Need now MB and CPU

[Katreat]

Question on Best Bang for the Buck MB/CPU combo for a low cost gaming
rig which will be using a spare 8800 GTS 320 I have on the shelf.
Trying to keep the price as low as possible, $200 budget, but would like
it cheaper. I just don't want to get a CPU or MB that will compromise
the performance of the GTS.

I have HD (SATA), Burner (SATA and IDE), 500w ATX 2.0 PSU (Antec),
Case, XP (full retail) and the Video card listed above.

Thanks for any suggestions, right now I am thinking Gig P35 board for
around $80 with an C2D E4500 for around $115, for a total of $195 but
would love to reduce the cost even more. I don't know much about the
AMD offerings so any suggestions would be appreciated.

This system will not be Overclocked.

Kat

[pam123]

AMD can't help you here.
It's sweet spot these days is the X2 6000+/6400+ processors as compared to the price/performance for the Intel 6500/6600 dual cores.

For what you want go with Intel ( and I say that as an AMD buyer.).

[Katreat]

Thx for the input. My last two builds have been Intel but thought there might be a lower cost option out there from AMD. The Intel upgrade has the advantage of accepting my main rigs current CPU (E6750) if I ever get the urge to move up to a quad. On the other hand, I might just get a bug to build again in a year or so in which case the older computer will be retired which is why I am looking for cheap.

Kat

[Masaki 7-11]

GIGABYTE GA-MA770-S3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128327
$84.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Brisbane 2.7GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO5200DOBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103210
$109.99

Subtotal: $194.98

[Katreat]

Thanks for the recommendation Masaki. Performance wise, how does that compare to:

GIGABYTE GA-P35-S3G LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $79.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128084

Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.2GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail $119.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115031

Subtotal: $ 199.98

Prices are almost identical so are there other advantages performance wise.

Also, would a P31 board be a good choice for low cost build. I noticed that the P31 boards seem to save about $20 but I am not familiar with that chipset. For a no frills build would it be a good option, it does support the C2D platform.

Kat

Edit: OK, little research answered my own question, stripped down P35 with a ICH7 (instead of 9) southbridge limiting you to 4 GB of ram at a max speed of 800. Also missing a few other high end features but performance very compairable. Given that, I could probably knock off another $15.00 and go with:

GIGABYTE GA-P31-S3G LGA 775 Intel P31 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $64.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128077

Still would like to hear if AMD build suggested has better performance or other advantages.

Thanks

Kat

[Masaki 7-11]

In terms of performance the Intel and AMD setup are very close with a slight advantage going to AMD because of the higher clocks. The AMD setup also has an advantage in memory usage due to the built in memory controller.

Any reason for not overclocking? If you have a decent power supply, you can get a really fast Intel setup for under $200. A P5K-SE motherboard, Intel Celeron E1200 and an Artic Cooler 7 Pro would be a good combination and will let you overclock the celeron to 3.2GHz.

[Katreat]

I just did not enjoy it the one time I did it. I enjoy building computers and learning about them but to be honest after that I just want them to work. I really dont like playing with settings and trying to optimize stuff. I have to do a certain amount, but try to keep it to a minimum. Long time ago I played around some but these days I would rather just spend a bit more for a processor which will work without the OC effort.

Thanks for the explanation. I have not kept up with how AMD compairs with Intel but had heard it was a bit better in the mid range so wanted to check it out.

Kat

[Masaki 7-11]

The P5K-SE motherboard uses a very straightforward BIOS, so other than the change in FSB and voltage, there isn't anything else that you have to tinker with or optimize. The reason I overclock my computers is because it's a very straightforward process as long as you have some idea of the processor's limits and aim for a result that will give you a decent margin of safety.