The PC Build Challenge: Build A $2000 Performance PC

[kilroy0097]

Ok here is the challenge to all you wish list Newegg fanatics. I know I'm one of you and I am constantly seeing what I can build for $X amount of cash. Using reviews on products and articles from TG, X-Bit and number of other locations I see just how good a PC I can build. So I pass the challenge on to you who care to participate. Plus it may help me narrow down my own list for my new computer build coming up soon.

The rules are as follows.

1. Must be a Wishlist made public on Newegg.com - The link is posted to the wishlist and a list of the components are copied into your post as well as the final dollar amount.

2. Hardware requirement: It must be an Intel CPU of some sort and the hardware should be reputable and not some Generic crap that no one has heard of. The motherboard must be SLI/Crossfire compliant. Whichever one but it must fit two PCI-E video cards for future expansion.

3. Necessary hardware components must include the minimum needed for any gaming computer. Monitor, Case, PSU, Motherboard SLI, CPU, CPU Cooler, DVD-RW Drive, HDD, Memory, Keyboard, Mouse. A Sound Card is optional.

Edit Clarification: Motherboard with two PCI-E slots required but NOT two Video Cards. One video card will be just fine for the challenge. The extra slot is there for "future expansion". Also two functioning x16 PCI-E slots is very nice but not necessarily required. One x16 and one x8 is fine also.

4. Lastly your budget is $2000 US +/- a few dollars.

Good Luck Techies!

[Fovos]

can we do it around $1500 so i can get ideas what to get cause i cant afford anything more! lol
that is a good idea kilroy for people who like to build computers (you) and it will be a great help for clueless people (me) that we don't know how to build our own pc's! lol.

[JustMeBF2]

$1719.90 plus shipping


$239.00 COOLER MASTER Stacker RC-832-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119121)

$249.99 ASUS P5N-T Deluxe LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131247)

$259.99 XFX PVT88PYDE4 GeForce 8800GT Extreme 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814150253)

$199.99 Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 ATX12V / EPS12V 1000W Power Supply - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817371012)

$239.99 Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115037)

$169.99 G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820231166)

$119.99 Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148288)

$89.99 Logitech G15 2-Tone USB Wired Standard Gaming Keyboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16823126034)

$39.99 Logitech MX518 2-Tone 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB + PS/2 Wired Optical Gaming-Grade Mouse - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16826104178)

$29.99 Sony NEC Optiarc 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model AD-7191S - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827118004)

$80.99 Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16829102006)


I would have rather had an Q9450 for $160 more, but newegg didn't have any to linky :(

[kilroy0097]

^^^
Excellent Entry for the Challenge. Thanks for your time and effort. Let the challenge continue!


can we do it around $1500 so i can get ideas what to get cause i cant afford anything more! lol
that is a good idea kilroy for people who like to build computers (you) and it will be a great help for clueless people (me) that we don't know how to build our own pc's! lol.

We can do a $1500 one later. Or a very simple way would be to take what you see here and look for something cheaper of the same brand on big items such as Video Card, Motherboard, CPU and RAM. Often the one notch down will cut a good chunk from the price and you will probably see close to a $500 discount just from doing that.

The cool thing about this challenge is it's kind of like buying a computer for yourself after someone hands you $2k and says have fun. At least that's what I feel like when I play around on Newegg wish lists trying to come up with the best computer for the money limit.

[Goldragon]

I'd do this but I'm building my comp from multiple sources (and I'm building it over the span of a year, due to money restrictions). I can post what I've gotten thus far and what I'm planning to get if you're interested.

EDIT: oh, and the final price tag for mine is slightly more than $2000

[kilroy0097]

I'd do this but I'm building my comp from multiple sources (and I'm building it over the span of a year, due to money restrictions). I can post what I've gotten thus far and what I'm planning to get if you're interested.

EDIT: oh, and the final price tag for mine is slightly more than $2000

Well a Newegg wishlist is preferred but if want to post what you have and links to stuff go right ahead. Even if it takes you a year or more to get the end product demonstrate the skillz of the techie. Though you might want to put a Month/Year on some of those products if you've taken a LONG time.

