Help me build a system for $500

[Zebo]

No monitor needed but I would like
-CDROM
-6 channels audio
-floppy
-very nice case
-quite fans

Mainly being used ofr gamming and web browsing. You know, that productive stuff.
Thanks

 

[AnyMal]

It's mostly like asking "which car to buy"? There will be as many opinions as there are choices. In general, if you are into serious gaming that requires serious power, your video card will be your single highest investment. Some people prefer ATI's line of cards, some are die-hard NVIDIA fans. When choosing CPU some people recommend Intel, others will have nothing but AMD.. SDRAM or DDR? And so on.. I guess the point I am trying to make is if you are experienced PC builder, go to website like newegg.com You will be able to price all components and that will get you a ballpark figure. If you are new to PC's, ask a trusted friend to do that for you. All in all, for $500.00 you should be able to build a decent rig. Good luck on your project.

 

[Workin']

"while the wife's away....." 😉

What kind of performance are you looking for? Whatever you can get for 500 bucks, I suppose.

So maybe an AthlonXP 1600+, Visiontek Geforce2 GTS-V graphics, 256MB DDR, 40GB HD, SB Audigy or TB SC on a KT266A mobo (or maybe an nForce-based mobo with on-board 6-channel sound and on-board GF2 graphics), and a cheap CDROM. Oh and an Enlight 7247 case or similar. That should all be around $500, I think. I didn't look it up, though. Check out newegg.com.

 

[acejj26]

all from newegg

Cases PC - ATX - Mini/Med Tower
ENLIGHT MEDIUM ATX TOWER CASE MODEL # EN-72370X3C4 - OEM with 300Watts Power Supply - Pentium 4 Ready & AMD Approved. 4 5.25" Bays, 2 3.5" Bays & 1 3.5"(Hidden). One Internal Case Fan Totally backward compatible with earlier Intel and AMD CPUs Interchangeable motherboard stakes for dynamic motherboard installation options. Snap-On drive brackets for hassle-free Floppy &/ Hard drive installation. EMI & Thermal-Ready supporting high-speed Intel Pentium 4 & AMD CPUs. Strategic fan placements for efficient cooling. Perfect for case modifications. Rolled edges for reduce installation injuries. (Dimensions: 195 x 425 x 480 mm / 7.7" W x 16.7" H x18.9" D ) N82E16811116119 $44.00 $44.00
CD ROM
Lite On 52x Cd Rom - Model LTN-526 -RETAILE-IDE Interface, support all PIO, DMA, Ultra DMA modes. Innovated SMART-X® to get the fastest CD-DAE/VCD data extraction speed by request. RETAIL Package with manu, driver, cable and screws. N82E16827101201 $27.00 $27.00
Floppy Drives
MITSUMI D359M3 FDD 1.44MB 3.5INCH - OEM N82E16821103104 $9.00 $9.00
Hard Drives - IDE
WD WESTERN DIGITAL EIDE HARD DRIVE 20GB 7200RPM MODEL # WD200BB - OEM, DRIVE ONLY Caviar 3.5 inch Form Ultra ATA 100 8.9ms Seek Time 2mb Cache Buffer - 3 Year Manufacturer Warranty - 20.0 gb 7200 rpm N82E16822137116 $65.00 $65.00
Keyboards - English
Microsoft OEM Internet Keyboard and IntelliMouse PS/2 Bundle INTERNET KEYBOARD: Equipped with (10) hot keys that support Internet and e-mail functions, so users can launch their browser and surf the Web directly from their keyboards. Or, they can open their e-mail program and check messages with the push of a button. Also, a sleep key and two user-programmable hot keys, labeled "calculator" and "My Computer". Does not have a removable Palmrest. MOUSE: 2-button mouse with Wheel (that can be used as third button). With the included IntelliPoint Software, users can "scroll" and "zoom" natively withing Microsoft Office 97 applications as well as a host of other compatible programs. N82E16823109106 $24.00 $24.00
Memory - PC (DDR)
OCZ DDR RAM 256MB PC-2400 300Hz OCZ300256. CAS 2 Performance DDR Overclockable memory. OEM, Lifetime Warranty. N82E16820146800 $70.00 $70.00
Modems
Diamond SupraMax 56K V.92 PCI Modem Data/fax. Fax speeds up to 14,400 bit/s. Features Quick Connect, Modem-on-hold: the end user can put the modem on hold and stay connedted to the Internet (User must have call waiting service to use this feature). PCM upstream - increases maximum upload speed to 44 Kbps. N82E16825116102 $17.00 $17.00
Motherboards - AMD
Asus A7N266-C NVIDIA nFORCE 415-D Chipset 266/200MHz FSB Motherboard with Dolby Digital Audio- OEM
Supports AMD Socket A Athlon XP/Athlon/Duron Processors
AGP 4X/AGP Pro Advanced Graphics Slot for 3D Graphics
Integrated APU(Audio Processor Unit) in MCP-D built-in Dolby Digital (AC-3) Encoder. FOR BUNDLES ONLY! N82E16813131002 $105.00 $105.00
Processors - AMD Duron
AMD Duron 1.0 GHZ Socket A, 200FSBPGA Processor Retail Box Version N82E16819104149 $58.00 $58.00
Video Cards
VISIONTEK Xtasy 5632 GEFORCE2 GTS-V 4X/2X 32MB DDR AGP - OEM
This VGA card offers high performance based on the GeForce2 GTS-V chipset and 32mb 256 bit DDR memory. Visiontek is the only Nvidia board partner to offer this card. Part# 72440.0 N82E16814129007 $46.00 $46.00

