Help me build the ultimate system (for less than $400)

[kornphlake]

Well I'm going to buy a new computer this weekend and I just wanted to run my ideas past you before I waste a couple hundred dollars.

I'll be using the system immediately for general home use, internet, word processing, spreadsheet, printshop/greeting card type programs, in the future I'll install SolidWorks 2003 so I am thinking of expandablility and speed in the future but not necessarily for monday morning.

So I've decided on:

Biostar M7NCD motherboard

Athlon 2500+ processor

512 Meg Pc 2700 Kingston value ram (on sale last week at circuit city)
I'm going to try and find a geforce ti 4200 128mb graphics card, I'm open to suggestions here, I've heared that Nvidia cards are better for CAD but I am not ready to dish out $500
for a Quadro card just yet

Western Digital 160 GB harddrive (on sale at Office Max)

some modem

generic case with a couple fans

probablly a 350 watt power supply

CD-RW (on sale at Office Max)

Windows XP pro

onboard audio

I'm not into over clocking or gamming I just want a moderately fast, stable system without spending a ton of money.

So what do you think, anything that raises concerns, anything that doesn't seem too kosher?

 

[NokiaDude]

You need another ~$300 for a blazing FAST system.

Asus A7N8X-VM/400 - $95
AMD Barton 2500+ - $90
Kingston 512mb DDR333 HyperX RAM - $ 90
ATI Radeon 9800 - $200
WD 120GB SE HD - $60 after MIR
Enlight EN-7250 Mid-Tower Case - $50
Sony 52/24/52x CD-RW $60
Windows XP Professional - $100
Keyboard + Mouse - $20
GRAND TOTAL: $765

BTW, I hope you already have a monitor.

 

[BigMoe]

try price grabber or price watch be sure to research the dealers in case you need to return, and there shipping is it good have others used them and what they think ect..

 

[mrgoblin]

If your not overclocking, get a 2.8c and a cheap board. 2 sticks 512 pc 3200 buffalo would work fine and the rest is cheap also. Will run rings around the unoverclocked barton and close to it overclocked. Overclock the intel and things will begin to widen.

 

[SilentZero]

Not going to be ultimate, but decent. I agree on the Intel chipset recommendation. If your not overclocking the P4 2.8c would be a better choice.

 

[pdn]

Price Watch.com is a great one to shop around for great deals as listed by BigMoe. Just don't buy the OEM memory unless your board supports it. Another good site is A-Tack. Good luck.

 

[kornphlake]

I don't believe my eyes, I am getting a reccomendation for a pentium processor over AMD!!! I agree that a pentium would be faster but I am on a budget and the p4 2.8c is nearly twice as much as an Athlon XP 2500+. I don't really care about having the fastest system out there, just fast enough. If I wanted an intel system I think I'd have to go with a celeron processor because of price and SolidWorks won't support a celeron processor.

I was given the impression that AMD processors are faster for CAD and games while Intel is faster for multimedia apps. Am I just confused?

 

[farscape]

I had lots of troubles with that Biostar board.

A better bet is the Shuttle AN35 Ultra.
Much more user friendly. Audio is good. Connector placement is much better than the Biostar board. P4 12V connector not on the Biostar - and you may need the extra juice somewhere down the line in the future.

 

[klah]

Originally posted by: SilentZero
Not going to be ultimate, but decent. I agree on the Intel chipset recommendation. If your not overclocking the P4 2.8c would be a better choice.

Replying to Topic: Help me build the ultimate system (for less than $400).

If you can spec out a system for $400 with a $180 cpu please elaborate.

DO NOT GET A CELERON

 

[adams828]

ok, a few questions.. do you already own windows xp? or are you considering that as part of your $400? it makes quite a difference. and i assume with the memory, you've already purchased it?

either way, GET THE 2500+!!! it's the best budget processor whether you OC or not. the point is you have $400... so "only* $x more, is still MORE. the 2500+ is $90 retail.. you don't want to spend almost 1/2 your budget on a p4 cpu.

i'd also recommend the shuttle mobo over the biostar, probably a little more reliable. so then:

2500+ retail $90
shuttle an35 $62
memory purchased
160gb wd HD $60 (AR)
CDrw $10 (AR)
modem $10 (if that.. no idea on modem prices)
win XP ???
antec slk2600amb $65 *shipped* i say this one because it comes with a good antec 300W psu
video card given the above setup, you have $100 for a video card. i've heard ti4200s
still pack a punch except for dx9 games.. which doesn't concern you. unless you find a
current-gen video card on sale for $100, i'd say stick with the ti4200. $100 should get you one..

so assuming you already have the memory and software, that's right at $400 (AR). yes ppl we know it's not "the fastest budget system" but guess what? he said $400... not $410, not $450.. $400

 

[farscape]

If you want to save a few extra bucks, consider the the ASPIRE (Turbo Case) Black+ Silver ATX Mid Tower Case with 350W Power Supply, Model "ATXB1K-BK/350" from New Egg ($39).
I've built a few systems with this case using the AN35N Ultra, 2500 Barton, 512 3200 mem, 2 optical drives, big HDs - solid and reliable case and supply.

