PC Config. Help Needed!

[confusedpc]

Greetings, i have a budget that's around 1300 euros = 1600 dollars (more or less).
Literally i am wandering around shops and trying to get the best out of this
budget. My dilemma comes from the following situation. I was aiming for a set up that had:

Intel CPU Q9550 2.83 GHz
Mo-Bo: GIGABYTE GA- EP45T-DS3R
KINGMAX DDR3 4GB 1333Mhz
GIGABYTE GV-N26-896H-B ,GTX 260

(i don't want to write all the other parts but in general terms this is the config)

After some time while i was waiting to get this configuration, the new Intel i7
CPU has been released. However as i was reading the tech.support for this
i came across some articles that argue regarding the matching RAM mem.
that has to be low freq. and etc.

Is it better to go with the current config. or to assemble a new one containing the I7 cpu. and if so. please tell me what would be the best config
to have in order to avoid necessary damaging the CPU and etc.

[alfroogy]

Hi and welcome to PC Guide.

If you want to be on the bleeding edge of technology then by all means go with the i7 but if you want a high end gaming pc without spending too much of a fortune then stick with the older tech. Gaming is heavily GPU dependent right now anyway so you wouldn't see much of a performance boost out of the i7 and triple channel memory doesn't seem to scale as well as dual channel did from single channel. However, if you plan on doing any cpu intensive work, then the i7 will do wonders for you.

Here is an i7 build
intel i7 920 299.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
memory: Gskill 6gb 3x2gb $279.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225
motherboard: gigabyte ud5 $278.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128362
graphics card: ATI HD 4870 1gb $299.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125243
PSU: corsair 1000w $259.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139007
case: coolermaster 690 $74.99
This brings you in about $200 under budget.

For a core 2 build just substitute the cpu and motherboard you originally wanted and a 2x2gb memory kit instead of a 3x2gb I recommend mushkin ascents if you plan on overclocking.(though I would personally go for the Gigabyte UD3P as it offers better overclocking over the DS3R). If you go with the core 2 build you could probably also afford to upgrade the 4870 to a 4870x2.