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Help Please

R

RSanders

Senior member
It has been over 1 year since I have bought computer parts (Which I built my PC with).. so I think I am just getting ready to build a new one for another house that I stay at.

My budget will be roughly $500 to $600 (I already have a monitor)

I have a Radeon 8500 LE 128MB video card right now and it plays games such as (UT2003, CNC Generals, Call of Duty, Sim City 4)- (UT2004 lags somewhat with it)

Anyway if you guys could maybe give me some sample rigs to look at and then I can change whatever I need to. I will be playing games on it.

----

I am looking for about 2.4 GHZ or so for the PC..
 
Athlon XP mobile 2400
Abit NF-7 mobo
512-1GB PC3200 RAM
7200 RPM 8MB Hard drive
A decent case with a 400-550W good power supply
Wait on graphics card, as whats available at what price should be changing quite a bit here pretty soon.

Overclock the XP to 3200 speeds or higher, wala, nice fast system for your price range.

If you don't feel like OC'ing then I suggest going with a non-mobile XP 2500 if you wanna keep the price down, or an Athlon 64 2800 or Pentium 4 2.8C.
 
What is your current mobo? You might be able to drop a faster proc in there, which would give you a bigger budget for the video card. Also, how is your RAM configured? (1 x 512 + 1 x 256) or (3 x 256)? You already have a pretty decent rig, so you will have to lay down a decent bit if you want a complete new system that will really dazzle you. Plus, RAM is pricey at the moment. Essentially, what I am recommending is to re-use as much as possible.
 
I am building a new PC, and on my old rig, I have 256+512.

Anyway I am searching for ram right now, I am just going to get 1 stick of 512 for now, then upgrade later. I am hoping to come out around 450 or so on the rig then I gotta get speakers and the essentials.

It will most likely be close to 600 after I decide the videocard and stuff. I am just looking for something that plays most games well, I don't expect to play Half-life 2, UT2004, and the new Doom game. I want one close to $100-$140 if I can.
 
See if your motherboard will take an XP 2400 and get the mobile version of that chip. If it can just pair your current RAM with it and then you can spend on a nice card (9800 Pro or better, maybe even one of the newer ones X800/6800 based cards). Upgrade your case and power supply to something that can handle something better down the road and use the 2400 until then. If you can do this then you will be able to play those games (Doom 3, etc.). And you'll be free to do an upgrade to one of the really newer technologies (64bit, PCI- Express, etc.) later when prices and variety are better. If not, then I'll try and help you figure out something that'd suit you better.

Try to spend the most on things that will benefit you the most later on. Like speakers, find ones that will suit your needs because there aren't exactly many breakthroughs in speaker designs. I really think that if you could re-use your mobo and RAM that you'll be well off, because it won't be long before they start pushing DDR2 and other new technologies, and so you'll be better off if you don't for a median/go-between because later you can get a better system.
 
Since it sounds like you want to build an entire new rig, here are my suggestions:

all prices http://www.newegg.com

Antec SLK2600AMB case w/ 300W PSU $54 (+$15 shipping) = $69
Abit NF7-S $95
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ Barton Retail $81
RADEON 9700 Pro $188
2 x Crucial 256MB PC2700 $100
WD WD800LB 80GB HD $68.25
Sony Black CD-RW $33

Total $634.25

The NF7-S is more, but it gives you SoundStorm onboard audio, which the plain NF7 does not. The 9700 Pro is a good card, but for $210, you might want to opt for the 9800 Pro, which is better. In the price range that you are looking for, I don't think that the new video chipsets will have that much effect until for quite some time, so I don't really think the waiting will do you much good in the near future. The new chipsets will probably only shake up the high end for the next few months.
 
The rig I have saved on my wishlist at newegg is the following:

ABIT nFORCE 2 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "NF7" - Retail
Sapphire ATI Radeon 9600 256MB DDR, 128-bit, 8X AGP (This is $103, but I am having a hard time choosing a video card.. Anyone who could list a few videocards that will play some of the games I listed above *I am not playing Doom 3*.. Something better than my ATI Radeon 8500 LE 128MB.. )
AMD Mobile Athlon XP 2400+
SimpleTech 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 (Not set on the ram)
Western Digital Special Edition 80GB HD
SONY Black 52x32x52 CD-RW
Thermaltake SILENT BOOST Highest Performance Cooler for AMD AthlonXP up to 3400+ -RETAIL
APEX Silver Mid-Tower Super Tower with 400W Mustang Power Supply, Model "PC-146/400W" -RETAIL ($29)

All of that equals to about $500.. I have a monitor, etc.
 
The nforce2 chipset is dual channel, which means you need to run your memory in pairs to get the best performance. Also, I would not get the the 9600 256MB, the 9700 Pro or 9800 Pro (w/ 128MB) is much better than that card. Getting a superior video chipset with ample RAM is much better than getting a weak chipset with a lot of RAM. Your video card choice for your new rig is not very good and neither was your choice on your previous rig, which is why you are seeing jittery performance in UT2003.
 
Ok. So it is best to buy 2x256mb of ram. I also have chosen a better case for the rig.

About the videocard.. My limit is about $110 so I will just keep looking and read reviews.
 
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