 

[Xionide]

you could buy a $400 stolen car and run it into a computer store and snatch and run. Thats the only way you are going to get the ultimate system for $400

 

[mrgoblin]

Your about 200 under. Thats if your overclocking. If not your 400 under. I say, dell

 

[kornphlake]

I can see that I was far too optimistic with the title of this thread. Basically I wanted to know if the system I'd spec'd out would be stable. As I said speed isn't really my thing, there's a fine line that seperates enough speed and ultra fast. I don't want the ultimate system, just the most reliable stable system I can get for $400. I'd like to have a fast system too but not if it's going to cost me alot more. Like Adams pointed out $400 is my budget, I want the best system I can get for that price or less.

I've been considering the shuttle board as well, but I've seen a few people report problems with it, that is to say a few more than the problems that I have noticed come up with the biostar board.

If it helps I do have a Windows XP pro, I only mentioned it as part of the system because I know that certain pieces of hardware aren't very friendly with certain operating systems. I've got a monitor, keyboard and mouse, all I really need are a mother board, harddrive, video card, case, PSU, and a modem, I have the RAM that I picked up last week but I'm considering that as part of the total cost.

I'm considering using the cd rom and cd-rw from my dead system since about the only time I'll use either is when I install software and the occasional backup of photos and documents, I use a USB flash drive or a Zip disk (I already have the drives) for most of my stuff that needs to go between computers and is too large to email. So that gives me what $20 bucks more if somebody has a really good reason to get the next faster processor or a mother board with onboard SATA or something like that.

 

[Lyfer]

I'd get a dell or even an emachine for the tasks you plan on doing. They are dirt cheap with rebates.

 

[adams828]

kornphlake: yeah, some people on here have a bad habit of going over budget when someone asks for a "less than $xxx" system.

as for motherboards.. i'd say if you get aspire turbo case that farscape posted ($39+15 shipping), the $ savings there would allow you to get an asus a7n8x-x for $71. i've had mine for 3 months, OCed (so definitely stable at normal clock), haven't had a single problem with it. and you'll still be under $400

since many of your apps aren't very video-intensive, i'd also mention that you could find a useable video card (fx5200, radeon9200) for around $65. later on when you find the need for a better card (for CAD, etc) you would get more for your $. just an option, although this is a toss up i say. up to you to decide if you want to plan long term/short term. for me, i use my computer for music, counter-strike and some light audio/photoshop stuff. my $40 (at the time) radeon7000 works perfectly fine. for me, if i can get by on cheap, that's my best option. it does what i need, and saves me $ (although doesn't stop me from yearning for a 9800)


edit: as lyfer said, a dell might be perfect for what you need. at times they have some amazing setups for under $400, but it's all timing. so if you can wait, you might want to see what you can pick up. if you need to get your order in this weekend (as your OP mentions as timing), you won't be dissapointed w/the 2500+ either.

 

[kornphlake]

Originally posted by: Lyfer
I'd get a dell or even an emachine for the tasks you plan on doing. They are dirt cheap with rebates.

I don't want to limit upgradeablility by buying a Dell, as I may be using this computer to do some CAD work in a couple months I'd like to be able to just get a professional video card and add another 512 Meg RAM and run with it. I really think a Dell or Emachines would struggle with CAD since the budget priced computers all have celeron processors, 256 mb ram, integrated video, to upgrade it I'd essentially end up buying everything I am getting now sans the drives. If I had the $1000 to buy a workstation I'd be all over Dell though, you can get a hyperthreading P4 with 512 mb ram, a Quadro FX500 128mb, dvd-r... for the price of the processor and graphics card.

 

[adams828]

Originally posted by: kornphlake

Originally posted by: Lyfer
I'd get a dell or even an emachine for the tasks you plan on doing. They are dirt cheap with rebates.

I don't want to limit upgradeablility by buying a Dell, as I may be using this computer to do some CAD work in a couple months I'd like to be able to just get a professional video card and add another 512 Meg RAM and run with it. I really think a Dell or Emachines would struggle with CAD since the budget priced computers all have celeron processors, 256 mb ram, integrated video, to upgrade it I'd essentially end up buying everything I am getting now sans the drives. If I had the $1000 to buy a workstation I'd be all over Dell though, you can get a hyperthreading P4 with 512 mb ram, a Quadro FX500 128mb, dvd-r... for the price of the processor and graphics card.

as in my previous post.. if you can wait, dell has some great deals... many times for p4 (533 bus though)

another deal site (FW) has a post up.. you can get a p4 2.2 Ghz (533 bus) system for $300 (AR) at dell right now. note: this is basically barebone ie 128 ram, 40gb hd, no software, etc. but just giving you an example of what can be done w/some dell deals

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: klah

Originally posted by: SilentZero
Not going to be ultimate, but decent. I agree on the Intel chipset recommendation. If your not overclocking the P4 2.8c would be a better choice.

Replying to Topic: Help me build the ultimate system (for less than $400).

If you can spec out a system for $400 with a $180 cpu please elaborate.

DO NOT GET A CELERON

Whoa. Thanks for that link... Getting ready to build a system myself (and debating build vs buy a bargain system from Dell) It looks like build is winning, and AMD has won the processor choice for me. I didn't look at the motherboards/RAM differences between the two boards, but I'm assuming they were comparable. For those too lazy to click that link and follow next page after next page, lets just say that about 1/3 of the way through the testing, it was clear that AMD won. The last 2/3 were rubbing it in Intel's face.

 

[RanDum72]

For $400?? Probably Dell can make you one.

 

[Boobers]

You cannot build the ultimate system for $400. (especially when a decent graphics card is ~$200)...