Build Me a Computer - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

LoganSnake · 01-17-2008, 10:30 AM

My budget is $600.

I've been out of the PC market loop for nearly two years now and have no idea what good parts to get to build a good machine. All I know is that I want a Core 2 Duo, at least 2 gigs of ram, two hard drives (one small 10,000 RPM for system and programs and one large for data storage 500+GB). Video card is important as well. I want it to play any game out right now, but it shouldn't be over $250. I hear 8800GT is great.

Any help would be appreciated. I need everything since my machine is old enough to not be upgradeable anymore.

Lasereth · 01-17-2008, 11:11 AM

At the price point you're talking about it's much more feasible to get an Athlon 64. At the sub $150 market AMD controls the price to performance ratio. You can't really afford to spend more than $150 on a CPU so I have to recommend AMD.

You're also gonna be stretched to include a 10,000 RPM drive. Raptors are $150 for the "small" ones.

Are you willing to go AMD and go without a 10k RPM drive?

LoganSnake · 01-17-2008, 11:21 AM

I have an AMD right now, so I don't mind the company. However, I keep hearing that Core2Duo is much better than any AMD. However, if in the $150 price range, AMD trumps Intel, I don't mind continuing using AMD chips.

Dragonlich · 01-17-2008, 11:23 AM

I'm thinking about getting a new computer too, and have been doing some research. My potential new computer is going to be something like this:

1 INTEL Core2Duo E8400 (S775 - 1333MHz - 2x3 MB) 3,0Ghz
1 ASUS P5K-E WiFi-AP (iP35 - S775)
1 PC2-6400 - 2 GBx2 - DDR2 (brand to be determined)
1 MSI NX8800 GT Silent - 512 MB - PCIe - TV+2xDVI
1 Antec P182 (no PSU)
1 600 Watt PSU - Zalman ZM600-HP (or Corsair 650/750W)
2 Samsung 500 GB HD501LJ (SATA300 - 16 MB)
1 Arctic Freezer 7 Pro (Socket 775)
1 DVD±RW Samsung SH-S203D/BEBN - SATA - black
1 Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64B- OEM
1 Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Xtreme Audio-PCIe
1 Disk drive (for Raid setup) and/or card reader

Notes:
* I doubt the 10K harddisk is going to do much; 2x500Gb in raid should have the same performance. (and even that is probably useless in games!)
* The ASUS P5K motherboard is one of many options. I read it has problems with RAID, so I might pick another.
* The MSI nx8800GT is more expensive than regular 8800GT's, but it's supposedly silent, which is a bit pro for me. I don't know if it's any good, though... Still thinking about it. I could also get an Asus card.
* You could get another case if you don't like the high price; I was going to get it because it's quiet.
* The X-Fi sound card probably isn't needed, but it's not too expensive, so why not.
* I already have two good TFT screens, a good 5.1 speaker system, and a good keyboard and mouse. If you don't, you'll need to add those.

* I dunno how much it's going to be where you live, but in the Netherlands, I'm looking at about 1300 to 1400 Euros.

=====

Ah, just saw your budget... hmm, not even close to what I'll be spending. You'll have to make some cuts then.

- you could drop the second 500 Gb harddisk, and get one 750 Gb for a bit more. Or get one 500 Gb HDD.
- Get a cheaper motherboard and CPU. AMD might be an option.
- not so much computer case, less PSU.
- 2 Gb memory instead of 4.
- perhaps get a nvidia 8600GT, or a similar ATI card.

LoganSnake · 01-17-2008, 11:27 AM

I have optical drives, but they're IDE. Can I still use them in the new machine or do I need new ones? I might be able to swing $700. My b-day's next week and I'm expecting some money coming my way.

Also, I've never used RAID. What are the advantages of having 2 HDs in RAID 0? So they show up as a single 1TB hard drive? Also, if one fails, does the other fail too resulting in a massive loss of data?

Dragonlich · 01-17-2008, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoganSnake

I have optical drives, but they're IDE. Can I still use them in the new machine or do I need new ones? I might be able to swing $700. My b-day's next week and I'm expecting some money coming my way.

Also, I've never used RAID. What are the advantages of having 2 HDs in RAID 0? So they show up as a single 1TB hard drive?

If you drop the stuff I said, you might be able to go down to 800 Euros; with the current exchange rates (and "transport costs"), that's probably less than 700 dollars...

You can use the IDE drives, as long as your motherboard has enough ports. Most new motherboards have just one IDE port, if at all. That's two drives.

