I'm back from Dell Hell and I need a computer

[MRiddle]

Well, I thought I had the best computer for the price from Dell and then it got delayed, and delayed, and then canceled. I didn't even have any say so in it's cancellation. Oh well. I'm looking to build the same computer or better for the same price or cheaper. Here are the specs of the Dell computer:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 5000+
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 4DIMMs
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT-DDR3
250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Dell 19 in 1 Media Card Reader
48X CD-RW/ DVD Combo Drive

All together, with the case and everything was $809 (after $350 rebate from Dell offer).

I want to build this computer (the entire thing, case, fans, everything included) for the same price if not cheaper. If we can get a better motherboard and processor or video card, let's do it. If not, that's fine too.

Any help is SOOOOO appreciative after the hell I've been through.

Matt

 

[heyheybooboo]

msi K9A2 Platinum 790FX
$180 if you can find one

X2 5200+ Windsor 2.6GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache
$120 - $5 off with code (EMC1204CPU01)

MSI RX3850-T2D256E OC Radeon HD 3850 256MB 256-bit GDDR3
$175

That's $475 - is it a good start?

 

[Doclife]

Motherboard: Gigagyte GA-P31-DS3L $81.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128062

Intel processor: E2180 (2Ghz, 1MB) $90.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819116052

RAM: Transcend 4GB (2 X 2GB) DDR2 800 $86.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820208353

Power Supply: Antec Earthwatts EA500 500W $35 (after $40 Rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817371007

Video Card: XFX 8800GT 256MB $210.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814150264

Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB SATA $70.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148262

CD/DVD burner: Samsung SH-S203B 48X $32.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827151153

Monitor: Samsung 906BW 19" Widescreen $199.00 (after $20.00 Rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16824001094

Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Mid Tower Case $20.00 (after $30.00 Rebate)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...Code=10006342&ref=lmcd

Total: $823.00

You should be able to overclock the E2180 to the 3.0Ghz neighborhood, using stock cooler, and you will have one hell of a computer system that should last you a long time.
There is no need to buy a separate audio card. The onboard audio is superb.

Have fun with your build.

 

[taltamir]

Doclife designed an excellent system...

However he did so on newegg which has been price gouging like crazy recently. In fact on many things newegg is actually MORE expensive then a brink and mortar store... Go figure.

He did find a bunch of nice items with rebates. But if you don't want to bother with rebates AND/OR want to get discounts on the non rebated items then...

look around on:
mwave
zipzoomfly
clubit
tigerdirect

etc and find those same parts for less money.


@Heyhey... why would you tell a person on a budget to get a CF board for 100$ more then the non CF version and an X2 when they absolutely suck compared to intels (I just bought one, but it made sense for me since I already owned a AM2 board... drop in replacement)... and the 3850? and just one for his CF board?

He is better off getting a 8800GT 256MB like doclife suggested, which is far far better in performance for similar cost (currently price gouged on newegg, find it elsewhere, but even at that price it is still a better buy)

 

[imported_Tick]

Damn that case is a good deal. Nice find Doclife.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: taltamir
Doclife designed an excellent system...

However he did so on newegg which has been price gouging like crazy recently. In fact on many things newegg is actually MORE expensive then a brink and mortar store... Go figure.

He did find a bunch of nice items with rebates. But if you don't want to bother with rebates AND/OR want to get discounts on the non rebated items then...

look around on:
mwave
zipzoomfly
clubit
tigerdirect

etc and find those same parts for less money.


@Heyhey... why would you tell a person on a budget to get a CF board for 100$ more then the non CF version and an X2 when they absolutely suck compared to intels (I just bought one, but it made sense for me since I already owned a AM2 board... drop in replacement)... and the 3850? and just one for his CF board?

He is better off getting a 8800GT 256MB like doclife suggested, which is far far better in performance for similar cost (currently price gouged on newegg, find it elsewhere, but even at that price it is still a better buy)

Those are good prices frim NewEgg and to tell you to look around is ludivrous!

Taltamir should have done the work himself....

Thats a real nice system for the money-- get it!!

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda

Those are good prices frim NewEgg and to tell you to look around is ludivrous!

Taltamir should have done the work himself....

Thats a real nice system for the money-- get it!!

Shopping around is ludicrous?

I'm not saying Newegg does or doesn't have good prices right now. All I'm saying is that making sure you're getting the best price is never ludicrous.

 

[MRiddle]

I went on newegg and came up with the following list of items:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX
$159.99

BIOSTAR TForce TF570SLI AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
$87.99

Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT12864AA80E
$67.99

PNY VCG86GTS5XWB-OC GeForce 8600GTS 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
$209.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$69.99

Rosewill TU-155 Black 0.8mm SGCC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 400W Power Supply
$44.99

Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack
$89.99

Antec earthwatts EA500 ATX12V v2.0 500W Power Supply
$74.99

Total: $833.75

I went with a better processor since I want this computer to last as long as it can. I didn't need Vista and XP Home will do. I got the extra power supply (500W over 400W). I found a cool tower (hopefully it works). The video card I wanted was sold out so I got another one.