subtotal - $465
shipping will be around $50
this should be a decent enough system for what u wanna do

 

[Zebo]

Hey thanks acejj26 and workin'. Really detailed there... Workin' I just had a iMac moment so I'm gonna loose $250 because of compUSA's 15% restock policy. It's not for me but my son anyway and I've been away from tech for about 6mo so lots has changed...

acejj26- again thanks for the detail.

 

[Workin']

You're taking the iMac back?

The stuff acejj26 listed out will make a nice system, if you don't need a modem and keyboard you can probably get a faster CPU and still be within budget.

 

[Zebo]

OCZ DDR RAM 256MB PC-2400 300Hz OCZ300256. CAS 2 Performance DDR Overclockable memory. OEM, Lifetime Warranty. N82E16820146800 $70.00 $70.00

Question: Don't I need two sticks of ram to get full performance from this motherboard? You know that twin bank memory architecture thingy.

Workin' ya that iMac was basically unusable under OS X.

 

[piasabird]

Ive been wanting to try a minimalistic approach and buy a Shuttle sv24/sv25 kit and build something really small. They are designed with built in graphics and an aluminum case about one half to one third the height of a regular case. Just pop in a VIA/Celeron CPU that requires very little cooling about 800 or so. I think the sv25 can go up to 1 Gig Celeron. Put in a hard drive and get it running and see how it works. I think the base kit for the motherboard and the case is like $225.00-275.00. I think you can add a PCI card or two. The motherboard comes with ethernet, USB, and firewire built in. I think you could make a neat little jukebox MP3 appliance out of something like this and still do real work.

 

[Zebo]

<< Ive been wanting to try a minimalistic approach and buy a Shuttle sv24/sv25 kit and build something really small. They are designed with built in graphics and an aluminum case about one half to one third the height of a regular case. Just pop in a VIA/Celeron CPU that requires very little cooling about 800 or so. I think the sv25 can go up to 1 Gig Celeron. Put in a hard drive and get it running and see how it works. I think the base kit for the motherboard and the case is like $225.00-275.00. I think you can add a PCI card or two. The motherboard comes with ethernet, USB, and firewire built in. I think you could make a neat little jukebox MP3 appliance out of something like this and still do real work. >>



You know I tried confiqueing that about 8 months ago for 3 systems I was building and it came out a loser. The barebones Shuttle was about $400 when fully confiqured. And a shuttle ak31 with GTS-V , 1,4 t-bird etc came out to about $450.

Needless to say there is quite performance difference between these and it's just a little more for a REAL shuttle system. So overall a loser deal IMO.

 

[piasabird]

I don't think you can build a system for much under $500.00. I have a Asus A7V266-E with Raid and onboard 6 channel sound. I never tried the on-board sound. It is a pretty good motherboard and might be marked down by now. It comes with Promise Raid. It supports only USB 1.2.

