Advice on MB, CPU,GPU purchase

[mundane]

My neighbor is looking to upgrade from his current HP system (~900 mHz) to something that can play today's and tomorrow's games, with decent room for future upgrading. I've recommended the nForce series, but it's been a while since I've researched the topic.

What would you recomend for him? He's looking to spend ~900 for an entire system minus a monitor. He'll need an MB, CPU, RAM, Video, etc. I guess what advice we'll need is for the CPU/MB combo, and a decent video card. I'm leaning towards AMD, and nforce 3 w/ athlon 64 if he can swing the cost, but that's just a gut reaction, and they're still a little pricey.

He only uses the computer for a) FPS multiplayer games (Call of Duty, BF1942), b) listening to music, and c) surfing the internet.

Thanks,
Josh

 

[Breezie]

amd's 64 3000+ is a good deal mixed in with a nice abit (maybe nf7?) or asus mobo -- go scout out newegg.com

OR

the P4 2.8c, 800mhz FSB is estimated to drop 20% in price in the next week so maybe that'll be to your liking depending if you're in to amd or intel i guess for this the Asus P4P800 seems to be a stable choice for an affordable mobo --



---

combine those with 512 to a GB of Geil Value Series PC3200 ram ($75 each), a nice Antec Case with PSU (under $80) and of course a decent video card like the 9800NP selling for under $200 or the FX 5900 non ultra (o/c to a 5950 ULTRA) for under $180, and you should be set~

 

[mundane]

Awesome =) Thanks for the advice and quick reply, he's really eager to get this stuff.

-Josh

 

[Bonesdad]

I'd say an A64 is overkill for the needs you listed. Consider just an NForce2 motherboard (NF7 is good) with a Barton chip (2500+ is the sweetspot for price/performance right now). Get a good cooler for it, so when he wants another upgrade he can just OC the 2500+ to 3200+ speeds. Put 512 or a gig of PC3200 memory on it and throw on a 9800Pro and he will be set for any upcoming games. He need a new case and upgrade of OS?

 

[mundane]

He just went out and bought XP, since he was having serious issues with ME. As for a case, I'm recommending a new one, since his current machine is an HP.

His main concern is upgradability of the new system. His current system has served its life span, and he wants to be able to just pop in new components when the time comes, and not go out and get a new MB, etc. Personally, for me, the nforce2 is fine, but I'm very budget-minded.

I'm not sure about OCing, I've only done it unintentionally before, and he'd probably want something maintainence free.

I'll also pass along the nForce2 suggestion, like you voted for. Thanks for the input, I'll see what he says.

-Josh

 

[Markfw]

Athlon64 3000+ retail with HSF $227
Gigabyte motherboard $100
Memory (hard to say, anywhere from $92-$140 whatever you want to spend)
Case, various, $70 local for an Antec with a 300 watt PSU
HD Maxtor 80 gig 7200 rpm IDE $73, or SATA $75
CD and floppy $35 about
Video card Radeon 9700 pro $202

Total $821 (about depending on memory,case choices, CD and had)
This is close, and still leaves room to stay in budget

 

[GreatDaleness]

Originally posted by: diegoalcatraz
He just went out and bought XP, since he was having serious issues with ME. As for a case, I'm recommending a new one, since his current machine is an HP.

His main concern is upgradability of the new system. His current system has served its life span, and he wants to be able to just pop in new components when the time comes, and not go out and get a new MB, etc. Personally, for me, the nforce2 is fine, but I'm very budget-minded.

I'm not sure about OCing, I've only done it unintentionally before, and he'd probably want something maintainence free.

I'll also pass along the nForce2 suggestion, like you voted for. Thanks for the input, I'll see what he says.

-Josh

Shuttle AN35N Ultra for $63
Barton 2500+ for $90
256X2 PC3200 for $82
GeforceFX 5900$175
Audigy2$74
Klipsch ProMedia ultra 5.1 Personal Audio System $359
case $63

Total: $906
Reuse the CD, Floppy, and HD from the HP.

 

[splice]

Originally posted by: GreatDaleness

Originally posted by: diegoalcatraz
He just went out and bought XP, since he was having serious issues with ME. As for a case, I'm recommending a new one, since his current machine is an HP.

His main concern is upgradability of the new system. His current system has served its life span, and he wants to be able to just pop in new components when the time comes, and not go out and get a new MB, etc. Personally, for me, the nforce2 is fine, but I'm very budget-minded.

I'm not sure about OCing, I've only done it unintentionally before, and he'd probably want something maintainence free.

I'll also pass along the nForce2 suggestion, like you voted for. Thanks for the input, I'll see what he says.

-Josh

Shuttle AN35N Ultra for $63
Barton 2500+ for $90
256X2 PC3200 for $82
GeforceFX 5900$175
Audigy2$74
Klipsch ProMedia ultra 5.1 Personal Audio System $359
case $63

Total: $906
Reuse the CD, Floppy, and HD from the HP.

