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Old 12-12-2009, 08:57 PM   #15 (permalink)
theDreamer
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Here we go:

CPU - 288.99: Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield
GPU - 259.99: EVGA GTX 275
MB - 300: Anything ASUS (unless you plan to do SLi stick with ASUS)
SSD - 299.99: Intel X25 (80GB)
HDD - 199.99: 2TB (Western Digital)
PSU - 109.99: Your choice is good (love corsair PSU), make sure you get a modular one, can easily keep case clutter down.
Memory - 149.99: G.SKILL 6GB, I have a spot for G.Skill because they make some of the best (real priced) memory. If you plan to go extreme on your OC then you need the Corsair, but if you just plan to hit 3.0 to 3.2 the G.Skill can do perfectly fine.
Heatsink (also buy thermal compound, Arctic Silver 5, costs about 9 bucks) -Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120
Total - I am around 1650 currently.

Many of these items will have discounts or mail in rebates which will help lower the cost. Also, you can buy a MB for less than 300 and it be great, I put 300 as a max you should pay. The SSD is also up in the air, that is one of the best SSDs on the market currently and you could buy a slightly smaller one from Intel if you just plan to run the OS and some programs. Terabyte hard drives are super cheap right now, I threw up the 2TB as it is the largest currently and finally dropped below the price point I would pay for it. You can get 1TB or even 1.5TB, from western digital, for sub 150USD or even sub 100USD if you find a good sale.

You will also need a case, unless you have an older one. Buying a new case, look for one with 120mm fans, and even then think about upgrading them down the road as it can make even the fastest machines run much quieter.

A few questions about the hard drives:
~Do you plan to just run the OS on the SSD or also programs?
~Do you do photo editing or video editing that you need a quick secondary drive?

The EVGA 275 will be a cheaper option, but if you go this route then do not buy the OC or Superclocked version, you can do that all on your own. EVGA has a program they bundle (or you can download for free) which does the OC and is easy to use. Also with EVGA do not forget to register the card right after you install it, you get lifetime support and a discount on upgrading if you upgrade within X amount of time.

Any other questions let me know, but it all comes down to what you plan on doing this besides just gaming also.
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