On the other end I also have an Asus TUSL2-C ($100.00) and a 1.2 Gig Boxed Celeron I just built. The motherboard/CPU together is like ($200.00). I don't like the mounting technique in the Enlight Cases. I prefer solid Studs to mount the motherboard on. The entire Enlight case I bought seems too flimsy. Try maybe a Cheiftec Workstation Case and some Enermax fans that can be adjusted to slower speeds. I also have a Visiontek Geforce 2 GTS-V Video out only 32 MB DDR video card that seems to be really fast that I paid $48.00 for. I bought most of it at www.newegg.com. This motherboard has 2.0 USB supports ata 100 drives and has 5 PCI slots. No built in sound or NIC or Graphics. I think they made an integrated version though. I used cheap sound card and a NIC card because I use it on my home network. You absolute must have an Optical Mouse. I like the one Microsoft sells. They don't really make it. If you buy everything in one place like www.newegg.com you may be able to get a combo package with special savings on a case or on the mouse too. Look for special discounts and rebates.

I did purchase my memory at www.crucial.com, but I used old PC100 Memory. The motherboard takes PC100/PC133 SDRAM. You take some 10% hit on the speed of the RAM in performance. I have been buying Micron memory and have never had to use their Unconditional Compatablility Guarantee.

 

[Zebo]

Workin' and others here's what I've put together so far. Lemme know what you think? More to-the-point about the monitor and 2 ram sticks???

ANTEC Mini Tower ATX Case Model SX630 with 300 Watt Power Supply $65.00

Asus A7N266-C NVIDIA nFORCE 415-D $105.00

VISIONTEK Xtasy 5632 GEFORCE2 GTS-V $46.00

AMD Duron 1.0 GHZ Socket A, 200FSBPGA Processor Retail Box Version $58.00

Crucial Micron 128MB 16x64 PC2100 DDR RAM, 184-Pin, CL=2.5-Unbuffered 2.5V, 6-Layers CT1554Z265.16T. 2@ $86.00

PANASONIC 1.44 MB 3.5 INCH HIGH DENSITY FLOPPY DISK DRIVE, MODEL # JU-257A-827P - OEM, DRIVE ONLY WHITE Bezel - $8.00

MAXTOR Quiet Drive 20GB 7200RPM Model # 6L020L1 - OEM, $68.00

AquaView 17XP 17" (WHITE) None-Pixel LCD **White Speaker Amplifier** $540.00

Diamond SupraMax 56K V.92 PCI Modem Data/fax. Fax speeds up to 14,400 bit/s. $17.00

Lite On 32x12x40 CDRW Model LTR-32123S Retail Box $73.00


Total $1133 with shipping

 

[Workin']

Hmm, I don't know about the monitor or ram...

The LCD looks nice enough, and the warranty looks even better - replacement if even 1 bad pixel, never seen that before.

I don't know if you need 2 sticks of ram or not... but I guess it wouldn't hurt.

BTW - 1100 >> 500. But I know once you get shopping, everyone should stand back! 🙂

 

[Zebo]

<< Hmm, I don't know about the monitor or ram...

The LCD looks nice enough, and the warranty looks even better - replacement if even 1 bad pixel, never seen that before.

I don't know if you need 2 sticks of ram or not... but I guess it wouldn't hurt.

BTW - 1100 >> 500. But I know once you get shopping, everyone should stand back! 🙂 >>



HEHE no I knew what monitor I wanted because of the price and warrantee so I did'nt bother inclding that in the intial thread topic....

OH and I asked about two sticks of DDR becasue I thought you would see significant performance increase with the nvidia MB becasue of twin bank architecture?

 

[Workin']

<< OH and I asked about two sticks of DDR becasue I thought you would see significant performance increase with the nvidia MB becasue of twin bank architecture? >>

I know nothing about that... sorry

 

[Shc888]

The nvidia board does perform better with 2 sticks of ram. I think it's something to do with the dual channels, not sure though. I'm about to build my friend a $500 computer too. Gonna use the same mobo and put is 2 sticks of 128 ram.

 

[acejj26]

since you won't be using the onboard video (it isn't included in the 415 chipset), the dual bank memory architecture is basically useless....the cpu can only get 2.1 GB/sec from the chipset anyway, so 4.2 GB/sec of memory bandwidth is pretty much pointless

if you were getting a motherboard with the 420 chipset and you were using the integrated video, the dual bank architecture helps because the video needs that bandwidth too. however, with only the processor making memory requests, you only need one stick of fast memory

 

[mrzed]

I see no point in getting a board with integrated video if you know you are getting a separate card anyhow. The nforce boards are a bit more expensive thanan equivalent 266A board, and won't perform noticeably better in any way.