[lamah]

wow, what's up with e8400 keeps going up in price, newegg had it 220 with free shipping just a couple of weeks ago

[Gruthar]

Alright, here's what I would build with $2k:

----The Tower----

CPU - Intel Q6600 Quad Core @ 2.4Ghz - $254.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115018

Motherboard - EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 nForce 780i SLI Motherboard - $249.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188024

Memory - OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1066 - $107.99 (not incl $30 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227181

Video Card - 2x EVGA GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 670MHz - $579.98 (not incl 2x$30 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130325

Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s - $84.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148140

Case/PSU - Cooler Master Stacker 810 RC-810-KKA1-GP w/850W PSU (1 kW peak) - $289.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119145

Optical Drive - Sony NEC Optiarc 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA - $28.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118002


----The Rest----

Monitor - Acer AL2016WCbd Black 20" 2ms(GTG) DVI LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 800:1 - $189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009131

Mouse - Logitech MX518 1600dpi Wired Gaming Mouse - $39.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104178

Keyboard - Ideazon Merc Stealth Illuminated Gaming Keyboard - $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823161028

Headset - Plantronics GameComPro1 USB Headset - $58.79
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826106070
_________________

Totals: $1,959.69

Totals After MIRs: $1,869.69


Justifications:

Alright, so the accessories are pretty much up to personal preference. For instance, I have an MX518, am happy with it, and personally believe that it has all the DPI I'll ever need. With keyboards, there were only a few illuminated/ergonomic ones I could find - the Ideazon one was well-reviewed and has extra keys.

Memory was another thing I would've liked to have done differently. Alas, I couldn't find any 2GB modules that were in stock, and I didn't really want to use 4x1GB sticks. Besides which, the system has 1 GB of VRAM - I think adding more would net only a marginal benefit. I should mention that you could probably put 4 GB in and still remain under budget, however.

Lastly, I'm sure some would object to using SLI and a quad-core. I went that route because I decided to future-proof this rig a little bit. Given nVidia's recent acquisition of Aegiea and how they intend to manage physics in the future, SLI might be a better investment than it used to be. Along the same line of thought, future games are taking advantage of multi-core processors and should perform better on such - otherwise I would've gone with an e8400.

[Dereks_06]

You guys are overdoing it on the PSU's. No one needs 1k watts. Unless ur running like dual 3870X2 gpus for quadfire, skulltrail, or 4x4.

Also no need for dual GPU's on a 20 inch monitor, Dual GPU's for like 24inch plus.

[Fovos]

You guys are overdoing it on the PSU's. No one needs 1k watts. Unless ur running like dual 3870X2 gpus for quadfire, skulltrail, or 4x4.

Also no need for dual GPU's on a 20 inch monitor, Dual GPU's for like 24inch plus.

Yes but the joy of building a pc is to make it upgradeable and you never know when lamah is going to jump from a corner with another special offer link for a 30' inch monitor. lol

[Dereks_06]

LOL Tru

[Gruthar]

You guys are overdoing it on the PSU's. No one needs 1k watts. Unless ur running like dual 3870X2 gpus for quadfire, skulltrail, or 4x4.

Also no need for dual GPU's on a 20 inch monitor, Dual GPU's for like 24inch plus.

In my case, thats 1 kW peak. It's rated for 850W continuous, which is still probably far more than that SLI setup requires, but the real appeal of it is that it's bundled with the case, thus being cheaper than buying a case and decent PSU separately.

As for going the SLI route, you should read my explanation of why I did that in my original post. You're also the first person I've heard of who bases their graphics processing power requirements on monitor display area... D:

[Dereks_06]

That's because 17-19 inch widescreen is 1440x900. 20-22 inch is 1680x1050. 24-28 inch is 1920x1200. Therefor your GPU will have to render more.

[Gruthar]

Indeed it will. But that still doesn't answer why adding more graphics (or as I predict, physics) processing power is a bad thing. Are you saying I have too much GFX power for a 20in. monitor, or that you would go for a single card that can outperform the SLId 8800s while still being within the budget? Should I have put a larger monitor in there...? :dunno:

I'm seriously confused by your criticism. :confused: Perhaps I would better understand you if you stated what you would do different (i.e. list parts)...

[Dereks_06]

I think that SLI'd 8800GTS is way to much power than he needs for 20 in. monitor. SLI is usually for people with big screens that can take advantage of it. The higher the res the more % increase there is with SLI. At 1680x1050 I just don't think that it can justify the extra cost of SLI even with a 2000$ budget.

That I know of there is no single card that can best the 8800GTS G92.

