$750 Budget Build

[Overkill0001]

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ AM2 - $183.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103747

Mobo: ASUS M2V Socket AM2 VIA K8T890 ATX - $82.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131024

Ram: Patriot eXtreme Performance 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - $116.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820220142

GPU: eVGA Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI E x16 - $169.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130283

PSU: FSP AX450-PN, 12cm FAN, 2 SATA, PCI Express, 450W - $51.50

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817104954

HDD: SAMSUNG 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s - $54.99


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822152020

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 ATX Mid Tower - $49.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811119077

TOTAL----------------------------------- $752.78 (Shipped)

*I already have a DVD Drive to use.*

I will most likely wait for DX10 GPUs however, maybe save up a little more and see what Nvidia has to offer in the $200 price range that supports DX10. I am going to be using it mostly for games, but I definitely want Dual core (for future games) and I want it to be as futureproof as possible. (I'm using Socket A and AGP right now, it's painful not to have much upgrade options). I also do not plan on overclocking.

Is there a better setup at that budget?

PS I know Core 2 Duos are really sweet but I'm not sure if it can fit my budget. Anyway the X2 4200+ was pretty much neck in neck with the E6300 on some of the Benchmarks I've seen.

 

[PurdueRy]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103547

The cpu is $183

and your links are broken....and that ram is pretty pricey

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231088

The rest looks good to me

 

[Overkill0001]

Thanks, I fixed the cpu price and the links.

Is Gskill ram compatable with that motherboard?

 

[PurdueRy]

I believe it does.

I would get the NVIDIA version however:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131022

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: Overkill0001
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ AM2 - $183.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103747

Mobo: ASUS M2V Socket AM2 VIA K8T890 ATX - $82.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131024

Ram: Patriot eXtreme Performance 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - $116.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820220142

GPU: eVGA Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI E x16 - $169.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130283

PSU: FSP AX450-PN, 12cm FAN, 2 SATA, PCI Express, 450W - $51.50

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817104954

HDD: SAMSUNG 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s - $54.99


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822152020

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 ATX Mid Tower - $49.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811119077

TOTAL----------------------------------- $752.78 (Shipped)

*I already have a DVD Drive to use.*

I will most likely wait for DX10 GPUs however, maybe save up a little more and see what Nvidia has to offer in the $200 price range that supports DX10. I am going to be using it mostly for games, but I definitely want Dual core (for future games) and I want it to be as futureproof as possible. (I'm using Socket A and AGP right now, it's painful not to have much upgrade options). I also do not plan on overclocking.

Is there a better setup at that budget?

PS I know Core 2 Duos are really sweet but I'm not sure if it can fit my budget. Anyway the X2 4200+ was pretty much neck in neck with the E6300 on some of the Benchmarks I've seen.

With a little more careful planning, for $750, you should build a 7900GT system pretty easy.

Knock precessor down to AMD X2 3800+ - mwave- 149.00, saved $30

GIGABYTE K8NF-9 mwave $69, saved $14
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/ViewProducts...U&DNAME=Motherboard+Bundles+By+AMD+CPU

I would not buy an AM2 system, good ram cost too much and does'nt perform as well as Cheap Ballistix PC3200 running at 2-2-2 1T it's only $99 a gig at newegg. You have to spend $300 in DDR2 to perform like that. Saved $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820148007

XFX e-Geforce 7900 GT KO 256MB - newegg- $224 (After Rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150144

rest is fine:

PSU: FSP AX450-PN, 12cm FAN, 2 SATA, PCI Express, 450W - $51.50

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817104954

HDD: SAMSUNG 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s - $54.99


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822152020

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 ATX Mid Tower - $49.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811119077

=$687 plus shipping

 

[Overkill0001]

After some reconsidering, I came up with some new builds:


Core 2 Duo:


CPU + Mobo: Asus P5NSLI NVIDIA Socket 775 ATX Mobo +Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 - $339.99

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...609&CatId=2406

HSF: Scythe KATANA SCKTN-775 92mm CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink - $19.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185018

Ram: G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) - $96.49

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231088

GPU: eVGA 256-P2-N554-AX Geforce 7600GT KO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 - $165.99 (-$20 rebate)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130017

PSU: COOLMAX CP-500T EPS12V 500W - $49.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817159040

HDD: SAMSUNG 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s - $54.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152020

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 ATX Mid Tower - $49.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119077

TOTAL----------------------------------- $822 (Shipped)(-$20 rebate)



and just for the hell of it, A64 X2:


CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ AM2 - $185.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103747

Mobo: ASUS M2N-E Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 - $94.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131022

Ram: G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) - $96.49

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231088

GPU: eVGA 256-P2-N554-AX Geforce 7600GT KO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 - $165.99 (-$20 rebate)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130017

PSU: COOLMAX CP-500T EPS12V 500W - $49.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817159040

HDD: SAMSUNG 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s - $54.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152020

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 ATX Mid Tower - $49.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119077

TOTAL----------------------------------- $727.37 (Shipped)(-$20 rebate)

So I guess the question now is, Is the extra performance of the E6300 over the X2 4200 worth $100?

Also the Conroe is SLI and the AMD is not, I guess I could get an SLI AM2 Mobo.

 

[bob4432]

imo you would be better off to with a slower cpu and a faster gpu. games are mostly gpu limited, so i would personally beef up the gpu. dx10 cards won't be out for some time and i doubt you will get a decent one for $200 when they do - plus you need to figure out when games are going to utilized dx10.

build your machine so that you don't have to suffer now.

also i would recommend 2GB of ram whicever way you go.