How outdated is the S754 lineup

[Cdubneeddeal]

I haven't had my own computer in several years since my work provides me with a laptop but I've been wanting to build a mediocre gaming rig but on the cheap. By checking the FS/FT forum I've noticed several systems and components around the S754 format for very cheap. Do they still make good video cards around the AGP format?

I know what you're thinking, stupid n00b. But like I said, I haven't been around the whole computer building scene for years.

 

[Blain]

* If you can't bring yourself to pop for some kind of dual core Intel system, a socket 754 is not the way to go.
You should at least base the build on a socket 939 CPU/MB. 939 parts are selling cheap also.
* AGP cards are still being produced, but barely. You can get up to a 2600XT or 1950 Pro in the ATI line of cards. If you like nVidia better, you can go up to a 7900GS.

With DDR2 being so cheap tight now, a dual core Intel build is a smart move.
You can base it on an E2160 and OC to 3GHz, most likely.

 

[Zap]

If you want to go really cheap, then you need something modern but low end. The reason is that AGP and DDR parts are expensive, relative to performance and quantity (of RAM). For instance DDR400 costs twice DDR2-800 for the same amount of RAM. Also, with AGP you pay more versus an equivalent performance PCI-E part. For super cheap it is possible to do a system from all new parts if you go with a really low end single core socket AM2 chip, or a Celeron 420.

 

[MegaVovaN]

thirded dual core, DDR2 and PCI-E

 

[Tarrant64]

What is it you'll be using the system for?

Socket 939 with AMD dual core processor should do you just fine, and it's cheap. AGP is still being produced, not as popular though. I thought nVidia was going to release a model higher than a 7900 for AGP. I will have to check on that though. I could have sworn I saw a higher model somewhere...

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
I haven't had my own computer in several years since my work provides me with a laptop but I've been wanting to build a mediocre gaming rig but on the cheap. By checking the FS/FT forum I've noticed several systems and components around the S754 format for very cheap. Do they still make good video cards around the AGP format?

I know what you're thinking, stupid n00b. But like I said, I haven't been around the whole computer building scene for years.

If you have around $100 to start a s775 like the GIGABYTE GA-945GCM-S2 and a Cedar Mill Celly cpu would get your foot in the door. C2D upgrades and PCIe available on the mobo but the intel IGP is pretty much a dawg fer gamin', though.

I'm an 'old tech' el fugally kinda guy but even s764 might be too much of a dinosaur for me.
There are 'good' AGP cards still avaiable but way too pricey for what you get. Ditto for DDR memory for s754 - twice the cost of DDR2

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Tarrant64
What is it you'll be using the system for?

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
I've been wanting to build a mediocre gaming rig but on the cheap.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I'd think that you could probably build a VERY low end Am2 mobo + single core CPU + PCI Express Vid card + 1GB of DDR2 + cheap Power supply box for close to the cost of a much older (and much less upgradeable) 754 or 939 system.

That said, I'd spend the extra hundred bucks and go with Intel core 2


Of course if "mediocre gaming" to you means playing 2 or 3 year old games at 640x480, then a 754 system will be just fine.

 

[JackMDS]

The parts that you are talking about are only the Mobo and the CPU.

Given that it needs DDR that is more expensive than DDR2.

By building with 739 as oppose to AM2 you save very little to nothing for the privilege of having a semi Dud.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
If you have around $100 to start a s775 like the GIGABYTE GA-945GCM-S2 and a Cedar Mill Celly cpu would get your foot in the door.

Why a Cedar Mill Celeron when you can get a Conroe-L Celeron for the same price?

 

[cozumel]

Agree with everyone else. With the low price of ddr2 there is no point building a rig with ddr as you'll be throwing your hard-earned money away. Which means you might as well get a mobo that is also PCIE and will take dual core.

For under $240 you could have a GA-P35-DS3L mobo, Intel E2180 CPU and 2x1GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 kit. These type of products would set you with the foundations of a system that could last you a few years and the mobo would be able to take the 45nm CPUs too so nicely upgradeable. You could probably get these items for less as I checked with Newegg and they are not the cheapest...

Have you got any sort of budget in your mind then we could all put some solid ideas your way...

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
If you have around $100 to start a s775 like the GIGABYTE GA-945GCM-S2 and a Cedar Mill Celly cpu would get your foot in the door.

Why a Cedar Mill Celeron when you can get a Conroe-L Celeron for the same price?

I'm just a Low-End Celly Lover ...

The Conroe Celly 1.6GHz is just not up to snuff. By the time you get up to L-2GHz chip you're pushing $65-$70 and may as well go 21xx.

It's a 'better' chip, no doubt, but from what I've gathered the 420-L is a tick off the 3GHz+ Celly Ds.

Maybe that's why they cost $1-$2 more ... lol

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

What's your budget? You can build a *very* nice E2200 system with 8600GT and 2GB RAM or just under $600 ($550AR)--that includes Vista, HDD, mobo, DVD-RW, case and PSU.

 

[Denithor]

EVGA GeForce 7100 mATX $65 (after $15MIR)
e2160 (1.8GHz, 1MB cache) $82 (easy OC to 3GHz)
Transcend 2x1GB DDR2-800 $33 (after $10MIR)
Seagate 250GB (SATA, 16MB cache) $65
Sony NEC 20X SATA DVD burner $26
In Win Silver/Black + 350W PSU $62 (PSU included is fine for budget build)

Total before video card: $333 (after $25MIR)

Video card is a bit tougher, normally the lowest I will recommend these days for any gaming at all is a Radeon HD 3850 ($165 after $15MIR). Depending on the games you play and the resolution of your monitor (19" LCD is typically 1280x1024 or widescreen is 1440x900) you could possibly get away with a lesser card if not into any new games. But that card is such a great value at $165 it's hard to recommend anything lesser.

