If I build it, will it run?

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by StevieRay

I just noticed that some video cards differ in price but to me appear to be the same. Check this out...

eVGA is notorious for having several products all with very similar specifications but different model numbers. I still don't know why they bother confusing the consumer so much, but they're all essentially the same. I would double check the clock speeds for the different models directly on eVGA's website to make sure you know what you are getting, then choose the one that comes in at the lowest price with the clock speeds you are happy with.

[onebxr]

Mainly the only thing you need to be concerned with is the memory, you would want 512mb as opposed to 256mb. I dont even know if they make a 256 8800gt any more? I would go for vanilla, cheapest, and you can O/C it and save money.
-1

[StevieRay]

You have been so much help. Thanks for your patience. I am getting close...tweaking some of the items a bit...I will prob purchase most from ZZF...Getting pretty psyched

[StevieRay]

Some updates if anyone wants to see/comment!

I think the higher end Mobo is what I want to do so I can upgrade for the future. I think the Asus Rampage Formula is what I want to get. Costly but unless I hear good reasons NOT to go high end mobo for future proofing, I will get her for about $299. <-- The thinking here is I can go up to Quad once the better Quads drop in price and when the new software/games catch up.

Then the CPU. I found a nice E8500 for $289 and a E8400 for $209. <--should last me a couple of years until the quad core is the way to go.

The GPU is between an EVGA 8800GT 512 for $159, a BFG 8800 GTS for $259, or an EVGA 9800 GTX for $309 <--I have a 22 in LCD with 1900 x 1200, from what HL has told me I need not more, and no sli. PS, I mostly play BF2 Project Reality, ArmA, CoD4, and COH.

Optics and HD are settled. Can anyone comment/beat me up about this combo above? I want to get the high end mobo for the ability to go quad, some day. I like the price/power of the E8400 and E8500. Those coupled with any of these GPU should make a nice gamer/worker rig that could last me a few years allowing for easy upgrades as I get better at this.

Oh, and before I forget, I found a CM Cosmos 1000 ATX case for $179. Anyone work with these?

[screwballl]

we try to help with the possibilities, give you options but in the end it is your decision. I say go for it and don't look back.

My suggestion: get the E8500 and the 512MB 8800GTS
both of these can be upgraded a year or two down the line with higher end parts

[gvblake22]

Thinking any LGA775 motherboard is going to last you a while for new CPU upgrades is not a good way to go. The next new processors from Intel will be a brand new architecture (native quad core with integrated memory controller) and will need a new socket. This will be the first desktop socket change for Intel in a LONG time, but it is the next thing coming down the pipes. Unless the quad core processor you plan on getting down the road is something that is currently available, no new Intel processors will be compatible with current motherboards.

There really isn't much that a super expensive, high-end motherboard can offer in terms of upgradability and futureproofness compared to a less expensive board with similar basic compatibility (namely memory standard, DDR2 or DDR3).

[simple_inhibition]

just a suggestion, dont get the E8500. the extra .5 multi is not worth the extra $80

[unknown555525]

I say don't buy ANYTHING yet if you can wait.

There's going to be a huge GPU war between the new AMD video cards and the new Nvidia ones starting hopefully THIS month.

With the release of the AMD 4870 which is supposably twice as fast or more so than the 9800GTX and will cost $350. Benchmarks and gameplay tests should be churning out within the next 2 weeks if this is true. It's been a long time since we got a real upgrade from the video cards of almost 2 years ago.

The Nvidia 9900GTX also has a completely new architecture from the 8800 cards and should be worth waiting for.

Getting a high end mobo right now is not a good idea if you plan to upgrade. Intel is set to release new CPU's soon and they may not work on your new $300+ mobo.

Why not get a Q6600 though? They have better performance than the e8400 or e8500 and you can find them for around $199 now. The ONLY benefit of getting the E8xxx CPU's is if you plan to overclock them to 4GHz or higher. Otherwise they aren't worth the cost over a quad core.

[simple_inhibition]

quite the contrary. if your into gaming, a faster dual core processor is the better choice. now if your heavily into encoding dvds, then the quad gets the vote. the problem right now for quads is there arent many programs out there that take advantage of all of the cores that are available. this is especially true in gaming. the Q6600 at $199 is a terrific value, but lets face it, its nearing the end of its life with its 65nm process and 1066mhz fsb.

[unknown555525]

How can you possibly say that? We are in the erra of multicore gaming.

All of the widely used engines support multi cores, Cryengine 2, Unreal engine 3, The Orange box version of Source, the Dunia engine, blizzard's new engine, Relic's new engine, and many MANY more.

That just about covors 90% of the game engines that most current, and further games to come will run on, and every one of them supports quad cores.

How can you possibly say that the better choice for gaming is a dual core processor when almost every game that's currently out, and all games to come will either support quad or more cores, or simply don't need that much CPU power.

What you just said was a pretty dumb comment.

Saying that hardly anything supports all the cores of a quad core CPU may have been true back in 2005, but not today.