Building a new computer

[Junin]

I'm building a new computer, and I have under $1000 to spend.

Let me know what you think of this.

Pentium 4 2.4c -- $183
Asus P4P800 motherboard -- $144
2x Corsair 512meg PC3200 -- $158
WD 40gig HDD 7200rpm -- $60
Enermax case with 350watt Power Up PSU -- $50
MSI Ti4200 (8x agp) -- $136


I'm pretty stuck on getting an Intel, and the Ti4200 is going to replace my 9700 Pro in my old computer, and the 9700 Pro is going in this one.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Cogman]

you need fans, a monitor, heatsink? (Intels Retail heatsink will work), mouse, keyboard, speakers, and a sound card. Happy hunting. Also is the case coming with a psu?

 

[Cogman]

also, what about an os? if your using a microsoft one it is about $90. and is this going to be a gaming system? if so you will also need a joystick.

 

[Junin]

Well, I really wasn't talking about the details so much as the overall. I'll be reusing parts for those that are not on the list, with the exception of the heatsink.

Do I need a better-than-stock heatsink?

 

[Novgrod]

it's a little crazy to me that you're dropping nearly $200 for a cpu and $150 for a motherboard, then you're putting in a 40 gig harddrive, but hey that's just me.

 

[Junin]

Truthfully, I don't use much of my 80 gig HDD now, much less my 40 gig slave.
If I need more space, the computers will be networked anyway.

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: Junin
Well, I really wasn't talking about the details so much as the overall. I'll be reusing parts for those that are not on the list, with the exception of the heatsink.

Do I need a better-than-stock heatsink?

I ran a 2.4b@3ghz at 50C under load with the retail heatsink and fan.

 

[andyfasthands]

Great choices. I believe retail HSF will work fine unless you try pushing the clock over 3.0GHz

*edit* What brand is that PSU? Enermax?

 

[Totti]

Are you buying Value Select ram?
You might want to spend a bit more to buy the XMS pc3200.
Those aren't that much more expensive but corsair qualified them for dual-channel.

You'll be able to run more aggressive timings/MAM on the p4p800.
XMS is CL2 and Value Select is CL2.5
XMS is only $95 for a stick of 512MB at newegg.... definitely worth the extra $15 IMO.
(wished we had ram that cheap in Canada =P)

 

[Junin]

The case is an Enermax case, but the PSU says - 350watt Power Up.
I kind of assumed that Enermax would put an Enermax PSU in their case. Is Power Up made by Enermax?


I think I will go with the XMS Ram, Totti.

And I am ordering a Thermaltake Dragon Orb for $25 instead of stock cooling.

 

[Junin]

bump

 

[OverVolt]

I like the intel stock cooling myself, mine runs VERY close to room temp,(w/ in 2C or so) but i have more than 200cfm running rhought my case with 7case fans (not very loud, like a whiper cuz there all >2500rpm)

Okay, now with a PSU, don't skimp on quality its the last thing you wanna go cheap on, other than RAM, corsair is a really good choice. If you don't need the storage space, you know you can try getting a WD Raptor if you can fit it in your budget, the P4P800 has SATA.

 

[Regs]

Saphire 9500 pro for 150-180 dollars. So you will have little brother on the older pc

 

[overclockerking]

Forget that RAM, you can pick some pc2100 266mb for free at Officemax. And if you want two, since the rebates only allow 1 rebate per person, have somebody else go through, and pay with cash while you pay with credit card.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: overclockerking
Forget that RAM, you can pick some pc2100 266mb for free at Officemax. And if you want two, since the rebates only allow 1 rebate per person, have somebody else go through, and pay with cash while you pay with credit card.

Why do you think they're offering it for free? It's outdated, and it's cheap RAM. Nobody in their right mind puts cheap, slow RAM in a $1000 computer.

 

[Regs]

With a 2.4c northwood running on your mobo, you would generally want the fastest ram as you can afford. And Generic pc2100 ram is definitely not the way to go.

 

[Ionizer86]

Similarly on the hard drive, it's not all about storage. WD400BB is old news and won't perform that well for a $1000 PC. On WD's camp, the larger the drive, the faster (usually; exceptions include cases where two drives have the same platters, like select 1200JB's vs select 800JB's). If you need to, hop on a hot deal and get an 8mb cache drive for ~$50. Since you have $ to burn, maybe a Seagate SATA Barracuda V 80gb. Quiet and still carries 8mb cache.

On the older computer, you can save some $ (even though you have $ to burn) by getting a Radeon 9100 for it-->$65 @ Newegg. Performs like a GF4 TI 4000 (if they existed) (previous comment just a point of reference).

The extra $ can go well somewhere else on the new comp.