Budget Rig

[stelleg151]

Ok, so my brother's laptop finally died, and he asked me to build him a computer. His budget was under 800, preferrably closer to 700. He is a gamer/general useage user.

As a disclaimer, I realize that I will get flamed for my choice of video card, but before you flame, listen to my logic. First of all, other than using my computer, he has no conception of quality gaming parts. So, I decided to get a decent card and if he feels like he wants to upgrade, he can. Also, since ATI's card are still coming out, and have yet to be fully judged(IMHO), I thought it was a good idea to go cheap now and upgrade when things have settled. Also, he is on a tight budget right now, and although I thought about GTO2, I decided against it, because I couldnt see a viable way to make the cost work out.

Also, please keep in mind that I came up with this in a few hours, which isnt bad considering ive never really been on the lookout for value parts. Also, I didnt have time to look for all the best deals.

Enough rambling, heres the hardware I bought.

Venice 3000+ $146

Chaintech NForce4 Ultra $79 (I know Anandtech didnt love it, but I have it and its rock solid, and cheap)

Apollo 6200 128mb (128 bit) OEM - $59 (ok before flames, I looked around briefly and have seen great percentage of unlocks and OC's, resulting in near-6600gt performance)

Fortron 400w - $40 (dual 12v rails, seems like a great buy)

2x512mb Patriot Value PC3200 $80

160gb Samsung 7800rpm 8mb cache SATA2 HD - $80 (meh was in a hurry didnt feel like looking too long)

NEC 3540 16x DVD Drive - $40

17" Acer AL1714-8 8ms LCD- $209

Total: around 780 shipped 2nd day


Havent chosen a case yet, will buy in person in this weekend.

I figure OC the proc to at least 2.6, unlock and OC the 6200 (hopefully), and we have a very solid very cheap gaming rig.

Also, another note, I have had very bad experiences with MIR's so I stayed away from them.

Please comment, regardless of whether you like it or dont, would like some feedback.

Thanks a bundle community

 

[stelleg151]

Le bump

 

[theMan]

i know it costs more, but if you wanna have a good overclock, you should get the epox 9npa+ ultra. its around $100. its good.

 

[stelleg151]

Im pretty sure that the Chaintech can get there too though, Ive gotten mine to 300mhz stable, and thats all I'll need im pretty sure. Mine doesnt even have a fan on the chipset either .

 

[suicidalpigeon]

operating system(xp home)? dvd burner(benq dw1640)?

 

[alimoalem]

i'm pretty sure u can shop around on the HD and get it for $70 w/out MIR. if he's truly on a budget of under $800, too, why don't u just get a basic case with a PSU from Fry's? they usually have cases with 400w+ PSU (might not be name brand) so you can stay under $800 and get a case.

 

[stelleg151]

Originally posted by: wafflesandsyrup
operating system(xp home)? dvd burner(benq dw1640)?

Woops, forgot to add that to this list. I got the 3540.

 

[stelleg151]

Originally posted by: alimoalem
i'm pretty sure u can shop around on the HD and get it for $70 w/out MIR. if he's truly on a budget of under $800, too, why don't u just get a basic case with a PSU from Fry's? they usually have cases with 400w+ PSU (might not be name brand) so you can stay under $800 and get a case.

Thought about that, but Ive had PSU problems before, and didnt want to stick that on him, so thought a good solid one for cheap was good. Also, I figure well be able to find a decent case for 40 bucks (not too picky), bringing the total for case+ PSU to 80, which strikes me as pretty good.

 

[kleinwl]

If he is truely budget... I would go socket 754 w/ a sempron 2800+

The palmetto cores oc well... and are good value. ~$80 retail.

The other caution is don't expect the venice to OC to 2.6MHZ. That is not common now. It is hit and miss, especially with the E6s. It is totally possible to be limited to a 2.2MHz OC.

Other than that, I think an Antec Solution case would be a good buy. The power supply isn't as good as the Forton... but the case cooling could be much better than some Fry POS case... which would be better IMO.

Use the extra cash to get a nice keyboard/mouse/speaker set up. I think that will have more of an impact on his day to day enjoyment than a few extra MHZ or cpu cycles.

 

[stelleg151]

Originally posted by: kleinwl
If he is truely budget... I would go socket 754 w/ a sempron 2800+

The palmetto cores oc well... and are good value. ~$80 retail.

The other caution is don't expect the venice to OC to 2.6MHZ. That is not common now. It is hit and miss, especially with the E6s. It is totally possible to be limited to a 2.2MHz OC.

Other than that, I think an Antec Solution case would be a good buy. The power supply isn't as good as the Forton... but the case cooling could be much better than some Fry POS case... which would be better IMO.

Use the extra cash to get a nice keyboard/mouse/speaker set up. I think that will have more of an impact on his day to day enjoyment than a few extra MHZ or cpu cycles.

Yeah man definately all good points.

I thought about 754, but dont know much about PCIe boards for 754, which I do want, because as it is now clear, PCIe is all were getting from the graphics card market. I would have done research and gone this path if I hadnt been so restricted by time.

As for the venice note, I sure hope your wrong, Ive heard bad things about E6, but the things I heard werent that bad, and they were from xtremesystems, where if your chip is 100mhz below what the top guy has, its a bad chip. So Ill check into that, I hope your wrong

The antec I thought about, but buying online made shipping a problem, and the antecs that come in those bundles tend to have 20 pin motherboard connecters vs 24 pin. I had a 20 pin with my chaintech and had huge problems, so I feel safer going 24 pin even though many say 20 pin is ok. Also, I feel confident I can find a decent case at some computer store in greater seattle area that has 120mm fan slots for a reasonable price.

Thanks a lot for the replies guys, keep em coming.