If I order the items above, will I have everything I need to build a computer? (cords, fans, etc)?

edit:

Looks like I need a heatsinc for the processor and the gluey stuff for the area between the two items. So I added the below to the items:

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
$19.99

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
$5.99

Not to expensive.

Any other items needed? Will the case come with fans? I'm guessing the hard drive will come with the cord to hook it up to the motherboard with.

 

[Doclife]

You're missing the monitor.
You're missing the CD/DVD burner.
The video card (8600GTS) is way too expensive for the low performance it provides. For the same price, go with the 8800GT 256MB that I picked for twice the performance.

 

[MRiddle]

I don't need a monitor. I did forget about the DVD drive. I don't need a burner. I just need a DVD drive to play the Orange Box game that has been sitting on my shelf since Black Friday.

 

[MRiddle]

Okay, I switched the two. I added a $12 DVD drive (they are so cheap now). The total comes to $878. Not too over my original budget. Here are the items:

Rosewill TU-155 Black 0.8mm SGCC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 400W Power Supply - Retail
$44.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$69.99
BIOSTAR TForce TF570SLI AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
$87.99
XFX PVT88PUDF4 GeForce 8800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
$209.99
ASUS Beige E-IDE/ATAPI CD-ROM Drive Model CD-S520B
$11.99
Antec earthwatts EA500 ATX12V v2.0 500W Power Supply
$74.99
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
$5.99
Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT12864AA80E
$67.99
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX
$159.99
Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack
$89.99
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
$19.99

Is that all I need to make the entire computer?

 

[Doclife]

Looks like you have everything. Some other things you might want to consider:

1. The case airflow may be inadequate if you do not install the front fan. You may want to buy some fans and installed them in front of the case; however, more fans mean more noise especially the 80mm fan. Larger fans spin slower and tend to create less noise.

2. Make sure that you are happy with the sound quality of the on-board audio of that AMD based motherboard that you picked. Otherwise, consider an add on audio card. I'm not familiar with the current generation of AMD based motherboard, but the current Intel based motherboard (P35) have superb onboard digital audio that eliminate the need to buy an add-on audio card.

Have fun with your build.

 

[Denithor]

I would really suggest going with an Intel cpu at this point.

Abit IP35 + e2180 for $190 shipped (after $25MIR) from Mwave

Even with stock cooling this setup should easily hit 3GHz and once there it will completely obliterate any AMD processor available. So for $190 you will get much higher performance than from the $270 you planned to spend on cpu/mobo/heatsink.

For your consideration:
e2160 @ 3.2GHz performance

 

[jkresh]

MRiddle, if you are comfortable with overclocking then follow Denithor's advice, the core2's realy overclock well and once you count that they kill amd in price/performance, if you don't overclock then on the low end amd does have some good price/performance chips but an e2180 at 3ghz will have a nice lead over the 6000+ and its a bit cheaper.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: MRiddle
Okay, I switched the two. I added a $12 DVD drive (they are so cheap now). The total comes to $878. Not too over my original budget. Here are the items:

Rosewill TU-155 Black 0.8mm SGCC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 400W Power Supply - Retail
$44.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$69.99
BIOSTAR TForce TF570SLI AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
$87.99
XFX PVT88PUDF4 GeForce 8800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
$209.99
ASUS Beige E-IDE/ATAPI CD-ROM Drive Model CD-S520B
$11.99
Antec earthwatts EA500 ATX12V v2.0 500W Power Supply
$74.99
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
$5.99
Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT12864AA80E
$67.99
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX
$159.99
Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack
$89.99
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
$19.99

Is that all I need to make the entire computer?

Lookin' Good

If you plan on gaming at 1600x1200 or above with AA you may want a 512mb card like the GECUBE HD 3850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 @ $210
No SLI however


:thumbsdown: @ taltamir

Maybe it's because . .

AMD 790FX Chipset
Four PCI Express X16 slots @ PCIe 2.0 spec
DDR2 800/1066
2 eSATA ports
Realtek ALC888 (Azalia) Audio onboard
2 Firewire ports
10 USB 2.0 ports

And then there is the future expansion potential of a quad Crossfire on those 4 PCIe 2.0 X16 slots

And, of course, no one here has noted that when gaming a cpu bottleneck above 2.6GHz is highly unlikely

And since the OP wants ""this computer to last as long as it can"" the 790fx AM2+ will provide an excellect upgrade path in the future for Agena/Phenom at the same price he is willing to spend today on a mobo/cpu.

btw - that mobo (K9A2 Platinum) was supposed to go on sale today - looks like it will be next Friday.

And btw @ MRiddle - here is a 52 in 1 USB 2.0 Internal Card Reader that I've used a bunch - so much so it's now out of stock.

Have a good day! Go for it, Riddle Man . . .