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Mid range computer <$1k

M

Mr Bob

Golden Member
I am looking at getting a computer for less than $1k. The MB comes with a wireless PCI card, which is something else I will need.

I was able to piece together the following:
CPU
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Processor (Venice) Socket 939 Retail ***Free 2nd Day***
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80701-5
Price: $190.00

Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-K8N Pro-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128301
$109.00

Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps PCI Card
Price: Free w/ GA-K8N Pro-SLI MB

Video Card
eVGA 128-P2-N368-TX Geforce 6600GT 128MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130214
Price: $154.00

RAM
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440
Price: $89.75

Hard Drive
Western Digital WD Caviar WD1600JD 160GB Serial ATA 7200RPM Hard Drive *** Free 2nd Day ***
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101208-1
Price: $85.00

Case
APEX PC-336 Black/Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811154054
Price: $34.99
Shipping: $15.99

CD/DVD Drive
NEC ND-3540A 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Bare Drive (Black) ***Free 2nd Day***
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=172508
Price: $46.99

Floppy
SAMSUNG Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Model SFD321B/LBL1 - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16821103203
Price: $9.99
 
Originally posted by: Mr Bob
" switch out the mobo for an epox 9npa+ ultra. "
- Why?
Click to expand...

The Epox NPA3J (I'd stay away from that over-priced 9NPA+ Ultra) is cheaper, but has stellar overclocking features--or so I've heard. I have the socket-754 version of that line, an EP-8KDA3J. I've been VERY impressed. I'll probably look fondly on Epox boards for a long time.

However, it's not *that* much cheaper. Plus, you need a wireless card, which I don't think is included on the 9npa+ Ultra, so that would close the price gap pretty narrowly. You could probably save a few dollars with the Epox, but it's certainly no big deal.

My question would be this: if you're overclocking, why a 3200+ instead of the 3000+? They've both got the same core clock limits, right? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only difference between the two chips would be the multiplier.

The video card seems a bit expensive, but if you're a gamer I suppose there's no way to avoid that.

Have you considered getting two 80 GB hard disks for RAID instead of one 160 GB disk? I'm not clear on the benefits, but from what others say the performance gain is pretty amazing.

All that said, your picks look pretty good. The changes I suggested above are all very minor, and none by any means necessary. Good luck!
 
> theman
I asked why, and that link doesn't explain why I would want that MB over the one I listed w/ a free wireless card that I need.

It seems like I would be spending an extra $20+ to get a MB.

"The video card seems a bit expensive, but if you're a gamer I suppose there's no way to avoid that. "
- Not really, but there will be some game playing on it. Have a better suggestion for something with a little less perforamce for about $50 less?

"Have you considered getting two 80 GB hard disks for RAID instead of one 160 GB disk? I'm not clear on the benefits, but from what others say the performance gain is pretty amazing. "
- I don't want to deal with raid or OC on this setup.
 
Also, instead of the 3200+, get the 3000+ (venice) and also get the X800GT if it's near the same price. The X800GT SHOULD be cheaper and performs better at stock. It can even oc fairly good.
 
If you're not overclocking, then why go with the fancy motherboard and socket-939 platform when you can get a faster s754 setup for less money? I mean, it's not like you're getting ripped off... we're talking about maybe $50-$75 price difference, or maybe 10% in speed.... but, if you're not overclocking, s754 will probably get you the most bang for your buck.
 
Rise, thanks for the link!

The X800GT is the same price as the 6600gt.

"If you're not overclocking, then why go with the fancy motherboard and socket-939 platform when you can get a faster s754 setup for less money?"
- Because I didn't know it would be a better deal. I thought the 3200+ was about the best CPU for this price range. Do they make it insocket 754? What cpu/mb would you suggest that would be faster, and cheaper?

"Also, instead of the 3200+, get the 3000+ (venice)"
- When I looked at the benchmarks, the 3200 scored better for the price difference.

Thanks everyone!
 
drop down to a 3000venice and get a x800pro refurbed for ~$179 -5% with the code if you are gaming, or just stay with the 3200 and still get the ati card since it will be ~ the same price and perform better for gaming if you use some aa and higher details (usually, unless you game with a game that uses the quake engine)

you could also drop down to a 3000 and get a nice thermalright xp90 and fan and then o/c to like 3700+ speeds...

just out of curiosity, are you replacing your rig in sig?
 
Hey bob, I wouldn't want to get any refurb hardware with this computer.

