$200 to spend on Mobo, CPU and RAM

[pabeader]

Just wondering what the group thought would be my best bets? My only preferences are AMD CPU and 512+ MB memory.

My primary use is for moderate gaming... SIMs 2 is what I am trying for...

Doesn't have to be HOT! just better then what I have.

Current system:
MSI MS-6195
AMD Athlon 750 (oc'd to 900)
NVIDIA GeForce2 MX/MX 400


Have fun with this one!!


Thanks

 

[jlbenedict]

If you can push it to $213.00, here is a recommendation:

MSI RS480M-IL ATI Express 200 (Socket 754) - $86.00

AMD Sempron 64 2800+ Palermo (Socket 754) - $75.01

PQI POWER Series (2 x 256MB) 512MB Dual Channel PC3200 - $42.51

$212.35, with shipping..

the motherboard also has onboard ATI X300 based graphics.. with the option for a PCI Express card later on..
These three parts are new, retail parts.. you don't have to resort to second hand "pass me down" parts from the for sale forums... Not too bad for a tad over $200 bucks... 64 bit processing ready.. and the main thing.. it kills what you have now

 

[pabeader]

From?

You seem to have left out the store?


Thanks

 

[DaveSimmons]

^ nice work (store is probably newegg.com)

Another option is the new Geforce 6100 motherboard from Biostar, it has onboard nvidia "6100" graphics instead of ATI and is $65 shipped instead of $86:

edit: and get 1 x 512 DDR PC3200 instead of 2 x 256 (thanks thecoolnessrune)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138266
( BIOSTAR GEFORCE 6100-M7 Socket 754 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - Model #: GEFORCE 6100-M7 - Item #: N82E16813138266 )

It has one PCI-E too, the drawback is only 2 x PCI slots and (more serious) only 2 DDR RAM slots. So to upgrade RAM you'd need to sell your sticks instead of just adding more.

AT looks at 6100

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Socket 754 doesn't support Dual Channel I believe.

 

[pabeader]

I can't believe I missed that motherboard!! I spent over an hour on MSI's site and didn't even think to look at that one!! What a turkey I am.

Thanks for the lift in my spirits.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
Socket 754 doesn't support Dual Channel I believe.

Good catch -- so start with 1 x 512 and the nvidia motherboard will allow upgrading RAM later to 1 GB or 1.5.

 

[Greenman]

nm

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
Socket 754 doesn't support Dual Channel I believe.

You are correct... my bad

 

[jlbenedict]

the MSI board only has 2 dimm slots also... so, the previous recommendation on the motherboard is a good one too... it actually assist with your budget even more..

BIOSTAR GEFORCE 6100-M7 Socket 754 - $61.00

TwinMOS 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 - $41.75

AMD Sempron 64 3000+ Palermo 800MHz FSB Socket 754 Processor - $91.00

$202.56 shipped..
We was able to bump your CPU up another speed bin, with the savings on the motherboard.
Even better deal

 

[DasFox]

pabeader, well what do you want a AMD 32 or 64 bit system? Forget AMD 754s those are dead, 939 is the only way to go for a AMD 64.

 

[mOeeOm]

Originally posted by: DasFox
pabeader, well what do you want a AMD 32 or 64 bit system? Forget AMD 754s those are dead, 939 is the only way to go for a AMD 64.

''$200 to spend on Mobo, CPU and RAM''

Care to show a place that well sell a socket 939 mobo + amd64 cpu + ram for $200?

 

[Excelsior]

I can vouch for that motherboard. Just built a system with that motherboard and processor and 2x 512MB PQI sticks and the whole thing was painless. Have yet to experience even a blip on he radar screeen..it runs reat.

jbenedict: does the fact that the 3000+ only has 128K cache make a difference? i thought it might.

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: DasFox
pabeader, well what do you want a AMD 32 or 64 bit system? Forget AMD 754s those are dead, 939 is the only way to go for a AMD 64.

754 is far from dead. If it was dead, NForce 4 based motherboards wouldn't be shipping to this day.

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: Excelsior
I can vouch for that motherboard. Just built a system with that motherboard and processor and 2x 512MB PQI sticks and the whole thing was painless. Have yet to experience even a blip on he radar screeen..it runs reat.

jbenedict: does the fact that the 3000+ only has 128K cache make a difference? i thought it might.

It probably does, between the two different CPU's.. but the OP would be comparing this to his current CPU, the original Athlon.
I have no experience with the 128k Palermo.. but I'm sure it would be quite an upgrade, from what he has now.

 

[DasFox]

No not for $200 but I think $74.50 over his cost for a 939 is much wiser:

MSI:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813130491

Corsair ValueRam:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145026

A little light on the RAM side here to keep the cost down until you can afford another stick of this. I personally use this ram in a low end gaming box and it's tough to beat for the cost, until you want to possibly dish out more later then for higher end gaming memory and if you're not going to being doing anything really hardcore then another stick of this for 1GB memory at another $44.50 for a total of $89 is way tough to beat.

