New Rig: need help cutting cost

[heavyd7402]

Hey guys, a buddy of mine is building a rig and I'm trying to help him design it. He's got a pretty strict 800 dollar (US) limit and I'm having some trouble getting under it.

He is building this rig exclusively for gaming, and he is determined on having the 8800gt card (he also wanted to run a q6600 but we deemed that impossible on a 800 dollar budget). He already has another pc, so we don't have to worry about keyboards and mice or speakers. He is unwilling to cannibalize the old pc for parts.

I was hoping you guys might have some suggestions for me.

Here's my list so far:
Motherboard:
ASUS P5B LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131030
109.99

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115029
189.99

RAM:
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231098
49.99

OPTICAL:
Sony NEC Optiarc Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM IDE DVD-ROM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827101131
17.99

PSU:
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX ATX12V V2.2 550W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004
99.99

HDD:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148262
69.99

GPU:
EVGA 512-P3-N802-A3 GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported (w/crysis game)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130306
299.99

Case:
Sunbeam Transformer IC-TR-BA Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811166004
59.99

Total:
$897.92

Thanks for your time

[shadowpr]

Drop the processor down. Get a slower one.

Look at a smaller hd too.

Also, I would change the burner to a sata one, just to make it easier.

Realistically, you're going to have to up the budget to get a decent gaming system, especially if you don't have any parts that you're willing to re-use.

[andper10]

Switch the motherboard to an Asus P5K SE Save $5 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131189

Save $10 (+$20 after MIR) by switching to this PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341010

Save $10 by switching to the Non Crysis version of the video card (but this probably won't work since your friend probably wants Crysis) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130303

Save money by getting ram with a MIR:
http://shop3.outpost.com/product/496...Homepage:Spot1
There are retail frys stores in TX so you will get hit with sales tax plus shipping, so newegg might be the way to go. I can't get newegg's ram section to load right now so search for Corsair 2GB DDR2 800.

Consider downgrading to an E6550 to save $15.

That is all that I can think of for the time being.
Enjoy your build!

[heavyd7402]

worked on it a bit more and got it to 871.92 using the above-mentioned p5k and a different psu (Antec earthwatts 500w). I really think this is as low as we can go, but if you have any more suggestions i'd be happy to hear 'em.

thanks