Ive got 2.8 g's to spend. Help me spend it

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brettjrob

Senior member
Jul 1, 2003
214
0
71
Building the PC is not difficult at all, so don't be worried about screwing up... I am 15 and I have built three systems without any major problems. The first time was a little tricky and took me a good three or four hours, but the components survived my cluelessness ;).

Here's my advice, given your high budget...

Ditch that Shuttle barebones... it's a waste of money and uses a motherboard with integrated graphics. You'll be a lot happier with a nice case and a nice mobo. You can browse through all the cases at NewEgg and pick out the coolest looking one if you'd like, but most of the best looking cases carry quite a price tag and don't even come with a power supply unit. Given your high budget, though, I'd say getting a nice case and high-end power supply would be a good way to start.

For the motherboard, you'll want a Canterwood-based board from a major manufacturer. ASUS P4C800 or ABIT IC7 are both good choices, although I'm having some major problems with my Corsair memory on my ABIT IS7, so maybe the ASUS would be a better option.

Memory: Corsair is a great brand, but it seems to be giving people problems on 865/875 based boards. Kingston HyperX is around the same price and is, from what I can tell, making Intel users a lot happier. Two 512MB sticks of PC3200 or higher will do the trick.

CPU: P4 3.0GHz is the obvious choice in this case, good pick.

HDD: WD1200JB should be sufficient. It's plenty fast and is a much, much better value than Raptors.

Video: Good choice (9800 Pro).

Sound: It depends on how much you're gaming and what games you play. Integrated sound nowadays isn't so bad... I'm perfectly happy listening to music with my onboard sound, although it isn't really optimal for gaming. Hold off on buying a sound card until you test out the onboard and see if it's satisfactory.

The only other thing I can think of that you may want are round IDE cables for good airflow (and they look cool) and some Arctic Silver 3 if you plan on overclocking. The round cables are about $15 each (you'll probably need two), and the AS3 should be under $10 for a tube. Make sure you thoroughly scrape off the black thermal pad on the bottom of your P4 CPU before you apply the Arctic Silver, or you'll have a big mess on your hands.

 

CubicZirconia

Diamond Member
Nov 24, 2001
5,193
0
71
round IDE cables for good airflow

Round IDE cables do not increase airflow, nor do they decrease case temps. Do not kid yourself. That said, if he's spending nearly 3 grand on a system, he damn well better have round ide cables.
 

aces961

Junior Member
Apr 29, 2003
18
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Originally posted by: mrgoblin
WIll I be able to overclock using the intel heatsink and cpu fan?



yes the stock intel heatsink and fan will allow you to overclock, but getting a better heatsink fan will allow you to overclock more than the intel heatsink and fan while keeping the same CPU temp. And as a by product of the lower CPU temp your processer will last longer.
 
Apr 17, 2003
37,622
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76
check out this config from oxford: $2575 w/o shipping or tax

2.8C
IC7
Zalman CNPS7000-Cu
1 GB of TwinX corsair pc3700
2X 120 GB maxtor Diamondmax plus 9 (total 240 GB)
Mitsumi floppy drive
Lite On 52X cdrw
Pionner A05
9800 pro
audigy 2
coolermaster ATC111C case
antec truepower 420W
 

mrgoblin

Golden Member
Jul 28, 2003
1,075
0
0
Originally posted by: shady06
check out this config from oxford: $2575 w/o shipping or tax

2.8C
IC7
Zalman CNPS7000-Cu
1 GB of TwinX corsair pc3700
2X 120 GB maxtor Diamondmax plus 9 (total 240 GB)
Mitsumi floppy drive
Lite On 52X cdrw
Pionner A05
9800 pro
audigy 2
coolermaster ATC111C case
antec truepower 420W


I can get a better pc for less at cyberpowerinc.com or at overdrivepc.com
 

BaboonGuy

Diamond Member
Aug 24, 2002
4,125
0
0
Man, if you dont need a monitor/kb/speakers then you can build such an incredible system. Nothing I've seen online comes close to a DIY system that you could make. The only thing I can see that would be a benefit with that kind of dough buying online would be gettin watercooled. I'd imagine it'd be hard to set up a water cooled system for a novice. But then again you probably dont need a watercooled system unless you really really care about noise (which would be minimal anyways). And since you dont want to overclock, getting a watercooled system would be a travesty since they are the ultimate in oc-ing (besides vapo). Okay so here's what I would get:

Mobo: Abit IS7-G (or whatever the best abit intel board is, i think this is it)

Processor: P4 3.2C

RAM: Corsair or HyperX 2x512 PC3200

PSU: Antec True 480 w/Blue LED Fan

VCard : ATi Radeon 9800 256MB Pro

Sound Card: Audigy 2

Hard Drives : Dual Raptors in Raid 0 and a 250GB Maxtor SATA drive

CD-RW : Plextor 52x CD-RW

DVD-ROM : Plextor DVD-Rom

DVD-RAM : whatever is the best if you want it

This setup will by far blow away any setup i've seen from the dells / overdrives. You just can't beat Dual Raptors. If you could find a system that had 15k SCSI drives and watercooled, then i would get that, otherwise get this setup and build it yourself. Hell, you could probably build two of these.
 

BaboonGuy

Diamond Member
Aug 24, 2002
4,125
0
0
Originally posted by: mrgoblin
But is it worth it to wait for the prescott?

no. it could be a very long time till you see them. but something thats also not worth it is buying top of the line which you would be doing. ask your parents to just give you the 2.8 g's in cash, then you can be a true enthusiast and buy good stuff thats a step below top of the line then by the time prescott comes around u can upgrade.
 

brettjrob

Senior member
Jul 1, 2003
214
0
71
Originally posted by: mrgoblin
WIll I be able to overclock using the intel heatsink and cpu fan?
My Intel stock HSF allows me to run my 2.4C anywhere up to 3GHz without problems... possibly further, but I don't want to push my luck. From what I've read, buying another HSF unit may help temps just a bit, but the main reason people replace their Intel HSF is to decrease the noise while maintaining around the same temperatures. I personally will tolerate the noise rather than spend $50 or more on an SLK900 and quiet fan.
 
Apr 17, 2003
37,622
0
76
Originally posted by: mrgoblin
Originally posted by: shady06
check out this config from oxford: $2575 w/o shipping or tax

2.8C
IC7
Zalman CNPS7000-Cu
1 GB of TwinX corsair pc3700
2X 120 GB maxtor Diamondmax plus 9 (total 240 GB)
Mitsumi floppy drive
Lite On 52X cdrw
Pionner A05
9800 pro
audigy 2
coolermaster ATC111C case
antec truepower 420W


I can get a better pc for less at cyberpowerinc.com or at overdrivepc.com

wow, cyberpowerinc.com has great prices

edit: almost an identical setup to the oxford one is $2775 @ overdrive