About the physics. Nvidia is working on creating hybrid SLI, where one card can do the Physics and the other does the Graphics, but they don't need to be identical cards in hybrid SLI. So get the 8800GTS G92 now, then when something better comes along get that and use the 8800GTS as the physics card. Also there are no current or planned games that I know of that can use Nvidia's CUDA platform for physics.

[kilroy0097]

I like the choice of the keyboard and mouse though that is up to personal opinions.

Wolf King Warrior USB (http://www.xoxide.com/wolfking-warrior-usb-keypad-black.html) is what I use now and so I would rather have a normal workable keyboard for typing. Obviously I like to type a lot from my long ass posts here. So for a keyboard the Razer Tarantula (http://www.xoxide.com/razer-tarantula-keyboard.html) might be more my speed if I wanted back lighting.

As for PSU I think that if you want to build a normal every day computer then 600w is more than enough however for a performance computer especially one looking for future expansion, upgrade and possibly over-clocking 800w and more is probably the way to go.

But it doesn't really matter because this challenge is not something we need to debate but to expand upon. It's something to have fun with. Besides the PSU is hardly something that needs to be perfect as long as it comes from a decent company with good quality PSUs. You don't want it dying on you only 6 months later. As long as it's 600w or more it probably fits most builds.

As for the SLI discussion the answer to that is very simple. Future expansion. Do you want to go from one monitor to two eventually? You can then easily get another graphics card of same type and another monitor of same time and you good to go. How about if you want to expand your graphic processing power but do not want to buy yet another graphics card of better type at premium price? Well you then go out and get another of your current graphics card for a fraction of the "newness" sticker price and you may have something on par with the newest greatest graphic card on the market or sometimes even more than that.

SLI expansion possibility is just a smart bet for the future. You don't lose any features and you don't have to buy another motherboard later to expand or you don't have to buy a super expensive graphics cards to keep up with the Jones. But to each their own. This particular challenge was started by me and so the rules I placed said SLI is mandatory. You don't have to buy SLI but you know I will.

[Gruthar]

I don't think anyone is questioning the merits of buying an SLI-capable motherboard - you get a wealth of options for only a few extra bucks. The issue here is whether or not it's wise to buy two video cards at present time. Despite what one may infer from my posts here, normally I would agree with Derek. Actually, I would take it one step further and say at present SLI/CrossFire is not worth it at any resolution. Nevertheless, I went into this assuming that this was a fantasy build and that the $2k was to all be spent (hence my confusion.) So I found myself at $1,650 wondering where to spend the rest of the money for the most oomph. The logical choice seemed to be on more GFX throughput, since anything else would only net marginal gain or be irrelevant to the coveted Frames Per Second. In other circumstances, I would definitely hold off on the second GPU and tell you to save your money for the GeForce 9000 series.

As for the physics issue, the advantage that identical cards have over a hybrid SLI setup is that the graphics load can be shared if the game in question doesn't use a physics engine. In ordinary circumstances I would be content to use an obsolete card for physics purposes, but as I said before, I went on the assumption that this was a fantasy build. In terms of games that actually will use nVidia's physics solution, I think it's probably still too early for game developers to make the announcement. I imagine that at least some of the games that were using the PhysX API in development will be switching over. Heck, for all I know nVidia is working on a translator for games that are currently using the PhysX API - it wouldn't be that hard to do now that they've got all the code. But, as should be obvious, this is all speculation. :)

[kilroy0097]

A motherboard that is SLI and PCI-E version 2 compatible. After that graphics cards are all about choice. If you want something haus now then you get that. If you want to be conservative on graphics card purchase due to the soon release of the next high end card then obviously you don't want to blow all your cash on something big now. Which is why I point out that I would buy only one graphics card now and see about getting another later if it's still prudent to do so.

[sir_digalot]

hmm interesting, is this for a futureproof system?

since we are not really utilizing all the bandwidth of pci-e 1.1 can deliver even in an sli system, i could save a whole bunch of money by switching my car insurance to geico, but also i could get an older mobo like my p5n32, which is still sli (16x by 16x) and supports core 2 for alot less then a new 750.

i also heard rumours that the nvidia 98xx series is just a ramped up g92 ( i.e 8800) which means no reall additives incuding 10.1 support....

just a thought on saving more money at the expense of needing the latest and greatest for no real reason

[Fovos]

Ok so now the second part that Kilroy forgot to add, everyone needs to buy from one piece and send it to me, so we can build the ultimate pc and me getting back to games..lol
so are you saying guys that dual video cards and 1000 power supply is useless unless you have 22 inch monitor or bigger? i understood right? or im completely off? these is the stuff that i dont really get!

