Help with a budget OC system

[DrMoe]

Thinking about an upgrade, currently running an AthlonXP 1.2 with 512 PC2700 and a GeForce 3. Considering spending about 600 US on a system. This is the best I can come up with so far from Newegg:

Abit nf-7 = 66
mobile athlon 2400 35 watt (reasonable OC, nothing crazy) = 87
geil value series 512 pc3200 = 85
Radeon 9800SE 128mb 256mbit (possible softmod) = 154
Antec SLK3700BQE = 79
Seagate 120GB 7200 8MB PATA = 94.75
Speeze falconrock = 10.99
Arctic cooling VGA silencer (if I softmod) = 19.99
Total = 596.73

Obviously, my total with shipping will be over 600. I have optical drives, keyboards, mice, and monitors. I am curious to hear opinions on softmodding the 9800SE vs spending the extra cash on a 9800 pro vs saving some money with the 9800SE unmodded (no cooling) or a 9600 pro. My current system is playable for counterstrike (obviously) and NWN but I am interested in a few new games. Would be nice to play HL2 and comparable games - doesn't have to be max settings or smooth as silk, just playable. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[DrMoe]

Just saw the same 9800SE refurb for 125 on Newegg. Any thoughts on this as well? Thanks.

 

[Markfw]

I'm batting 50% on refurb mobos (1 for 2), and 0% (0 of 3) on refurb video cards from newegg. Go for the 9800pro Forget the vga silencer, and get a smaller hard drive if the 600 is a must.

 

[Evdawg]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
I'm batting 50% on refurb mobos (1 for 2), and 0% (0 of 3) on refurb video cards from newegg. Go for the 9800pro Forget the vga silencer, and get a smaller hard drive if the 600 is a must.

 

[duragezic]

Originally posted by: Evdawg

Originally posted by: Markfw900
I'm batting 50% on refurb mobos (1 for 2), and 0% (0 of 3) on refurb video cards from newegg. Go for the 9800pro Forget the vga silencer, and get a smaller hard drive if the 600 is a must.

I agree with this also. And personally, I know everyone likes that Antec case but I would get something cheaper myself to save a tad more, but it's not a big deal either way. Otherwise that is about the best you can get now for $600.

 

[Tostada]

That does sound like the best thing you could possibly build for that budget to me.

If it were me, I wouldn't try so hard to squeeze every penny of performance out of the budget. I would go for something that would have a little more longevity. Get the NF7-S, then the board will still be useful in a couple years. Get a better heatsink. Get better memory. Then make up for it by getting a Radeon 9600 128-bit for $94 and ditching the video cooler.

Then, when you have the cash to get a badass video card, get that. A year from now you'll be glad you have SATA, a good heatsink for an overclocking machine, and you'll have a nice passively-cooled Radeon 9600 for a system that isn't for hardcore gaming.

If you just want the best possible gaming performance, upgrade the machine you've already got. Just drop $430 on a Radeon X800, $80 on another 512MB and $90 on an XP 2600+. I guess it depends on what board you already have. You might be able to get a $77 Mobile Athlon and get 3200+ performance since you can set the FSB as high as your board goes and turn up the multiplier.