DATA 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) - $85

All seems pretty reasonable, although it comes in just over $300. I found the prices at newegg, if you are wondering. I'm not sure about Crysis though. I'm sure you will be able to play it but dont get your hopes up about maxing all the settings and stuff.

 

[goobernoodles]

I think I might spend a bit more on the cpu.. e6750 seems like a good deal..

 

[scottrick49]

Yeah that wouldn't be a bad choice. I was just trying to keep it under $300.

 

[goobernoodles]

Would a MSI P35 Neo2-FR be better? That gigabyte is friggin' hideous. lol

 

[goobernoodles]

Honestly, price isn't that big of a deal... i can swing whatever, I just want to get a good deal and good hardware. Newegg has an open box MSI P35 Neo2-FR for 65 bucks... That seems like it might be worth a shot. Thoughts?

 

[scottrick49]

Honestly I dont know tons about motherboards. I usually use ratings and the number of reviews to narrow down the parts, and then make a choice based on budget and features. That MSI board may be fine.

 

[MegaVovaN]

MSI P35 Neo2-FR is an excellent board (silver or gold editor's choice here on AT)
if you don't mind open box, go for it!Silver Choice, 11 page review

 

[goobernoodles]

wtf is the difference between the msi p35 and msi p35d3 boards?

 

[goobernoodles]

Jesus christ newegg's pricing is confusing the hell out of me.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...tion=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=

New MSI P35 Neo2-FR is 120...

New MSI P35 Platinum is 145 while open box is 104...

New MSI P35D3 Platinum is 170 while open box is 80??!?

I'm assuming I the P35D3 is the best? Why is the open box version way cheaper than the other?

 

[goobernoodles]

Ahhhhh... D3 = DDR3...

HA.

Screw that.

 

[goobernoodles]

I'm assuming you can't just pop DDR2 into DDR3 slots... correct?

 

[MegaVovaN]

Originally posted by: goobernoodles
I'm assuming you can't just pop DDR2 into DDR3 slots... correct?

Actually you can.

DDR2 have same number of pins, same voltage...why not?

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: MegaVovaN

Originally posted by: goobernoodles
I'm assuming you can't just pop DDR2 into DDR3 slots... correct?

Actually you can.

DDR2 have same number of pins, same voltage...why not?

They are "keyed" differently.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

open box means someone returned it... and it would be missing all the cables that normally come with it, the manual, the driver cd...

 

[goobernoodles]

Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
open box means someone returned it... and it would be missing all the cables that normally come with it, the manual, the driver cd...

Yeah, but who needs cables? Worst case scenario besides DOA would be if the backplate was missing, but hell, even thats not a big deal. It's going under my desk.

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: goobernoodles

Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
open box means someone returned it... and it would be missing all the cables that normally come with it, the manual, the driver cd...

Yeah, but who needs cables? Worst case scenario besides DOA would be if the backplate was missing, but hell, even thats not a big deal. It's going under my desk.

People who buy OEM HDDs need cables. I need an extra SATA power cable, because my PSU only came with two and my HDD and my optical drive are both SATA, and if I decide to add another HDD I'll need another one. The backplate helps with EM shielding; I would hate to have a computer without a backplate.

 

[goobernoodles]

"..who needs cables?"

rhetorical. lol