I work at Fry's so there are always deals to be had. If anything goes wrong with a part I can easily replace it within retail hours no strings attached. It's worth it to me to have that kind of convenience even if it's an extra $50-$100 I could of saved.

The prices listed are the ones that I get at Fry's.

Intel Core2Quad Q6600 for $190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115017

Gigabyte DS3L for $95
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128059

EVGA GeForce 9600GT 512mb GDDR3 for $185
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220269

Antec Nine Hundred for $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...nine%2bhundred

Corsair Dominator PC8500 2x1GB for $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145168

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKB for $105
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136111

XP M.C.E. for $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116049

Corsair 620HX for $149
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...pk=cmpsu-620hx

Zalman CNPS9700 for $63
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118019

So in total it's:

CPU: $190
Mobo: $95
GFX Card: $185
Tower: $80
Memory: $90
HD: $105
OS: $120
PSU: $150
CPU Fan: $63
Miscellaneous: $50

Total before tax: $1128

Thoughts welcomed and expected.

 

not bad the spec is very similar to my budget gaming rig except I shelled out more for power supply and I chose 8800GT as the video card.

I will post more once I get home, I am on my tilt right now

 

you honestly can get away with an Antec Earthwats 430W. Less than $75 and it powers my rig fine. I've used them in quad and dual systems with the same vid card with no issue.

I'd get the Muskin 4gb kit for about $70 instead.

And most of your links are broken.

What are you looking to do with it?

Cause I could spec you out a system that's 90% of the performance of that one but much less the cost.

 

No you won't have the "oh I have a quad core" "but dont' use it" bragging rights... but for a lot less money you could have more than adequate performance.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131273
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103211

I've got a dual core 4000+ right now, and rarely do I ever see it's limits. Even when full up gaming.

 

I've had two friends who used Earthwatts and each time it fried their whole system so it'll be avoided in this build.

Our store also has Crucial Ballistix 2GB packs for $35 after MIR but I'm trying my best to curb costs upfront.

I looking to leave it on 24/7 and play BF2142 and all sorts of other shooters I missed out on. That and Crysis on mid settings. h:

All links have been fixed.

 

I'm going to avoid AMD right now -- the price/performance ratio is completely out of wack compared to Intel. Besides, how can I pass up a $190 quad core?

 

you dont need xp pro
home should be fine

 

SLACR and OL9UM this is the stepping. the older stepping does not allow for much over clocking. I have the newer stepping and i was able to over clock to 3.4GHz with thermalright extreme 120 heatsink and a 120mm fan. i could have pushed it more but didn't want to risk burning up a new chip. i have it set to 3.0ghz and it's been running perfect for the last 6 months or so.


SLACR is the new G0 stepping. make sure you get this version for future OCing potential. also don't get that zalman. the thermalright extreme 120 beats it in every test and it only costs about $10 more
http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/therm...r-p-16580.html

I got mine from the above link with a scythe s-flex 1600rpm fan and you can barely hear the damn thing. or you can save the $15 bucks and not OC it until you are ready. you can oc to about 2.8-3.0 even without the fan. fan just gives you extra insurance or allows you to oc higher.

 

if you plan on gaming and it looks like you will from the above post, you'll need a better PS than a earthwatt and I agree that earthwatt are junk.

i spent a little bit more money on seasonic 500W model but it's 80+ rated so it's very efficient. I've had 0 problem with my 8800GT.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151029

I leave my gaming rig on 24/7 and it got to be over 100F+ in here because I'm not home during the day (this last summer). I've had no problems. spend a few extra bucks on a good PS.

 

I'm building a very very similar setup to Saviour's...........I've already picked up the SLACR Q6600 and Antec 900 case from Fry's for the same price. For this heatsink, do you think it'll clear when I close the case? I'm reading alot of reviews on it and it's a big motherfucker