"just out of curiosity, are you replacing your rig in sig? "
- Nope 🙂 This one is doing quite well, once I put in the raptor, it actually hasn't ever been slow.

"you could also drop down to a 3000 and get a nice thermalright xp90 and fan and then o/c to like 3700+ speeds... "
- Like I said earlier, I don't want to OC.
 
Originally posted by: Mr Bob
Hey bob, I wouldn't want to get any refurb hardware with this computer.

"just out of curiosity, are you replacing your rig in sig? "
- Nope 🙂 This one is doing quite well, once I put in the raptor, it actually hasn't ever been slow.

"you could also drop down to a 3000 and get a nice thermalright xp90 and fan and then o/c to like 3700+ speeds... "
- Like I said earlier, I don't want to OC.
Click to expand...

just and fyi on the refurbed ati - a lot of people report getting new ones without any sing of installation on the contacts even when looked at under magnification, and they do come with a 3yr warrantly. i just got a agp x800xtpe on the deal and am more than happy with it. again, this is just an fyi as a lot of people feel ati is dumping hardware to make up some $$ for the quarter and have labeled these as refurbed, but are possibly new. if you look at their $$ reports they were off targe by like $100M US, so these theories may be true...again, not trying to push these on you but just to let you know 😀
 
Thanks, but I don't want to cut costs and "maybe" suffer on the hardware side of things. If I needed to reach X secs with a limited budget, I might look at refurbs.
 
Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 Power Supply - Retail 109.00

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor 190.00
EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard 95.00
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory 106.00
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6L200S0 200GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive 91.00
NEC Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive 8.49
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A 39.99
Leadtek PX6800GT TDH Geforce 6800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI-E Video Card 295.00

Total 934.48

all under 1 k you can buy a wirless pci card for another 40 bucks still under 1 k !

i got you one stick of ddr ram later on you should upgrade with another 1 gig stick if you play BF2 and thats about it you should be set the 6800 gt is a great card should last ya awhile 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Mr Bob
- Because I didn't know it would be a better deal. I thought the 3200+ was about the best CPU for this price range. Do they make it insocket 754? What cpu/mb would you suggest that would be faster, and cheaper?
Click to expand...

Any basic socket-754 motherboard should do, so long as it has PCIe x16. I saw this one for $68. Add a wireless adapter ($24) and a retail Athlon 64 3400+ "Newcastle" ($205), and you've got a grand total of $297. So, you could save $7 and get a 400-MHz-faster CPU by going with socket 754.

Of course, with the setup you first posted, you could always change your mind about overclocking, and push that 3200+ up to 3800+ speeds.

Lastly, I'm not exactly suggesting anything. Having just got a new system, myself, I'm still excited about the hardware market. Think of this as online brainstorming--I'm not trying to say my ideas are best.
 
Originally posted by: Gadzookie
Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 Power Supply - Retail 109.00

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor 190.00
EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard 95.00
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory 106.00
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6L200S0 200GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive 91.00
NEC Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive 8.49
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A 39.99
Leadtek PX6800GT TDH Geforce 6800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI-E Video Card 295.00

Total 934.48

all under 1 k you can buy a wirless pci card for another 40 bucks still under 1 k !

i got you one stick of ddr ram later on you should upgrade with another 1 gig stick if you play BF2 and thats about it you should be set the 6800 gt is a great card should last ya awhile 🙂
Click to expand...

looks like a nice system
 
Originally posted by: Gadzookie
Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 Power Supply - Retail 109.00

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor 190.00
EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard 95.00
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory 106.00
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6L200S0 200GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive 91.00
NEC Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive 8.49
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A 39.99
Leadtek PX6800GT TDH Geforce 6800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI-E Video Card 295.00

Total 934.48

all under 1 k you can buy a wirless pci card for another 40 bucks still under 1 k !

i got you one stick of ddr ram later on you should upgrade with another 1 gig stick if you play BF2 and thats about it you should be set the 6800 gt is a great card should last ya awhile 🙂
Click to expand...
- That's spending twice as much money on a case and video card- just not needed. Thanks for trying though. I would rather have a raptor in the setup than a better video card and case.

"Any basic socket-754 motherboard should do, so long as it has PCIe x16. I saw this one for $68. Add a wireless adapter ($24) and a retail Athlon 64 3400+ "Newcastle" ($205), and you've got a grand total of $297. So, you could save $7 and get a 400-MHz-faster CPU by going with socket 754. "
- Anyone care to comment on this? It seems pretty logical.
 
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