All you have to add to this is a monitor/keyboard/mouse/speakers and an OS (XP Pro OEM for $140 or XP Home OEM for $95).

Or just configure an HP that has a PCI-E slot available to drop in a higher-performance card.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Damn. Didn't realize there's so many options out there now. Back in the days it was simple. Now I see a lot of you recommending Intel instead of AMD. Is Intel the preferred chip now?

As for my budget, I really don't have a "Budget" at this time. I've been slowly pushing myself to build a system over the next couple of months so the budget hasn't been decided. I do know that I'll need to buy everything, I mean everything except for a printer of course.

 

[Denithor]

Intel has the upper hand in both stock performance (Intel chips trample AMD chips at same speed) as well a huge overclocking potential. Most of these chips can reach 40/50/60% overclocks with complete stability, commonly without even a voltage change (case in point--my e6400, running 3GHz versus stock 2.13GHz, with no increased voltages or improved cooling--it crunches F@H 24/7 with no issues). The e21x0 line is known for 100% overclocks, although usually with slightly increased voltages and better cooling.

If this is a project spread over several months, keep a close eye in the Hot Deals forum for sales and rebate deals on the components you need. I've been able to pick up 1GB DDR2 sticks for as little as $9 after MIR as well as a motherboard on the cheap and other various components.

Keep in mind you are also going to need a monitor (19" LCD recommended) and other accessories totalling probably around $200-250 depending on the deals you find so your whole system is going to run $800-900.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Thanks for the advice. Yeah, I figured that although I would like to keep the costs as low as possible that up to $1000 was imminent. I hope I can still remember how to put the CPU in

 

[Dyloot]

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
Thanks for the advice. Yeah, I figured that although I would like to keep the costs as low as possible that up to $1000 was imminent. I hope I can still remember how to put the CPU in

For $1000 you can build something pretty damn nice, actually. Far better than a 754 system. I'm guessing you could spend closer to $600 for a full 754 system.

Check out this guy's offer:

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...ord1=%22athlon+3700%22

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
The Conroe Celly 1.6GHz is just not up to snuff. By the time you get up to L-2GHz chip you're pushing $65-$70 and may as well go 21xx.

It's a 'better' chip, no doubt, but from what I've gathered the 420-L is a tick off the 3GHz+ Celly Ds.

I've owned a Celeron D 357 Cedar Mill and still have a Celeron 420 Conroe-L. The Cedar Mill chip was much higher MHz, but wouldn't clock much beyond that and it ran pretty warm. The 420 is currently running at 2.66GHz default vcore in a Dell machine (BSEL mod), and with stock fan runs icy cold even when running Prime. The Cedar Mill chip couldn't compete even when overclocked to around 3.6-3.8GHz (where mine maxed out). BTW my 420 was an OEM chip that I got from eWiz for $31 + shipping.

 

[0roo0roo]

I've been wanting to build a mediocre gaming rig but on the cheap.

thats what you'll get as said above. if you get off the upgrade treadmill too long you just have to buy all new parts. parts compatible with such old hardware have marginal performance for higher price.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

You can build a cheap and awesome gaming rig, doesn't have to be mediocre. Give us a hard number and you will get tons of neat ideas.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Thanks everyone for the advice thus far. I feel so ignorant posting so often on a computer forum but not knowing the latest hardware trends. I got a PM suggesting to get a newer type of Dell and just putting in a better video card as a complete system with an LCD could be had for under $500. However, how are the refresh rates on the newer LCD's? Are most built to better specs now to keep ghosting from happening?

 

[MegaVovaN]

Refresh rate is 60 hz and time is 5 ms on my 22" LCD I got over a year ago.
Never any ghosting.

LCDs are not like CRTs, at 60 hz you will not see any "blinking" you may see on a CRT running @ 60 hz.


Don't feel ignorant. As proverb goes,
"One that asks a question feels a fool for a moment; One that never asks question is a fool for eternity"

 

[imported_Kiwi]

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
Damn. Didn't realize there's so many options out there now. Back in the days it was simple. Now I see a lot of you recommending Intel instead of AMD. Is Intel the preferred chip now?

Remember where you are. Fastest anything is important here, not price. AMD either didn't budget enough for development of the K10, or didn't press ahead while they had the lead, and Intel leapfrogged far past where the K10 ended up. The C2D processors also have modest stock core speeds and tall overhead room to overclock in. That attracts the power at any cost folks.

As for my budget, I really don't have a "Budget" at this time. I've been slowly pushing myself to build a system over the next couple of months so the budget hasn't been decided. I do know that I'll need to buy everything, I mean everything except for a printer of course.

PCI-e has been out such a long time that both the s754 and the s939 chipsets received that upgrade; only the RAM wasn't upgraded, save with various AsRock "Dual" mainboards that allowed use of old DDR, carried forward. If you have no parts of any kind held over from any last pre-DDR2 system, you can get into AM-2 slightly less expensively than into C2D, IMO.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
Thanks everyone for the advice thus far. I feel so ignorant posting so often on a computer forum but not knowing the latest hardware trends. I got a PM suggesting to get a newer type of Dell and just putting in a better video card as a complete system with an LCD could be had for under $500. However, how are the refresh rates on the newer LCD's? Are most built to better specs now to keep ghosting from happening?

newer lcds ghosting is a thing of the past. not something to worry about really. just don't get a 6bit panel