If you had $500, what kind of CPU, mobo, and RAM would you get?

warcrow

Lifer
Jan 12, 2004
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I'm picking your brains! :)

BTW, the only stipulations are:

- I needs to support PATA
- ATX

Thanks!
 

imported_Stormshadow

Junior Member
Nov 12, 2004
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I would shell out a few extra bucks and get the ASUS A8V Deluxe (120), Athlon 64 939 90nm (284), and get 1 Gig of PDP systems memory 3200 (165), that puts you at 569 which is 70 dollars over. I think it would be well worth it.
 

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
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Aug 23, 2003
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With $500, considering only hardware that is currently available:

MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum $136
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 939-pin $190
PDP PC3200 1GB XBL (TCCD) $230

Hrm...that's $556. I guess to get it closer to $500, I'd swap out the 3200+ for a 3000+ for $140.
 

warcrow

Lifer
Jan 12, 2004
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Hrm, so far both suggestions are viable, and great! Its interesting that the only thing thats agreed on is the memory :)
 

jpeyton

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Originally posted by: warcrow
Hrm, so far both suggestions are viable, and great! Its interesting that the only thing thats agreed on is the memory :)

Not really; he chose PDP's value PC3200; I chose their XBL. They are completely different animals.
 

warcrow

Lifer
Jan 12, 2004
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Originally posted by: jpeyton
Originally posted by: warcrow
Hrm, so far both suggestions are viable, and great! Its interesting that the only thing thats agreed on is the memory :)

Not really; he chose PDP's value PC3200; I chose their XBL. They are completely different animals.

aaaah, thanks for pointing that out.
 

Rapsven

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Jul 29, 2004
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Mushkin Green for around 178.
AMD Socket 939 32000+ for around 200.
MSI K8N Neo 2 for 128.

506 USD...it's not much over, but it's a very good deal, you pay too much for the additional 200 mhz with the 3500+.
 

KamiXkaze

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Nov 19, 2004
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personaly I would lower the memory to 512 unless you are running programs that are memory intensive(photoshop cs tends comes to mind)
 

Mrvile

Lifer
Oct 16, 2004
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Corsair Valuram 1gb for 150
939 3200 90nm Winchester for 200
MSI K8N Neo2 for 130

You can get a Thermalright XP-90 if you want for 40.
 

jpeyton

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Originally posted by: KamiXkaze
personaly I would lower the memory to 512 unless you are running programs that are memory intensive(photoshop cs tends comes to mind)

Or Far Cry.
 

kogase

Diamond Member
Sep 8, 2004
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Originally posted by: warcrow
we deffinitly need 1 GB.


Eh? An emporer?

Edit:

I thought that looked wrong. I can't stand misspelling when I'm trying to be a smartass.
 

jpeyton

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Alternately, if you're not the overclocking type (because the low clocked Winchesters just ask to be overclocked):

Athlon 64 3400+ (2.4GHz) 754-pin $220

DFI LanParty UT $99

Corsair Value Select 1GB (512MBx2) $160

$479
 

warcrow

Lifer
Jan 12, 2004
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BTW, I've not heard of PDP...are they a new manufacture? A subsidary of another popular mem manufacture?
 

jpeyton

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Originally posted by: warcrow
BTW, I've not heard of PDP...are they a new manufacture? A subsidary of another popular mem manufacture?

Relatively new manufacturer compared to some of the old industry players, but they use quality stuff. Their XBL line uses Samsung TCCD ICs on a Brainpower PCB; arguably the best RAM you can buy for the money. Other RAM that uses the same ICs and PCB include GSkill, PQI, OCZ EL Platinum Rev2, Corsair XMS PRO, etc.
 

warcrow

Lifer
Jan 12, 2004
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Originally posted by: jpeyton
Alternately, if you're not the overclocking type (because the low clocked Winchesters just ask to be overclocked):

Athlon 64 3400+ (2.4GHz) 754-pin $220

DFI LanParty UT $99

Corsair Value Select 1GB (512MBx2) $160

$479

Yea, not over clocking. But, I now need a sound solution since none of the boards support it well enough. I have a simple 4.1 Creative speaker set, so nothing fancy. Does the SB Live support that? btw, ignore the $500, this inst included.
 

jpeyton

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A sound solution for gaming or music? Chaintech AV-710 (a M-Audio Revolution in Sheep's clothing) goes for around $26 shipped, has *excellent* music/soundtrack capabilities, and good gaming capabilities. Doesn't support any advanced EAX features, which matters for some games and doesn't matter for others (Doom3, for example, handled sound through software, so it didn't make a difference if you had a cheap sound card or a Audigy2 ZS Platinum).

I wouldn't consider an SB Live! to have any advantage over the Chaintech. However, you could get an Audigy2 ZS, which is good with music/soundtrack and much better than the Chaintech with games that utilize EAX.

You should also take into account the quality of your speakers when making your decision. If you have great speakers, you will probably notice the difference between onboard sound and a good sound card, whereas cheaper speakers will make it harder to notice. Most of today's motherboards have onboard sound that would support your 4.1 speakers.
 

warcrow

Lifer
Jan 12, 2004
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I just want something compatible and stable. Does Creative still suck in the driver support catagory?
 

jpeyton

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Creative is doing fine with their drivers nowadays. Both are good sound cards; I'd argue the Chaintech is a better value. Search "Chaintech" in Hot Deals and there is a thread with reviews, etc. on it.
 

ciwell

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Mar 24, 2004
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Originally posted by: jpeyton
Originally posted by: warcrow
BTW, I've not heard of PDP...are they a new manufacture? A subsidary of another popular mem manufacture?

Relatively new manufacturer compared to some of the old industry players, but they use quality stuff. Their XBL line uses Samsung TCCD ICs on a Brainpower PCB; arguably the best RAM you can buy for the money. Other RAM that uses the same ICs and PCB include GSkill, PQI, OCZ EL Platinum Rev2, Corsair XMS PRO, etc.

Does PDP RAM overclock well?
 

CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
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Originally posted by: jpeyton
Alternately, if you're not the overclocking type (because the low clocked Winchesters just ask to be overclocked):

Athlon 64 3400+ (2.4GHz) 754-pin $220

DFI LanParty UT $99

Corsair Value Select 1GB (512MBx2) $160

$479

That's what I would get personally... heh
 

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
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Aug 23, 2003
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Originally posted by: ciwell
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Originally posted by: warcrow
BTW, I've not heard of PDP...are they a new manufacture? A subsidary of another popular mem manufacture?

Relatively new manufacturer compared to some of the old industry players, but they use quality stuff. Their XBL line uses Samsung TCCD ICs on a Brainpower PCB; arguably the best RAM you can buy for the money. Other RAM that uses the same ICs and PCB include GSkill, PQI, OCZ EL Platinum Rev2, Corsair XMS PRO, etc.

Does PDP RAM overclock well?

Quite well, DDR540 at low latencies (2.5-3-3-7) and beyond. Plus TCCD isn't as voltage hungry as BH5 was.