Need someone to build be a bang for the buck rig...

[FroztBite]

My friend wants to build a computer with practically everything new except for his video card (a 9800 Pro) and all his peripherals, so the amount of money he has is $400. He wants to get the most for his money to be able to get some decent fps in games like Counter Strike: Source. Not really needing to run any of the really new games. But yeah. Some help would be appreciated. He is not planning on OC, so don't suggest it . Thanks for your time.

 

[LordX2]

Is his ram good??? If it is, then just get an intel 975X or p965 board and pair it with a conroe processor... obviously make sure it has an AGP slot to handle the old card. and thats it...

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: LordX2
Is his ram good??? If it is, then just get an intel 975X or p965 board and pair it with a conroe processor... obviously make sure it has an AGP slot to handle the old card. and thats it...

WTF? A 975X board will use DDR2 memory and sure as hell won't have an AGP slot. Just an E6300 would be almost half his $400 budget.

 

[bamacre]

Some of these are Hot deals, so he'll need to hurry to order. Prices include shipping.

Antec NSK 4400 Mid Tower Case w/ 380W PSU
$79.99
http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4814040?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Gigabyte GA-K8NSC-939 nForce3 250Gb Athlon 64(FX) Skt939 DDR ATX Motherboard
$71.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=241799

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Processor (Venice) Socket 939 Retail
$76.90
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80701-5

pqi POWER Series 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory
$95.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...1198&CMP=OTC-pr1c3watch&ATT=20-141-198

MAXTOR 100GB SATA HARD DRIVE
$39.99
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4551457

NEC ND-3550A 16X DVD+/-RW
$28.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152058

Total Price Shipped:
$393.85

 

[FroztBite]

Sorry I was in a hurry didn't specify.

We do not need a DVD RW drive and shouldn't need a Case, so this gives us some extra money to put into the processor im guessing since source is a such a CPU dependent game.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: FroztBite
Sorry I was in a hurry didn't specify.

We do not need a DVD RW drive and shouldn't need a Case, so this gives us some extra money to put into the processor im guessing since source is a such a CPU dependent game.

Does he need a PSU? What does he have now?

 

[The Boston Dangler]

everything new except for his video card (a 9800 Pro)
some decent fps in games like Counter Strike: Source

Not happening.

I strongly suggest going with the Asrock mobo for $65. AGP and PCIe, 939 and AM2, respectable performance, and the price can't be beat with a stick.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157081

 

[Greenman]

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
everything new except for his video card (a 9800 Pro)
some decent fps in games like Counter Strike: Source

Not happening.

I strongly suggest going with the Asrock mobo for $65. AGP and PCIe, 939 and AM2, respectable performance, and the price can't be beat with a stick.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157081

My spare rig does very well playing CSS with a 9800 pro.

 

[earthman]

Is his ram good??? If it is, then just get an intel 975X or p965 board and pair it with a conroe processor... obviously make sure it has an AGP slot to handle the old card. and thats it...

LOL...if you can do that for $400 I want one too. Try getting a single core Athlon64 off ebay, shouldn't be more than $60-80, a good quality basic Socket 939 board won't be more than $100, and maybe $110 for a gig of dual channel RAM. That'll give him alot more computer than he has video card to use on it...and you'll have enough left to go to dinner.