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Hey all. A combination of factors (deteriorating motherboard and the release of Elder Scrolls: Oblivion) has made me decide on what is essentially a brand new system.

Budget ceiling is 1000 dollars, but I wouldn't be adverse to saving a few bucks where possible. I'm looking for a system that can comfortably run titles such as Hitman Blood Money and Oblivion. Already got a screen, keyboard, mouse, HD, power supply and speakers. I generally run dual OSes, Linux and Windows XP.

So given all that, what processor, graphic card, memory and motherboard might I get that don't conflict or lead to bottlenecks within the system? Is it possible to get something impressive given the budget I specified?

Core 2 should be released to consumers in a month or two, and is a processor well worth waiting for, IMHO.

Seconded. The new Intel chips are blowing everything else out of the water, and won't cost any more than the current gen. You will be able to get the 2.4 GHz version for $316, according to Intel's chart, which seems to be about the sweet spot. Tack on another $120 for the motherboard, and you're looking at $436.

Then 2GB of DDR2 667 Corsair RAM for $142 and a new Seagate 320 GB HDD for $130 brings you up to $708.

A Sapphire X1800 XT will only set you back $240 right now, which brings you up to a grand total of $948, assuming you don't need a new keyboard, mouse, monitor, joystick, speakers, etc.

That system would be about as cutting edge as it gets. Sure, you could get a slightly faster processor for triple the money, or a slightly faster GPU for double, but you'd be looking at about a 5-10% increase in performance for a 100+% increase in money spent. Not worth it.

Thanks to you both for the suggestions. These last days, my system has grown so bad I can barely use it in any capacity. Accordingly, I've been forced to reevaluate my choices, since I didn't want to wait until August for the release of the Core 2. My specs are now a bit more modest, as follows:

• Chieftec DG-01BD-U, 300W Casing
• Asus A8N-E, Socket 939, PCI-E, ATX, Nvidia nForce 4 Ultra Motherboard
• AMD Athlon 64 3500+ BOX S-939 Processor
• 2 x Samsung 512MB DDR PC3200, 400MHz 184-pin
• Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 300GB NCQ 7200rpm SATA II
  3Gb/s 16MB cache HD
• Club 3D GeForce 7900GT 256MB PCI-E DVIx2+TV Graphics Card

All this for the facile price of 8800 SEK, which comes to about 1 230 USD.

Have you already gone through with it? If not, I'd suggest going with the newer 7200.10 hard drive, the 4200+ processor, and the X1800 XT graphics card instead. If you have, don't worry too much. What you have there is 95% as good.

Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:Have you already gone through with it? If not, I'd suggest going with the newer 7200.10 hard drive, the 4200+ processor, and the X1800 XT graphics card instead. If you have, don't worry too much. What you have there is 95% as good.

I haven't gone through with it yet. But this is what's in town at the moment. I'll see what I can get on short notice -- if there are great deals to be had before 18:00 tomorrow, I'm probably going to avail myself of them.

The hard drive isn't really a big deal, but the X1800 XT is both cheaper and better than the 7900 GT, and in this day and age, there's really no reason not to go dual-core.

If you're going to go with single-core, don't waste money on the 3500+; it's a trivial speed-bump higher from the 3200+. Either get something significantly more powerful or get the 3200+.

Also, why are you buying Socket 939? Have you considered Socket AM2?

Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:The hard drive isn't really a big deal, but the X1800 XT is both cheaper and better than the 7900 GT, and in this day and age, there's really no reason not to go dual-core.

A 4200+ is over $200 more than the 3200+.

Yes, but that's the kind of thing that if you scrimp on now, it will end up costing you more in the long run because the non-futureproof system will have to be upgraded again sooner.

Eleas wrote:

• Chieftec DG-01BD-U, 300W Casing
• Asus A8N-E, Socket 939, PCI-E, ATX, Nvidia nForce 4 Ultra Motherboard
• AMD Athlon 64 3500+ BOX S-939 Processor
• 2 x Samsung 512MB DDR PC3200, 400MHz 184-pin
• Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 300GB NCQ 7200rpm SATA II
  3Gb/s 16MB cache HD
• Club 3D GeForce 7900GT 256MB PCI-E DVIx2+TV Graphics Card

Are you sure the power supply is enough? 300W is not all that much, especially when you're running a high end graphics card.

Uraniun235 wrote:If you're going to go with single-core, don't waste money on the 3500+; it's a trivial speed-bump higher from the 3200+. Either get something significantly more powerful or get the 3200+.

I am swayed. It'll have to be a 3800+, instead.

Also, why are you buying Socket 939? Have you considered Socket AM2?

Yeah, I did. Not only is it hard to find in town, but I really don't need it -- you seldom upgrade a processor on its own and this system will stand me in good stead for at least one and a half year.

A 4200+ is over $200 more than the 3200+.

Plus, for gaming purposes, why go dual-core?

The Jester wrote:

Eleas wrote:

• Chieftec DG-01BD-U, 300W Casing
• Asus A8N-E, Socket 939, PCI-E, ATX, Nvidia nForce 4 Ultra Motherboard
• AMD Athlon 64 3500+ BOX S-939 Processor
• 2 x Samsung 512MB DDR PC3200, 400MHz 184-pin
• Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 300GB NCQ 7200rpm SATA II
  3Gb/s 16MB cache HD
• Club 3D GeForce 7900GT 256MB PCI-E DVIx2+TV Graphics Card

Are you sure the power supply is enough? 300W is not all that much, especially when you're running a high end graphics card.

No, not really sure, to be honest. I'll have to check it out.

A quality 300W PSU is more than sufficient to run that machine. As for dual-core goodness, it's nice being able to have a CPU-intensive process not bring your desktop to a grinding halt.

That, and the new games are showing performance increases with dual-core. Oblivion shows up to a 25% boost, IIRC. Also, you should realize that a 3800+ is dual-core.