Give me your quick thoughts on a system for a buddy

Duvie

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
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The system I built him in 2002 has finally gone down. He is not big on maintenance evidently so OCing is completely out. I want cool running, warranties intact...

He needs cpu, mobo, video card, ram, case and power supply, 1 sata harddrive, dvd-burner.
He had a Barton 2500+ with a ATI 9500 vid card. He doesnt really need much more then that for the vid games he or his kids play


Here is what I put together for him so far....

Lite-on 20x DVD+-R SATA (retail) = 33.00
NZXT case w/ 500watt PSU (comes with all the 120mm fans) = 170.00 *
Seagate SATA 250gb HDD = 70.00
Asus M3A78-EMH HDMI AM2+ w/ onboard ATI HD3200 (retail) = 90.00
OCZ PLat 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 800 dual channel kit = 49.00 **
AMD A64 X2 4400+ brisbane 65watt dual core (retail) = 75.00

Total = 487.00
shipping 28.00 = 515.00

* = he wants a nice looking case and avoid MIR's...bottom line I couldn't find a case much cheaper then 80-90 w/o MIRs . They didn't include power supplies so I would add on a silverstone 550watt powersupply and come up to about what I still have now

** = no advantage of getting 2gbs of lower speed ram. almost same cost and has some room if we decide to go phenom later on



I would have liked to get him INtel but bottomline they dont offer any good onboard graphics mobos. So I would have to get a video card and that on average added about 50+ bucks.

What I could do since the 4400+ is only 2.3ghz is get a E2200 (2.2ghz) which should be faster clock for clock at +15 over the 4400+...now come up with a quality mobo and comparable add on video card that doesn't go over the 90 of the asus AM2+ board and I think we could go that route....

The more L2 cache of the E4400-E4500 could be an avenue as well....

He may want to go quad core, though I told him I dont think he has the use for it and there is no way I can keep it sub 500....but he may be thinking longevity and he shows he will hang onto a system for a bit....I think the Intel Q6600 option is about a +200.00 upgrade over the system I have chosen above, but would only be +100.00 for the phenom at 2.3ghz.


Gimme your thoughts...

AGAIN NO OCING!!!!
I dont want to tech this thing and I dont think he will clean the fans and the case the way he would need to...
 

Duvie

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
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Also...

I could get him to go up to the 2.5ghz brisbane for 10 bucks...no prob....

So we definitely need the E2200 or E4500 at least to equal it...

 

Duvie

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
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Originally posted by: Quiksilver
Antec NSK4480B $100
Comes with 380W Earthwatts Power Supply, and for integrated graphics it would be plenty.

Yeah sorry...I said nice looking....This one is going to be up away from his kids feet (they broke the face on the last one) and wants it to look good...

That one is too blah.....

Thanks for the help though...I think that is moving in the right direction....
 

Quiksilver

Diamond Member
Jul 3, 2005
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Oh, just for the record. Buy.com has an excellent deal on a Corsair VX550W.
http://www.buy.com/prod/Corsai...loc/101/205852646.html

So if you happen to just want to purchase a power supply separately that seems to be a winner.

Oh wait, its AR, forgot you don't want rebates.

...
Well they do still have the VX 450 for $70 ($60 if you include the small rebate)
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsai...loc/101/205466485.html

I really should stop editing this post now...

Antec Sonata III with 500W Earthwatts $120
http://www.buy.com/prod/antec-...loc/101/204559259.html
 

hnzw rui

Member
Mar 6, 2008
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I like the look of this case. Not sure if your friend would like it, too. Add a Corsair 450VX or 550VX. I'm wary of trusting the PSU with the included NZXT case.
 

Duvie

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
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Originally posted by: hnzw rui
I like the look of this case. Not sure if your friend would like it, too. Add a Corsair 450VX or 550VX. I'm wary of trusting the PSU with the included NZXT case.

Yeah that is nice....

not bad...MIR's he hates, but I could couple that with a power supply in the 50-60 range and save about 40ish....
 

Duvie

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
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uPdate guys...

My friend says he may want to play new game like Unreal Tournament....

what will I need for minimum video vcard speed? Could a 7600GT do it?
 

Martimus

Diamond Member
Apr 24, 2007
4,490
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Originally posted by: Duvie
uPdate guys...

My friend says he may want to play new game like Unreal Tournament....

what will I need for minimum video vcard speed? Could a 7600GT do it?

The cheapest quality Video Cards are the 9600GT and the HD 3850 (Both around $170). The quality drop-off below those is pretty steep, at least for playing games. Here is an Anandtech review that shows how cards perform on the UT3 engine, although the lowest card they test is a 7900GTX, not the 7600GT.
 

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
27,398
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How about this case for $67 shipped

The link is for the case.... The PSU is separate OCZ stealthstream 500 for $62 shipped (after $10 rebate)

Edited to separate

And it looks like, if he wants to play UT3, forget that budget, as he will need a $120 plus video card to get 30 fps out of that game....Then he can consider Intel again, and cpu and video speed become important.
 

Duvie

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
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Originally posted by: Martimus
Originally posted by: Duvie
uPdate guys...

My friend says he may want to play new game like Unreal Tournament....

what will I need for minimum video vcard speed? Could a 7600GT do it?

The cheapest quality Video Cards are the 9600GT and the HD 3850 (Both around $170). The quality drop-off below those is pretty steep, at least for playing games. Here is an Anandtech review that shows how cards perform on the UT3 engine, although the lowest card they test is a 7900GTX, not the 7600GT.


Well he wont be gaming at that res trust me......

I will bump up the vid card budget...get a cheaper non onboard video mobo...and definitely get the 2.5ghz Brisbane....
 

boomhower

Diamond Member
Sep 13, 2007
7,228
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Here you go:
CPU
MOBO
BurnerHard DriveRAM
Case
GPU

Theres and Intel set up for you. It is $80 over budget but I don't think you are going to fit a decent graphics card in there on a $500 budget. Just the base of it without the case and gpu is equal to what you started out with leaving $190 for you choice case/PSU/GPU(if you can squeeze one in).
 

lyssword

Diamond Member
Dec 15, 2005
5,630
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get ati2600pro right now it's $62 -20 MSI rebate (not sure how that will come thru :p) should be better for newer games at low res than 7600gt
 

rogue1979

Diamond Member
Mar 14, 2001
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AGAIN NO OCING!!!!
I dont want to tech this thing and I dont think he will clean the fans and the case the way he would need to...


I don't see how a mild overclocking can cause any kind of overheating problem at stock voltage. If you are running a Brisbane 4000+ at 4400+ speeds at stock voltage, cooling is not a consideration, they will run the same temp. Same goes for any Core 2 Duo on a 800Mhz fsb put on a 1066Mhz fsb.

Asrock Wolfdale 1333 mobo costs $47 and will support a 45nm cpu for future upgrading.
E2180 is $79. Simply connect two dots with conductive ink and you have 2.66Ghz and be done with it.

Masscool 80mm heatsink for $9.

Antec Earthwatts 380-watt for $35.

Corsair 675Mhz matched pair DDR2 (2 x 1GB) $44

WD 250GB SATA 16MB cache HDD $68

Sata 20X DVD-RW $27

Just pick any generic nice looking case for $50 or so without a power supply.
Cooling will not be a problem, though you should be able to find a decent one.

Add a HD 3850 512MB for $159.

This adds up to $518 plus $20 in shipping, total $538.

The computer will be significantly faster than a 4400+, not to mention it will have
much better gaming capability with a decent graphics card.

These prices are available at mwave.com, except for the Earthwatts 380 which is at newegg with free shipping.