Depending on the RAID setup, you'll get a single 1TB harddrive, which is faster. The downside is that if one drive fails, the data on both disks is gone. But you have to ask yourself if you need the extra speed, and the extra room. I currently have a total of about 310 GB worth of harddisk space (160+120+30gig; the last one is a 10K WD Raptor); I have trouble getting it full...

LoganSnake · 01-17-2008, 11:39 AM

I have a full 120GB internal hard drive and a nearly full (20GB left) external 250GB. The room is definitely an issue. I would prefer not RAIDing the hard drives. Some files I have are singular in in case something fails, I'll be SOL. I have many original AI and PSD files.

Lasereth · 01-17-2008, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoganSnake

I have an AMD right now, so I don't mind the company. However, I keep hearing that Core2Duo is much better than any AMD. However, if in the $150 price range, AMD trumps Intel, I don't mind continuing using AMD chips.

Yeah that's one major misconception in the enthusiast industry. The Core 2 Duo line is awesome, but at the sub $150 price point AMD is actually better (completely disregarding OCing).

If I had to buy a new PC on a $600 budget, this is what I would do:

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion...tle=LoganSnake

Athlon 64 X2 5200+ 2.7 GHz
2 GB ram
GeForce 8800 GT

I assume you're gonna use your old OS so it's not in the price. Total cost $590.

Dragonlich · 01-17-2008, 11:47 AM

Given that you already have optical drives, I'd suggest you get a bigger harddisk; 500GB shouldn't be a problem. And perhaps you could get an Antec Sonata III case with 500W PSU; that's probably the same price as Lasereth's case+PSU, but might be better.

LoganSnake · 01-17-2008, 11:47 AM

I have a 420W power supply, but I was told that it will not work in the new system because the connectors are different. If I can use it, then subtract that from the cost as well as the optical drive. I would like a faster CPU. Less upgrading in the future.

Will Antec Sonata III provide adequate cooling? It doesn't seem to have any side or top fans.

Dragonlich · 01-17-2008, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoganSnake

I have a 420W power supply, but I was told that it will not work in the new system because the connectors are different. If I can use it, then subtract that from the cost as well as the optical drive. I would like a faster CPU. Less upgrading in the future.

I dunno. I have a 450W PSU too, but I doubt it's powerful enough for the 8800GT. With current systems, you need a lot of watts at the 12V lines; older PSU's simply don't have that.

The Antec Sonata has a 120mm fan in the back, which should get you more than enough cooling. Side openings aren't that important, as long as there's enough airflow from front to back.

robot_parade · 01-17-2008, 12:41 PM

Darn, wish I'd seen this thread a little earlier. I had essentially the same constraints - around 600-800 (including monitor). The only difference is that this is specifically a system 'for the kids'. I fiddled around on newegg for awhile, then came across this dell one:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...=DDDWDD3&s=dhs

Which seemed pretty good for $700.

Damn you, dell.

(The link probably won't work forever, so here's the specs:

Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E4500 (2MB L2 Cache,2.20GHz,800 FSB)
20 inch E207WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs
320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100

I probably could've done better self-building, but I'm no longer 'up' on the hardware enough to be certain of not screwing it up. I didn't even think of asking here on TFP. The CPU could be a little faster, and the video is of course just intel. But the kids aren't into the 3d games yet, so anything more at this point would be a waste. Plus, 20" monitor - damn.

I probably could've gone with lasereth's wishlist, pulled back on the video card a bit, and slapped a decent monitor on there and still stayed under $700. Ah well.

Martian · 01-17-2008, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoganSnake

I have optical drives, but they're IDE. Can I still use them in the new machine or do I need new ones? I might be able to swing $700. My b-day's next week and I'm expecting some money coming my way.

Also, I've never used RAID. What are the advantages of having 2 HDs in RAID 0? So they show up as a single 1TB hard drive? Also, if one fails, does the other fail too resulting in a massive loss of data?

RAID 0 splits the data evenly between the two disks in order to double performance. The loss of data security is the trade-off; the MTBF is effectively halved. Even so, given that you already have an external hard drive, I think this might be your best option, as Raptors are crazy expensive and have had some major reliability issues in the past. Mission critical data should always be backed up anyway.

Most current motherboards have at least one PATA connector on-board, so if you don't do a lot of DVD burning you can keep your current optical drives. If you do plan on burning a lot of discs though, I'd recommend the upgrade for the speed benefit.