[Gruthar]

Basically, 1000W is overkill. Unless you're doing some really, really serious overclocking, or cramming in a ton of peripherals, or doing something wacky like tri- or quad-SLI, there's no need for that much power. It's a waste both monetarily and in terms of power.

Derek's point about dual video cards is that the performance gain is more significant at higher resolutions. You'll still see an improvement if you add a second card to your PC and run it at lower resolutions, but the percent gain may not be as much as if you had a larger display area. Thus, the gain may not be worth the cost at lower resolutions. Personally, I'm not convinced that this is always the case. I've experienced the exact opposite with my CrossFired cards, though that may well be because my crap is way obsolescent.

[kilroy0097]

So far great talk and lists on products. Exactly what people need to read through to get an idea of what they might need in a build like this. Keep it up! Submit some more wishlists. I know there are more builders out there than we have seen.

Also because the talk about the PSUs here is a good article to look at for most builds.
Power Supply Roundup: 650W-680W - Anandtech (http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3231)

[sir_digalot]

i got one for about 1500 (+tax and ship) but don't know how to share it...

i could shave it a bit too

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=5688885&WishListTitle=Sir+Digalot+1

try number 2 shaving some peaches here

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=5689025&WishListTitle=sir+digalot+2

1300 approx + tax and delivery...

too many offers at the moment but even without both still below 2g's and fairly decent, hell i would mind either.. though i have close to number 2 but it cost me a whole lot less then 2g's *L*

if i could get my hands on the origional Ultra 500W i had which was 34A on the single 12v rail i would be dead happy too, the new version i have now has 28A on the 12v rail, which screwed my calculations with the 8800, so i needed a second PSU for all my hard drives!

and yes i included an operating system!

my justification yes i plagerised this phrase :bolt:

why 2 500GB hard drives..

well you can either RAID 0 them and get performance ( i RAID 0 2 sata 150 80GB's and they are faster then my buddies RAID 1 SATA 300's) or you could RAID 1 them ot simply JBOD as 2 seperate disks i am using close to 1 TB now and i have 2 games installed ( yes i am a video freak but you can never have too much hard drive space!)

4GB ram, this was a hard one, i could cut down to 2GB ( and did) or 3GB (which i currently have) but then you lose dual channel with 3GB... not that i notice..

the 64bit vista is the same price as the 32 bit so the choice is there...of course you can go XP but why have a DX10 gfx card and nothign to use it for....

only 600w power supply it supplies enough wattage for 2 hd's the quad care and an 8800 how do i know?? because my old 500W (34A 12v rail ultra) powered a P4D (read 130W TDP) the 8800 and 4 HD's and LIGHTS!
(okay it blew up but it was old :D)

CASE = Cheap.... it does the job and does not look like a big pile of poo, maybe a small one, but still... oh and i added a higher flow fan for the rear 120.... hence and extra $15 *L*

8800gt, nuff said..

20" monitor, not the best ofthe best but does 1050 res, i currently have a 1440x900 and it is wonderful so anything better then this is a bonus.

sound.... onboard, hell vista is no better with discreet audio then onboard, save the cash..

Quad core processor... why..... coz i wanted too! ( i did drop it to a 6750 i nthe cheaper model, which i currently use and it overclocks like snot on a cold day!... my mobo is an older Nforce 4 designed for 1066 core 2's but i over clock it to 1333 then i overclock it some more to about 1600 fsb.... and it is a rock.... or at least as rock like as vista will let it be..... it was a rock under XP.....

keyboard and mouse? me personally any cheap crap i can find, i almost destroyed a $150 blue tooth mouse and keyboard at work today getting annoyed with something, so cheap in my case is REAL GOOD!


a SATA DVDRWABCDEFG drive, i have one it is great you need nothing more


there!

[JustMeBF2]

i got one for about 1500 (+tax and ship) but don't know how to share it...

i could shave it a bit too

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=5688885&WishListTitle=Sir+Digalot+1




That case is sweet. I have it in the blue which is actually silver/blue.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146026