Building a new computer (for a friend)

[Shortass]

Hey guys. My friend's looking for a nice gaming computer with $1500 to spend. No real loyalties, though he's most likely going the AMD route. He'll be overclocking a decent amount. What's a decent setup? SLI or no? I've been out of the game apparently for too long (With my mobile xp setup), so I'm a little lost. Thanks in advance.

 

[imported_Kensai]

With 1500$, you can't fit a decent SLI setup in there.

Maybe an S939 3000+, nForce4 Ultra system with an x800XL might fit the bill.

 

[Shortass]

That's actually pretty much what I have saved in newegg right now, so I'm glad I at least could get that far. Any specific mobo recommendations?

 

[Lyfer]

Tell him to get an alienware unless you love getting calls at night about system reboots or why he cant get online.

 

[frx218]

I used to build computers for my friends, then I realized its a pain in the ass.

Do some reading I am sure you can build a perfect machine for that price. Or tell him to read it.

 

[UsandThem]

Originally posted by: Lyfer
Tell him to get an alienware unless you love getting calls at night about system reboots or why he cant get online.

For $1500.00, he could probably only buy a monitor at Alienware.

 

[Lyfer]

Originally posted by: frx218
I used to build computers for my friends, then I realized its a pain in the ass.

Do some reading I am sure you can build a perfect machine for that price. Or tell him to read it.

Indeed, unless your friend has some killer knockers, DONT DO IT. Your setting urself up for some major probs. Tell him to get a good book, maybe Anand's hardware book and show him mecborns guide.

 

[theMan]

alienware is an expensive ripoff, plus its fun to build. my rig (in sig) cost $1000. i would go for a 3200+ a 6800gt an msi k8n neo2 plat and a nice power supply. dont need really expensive memory above pc3200.

hey lyfer, like the sig, thats what was on comic book guy's shirt in the simpsons. my friend has one of those shirts...

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: Lyfer

Originally posted by: frx218
I used to build computers for my friends, then I realized its a pain in the ass.

Do some reading I am sure you can build a perfect machine for that price. Or tell him to read it.

Indeed, unless your friend has some killer knockers, DONT DO IT. Your setting urself up for some major probs. Tell him to get a good book, maybe Anand's hardware book and show him mecborns guide.

agreed.

 

[Shortass]

EPoX EP-9NDA3+ Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce3 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $111
Antec Performance I P-160WF Silver 1.2mm Anodized Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - $130
LG GCC-4521BB Ivory IDE Combo Drive - OEM - $38
ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan - Retail - $53
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST3120026AS 120GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM - $100
Logitech Internet Pro Desktop 967457-0403 Black PS/2 Standard Keyboard Mouse Included - OEM - $20
OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) - Retail - $186
ViewSonic VA712B-1 Black 17" 8ms LCD Monitor - Retail - $260
Antec TRUE430 ATX 430W Power Supply - Retail - $75
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Winchester Socket 939 Processor - Retail - $146
Logitech X-230 32 Watts 2.1 Speaker - Retail - $40
POWERCOLOR R42-PD3/R Radeon X800PRO 256MB GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail - $345
Total: $1502

This is just what I quickly cooked up, and I'm pretty sure it might need some work. Any suggestions?

 

[Dyloot]

EDIT: he is overclocking. Nevermind. If this guy plans on OCing, I'd send him to these forums and tell him to start doing some research so he knows what he's buying. If I were you, I would assume no responsibility in parting a system that he's going to tinker with, especially if he doesn't have the knowledge to put together the rig himself.

Dyloot

 

[Shortass]

He's a decent guy with hardware and wants to try to OC to about 3500+ levels, which I assume won't be too difficult with that heatsink.

 

[Dyloot]

Originally posted by: Shortass
He's a decent guy with hardware and wants to try to OC to about 3500+ levels, which I assume won't be too difficult with that heatsink.

Cool, just a little warning, that's all.

Dyloot

 

[Shortass]

Any reccomendations at all? I haven't even thoroughly gone through to look for compatability problems, though once I have some spare time I'll check it out. Improvements are nice, as I have zero experience with AMD64s.

 

[ShadowBlade]

get a dell and a new case, and charge him $1500 for it
you'll probably loose a freind, but youll have about $1100

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

$189 on 1GB of RAM is a LOT. Pick up a pair of 512MB Corsair VS DIMMS. The latencies really don't give that much of a performance increase. CorsairVS should probably be able to hit 250 FSB. If not, you can always run a divider.

