$800 budget, everything but monitor

[shimsham]

-LITE-ON Beige 16X DVD+R 38.00

-SAMSUNG SpinPoint P Series SP1213N 120GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA133 Hard Drive 72.00

-Archtek SmartLink 56PRC 56Kbps PCI Bus (Plug and Play) Modem - Retail 7.50

-EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Mode 95.00

-GIGABYTE GV-NX66T128D Geforce 6600GT 128MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail 143.00

-FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX400-PN ATX12V 400W Power Supply 115/230 V NEMKO, TUV, CSA, IEC, UL, CE - Retail 40.00

-Cyber Acoustics CA-3090 26W 2.1 Speaker - Retail 29.00

-Logitech Internet Pro Desktop 967457-0403 Black 103 Normal Keys 8 Function keys Function Keys PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard Mouse Included - OEM 16.00

-OCZ Premier Value 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail 88.00

-AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 1GHz FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 E6 Processor - Retail 146.00

-Microsoft Windows XP HOME Edition With Service Pack 2 - OEM 92.00

shipping is 40, so it hits right at 812.00.

im building an office/gaming computer for a buddy. hes looking for midrange, and set a budget at 800 sans screen. i already have an older antec case that im going to throw it in.

i havent built in a while, but im sure he wants to go pcie and 939 for a better ugrade path, as he rarely gets a new comp. im staying away from sli as 1)hes not the most tech savvy person, so less tech support from me (the guy sweats over installing drivers), and 2)hes happy playing at medium-high settings, and with 40fps or so.


i already told him by next year he can, and more than likely will want to, upgrade the vid card a few steps. i went with a 3000 to squeeze in speakers and a cheap kb/m combo.

bah, im ramlbing. im basically looking for suggestions. maybe i missed something here, or overlooked a better part for the same cash there. i want to keep it all at one place, so newegg suggestions if possible.

:beer:

 

[PurdueRy]

That links not working...or newegg is just being slow/stupid

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Your link brings up an empty shopping cart🙁

 

[shimsham]

list up.

 

[theMan]

get an epox 9npa+ ultra mobo. are you gonna overclock it for him? that would be a good idea. case?

 

[shimsham]

Originally posted by: theman
get an epox 9npa+ ultra mobo. are you gonna overclock it for him? that would be a good idea. case?

i have a case already for him.

i havent decided on ocing for him or not. that would open up another can of worms as far as his comp savvy goes, and i wouldnt give it to him unless i was sure it was 100% stable. otherwise, any instability and hed be calling me, and walking him through the bios over the phone was hell the last time i did it.

but in the end, im sure ill fool around with it. if not now, in a while when he could use the extra hz on the proc. ill check out that epox if the ocing options/potential is greater. is the price about the same?

 

[GuitarDaddy]

the epox is a better overclocker, its $95 at newegg

 

[ChiBOY83]

Look into finding a student at a university nearby and they can buy XP for $5..thast an easy way for you to make $90 profit right there alone....

 

[shimsham]

okay, switched to the epox. thanks theman, and guitardaddy.

good idea chiboy. ill look into that.


any other comments or suggestions on the hardware, anyone? i think ive pretty much hit as best i can for the budget and what hes asking for.

 

[shimsham]

Originally posted by: shimsham
maybe try this mobo? there is a review on anantech here. would solve your graphics card problem.


if you can order it from newegg, its only 73.00 shipped.

after making this recommendation in another thread, i cant really see any reason why i shouldnt save him some cash and pick up this board.

 

[leigh6]

A little more expensive ($3.00) but the NEC 3540 DVD RW Drive has more positive reviews on Newegg than any other product, period. I have one and it is wonderful.