Lasereth's wish list is quite good, but I'd drop the optical drive (again, unless you really need it) and add in one or two Western Digital 320 GB drives as budget allows.

Lasereth · 01-17-2008, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragonlich

Given that you already have optical drives, I'd suggest you get a bigger harddisk; 500GB shouldn't be a problem. And perhaps you could get an Antec Sonata III case with 500W PSU; that's probably the same price as Lasereth's case+PSU, but might be better.

That case is WAY more than my combo. $150 usually but on sale for $130 at newegg. If he has the money then he can get it, but when you're on a really small budget, putting a lot of money into the case is unreasonable if you have to sacrifice performance because of it. In my opinion, unless you have a huge budget, your biggest budget allocation should go into the absolute best CPU and videocard in your budget range.

Quote:

Originally Posted by robot_parade

Darn, wish I'd seen this thread a little earlier. I had essentially the same constraints - around 600-800 (including monitor). The only difference is that this is specifically a system 'for the kids'. I fiddled around on newegg for awhile, then came across this dell one:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...=DDDWDD3&s=dhs

Which seemed pretty good for $700.

Damn you, dell.

(The link probably won't work forever, so here's the specs:

Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E4500 (2MB L2 Cache,2.20GHz,800 FSB)
20 inch E207WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs
320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100

I probably could've done better self-building, but I'm no longer 'up' on the hardware enough to be certain of not screwing it up. I didn't even think of asking here on TFP. The CPU could be a little faster, and the video is of course just intel. But the kids aren't into the 3d games yet, so anything more at this point would be a waste. Plus, 20" monitor - damn.

I probably could've gone with lasereth's wishlist, pulled back on the video card a bit, and slapped a decent monitor on there and still stayed under $700. Ah well.

If it's not for gaming, a Dell is superior if you ask me. Dells are only unreasonable when you try to build a gaming PC with them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoganSnake

I have a 420W power supply, but I was told that it will not work in the new system because the connectors are different. If I can use it, then subtract that from the cost as well as the optical drive. I would like a faster CPU. Less upgrading in the future.

Will Antec Sonata III provide adequate cooling? It doesn't seem to have any side or top fans.

You will run into multiple connector issues if you don't buy a new PSU. Your old one most likely doesn't have 6-pin PCI-E connectors. It may not have an auxilliary CPU connector. The motherboard main power connector may be 20 pin instead of 24 pin. It may not have SATA power. The list goes on! Even if it had all of that, it may just not be up to the task, especially if it's not really high quality.

If you want a faster CPU, get the 6400+ 3.2 GHz powerhouse:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103191

Still better than the Core 2 Duos in that price range. You will be over budget and will have to find money elsewhere though.

LoganSnake · 01-17-2008, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lasereth

If you want a faster CPU, get the 6400+ 3.2 GHz powerhouse:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103191

Still better than the Core 2 Duos in that price range. You will be over budget and will have to find money elsewhere though.

I was actually looking at that one! Is that CPU powerful?

Lasereth · 01-17-2008, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoganSnake

I was actually looking at that one! Is that CPU powerful?

The first one I linked is powerful. That one is more powerful. It's as good as all but the top-end Core 2 Duos (the ones that are $180-$270).

LoganSnake · 01-17-2008, 06:09 PM

Okay, I've decided to break my budget and make a worthy upgrade. God knows I'll upgrade again in 4-5 years like I did with this one.

Can you guys check to see if all the parts I've selected are compatible with each other?

Rosewill R5604-BK 0.8mm SECC Screw-less Dual 120mm Fans ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811147037

ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131013

EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130318

Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU ATX 12V 2.0 500W Power Supply 115/ 230 V UL, CUL, TUV, FCC, and CB certification - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817153052

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819103191

Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820134192

Western Digital Caviar SE WD5000AAJS 500GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822136178

Total comes out to $833.92 not counting the optical drive that I need to buy since my mom is buying my computer off of me to give to my sister. So...around $850.00

Lasereth · 01-17-2008, 06:26 PM

I would get this ram instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231111

I didn't see that the other one was not DDR2 800. This one is.

Everything else looks good.

LoganSnake · 01-17-2008, 06:30 PM

Heh, beat me to it. Yes, I've just noticed that the RAM isn't 800. I don't know that brand, so I went with this Kingston. Think it will be any good? The price is the same, I'm just familiar with the brand.

