Cheap Rig

[bunker]

Budget $400

Goal: To be able to play current fps titles at 1024x768 (eye candy optional)

I currently have an Athlon 2600+, ATI 9700 pro and it's struggling even with all the eye candy turned off at 800x600 in quake 4

I will reuse my hard drives and optical drives(ATA), my case, my tried but true Soundblaster Live! (I only have 2.1 speakers) and I have an Antec 420 watt psu.

I'm going to need a motherboard, processor, ram and video card.

I built this current machine almost 3 years ago and have not followed hardware since and really don't have the time to do the research.

Any help would be appreciated. The budget is "slightly" flexible so a little over $400 isn't out of the question.

EDIT:
Okay, did some research, yeah, I was lazy .

How's this sound?


3200 "venice" $ 169.00
ASUS A8N5X ATX $63.90
Corsair Value ram 3200 2 x 512 mb $ 78.99
MSI RX1600PRO-TD256E Radeon X1600PRO 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card $128

Total $440

 

[Azndude2190]

First off...what are you going to reuse from your old computer

Edit:NM that^...get a 6600GT pci-e/a64 3000+/and a Asus or Epox board...what about a sound card?

 

[Bonesdad]

Originally posted by: Azndude2190
First off...what are you going to reuse from your old computer

Edit:NM that^...get a 6600GT pci-e/a64 3000+/and a Asus or Epox board

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: Azndude2190
First off...what are you going to reuse from your old computer?

Orriginally posted by: OP
I will reuse my hard drives and optical drives(ATA), my case, and I have an Antec 420 watt psu.

Good question, glad it was already answered for you.

 

[Azndude2190]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost

Originally posted by: Azndude2190
First off...what are you going to reuse from your old computer?

Orriginally posted by: OP
I will reuse my hard drives and optical drives(ATA), my case, and I have an Antec 420 watt psu.

Good question, glad it was already answered for you.

Yeah w/e...I edited my post

 

[KoolDrew]

I would check out the FS forum or something.

 

[Fern]

Goal: To be able to play current fps titles at 1024x768 (eye candy optional)

I currently have an Athlon 2600+, ATI 9700 pro and it's struggling even with all the eye candy turned off at 800x600 in quake 4

Pick up a used agp 6800GT (256MB) for about $200 and you'll meet your goal. Some might say a 6800GS, but I think its a little bit nuetered compared to the older 6800GT. Theres also a 7800GT available

Although my CPU's a little faster (which is not a big deal in FPS games), I play Q4 at 11x8 with eye candy and have had no problems. COD2 did suffer a slow-down in one section, but otherwise plays well too.

I assume you have a gig of ram? If not get it to help with load times etc (no effect on framerate) .

Otherwise, you gotta swap platforms and won't be able to afford a good enough gfx card with that budget. IMHO, a 6600GT ain't all that much more powerful than a 9700p

Fern

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: Fern

Goal: To be able to play current fps titles at 1024x768 (eye candy optional)

I currently have an Athlon 2600+, ATI 9700 pro and it's struggling even with all the eye candy turned off at 800x600 in quake 4

Pick up a used agp 6800GT (256MB) for about $200 and you'll meet your goal. Some might say a 6800GS, but I think its a little bit nuetered compared to the older 6800GT. Theres also a 7800GT available

Although my CPU's a little faster (which is not a big deal in FPS games), I play Q4 at 11x8 with eye candy and have had no problems. COD2 did suffer a slow-down in one section, but otherwise plays well too.

I assume you have a gig of ram? If not get it to help with load times etc (no effect on framerate) .

Otherwise, you gotta swap platforms and won't be able to afford a good enough gfx card with that budget. IMHO, a 6600GT ain't all that much more powerful than a 9700p

Fern

i think the 6800GT would be the best solution + getting your ram up to 1 gig

 

[bob4432]

used 6800gt/ultra or x800/850xtp with 1GB of ram and you will be fine but you will be using your old m/b cpu etc.

 

[essasin]

At lesat a 6600 gt and 2 gigs of ram

or 6800 with 1 gig of ram

 

[bunker]

I have 1gb of ram.

So y'all think the vid card will be enough....I'll give it a shot, and if it doesn't help, at least I have a new vid card to start with.

 

[bamacre]

Yeah, with that kind of budget, just get a new video card. Keep everything else. I'd pick this up...

http://tinyurl.com/aeau7

BFG 6800 GS OC for less than $200. Save the rest of your money for your next system overhaul.

 

[bunker]

Bump, I did some research

 

[bamacre]

Upgrading now to a skt 754 board with a sempron? I don't think it's a good idea. I seriously think sticking with what you have, getting an AGP 6800 GS, and saving the rest of your $400 torward a new overhaul is the best idea. If you go with a skt 754 and sempron, you'll want to upgrade even sooner, and without the $200 remainder.