AMD 64:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103537

Now $74 over the projected $200 is GREAT value!


Also look at the AMD roadmap, the Venice AMD 64 I suggest is 2nd under the "San Diego" under "Desktops' now we're talking a CPU that's in the latest additions with some room to grow.

AMD RoadMap:
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_608,00.html

 

[jlbenedict]

The OP stated $200. If that is the budget, then a socket 754 solution, with integrated video may be the best choice. The OP did state it doen't have to be "hot", just "better than what I have"..


You have proposed something that is pushing the $300 realm... in addtion, the OP will most likely have to purchase another power supply to run that base system, in addtion to a PCIe based graphic solution.
His Nvidia Geforce 2mx isn't going to exactly fit quite nicely in that Neo4 board

 

[Kogan]

You guys aren't trying hard enough! Check this out:

$46 939 agp motherboard:
http://www.chiefvalue.com/app/productde...9R&ATT=Motherboards&CMP=OTC-pr1c3watch

-or-

$44 ECS (eww) pci-e nforce4 motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135177R


$44 512mb PQI ram:
http://www.memoryexpousa.com/pqipc51ddr40.html
(check pricewatch.com for more brands/retailers)

$100 A64 3000+ used:
#1 http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=45&threadid=1704253&enterthread=y
#2 http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=45&threadid=1703827&enterthread=y
And many more in the FS forum for around this price.


There ya go. $188 shipped for the cheapest option.

Edit: and a GF2MX sucks ass for sims2. You might want to go for a cheaper AXP or Sempron system and spend the extra on upgrading your video card to at least a 9800pro (around $90 used). Hell, I'm selling an axp 2.2ghz + high-quality motherboard for $90 shipped in my forsale forum. All you'd need is some ddr ram

 

[pabeader]

Perfer AMD 64-bit upgradability. (Sempron 64?) Socket 754

So what is the better choice? ATI express 200 or Nvidia 6100?

Had a bad experience with ATI a loooong time ago.

Is there a review/comparison somewhere that I can read? The one I found here is for 6100-939 not 754.


Thanks folks!!

 

[jlbenedict]

Sempron 64, is 64-bit on a budget, but is only available in Socket 754 format.
When socket M2 arrives, S754 will most likely die out, and the budget line will be the S939 line of products.

For longetivity and upgradability, Socket 939 is the way to go, right now.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: pabeader
Is there a review/comparison somewhere that I can read? The one I found here is for 6100-939 not 754.

Performance should be similar, and better than the ATI at everying except Half-Life 2 / Source games. The built in video is 3-4 times as fast as your current card but is really just to let you do some gaming until you can afford a $150 6600GT.

64-bit doesn't really matter for a few more years at least, and the Unreal 2004 benchmarks show it running slower with a 64-bit build in Win64 than a 32-bit build in Win32.

If you can spend $250-300 instead of $200 then an A64 3000+ venice socket 939 and matching motherboard is a good choice (and maybe 10% faster than the Sempron 3000+). FYI newegg does carry the 939 version of the Biostar too if you want the built-in video.

 

[Remedy]

I agree with Dave's post above. But, if you're really on a $200 budget. Alot can be done on $200 with oem products. Buying used maybe another way to go, but that's the alternative to choose when retail products are out of your budget. Wesley's article on the RS482 and the Nforce 6100/6150 chipsets may open your eyes a bit (others on this forum as well).

With the 6100 chipset from Biostar currently, you can actually spin off system for $200.

Biostar 6100 motherboard$58.50

Sempron 2600+ $61

512MB PC3200 $41 or $82 1GB PC3200

So total $160 for bundle with 512MB PC3200 or $201.50 for bundle with 1GB PC3200.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: ReMeDy{WcS}
I agree with Dave's post above. But, if you're really on a $200 budget. Alot can be done on $200 with oem products. Buying used maybe another way to go, but that's the alternative to choose when retail products are out of your budget. Wesley's article on the RS482 and the Nforce 6100/6150 chipsets may open your eyes a bit (others on this forum as well).

With the 6100 chipset from Biostar currently, you can actually spin off system for $200.

Biostar 6100 motherboard$58.50

Sempron 2600+ $61

512MB PC3200 $41 or $82 1GB PC3200

So total $160 for bundle with 512MB PC3200 or $201.50 for bundle with 1GB PC3200.

Mwave is a reliable vendor and this would save a few dollars over newegg. I'd spend the exta $7 for the Sempron 2800+ over the 2600+ though (mwave)

 

[pabeader]

Well it looks like Mwave is getting the order!!

I really appreciate the effort you folks put to this. I get to stay in budget and even get a "new" mobo. Yeah!!


Again, Thanks!!

 

[pabeader]

Oh Oh!!

I DL'd a copy of the manual and it mentions/shows a second (square) power plug. Am I going to need to provide power to this plug???

My current psu doesn't have a plug like that.


Please advise ASAP.


Thanks