I have about 1000 dollars give or take a hundred, and I already have my monitor and hard drives.
My main problem is chosing a video card. I love ATI but the 2900 just doesnt seem like a safe bet right now so im looking at a 8800gts 640 one. Which do you think would be a better bet with the rest of my system?

Also would it be faster to get 4 x1gigs of (with ddr2 675)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145015

or get 2x 1 gig with the faster latency of (with ddr2 800)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820144062

CPU - plan to overclock, do you think it will bottleneck my system?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103036

CPUFAN
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835118223

MOTHERBOARD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131013

CASE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811129021

PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817189007

Im planning on running vista
any advise is welcome
thanks

Get the 8800, plus 2GB of RAM, don't get 4GB of RAM right now, instead use that money to get a better CPU, cuz that X2 3600 is definitely going to be the bottleneck.

even if i overclock it? so if that is going to bottleneck it what amd processor would you reccomend?

thanks

Seeing you are building a new computer, there is no reason to not to go with Intel's Core 2 Duo.

Nick Lynn said:

Based upon your preferences I'd advise the following:
Memory - 2x1GB
CPU - Go with a Windsor Core with the 2x1MB L2 Cache
GPU - Go with the NVidia 8800
My rationalle for these suggestions are that the MB supports SLI but not Crossfire, so the NVidia option gives the scalability option of an additional 8800 in the future. The Windsor core gives double the L2 Cache as well as higher clocks out of the box, thus providing better throughput throughout....even if you do want to OC.
I can't advise one way or the other on the CPU cooler as I'm not sure that it will fit your socket AM2 vs the old Socket 940...it should, but not having had a 940, I'm not sure if the socket size is the same even though there are differences in what the sockets provide for logically.

Gerritt

Here's my recomendation. THere is no point in going with AMD right now as the Core 2 Duo beats the pants off of it.

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811129021

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115004

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136035 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188019

CPU Fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835118223

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817341002

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130071

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820227091

That system will tear through everything at max settings. Its SLi ready so all you would have to do is throw in another EVGA 8800GTS 640MB and enable SLi and your set.

Mark,
The major deviation seems to be between the Intel and AMD CPU offerings.
I was basing my recommendation off of the choice of AMD over Intel, on his specific configuration. Even given that, it appears that the Intel based solution is slightly more expensive than the AMD one presented.
I am not, have not, and will not disrespect either of these CPU or even the GPU manufacturers, but I will not support either or as a matter of course.
Do the metrics support the supremacy of Intel over AMD "RIGHT NOW"? Perhaps.

Gerritt

Mark replace the E6400 2mb cache with the E6420 4mb cache and save a dollar.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115016

ian elliott said:
I was looking for that but must have skimmed over it by accident.

Thank you for all the advise.

It may sound crazy but I feel like I need to supprt AMD somehow, hence wanting to buy a AMD. I have always went AMD ATI and now im not sure if I want to switch over completly.

Would I really be losing that much performance?

thanks

Not at all, but for the price I'm sure you'll want the best performance you can get. If that's so then you'll definitely want to go for Core 2 Duos.

umm well I dont know as much about stuff as these guys but I'll post this anyways ^_^
CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103780
$159.99 (you said you wanted AMD this and the 6400 seem to be close in benchmarks )
Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-M55SLI-S4 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128321
$79.99
RAM:
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590
$116.00 (30 mail in rebate)
PSU:
OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 - 240 V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002
$139.99 (25 mail in rebate)
CASE:
Thermaltake Matrix VX VD3000BWA Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133008
$85.99 (alittle cheaper then the 900)
total so far $582

Now for video card:
SAPPHIRE 100201SR Radeon HD 2900 XT 512MB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP VIVO Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102095
$409.99
or
EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082
$289.99 (20 mail in rebate)

total with ATI card = $993 + $30 shipping = $1,023
total with Nvidia card = $873 + $30 shipping = $903

pretty good setup

thanks for all the advise

ok im stuck on AMD, im sorry but i have to, anyhow im wondering which is the better bet the windsor 90nm or the brisbane 65nm

the windsor gives you the larger cache but the brisbane is cheaper and i think better to overclock

which is going to be better for games...and no intel lol

Nick Lynn said:

You be losing a little performance in stock compared to equal price C2D but you'll be losing a lot of performance if you overclock on the C2D overclocked. If you are supporting AMD you may as well go the whole hog and buy the ATI 2900XT it is not as bad as many make out and go with crossfire motherboard. It is your choice. Personally I would go with C2D. You could also support AMD with the ATI card on the C2D if you want.

Nick Lynn said:

the Brisbane cause the 65nm means less power and heat
also I dont think the ATI card is worth the extra money right now

Based upon my Toledo core experiences, the Windsor core, though hotter may give better OC deltas if you can cool it.
Gerritt