 

[thecrecarc]

heres what i think

mobo/cpu (3700,Mercury KVM800M) 250$ http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...chTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1601030
keep ur ram
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=AA41490 GPU 199

around 500$, but its better

 

[dogmir]

i wouldnt go with that cpu if you are going to overclock i have much better results with the 2800+ i have had several of them go above 2.6 ghz at 33 c under load....i would also suggest the dfi infinity 754...it is a great board i have built 4 systems with them they overclock nicely and are pci-e....my two cents.....

 

[bunker]

Originally posted by: bamacre
Upgrading now to a skt 754 board with a sempron? I don't think it's a good idea. I seriously think sticking with what you have, getting an AGP 6800 GS, and saving the rest of your $400 torward a new overhaul is the best idea. If you go with a skt 754 and sempron, you'll want to upgrade even sooner, and without the $200 remainder.

The only problem with just upgrading the vid card is I won't see that big of a performance gain. My current motherboard only supports AGP 4x.

 

[Powermoloch]

I'm using a 3100+ sempron "paris" @ 2.069 Ghz w/ a x850xt agp ROFLWTFBBQ. And I enjoyed playing games @ 1280x1024 on max w/ aa and af . It's almost a year now, and I'm pretty much satisfied w/ the performance. Going to a socket 754 is not bad especially having a PCI-express

But I do agree, that going to a 939 route will suffice. And that you can top off w/ a nice processor, reliable mobo, same ram, and maybe a nice PCI-e card

3200 "venice" $ 169.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535
Gigabyte GA-K8NSC-939 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce3 250Gb ATX AMD Motherboard $ 62
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128286
Corsair Value ram 3200 2 x 512 mb $ 78.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440
MSI RX1600PRO-TD256E Radeon X1600PRO 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card $128
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127201


grand total (drum rolls) 437.99 (not inluding tax and shipping)

Trust me, this setup is enough for a 1024x768 or even 1280x1024

 

[bunker]

Originally posted by: Powermoloch
3200 "venice" $ 169.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535
Gigabyte GA-K8NSC-939 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce3 250Gb ATX AMD Motherboard $ 62
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128286
Corsair Value ram 3200 2 x 512 mb $ 78.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440
MSI RX1600PRO-TD256E Radeon X1600PRO 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card $128
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127201


grand total (drum rolls) 437.99 (not inluding tax and shipping)

Trust me, this setup is enough for a 1024x768 or even 1280x1024

Only problem with this is the motherboard. It doesn't have PCI Express.

How about this board?
ASUS A8N5X ATX

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: bunker

Originally posted by: bamacre
Upgrading now to a skt 754 board with a sempron? I don't think it's a good idea. I seriously think sticking with what you have, getting an AGP 6800 GS, and saving the rest of your $400 torward a new overhaul is the best idea. If you go with a skt 754 and sempron, you'll want to upgrade even sooner, and without the $200 remainder.

The only problem with just upgrading the vid card is I won't see that big of a performance gain. My current motherboard only supports AGP 4x.

Yes, you will. In the past, I went from a P4 2.4Ghz 533fsb with a ti4200 video card. I upgraded the vid to an x800 pro, and the performance increase was fantastic.

Gaming performance relies so much more from the video card rather than your cpu. You'll see a huge performance just with the new video card.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: bunker

Originally posted by: bamacre
Upgrading now to a skt 754 board with a sempron? I don't think it's a good idea. I seriously think sticking with what you have, getting an AGP 6800 GS, and saving the rest of your $400 torward a new overhaul is the best idea. If you go with a skt 754 and sempron, you'll want to upgrade even sooner, and without the $200 remainder.

The only problem with just upgrading the vid card is I won't see that big of a performance gain. My current motherboard only supports AGP 4x.

You'll likely find no performance difference between 4x and 8x. Many others here have tested both and concluded no difference.

Maybe you can find a store with a 30 day return policy etc, so that you can drop in a 8x 6800Gt (or GS) and see for yourself. If not satisfied take it back.

Like Bamacre says, in FPS gaming its all about the gfx card.

Fern

 

[Powermoloch]

Originally posted by: bunker

Originally posted by: Powermoloch
3200 "venice" $ 169.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535
Gigabyte GA-K8NSC-939 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce3 250Gb ATX AMD Motherboard $ 62
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128286
Corsair Value ram 3200 2 x 512 mb $ 78.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440
MSI RX1600PRO-TD256E Radeon X1600PRO 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card $128
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127201


grand total (drum rolls) 437.99 (not inluding tax and shipping)

Trust me, this setup is enough for a 1024x768 or even 1280x1024

Only problem with this is the motherboard. It doesn't have PCI Express.

How about this board?
ASUS A8N5X ATX

Darn...I should had rechecked my list. But anways, yeah, that will do fine

Overall parts are lookin good :thumbsup: