Help me build a $600 computer.

[CasTroLTraN]

Hi, I need some recommendation on computer parts totalling $600. My cousin needs me to put together a computer for him because he got his stolen 3 days ago. Someone broke into his house and stole his computer and playstaton 2. So I need some recommendations, and I am thinking of an AMD platform cuz they are better at price/performance ratio, and money is definately an issue.

CPU/MOBO......................need
Video Card......................need
HD...................................need
Case...............................need
Ram................................need
DVD burner.....................pioneer A07 for $89 OEM
DVD drive........................need (might not need)

I forgot to add that this computer will be for homework and warcraft 3 and other games that does not need a high end video card such as counter strike.

 

[CasTroLTraN]

bump....

 

[AIWGuru]

anandtech system building guide has the answer to your question already.

 

[Peter D]

[*]Shuttle AN35N
[*]Mobile 2400+ XP
[*]2x256MB Mushkin Basic Green PC3200
[*]Sapphire Atlantis 9600 Pro
[*]Seagate 80GB IDE
[*]LG 16X DVD-ROM
[*]Antec SLK3700-BQE

Total - $577.00 @ NewEgg.

 

[Zebo]

Case POWMAX with 400W Power Supply -$25.00

Hard Drive SAMSUNG 120GB 7200RPM 3yr warranty, super quiet, and 8mb cache- $91.00

Memory Kreton Technology Blitz Extreme 2x256 PC-3500 winbond ch-5 - $118.00

Motherboard Shuttle "AN35N-Ultra" - $65.00

Processor AMD Mobile Athlon XP 2400, oc to $200 AthlonXP 3200+ trivially- $78.00

Video Card SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9800 PRO $210.00


$ 587.00

 

[GonzoDaGr8]

Originally posted by: Zebo
Case POWMAX with 400W Power Supply -$25.00

Hard Drive SAMSUNG 120GB 7200RPM 3yr warranty, super quiet, and 8mb cache- $91.00

Memory Kreton Technology Blitz Extreme 2x256 PC-3500 winbond ch-5 - $118.00

Motherboard Shuttle "AN35N-Ultra" - $65.00

Processor AMD Mobile Athlon XP 2400, oc to $200 AthlonXP 3200+ trivially- $78.00

Video Card SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9800 PRO $210.00


$ 587.00

That case and PSU sounds sketchy to me. Couldn't possibly be of very high quality.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: GonzoDaGr8

That case and PSU sounds sketchy to me. Couldn't possibly be of very high quality.

I was about to say the same thing. The rest of the setup looks good though.
I would go for this case instead. It puts the price a bit over $600, but should be a much nicer case with a solid PSU.

 

[cjdomer04]

Definitely upgrade the case from Zebo's post. Also, you will need a heatsink and fan on the Mobile XP won't you since you can only buy them OEM. Options: either drop the video card to 9600 pro and add a heat sink + legit case, or change to standard XP CPU if your cousin wont want to OC. Either way, I think you should drop the video card and get a legit case.

 

[magomago]

Have you thought about looking for parts YOURSELF first, and THEN coming and asking us to critique? I'm sure people would be a lot more welcoming to offer advice if YOU took the initiative first.

 

[CasTroLTraN]

Originally posted by: magomago
Have you thought about looking for parts YOURSELF first, and THEN coming and asking us to critique? I'm sure people would be a lot more welcoming to offer advice if YOU took the initiative first.

Actually I was thinking of an 2800+ barton and asus a7n8x-E deluxe. As for power supplies, I don't really know cuz I have always been buying cheap ones. I guess I can take an 80 gig maxtor. And will also might take a fx5600? How about this setup to OC the barton?
Actually what I was looking for are other alternatives to the setup I was thinking about.

 

[shady28]

No one has asked the all important question.

What do you want to do with your computer, for the most part? Games? Rip CDs to MP3s? Web sufring? Powerpoint presentations?

 

[dripgoss]

How about display, keys/mouse, cables? That nickel and dime crap can chip away at that bottom line too...

 

[shady28]

What dropgos said.

Want a printer? Monitor, mouse, printer cable, monitor? Want an LCD? Even if you buy cheap stuff there, you're talking $150. It's possible to go cordless with a printer and a TFT monitor, and still have a decent desktop for $600 though.

 

[CasTroLTraN]

These are the stuffs already got:
monitor...........21" sony trinitron multiscan G500
mouse............microsoft optical
keyboard.......microsoft internet keyboard
Speakers.......altec lansing 641
Scanner.........canon N650U
Printer...........canon i865

$600 is the budget for a CPU/MOBO, case/PSU, DVDRW, ram, HD, and video card.

Originally posted by: shady28
No one has asked the all important question.

What do you want to do with your computer, for the most part? Games? Rip CDs to MP3s? Web sufring? Powerpoint presentations?

Oh yea, this computer will be for warcraft 3 (only), and DVD ripping.

 

[Corporate Thug]

CPU/MOBO.....................2400+ moblie/NF7-s $180
Video Card......................9600 pro
HD...................................160 gb Maxtor/WD $80 AR
Case...............................Sonata $100
Ram................................512 pc3200 $100

 

[shady28]

Couple of things about the choices :

If Warcraft 3 is the 'only' game you really want to play, the 9200 Radeon listed here has VIVO and is quite capable of playing games like WC3. VIVO means you can plug a VCR into your graphics card and record videos, then rip DVDs from those, and the utilities to do so should be included with it.

If you have a dual channel DDR mobo as many here suggest, you need at least 2 DIMMS to make use of the 2 channels. One will cripple the NForce chipsets as they will then drop to single channel. Hence, 2 256Meg DIMMS.

Disk I/O will be a limiting factor ripping or copying videos of any kind. I would suggest SCSI, as most anyone doing serious disk I/O is using SCSI RAID. I have both a SCSI drive and a fairly new ATA drive, and I can tell you my 2 year old 15krpm scsi drive is still better for any kind of video recording or mp3 ripping. However, it's also outside your price range.

Most of the AMD processors below 2500+ will not support the 166/333DDR frontside bs speeds, hence the 2500 choice here (it also has more l2 cache).


ANTEC Beige Performance II Mini Tower Case with 300W Power Supply, Model "SX630II" -RETAIL
Specifications:
Case Type: Mini Tower Case
Color: Beige
Material: 1mm SECC Steel
Drive Bays: 5.25" x 3/0, 3.5" x 2/3 (external/internal)
Expansion Slots: 7
Front Ports: 2xUSB & 1xIEEE1394
Power Supply: 300W
Cooling System: 1x80mm Fans
Mainboard Compatibility: Standard ATX
Dimensions: 17.3"x8.1"x18.5" more info-> N82E16811129118
$66.00

$66.00

ASUS nForce2 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "A7N8X-X" -RETAIL
Specifications:
Supported CPU: Socket A AMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron Processors
Chipset: NVIDIA nForce2 400 + MCP
FSB: 400/333/266/200MHz
RAM: 3x DIMM for DDR400/333/266/200(Non-ECC,unbuffered) Max 3GB
IDE: 2x UltraDMA 133 up to 4 Devices
Slots: 1x AGP 8X, 5x PCI
Ports: 2xPS2, 1xCOM, 1xLPT,6xUSB2.0(Rear 4), 1xLAN, Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC650 6CH w/ built in HP amplifier
Onboard LAN: Integrated NVIDIA MAC + Realtek 8201BL PHY 10/100Mbps
Form Factor: ATX more info-> N82E16813131468
$69.00

$69.00

POWERCOLOR ATI RADEON 9200 Video Card, 128MB DDR, DVI/VIVO, 8X AGP, Model "R92DV-C3L" -RETAIL
Specifications:
Chipset/Core Speed: ATI RADEON 9200/250MHz
Memory/Effective Speed: 128MB DDR/400MHz
BUS: AGP 1X/2X/4X/8X
Ports: VGA Out(15 Pin D-Sub)+VIVO+DVI connector
Support 3D API: DirectX®8.1, OpenGL®1.3
Cable/Accessories: 5 Cables, VGA via DVI Adapter, WinDVD, Driver CD, Manual
Max Resolution@32bit Color: 2048X1536@75Hz
Retail Box (See pics for details) more info-> N82E16814131215
$89.00

$89.00

AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor - OEM
Specification
Model: AMD Athlon XP 2500+
Core: Barton
Operating Frequency: 1.83GHz
FSB: 333MHz
Cache: L1/64K+64K; L2/512K
Voltage: 1.65V
Process: 0.13Micron
Socket: Socket A
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, 3DNOW!, 3DNOW!+
Packaging: OEM(Processor Only) more info-> N82E16819103378
$76.00

$76.00

Kingston ValueRAM 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-2700
Specification
Manufacturer: Kingston
Speed: DDR333(PC2700)
Type: 184 Pin DDR SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Cas Latency: 2.5
Support Voltage: 2.5V
Bandwidth: 2.7GB/s
Organization: 32M x 64 -Bit
Warranty: Lifetime through Manufacturer more info-> N82E16820141302
$59.00

$118.00

WD WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 80GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE MODEL # WD800JB - DRIVE ONLY
Specifications:
Size: 80 Gigabytes
Interface: IDE ULTRA ATA100
Seek time: 8.9ms
RPM:7200
Cache 8MB more info-> N82E16822144122R
$57.00

$57.00

 

[axemanxt40]

I would switch the motherboard to an Abit NF7 ($75) or NF7-S ($105)...and get an Antec SLK3700AMB case w/ 350 watt PSU!

 

[lansens]

ANTEC "SONATA"
$90.00


Thermalright SLK-947U Copper Heatsink for both Intel and Amd -RETAIL
$42.99

Thermaltake SMART CASE FAN II. Variable Fan Speed Control, by temperature sensor
$8.99


Geil Dual Channel 184 Pin 512MB(256MBx2) DDR PC-3200 - Retail
$125.00


ABIT nForce2 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "NF7-S" -RETAIL
$100.00


AMD Mobile Athlon XP 2400+, 266FSB, 512K Cache - OEM
$78.00


SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9600XT Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "ATLANTIS RADEON 9600XT" OEM Lite Box
$155.00


Grand Total » $ 599.98

All you would have to do is beg, borrow, or steal a hdd and you have a rockin little machine!

 

[Markfw]

shady only has 256 meg listed. 512 is the minimum lately.

 

[RussianSensation]

The performance difference in Dual channel on NF2 motherboard is not worth it

So just get 1 stick of 512mb OCZ Performance Series PC3200 2-3-3-6 @$107 it overclocks real well too. (Newegg)

Also why do you want another DVDRW when you already have 1? just for convenience of burning DVD to DVD (CD to CD) instead of going through the hard drive? You can just get a cheap CDRom 52x cd rom for like $19-20. (if you even need that)

I'd suggest getting a cheapo videocard (if you only play strategy games like WC3) because if you ever need a faster one in 4-6 months those top of the line Radeon 9800 cards will come down in price so you can snug it up if u need it. Never buy the things you will not use or don't need.

 

[CasTroLTraN]

Should I go for 1 gig?, since I can get Corsair value select dual channel kit for $139.99

These are what I have come down to

Barton 2500+ vs. mobile 2400+.... better OC results?
Asus A7N8X-X vs. Abit NF7-S.........which board is better for OC'ing?
9600xt...........................................~$150
Kingston value 2 x 256MB ............~$90
WD WESTERN DIGITAL 80 Gig.......~$65
Volcano 11 heatsink.....................~$25
Pioneer 107 DVDRW.....................~$90
Case( found old one)....................Free (yes!!!)

So budget is $180 left for CPU/MOBO, any suggestion on with one is better with overclocking results and price/performace ratio?

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: CasTroLTraN

So budget is $180 left for CPU/MOBO, any suggestion on with one is better with overclocking results and price/performace ratio?

mobile athlon and nf7-s

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: CasTroLTraN
Should I go for 1 gig?, since I can get Corsair value select dual channel kit for $139.99

These are what I have come down to

Barton 2500+ vs. mobile 2400+.... better OC results?
Asus A7N8X-X vs. Abit NF7-S.........which board is better for OC'ing?
9600xt...........................................~$150
Kingston value 2 x 256MB ............~$90
WD WESTERN DIGITAL 80 Gig.......~$65
Volcano 11 heatsink.....................~$25
Pioneer 107 DVDRW.....................~$90
Case( found old one)....................Free (yes!!!)

So budget is $180 left for CPU/MOBO, any suggestion on with one is better with overclocking results and price/performace ratio?

1. Barton 2500+ OVER 2400+ because it runs at 166FSB vs 133 so already there is a boost in speed and it has more cache on L2 i believe liek 384 vs 256 if i am not mistaken?
2. Abit nF7-s HANDS DOWN!!! not even close. Asus has problems above 200, Abit flies to 240FSB+
Also version S comes with good onboard sound, firewire and SATA raid. If you do not need those just get NF7 $30 cheaper. Oh yeah and Asus A7N8X-X isn't dual channel so why even bother with 2x256? I am telling you for Nforce 2 dual channel is a waste, save the cash by buying 1 stick of 512.

3. The ram is ok but value boooooooooooo probably overclocks like crap. Get at least PC3200 and cas 2.5 not cas3 if you can. It's better to go with 1 stick of 512 and tigher timings that overclocks well than 2 cheapo sticks of ram but its u to you
4. WD with 8mb cache please
5. NEC 8x dvd-rom 2500A $83

specs: 8X DVD+R, 4X DVD+RW, 8X DVD-R, 4X DVD-RW, 32X CD-R, 16X CD-RW
Read Speed: 40X CD-ROM, 12X DVD-ROM

I am not sure the specs on the pioneer u have but this is pretty good as well.

6. 9600 XT FOR $150? come on bro!!! search on pricewatch.com

Either a) Sapphire 9600Pro $127
b) Sapphire Radeon 9700 non Pro Atlantis $159 (DESTROYS 9600XT for $9 more)
c) 5900xt $177 or Radeon 9700Pro for $183 (remember how you can save $20-30 on NF7 and not get NF7-s Version, thats the money you could use here up from $150)

cheers

 

[ed21x]

for $600, you can get a rig from fs/ft with specs much nicer than the ones posted here

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: ed21x
for $600, you can get a rig from fs/ft with specs much nicer than the ones posted here

what's fs/ft?