Lol, the speakers you chose are over 1/3 of the cost. Better off buying a cheaper set of speakers and getting a DVD+-RW drive and more RAM

 

[mundane]

I should've specified, this guy already has a nice 7.1 system, and a M-Audio Revolution. =)

And thanks for all the input. I'll run those by him this weekend, before the game. He has more options than I realized.

 

[1ManArmY]

Have him wait til next week when Intel releases their new chip and price reductions on existing Intel chips (35%) and AMD to adjust their prices accordingly.

 

[Bonesdad]

Originally posted by: GreatDaleness

Originally posted by: diegoalcatraz
He just went out and bought XP, since he was having serious issues with ME. As for a case, I'm recommending a new one, since his current machine is an HP.

His main concern is upgradability of the new system. His current system has served its life span, and he wants to be able to just pop in new components when the time comes, and not go out and get a new MB, etc. Personally, for me, the nforce2 is fine, but I'm very budget-minded.

I'm not sure about OCing, I've only done it unintentionally before, and he'd probably want something maintainence free.

I'll also pass along the nForce2 suggestion, like you voted for. Thanks for the input, I'll see what he says.

-Josh

Shuttle AN35N Ultra for $63
Barton 2500+ for $90
256X2 PC3200 for $82
GeforceFX 5900$175
Audigy2$74
Klipsch ProMedia ultra 5.1 Personal Audio System $359
case $63

Total: $906
Reuse the CD, Floppy, and HD from the HP.

Wow....not what I would do...$359 for speakers?

How bout this:

Shuttle AN35N - Ultra $63
Antec SLK3700-BQE $77 (comes with 350W PSU) - It's black tho...current machine probably beige...look also at the slk2600.
Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800 Pro $229
Buffalo 512 MB PC3200 DDR RAM $79
CDRW/DVD Combo (black) $58
80GB WD Hard Drive $40-50 if you buy at Office Max with Rebate - run about every other week there
floppy (black) $10
AMD 2500+ Athlon XP Barton $90 (retail)

Total : around $700 with shipping. For a completely new box...

 

[GreatDaleness]

Originally posted by: Bonesdad

Originally posted by: GreatDaleness

Originally posted by: diegoalcatraz
He just went out and bought XP, since he was having serious issues with ME. As for a case, I'm recommending a new one, since his current machine is an HP.

His main concern is upgradability of the new system. His current system has served its life span, and he wants to be able to just pop in new components when the time comes, and not go out and get a new MB, etc. Personally, for me, the nforce2 is fine, but I'm very budget-minded.

I'm not sure about OCing, I've only done it unintentionally before, and he'd probably want something maintainence free.

I'll also pass along the nForce2 suggestion, like you voted for. Thanks for the input, I'll see what he says.

-Josh

Shuttle AN35N Ultra for $63
Barton 2500+ for $90
256X2 PC3200 for $82
GeforceFX 5900$175
Audigy2$74
Klipsch ProMedia ultra 5.1 Personal Audio System $359
case $63

Total: $906
Reuse the CD, Floppy, and HD from the HP.

Wow....not what I would do...$359 for speakers?

How bout this:

Shuttle AN35N - Ultra $63
Antec SLK3700-BQE $77 (comes with 350W PSU) - It's black tho...current machine probably beige...look also at the slk2600.
Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800 Pro $229
Buffalo 512 MB PC3200 DDR RAM $79
CDRW/DVD Combo (black) $58
80GB WD Hard Drive $40-50 if you buy at Office Max with Rebate - run about every other week there
floppy (black) $10
AMD 2500+ Athlon XP Barton $90 (retail)

Total : around $700 with shipping. For a completely new box...

I agree with this, except for two things. I would get Mushkin or Corsair memory, and I would get 2x512 for 1GB or 2X256 instead of a single channel. It doesn't make much difference, but it does make some difference.

 

[mundane]

Thanks everyone for your responses, he's thrilled at the amount of advice generated. Looks like he'll be holding off (as suggested) until the prices drop. Not sure if he'll go with the Barton or the 64, he'd really like the room for expansion.

 

[Dman877]

Originally posted by: diegoalcatraz
He just went out and bought XP, since he was having serious issues with ME. As for a case, I'm recommending a new one, since his current machine is an HP.

His main concern is upgradability of the new system. His current system has served its life span, and he wants to be able to just pop in new components when the time comes, and not go out and get a new MB, etc. Personally, for me, the nforce2 is fine, but I'm very budget-minded.

I'm not sure about OCing, I've only done it unintentionally before, and he'd probably want something maintainence free.

I'll also pass along the nForce2 suggestion, like you voted for. Thanks for the input, I'll see what he says.

-Josh

The way chipsets and sockets are going these days that's not really feasible unless you start at the bottom of a current socket (a.k.a. start with P4 2.4 or XP2400 or something). Definitely don't go AMD for upgradeability atm though. I don't know how long Prescot will use socket 478 but it will definitely offer more upgrade longevity then socket 754 or socket A.