 

[flatblastard]

Originally posted by: Shortass
Any reccomendations at all? I haven't even thoroughly gone through to look for compatability problems, though once I have some spare time I'll check it out. Improvements are nice, as I have zero experience with AMD64s.

Well, for $1500 budget, you could probably build a better one than what you've selected so far. I used Monarchcomputer.com for prices. I like their pricing structure, with whole dollar amounts....makes it easier to add it all up in my head without having to count change.
I decided to keep most of what you selected like the case, PSU, monitor, kb/mouse, speakers. Also, you did not list an operating system so I left that out, so here you go:


Antec Performance One P160 ATX Mid-Tower $125
Antec True430 ATX 12V 430W Power Supply $70
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum nF4U 939 Motherboard $137
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Revision E Venice (939) $149
Thermaltake A1772 HSF $49
Corsair TWINX1024-3200XL 1GB (2x512) DDR $185
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 160GB HD SATA $99
NEC ND-3520A 16X Dual Layer DVD±RW $59
ATI (Connect3D) Radeon X800XL 256MB PCI-e $269
ViewSonic 17" VE710B LCD Flat Panel $253
Logitech Cordless Internet Pro Keyboard/Mouse $27
Logitech X-230 2.1 PC Speaker System $38

TOTAL: $1460


If you get the mobo/cpu/ram combo from Monarch, they will throw in FarCry and Half Life 2 for free. They will build the entire rig for you for only $49 more and it still comes with the free games and also Napster for 4 months free. You may want to consider this option because it will have a warranty so you wont have to deal with it if your friend has a problem later down the road.

 

[flatblastard]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
$189 on 1GB of RAM is a LOT. Pick up a pair of 512MB Corsair VS DIMMS. The latencies really don't give that much of a performance increase. CorsairVS should probably be able to hit 250 FSB. If not, you can always run a divider.

:thumbsup: This be true. Also consider that you could bump up to a 3200+ if you downgrade to corsair value ram. You can't get that combo from Monarch though, however, you CAN get the OCZ VX, I believe.

 

[akshayt]

Amd 3200 venice

Motherboard
Asus A8N-E , thought for extreme oc you may take dfi,though asus shouldn't be bad etiher,ask others

512mb X 2 ddr 400 or higher preferably higher ram,ask others abt brand but say ocz

160gb seagate sata 2 ncq,ask others if there is something better

cabinet + decent 450/500 watts ps

dvd -r w + combo/dvd -rw

creative sb live 24bit

256mb geforce 6800gt,or you can wait for next gen or you can take a 128mb geforce 6600 and after 4-5months take a highend card of next gen

optical mouse for good gaming

good gaming kb

crt or lcd
lcd-17"tft or higher ,if possible 19" if you want
crt-17"/19"

speakers ,ask others

 

[flatblastard]

Nice recommendations akshayt, but I think that puts it about $120 over budget, give or take $20.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Originally posted by: flatblastard
Nice recommendations akshayt, but I think that puts it about $120 over budget, give or take $20.

Get a cheap ass CRT and a 6600GT. That should put it in the budget.

 

[akshayt]

try to take a X800 xl atleast if you can't afford more.

are there probs with X800 series?

 

[dguy6789]

If you build a system right, and whoever is going to use the pc knows how to keep the OS in tip top shape, then there is absolutely no reason to buy a prebuilt system.

 

[KoolDrew]

AMD Athlon 64 3200 Venice - $199.00
DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D- $132
Thermalright XP-90 - $29.99
Panaflo 92mm fan
OCZ VAlue VX
Seagate HDD
6800GT
Antec P-160WF


This PSU would be good
http://www.directron.com/fsp55060pln.html

 

[Slik]

CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3500+ SKT 939 Winchester Core - $320.00 link

Motherboard - Asus A8V-Deluxe Via K8T800Pro ATX Rev 2.0 - $114.99 link

Memory - Corsair 3200C2 1GB Latency 2-3-3-6 - $115.00 black or silver
or
Memory - Corsair 3200C2PRO 1GB Latency 2-3-3-6 - $131.00 link

Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar WD800JD 80GB SATA 7200RPM 8MB Buffer - $56.50 link

Video Card - eVGA e-GeForce 6200 AGP 8X 256MB DDR - $119.99 link
or
Video Card - eVGA e-GeForce 6800 LE AGP 8X 256MB DDR - $229.99 link

Power Supply - ULTRA X-Connect 400W ATX - $69.95 black or silver
or
Power Supply - ULTRA X-Connect 500W ATX - $85.59 silver, $84.99 black, $79.99 blue