 

[sniperruff]

hey carbonyl:
im a newbie but i kinda figured out what i want to get for my new system (though it will be 3 months later) so i went to newegg and pricewatch and here they are:

newegg:
MSI KT3 ULTRA (MS-6380E-010) VIA KT333 $99
BLACK EVERCASE E4252B005 No Power Supply $26
SONY 1.44MB 3.5 INCH INTERNAL FDD DRIVE $9
AMD Athlon XP 1800+/266 FSB PROCESSOR CPU - RETAIL $128
ATI TV-WONDER PCI RETAIL $65
SPARKLE 350 WATTS FSP350-60BTS $45

pricewatch:
Samsung Original DDR333 PC-2700 256mb $65
WD 60.0GB 5400 RPM EIDE, oem, Ultra-DMA $74
Jaton NVIDIA GEFORCE3 TITANIUM 200 64MB W/TV-OUT, RETAIL. XP READY $110
total $621

since you won't watch TV so i guess you can skim on the PCI card as well as the video card or harddrive... or even get a 1600xp...

what you guys think?

tom

oops forgot about the CD-ROM and sound card and fan... well they total less than $50 or get a used CD-ROM from the FS/FT forum i guess...

 

[nightowl]

How about this config:

All from Newegg:

2 x Kingston 256MB DDR 2100 @ 65 ea
Lite-On 52X CDROM @ 25
MSI K7N415 w/ LAN & 5.1 out @ 100
Duron 1GHz Retail w/fan @ 60
Mitsumi 3.5" Floppy @ 9
Enlight 7237 w/300w PS @ 44
WD 20 GB @ 65
VisionTek GTS-V @ 46

Total: 479 + shipping

Not too bad for the money

 

[Zebo]

Hey sniperruff welcome to the boards.. Nice system... though I prefer the performance of a 7200 rpm drive and the visionteck GTS-V is a flat out steal from newegg for $43. Question though.. from your readings what's the performance boost between those via333 boards and the nivida chipset boards?

Nightowl- That's pretty much the exact system I will order unless someone can justify a 333 board. Nice😉


Ain't it bitchin' how you can get a complete computer for like $500 that kicks asz? I rememver when I ordered a Quantex p200mmx in 96' it was over $2600 lol?>>!?!>?

 

[sniperruff]

carbonyl:
hmmm haha im not exactly sure what's the performance difference from the nforce board to the 333 mobo's...
i remember seeing an article here that says the 266 and 333 mobo's aren't much of a difference...
but i also heard that they'll be using the pc2700 memory in future systems too...

so i figured it might be the old 100 and 133 SDRAM... now you can see the pc100 is phased out first...

so if i'm to get a computer why not get the most recent ones?

i was also thinking about getting a 40gig 7200rpm maxtor for like $65 or something... well i rather sacrifice speed and get 20 more gig for similar money... (since i DL stuff =P)

a lot of ppl said the x-tasy is good too...
but what the hell it'll be another 3 months b4 i start ordering stuff =P

good luck

 

[Poncherelli]

Hi, i have a question about a semi-budget computer. I'm trying to save money, but dont want to skimp on a video card and i need this computer to last my family awhile. If the gf4ti4200 were out today i would definately get that, but as its a little ways away and i'm pressed for time, i'm not sure what option to take. I'd kinda like to go for an nforce board as they seem stable and people say they have excellent sound and lan built-in. Now i'm wondering if it would be best to get a 415 board and the GTS-V and wait awhile til i get a new video card, or get the 420 board with built-in video and perhaps get a ti4200 later. Also, which is the perferred brand of nforce boards, MSI or ASUS? How much better than the built-in video is a GTS-V, thanks?

 

[Poncherelli]

Theres a post with some people complaining about GTS-V instabilty problems, anyone know if this is true?

 

[Zebo]

<< (since i DL stuff =P)

>>

🙂😉😉😀

Ponch- Thier may be isolated problems with any piece of hardware , hangout here long enough and you'll see a problem with everything. But I have two of these cards and workin', a system vendor, has built many cpu's without any problems while using this card... It's a flat out steal for $43 when you can get 3800K+- on 3dmark 2001.. The lesser, plain jane ,gf2mx is about 1/2 that speed for the same price.

 

[Zebo]

ASUS seems to have be best reputation of all mobos but you'll find lots of disagreement. MSI is also top notch.. They are both in the top 5.