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820134117

Lasereth · 01-17-2008, 06:33 PM

Yeah it will be fine. G. Skill is pretty awesome though. I took a risk with buying them a year ago and it paid off...completely stable ram and has a good reputation on NewEgg now. Kingston is as awesome as ever though.

LoganSnake · 01-17-2008, 06:34 PM

So, the final question before I input my credit card number.

How well will that rig run games?

Lasereth · 01-17-2008, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoganSnake

So, the final question before I input my credit card number.

How well will that rig run games?

As good as you can expect with the best of today's hardware. In other words, any game but Crysis with every setting maxed out.

LoganSnake · 01-17-2008, 06:55 PM

Sweeet.

Thanks for the help guys.

Dragonlich · 01-18-2008, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lasereth

That case is WAY more than my combo. $150 usually but on sale for $130 at newegg. If he has the money then he can get it, but when you're on a really small budget, putting a lot of money into the case is unreasonable if you have to sacrifice performance because of it. In my opinion, unless you have a huge budget, your biggest budget allocation should go into the absolute best CPU and videocard in your budget range.

You're kidding; 150 dollars??? You can get it for 100 Euros over here. In the olde days, the amount in dollars was the same as the amount in Euros (as in: 150 dollars = 150 euros).
I knew the dollar has gone down a lot... I just didn't know it was that bad.

MiSo · 01-19-2008, 04:13 AM

this is a great barebones system here.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...=P450-9102%20J

LOOK AT THIS VALUE! Our Price: $523.99
XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard - Qty: 1 $149.99
Intel C2Q Q6600 2.40GHz OEM - Qty: 1 $259.99
Corsair 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 - Qty: 1 $53.99
CoolerMaster CM690 ATX Mid-Tower Case - Qty: 1 $79.99
Ultra 600-W PSU - Qty: 1 $54.99
‡You Save $74.96
*Before Rebate

all you need are the hard drives, cpu cooler, and video card.
the quad core q6600 is a freakin beast!!

LoganSnake · 01-19-2008, 07:26 AM

Thanks for the suggestion, but with the stuff I've selected added to it, it comes out to be more expensive than the system I built on NewEgg. I haven't ordered anything yet because people keep telling me to go for Core2Duo.

As it happens, while the CPU itself is more expensive than that 6400+, the motherboard is cheaper, so it balances out.

The ones I went with are

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128059

and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115029

The E6750 also beats 6400+ in various benchmarks from what I can see. However, I'm doing more research and comparing components.

Dragonlich · 01-20-2008, 12:19 AM

That motherboard and processor aren't bad at all.
One thing: I don't know if you want RAID, but it doesn't look like the motherboard supports it; I could be wrong, however.

LoganSnake · 01-20-2008, 07:42 AM

No, not looking to RAID or SLI in the future.

Lasereth · 01-21-2008, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoganSnake

Thanks for the suggestion, but with the stuff I've selected added to it, it comes out to be more expensive than the system I built on NewEgg. I haven't ordered anything yet because people keep telling me to go for Core2Duo.

As it happens, while the CPU itself is more expensive than that 6400+, the motherboard is cheaper, so it balances out.

The ones I went with are

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128059

and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115029

The E6750 also beats 6400+ in various benchmarks from what I can see. However, I'm doing more research and comparing components.

Yeah I didn't see that you added a $140 AMD motherboard to the other order. Holy hell, that's enough added money to allow a Core 2 Duo like you did. You made the right choice with the Core 2 Duo if you can afford it.

01-17-2008, 10:30 AM	#1 (permalink)
LoganSnake We work alone Location: Cake Town	Build Me a Computer My budget is $600. I've been out of the PC market loop for nearly two years now and have no idea what good parts to get to build a good machine. All I know is that I want a Core 2 Duo, at least 2 gigs of ram, two hard drives (one small 10,000 RPM for system and programs and one large for data storage 500+GB). Video card is important as well. I want it to play any game out right now, but it shouldn't be over $250. I hear 8800GT is great. Any help would be appreciated. I need everything since my machine is old enough to not be upgradeable anymore. __________________ Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

01-17-2008, 11:21 AM	#3 (permalink)
LoganSnake We work alone Location: Cake Town	I have an AMD right now, so I don't mind the company. However, I keep hearing that Core2Duo is much better than any AMD. However, if in the $150 price range, AMD trumps Intel, I don't mind continuing using AMD chips. __________________ Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

01-17-2008, 11:23 AM	#4 (permalink)
Dragonlich 42, baby! Location: The Netherlands	I'm thinking about getting a new computer too, and have been doing some research. My potential new computer is going to be something like this: 1 INTEL Core2Duo E8400 (S775 - 1333MHz - 2x3 MB) 3,0Ghz 1 ASUS P5K-E WiFi-AP (iP35 - S775) 1 PC2-6400 - 2 GBx2 - DDR2 (brand to be determined) 1 MSI NX8800 GT Silent - 512 MB - PCIe - TV+2xDVI 1 Antec P182 (no PSU) 1 600 Watt PSU - Zalman ZM600-HP (or Corsair 650/750W) 2 Samsung 500 GB HD501LJ (SATA300 - 16 MB) 1 Arctic Freezer 7 Pro (Socket 775) 1 DVD±RW Samsung SH-S203D/BEBN - SATA - black 1 Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64B- OEM 1 Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Xtreme Audio-PCIe 1 Disk drive (for Raid setup) and/or card reader Notes: * I doubt the 10K harddisk is going to do much; 2x500Gb in raid should have the same performance. (and even that is probably useless in games!) * The ASUS P5K motherboard is one of many options. I read it has problems with RAID, so I might pick another. * The MSI nx8800GT is more expensive than regular 8800GT's, but it's supposedly silent, which is a bit pro for me. I don't know if it's any good, though... Still thinking about it. I could also get an Asus card. * You could get another case if you don't like the high price; I was going to get it because it's quiet. * The X-Fi sound card probably isn't needed, but it's not too expensive, so why not. * I already have two good TFT screens, a good 5.1 speaker system, and a good keyboard and mouse. If you don't, you'll need to add those. * I dunno how much it's going to be where you live, but in the Netherlands, I'm looking at about 1300 to 1400 Euros. ===== Ah, just saw your budget... hmm, not even close to what I'll be spending. You'll have to make some cuts then. - you could drop the second 500 Gb harddisk, and get one 750 Gb for a bit more. Or get one 500 Gb HDD. - Get a cheaper motherboard and CPU. AMD might be an option. - not so much computer case, less PSU. - 2 Gb memory instead of 4. - perhaps get a nvidia 8600GT, or a similar ATI card. Last edited by Dragonlich; 01-17-2008 at 11:26 AM..

01-17-2008, 11:27 AM	#5 (permalink)
LoganSnake We work alone Location: Cake Town	I have optical drives, but they're IDE. Can I still use them in the new machine or do I need new ones? I might be able to swing $700. My b-day's next week and I'm expecting some money coming my way. Also, I've never used RAID. What are the advantages of having 2 HDs in RAID 0? So they show up as a single 1TB hard drive? Also, if one fails, does the other fail too resulting in a massive loss of data? __________________ Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

01-17-2008, 11:39 AM	#7 (permalink)
LoganSnake We work alone Location: Cake Town	I have a full 120GB internal hard drive and a nearly full (20GB left) external 250GB. The room is definitely an issue. I would prefer not RAIDing the hard drives. Some files I have are singular in in case something fails, I'll be SOL. I have many original AI and PSD files. __________________ Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

01-17-2008, 11:11 AM	#2 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	At the price point you're talking about it's much more feasible to get an Athlon 64. At the sub $150 market AMD controls the price to performance ratio. You can't really afford to spend more than $150 on a CPU so I have to recommend AMD. You're also gonna be stretched to include a 10,000 RPM drive. Raptors are $150 for the "small" ones. Are you willing to go AMD and go without a 10k RPM drive?

01-17-2008, 11:47 AM	#9 (permalink)
Dragonlich 42, baby! Location: The Netherlands	Given that you already have optical drives, I'd suggest you get a bigger harddisk; 500GB shouldn't be a problem. And perhaps you could get an Antec Sonata III case with 500W PSU; that's probably the same price as Lasereth's case+PSU, but might be better.

01-17-2008, 11:47 AM	#10 (permalink)
LoganSnake We work alone Location: Cake Town	I have a 420W power supply, but I was told that it will not work in the new system because the connectors are different. If I can use it, then subtract that from the cost as well as the optical drive. I would like a faster CPU. Less upgrading in the future. Will Antec Sonata III provide adequate cooling? It doesn't seem to have any side or top fans. __________________ Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

01-17-2008, 12:41 PM	#12 (permalink)
robot_parade Junkie Location: San Antonio, TX	Darn, wish I'd seen this thread a little earlier. I had essentially the same constraints - around 600-800 (including monitor). The only difference is that this is specifically a system 'for the kids'. I fiddled around on newegg for awhile, then came across this dell one: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...=DDDWDD3&s=dhs Which seemed pretty good for $700. Damn you, dell. (The link probably won't work forever, so here's the specs: Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E4500 (2MB L2 Cache,2.20GHz,800 FSB) 20 inch E207WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs 320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ 16X DVD+/-RW Drive Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 I probably could've done better self-building, but I'm no longer 'up' on the hardware enough to be certain of not screwing it up. I didn't even think of asking here on TFP. The CPU could be a little faster, and the video is of course just intel. But the kids aren't into the 3d games yet, so anything more at this point would be a waste. Plus, 20" monitor - damn. I probably could've gone with lasereth's wishlist, pulled back on the video card a bit, and slapped a decent monitor on there and still stayed under $700. Ah well.

01-17-2008, 06:09 PM	#17 (permalink)
LoganSnake We work alone Location: Cake Town	Okay, I've decided to break my budget and make a worthy upgrade. God knows I'll upgrade again in 4-5 years like I did with this one. Can you guys check to see if all the parts I've selected are compatible with each other? Rosewill R5604-BK 0.8mm SECC Screw-less Dual 120mm Fans ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811147037 ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131013 EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130318 Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU ATX 12V 2.0 500W Power Supply 115/ 230 V UL, CUL, TUV, FCC, and CB certification - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817153052 AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819103191 Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820134192 Western Digital Caviar SE WD5000AAJS 500GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822136178 Total comes out to $833.92 not counting the optical drive that I need to buy since my mom is buying my computer off of me to give to my sister. So...around $850.00 __________________ Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

01-17-2008, 06:26 PM	#18 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	I would get this ram instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231111 I didn't see that the other one was not DDR2 800. This one is. Everything else looks good.

01-17-2008, 06:30 PM	#19 (permalink)
LoganSnake We work alone Location: Cake Town	Heh, beat me to it. Yes, I've just noticed that the RAM isn't 800. I don't know that brand, so I went with this Kingston. Think it will be any good? The price is the same, I'm just familiar with the brand. http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820134117 __________________ Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

01-17-2008, 06:33 PM	#20 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	Yeah it will be fine. G. Skill is pretty awesome though. I took a risk with buying them a year ago and it paid off...completely stable ram and has a good reputation on NewEgg now. Kingston is as awesome as ever though.

01-17-2008, 06:34 PM	#21 (permalink)
LoganSnake We work alone Location: Cake Town	So, the final question before I input my credit card number. How well will that rig run games? __________________ Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

01-17-2008, 06:55 PM	#23 (permalink)
LoganSnake We work alone Location: Cake Town	Sweeet. Thanks for the help guys. __________________ Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

01-19-2008, 04:13 AM	#25 (permalink)
MiSo Psycho	this is a great barebones system here. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...=P450-9102%20J LOOK AT THIS VALUE! Our Price: $523.99 XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard - Qty: 1 $149.99 Intel C2Q Q6600 2.40GHz OEM - Qty: 1 $259.99 Corsair 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 - Qty: 1 $53.99 CoolerMaster CM690 ATX Mid-Tower Case - Qty: 1 $79.99 Ultra 600-W PSU - Qty: 1 $54.99 ‡You Save $74.96 Before Rebate all you need are the hard drives, cpu cooler, and video card. the quad core q6600 is a freakin beast!! Last edited by MiSo; 01-19-2008 at 04:19 AM..*

01-19-2008, 07:26 AM	#26 (permalink)
LoganSnake We work alone Location: Cake Town	Thanks for the suggestion, but with the stuff I've selected added to it, it comes out to be more expensive than the system I built on NewEgg. I haven't ordered anything yet because people keep telling me to go for Core2Duo. As it happens, while the CPU itself is more expensive than that 6400+, the motherboard is cheaper, so it balances out. The ones I went with are http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128059 and http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115029 The E6750 also beats 6400+ in various benchmarks from what I can see. However, I'm doing more research and comparing components. __________________ Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

01-20-2008, 12:19 AM	#27 (permalink)
Dragonlich 42, baby! Location: The Netherlands	That motherboard and processor aren't bad at all. One thing: I don't know if you want RAID, but it doesn't look like the motherboard supports it; I could be wrong, however.

01-20-2008, 07:42 AM	#28 (permalink)
LoganSnake We work alone Location: Cake Town	No, not looking to RAID or SLI in the future. __________________ Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques