New system for Buddie..Strict 1200 limit...see what I picked and tell me if I am nuts

[Duvie]

First of 1200 was a strict price to get everything except the printer....

He wants amd and frankly for what he would like that is about a necessity. He also wants a nice 17" LCD flat panel monitor and wants a barton with 512kb of l2 cache...So don't argue these points.

He also wants to have a nice to fast gaiming card to play next generation UT and half life 2 maybe!!!


At www.zipzoomfly.com
(all free 2nd day shipping)

AMD Barton 2600+ (1.91ghz) w/ 333mhz bus (he will let me oc to 200fsb) Retail-----------106.00
(2)256mb Hyper X PC3200 w/ heatspreaders (512 kit) cas 2,3,2,6----------------------------110.00
DFI NF2 Ultra-Al Ultra 400--------------------------------------------------------------------------------77.50
Western Digital 40gb (7200rpm 8mb cache)---------------------------------------------------------60.50
Liteon 401s DVD-R/DVD-RW-----------------------------------------------------------------------------106.00
Solaris 17"LCD (black and fully adjustable neck) 16ms pixel refresh and anti-ghosting)----385.00
____________________________________________________________________________

Total=845.00

At www.newegg.com
(all free shipping except case)

SAPPHIRE RADEON 9600XT, 128MB DDR, (500 core/ 600 mem)-----------------------------------172.00
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack SP1a - OEM -----------------------------91.00
Logitech SBF69 Optical Wheel Mouse ------------------------------------------------------------------15.00
Ideazon Zboard Base Interchangable Keyboard System (Black and Silver) --------------------10.00
Antec Solution Series Case with 350W Power (w/ (1) 120mm case fan)-------------------------73.00sh
_____________________________________________________________________________

Total=361.00

A few bucks over!!!



I really like the 9600 ati card as one that can give him longevity without a huge hit to the pocket book. I could maybe go for the 9600pro if someone has a good deal and from a manufacturer that hasn't neutered the card with subpar cooling an memory...

Before you get excited about the LCD I read about it and the specs are as good as the same line NEC and Samsung....450:1 contrast ratio and same max resolution and hz...Seem as comparable as any and has as decent a warranty as any of the others...price is too damn good for good specs...

I can't really go any lower on the harddrive but if I had to I coul drop the dvd burner and go with a cd-rw/dvd-rom combo from liteon around 55-60....

I also can maybe drop 20 off of the 2600+ barton and go with the 2500+ barton if need be. I hear the newer chips are bound to be locked so maybe I may want to get pc2700 ddr or just say this is for the future. He did say I could oc it but since I didn't allocate any money to aftermarket heatsink maybe someone can give me an idea and I can play with the 5-9 dollars from oem to retail...

He wanted cheap as he can get keyboard and mouse....

He doesn't need a floppy but I would like to add one of those trick 7 in 1 drives to support his dig camera and such....

Any other Black or combo balck and siler case can do with at least 1 case fan and flap that cover drives...a request of his from seeing my new case....


I figured for gaming I would stick with main components of the 512kb of l2 cache of the barton...fast cas timing memory...and fast gaming card. I knew a raptor or what not may not give the difference to offset the price.

Tell me what you think...find items cheaper, etc...

 

[pillage2001]

Duvie picked a Barton. :Q

You're nuts!!!!!

 

[JBT]

I would drop to the XP2500 and I have heard that the stock cooler is fine for and XP3200 OC. I am pretty sure it is basically the same cooler other than maybe the 3200XP is ALL copper while the 2500 only has a copper insert but works and stays with in resanable temps.
Why not look into some Buffalo Ram? that stuff is down to like 79.99 bucks for 512 and OC's pretty well as long as its got Winbond chips.

 

[Duvie]

I have some buffalo ram in other amd systems I have built and they have been crap ocers...plus they are not a good as cas timings....I will look again but cas 2 is a must...

 

[Atlantean]

Drop the processor to a 2500+ they overclock very well... I wouldn't bother with hyperx ram, but if you are getting 2 512 mb sticks for $110 then yeah thats a good price. 40 gb harddrive is kinda a waste when you can get an 80 for a little more or does he absolutely need the 8 mb buffer?

 

[Duvie]

Why wouldn't you bother with hyper X??? It was 2 sticks of 256 for a total of 512mb....

You got a better pair of sticks that do cas 2 for that price?? I checked pricewatch and i know the answer to that one...

The buffalo ram is crap up and down the line...I have 2 sticks of the pc2700 in my wifes comp...sucks!!! I have 1 stick of pc3200 in my father in laws pc...sucks!! They all oc like crap and barely do there own specs which are pretty lame off the bat....

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: Duvie
Why wouldn't you bother with hyper X??? It was 2 sticks of 256 for a total of 512mb....

You got a better pair of sticks that do cas 2 for that price?? I checked pricewatch and i know the answer to that one...

The buffalo ram is crap up and down the line...I have 2 sticks of the pc2700 in my wifes comp...sucks!!! I have 1 stick of pc3200 in my father in laws pc...sucks!! They all oc like crap and barely do there own specs which are pretty lame off the bat....

My Buffalo PC3200 is great. It's running at 11-3-3-2 (optimal timings for nForce2) at stock voltage. It only needs to get to 200MHz for the 3200+ overclock, which it should do without a hitch. Make sure you get the stuff with Winbond chips if you get it, and it doesn't do 200MHz at decent timings, I'll buy it from you. Also, dual channel isn't really worth it on Athlons, so go for one stick of 512.

 

[Duvie]

bump....

 

[Bonesdad]

Definately drop to the 2500+ to save a few bux...also, lose the 40GB HD and get an 80GB 8MB Cache for about $40 AR at a local B&M like OM or BB. All else looks pretty decent.

 

[Elcs]

Looks good. I prefer my trusty ABIT NF7-S Rev 2.0 which has some onboard niceities but I dont think it would save you any $$$.

Personally, speaking from a UK perspective, Id drop down to a 2500+ Barton and 9600 Pro to pay for an aftermarket hsf combo.

If you can, get him a decent sized HDD. 40 Gb is limiting. I do agree on the Western Digital and 8mb cache aspect whole-heartedly.

RAM has changed so much since i bought my TwinMOS PC3200 with Winbond chips. Unlucky me got CH-5 chips. 200 @ 2.5-3-3-7 is good enough for me though.

Hope my advice and criticism helps.

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

- I don't know if the retail heatsinks AMD ships with the Bartons is better than the one they used to ship with their TBreds, but those were pretty loud IMHO (moreso than the Intel retail heatsink on my 2.4C), maybe someone who's used the Barton's retail heatsink can chime in to say how loud their current heatsinks are.

- The 9600 Pro would be a good deal if you can find it online or perhaps at a B&M. You may also consider nVidia's 5700 Ultra cards, Anandtech had good things to say about them in Derek's review. For example, Circuit City has a PNY 5700 Ultra for $159 after MIR.

- Motherboard: Have you considered Albatron's nForce2 Ultra 400 mobo? It sells for $59 shipped from Newegg and Anandtech had good things to say about it when they reviewed it (assuming you weren't looking to pair it with DDR500, which you aren't).

- RAM: Nice choice, HyperX is some top quality stuff. I'm not sure why you're so dead set on CAS2 at this price point, the money could be better spent elsewhere (like a bigger hard drive) IMHO. At this price point I'd be inclined to use Crucial memory despite the fact that it isn't rated for CAS2, you get Crucial's lifetme warranty and free shipping. A pair of 256 MB PC3200 sticks will run you less than $100 this way.

- HD: 40 GB is a little small. Definitely get him the 80 GB version of the same drive, it's only $14 more at $74, the above savings should allow this and keep you under your $1200 budget

 

[oldfart]

I would also go for the 2500+

A 40 Gig HD is pretty small these days, and $60 is kind of pricey for it @ $1.50/Gig. You can get drives all day long for ~ $0.50/Gig if you dont mind rebates. Check the Sunday paper and the hot deals forum.

ZipZoom has XP Pro "Academic Edition" for $82. Is he a student or does one live in the house?

 

[drpepper1280]

Here is what I would do:

$91 AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache
Processor ? Retail
$111 Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series 184 Pin 512MB DDR
PC-3200 - OEM
$119 Asus nForce2 Ultra 400 Motherboard for AMD Processors,
Model "A7N8X Deluxe" RETAIL
$74 WESTERN DIGITAL SPECIAL EDITION 80GB 7200RPM IDE HARD
DRIVE, Model WD800JB, OEM DRIVE ONLY
$54.99 Lite On Black 48x24x48x16 Combo Drive, Model LTC48161H BK,
OEM
$388 Solarism LM1730 17in LCD Monitor (Black) Retail
$172 SAPPHIRE RADEON 9600XT, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out,
8X AGP, BULK -OEM
$91 Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack SP1a ?
OEM
$15 Logitech SBF69 Optical Wheel Mouse PS2 ?OEM
$10 Generic Keyboard
$73 Antec Solution Series Case with 350W Power
Supply,Model:SLK3700AMB,Retail.

The 2500 Barton is a must and so is a hard drive that is bigger than 40gig. I totally agree with the sapphire 9600xt, but the monitor is of a company that is unknown. While the monitor may look like a good deal I would recommend going for a name brand. As for memory I would suggest what I put up above. One stick of memory is better than the two; plus, later down the road if he wants a quick and cheap upgrade he can buy another stick of the same thing. The motherboard I suggested is a very reliable and popular motherboard, but the others suggested in this forum would be well worth it as well. I would personally not get the DVD burner. Later on down the road if he wanted to he could get a burner and have the two drives; this would allow him to have a CD burner that was actually fast unlike the ones that come built into the DVD burners. Beware of the keyboard you chose, it doesn't come with keys, that is why I put the generic board.

All parts were from Newegg, except the monitor which was from ZipZoomFly.

 

[beatle]

Does he mind rebates? If not, I'd pick up the 80GB Seagate for $49.99 AR @ CompUSSR. Use the money saved to pick up a better HSF. I really don't see him hitting 3200+ with the stock cooler. I almost made it to 3200+ and I had an 8045...

They don't have to be expensive either. The CoolerMaster X-Dream is only $11 + s/h @ SVC and the GC69 is even cheaper @ $5.50. Anything to get an 80mm fan or larger!

 

[Bonesdad]

I run 3200+ on my 2500+ stock HSF - temps are low to mid 50s. High, but very tolerable.

 

[DeviousTrap]

How about GEIL Golden Dragon PC3200 for $88. Runs very well if you set the voltage to 2.8 (no real risk as they recommened 2.55V-2.95V) Mine is currently running at 221 FSB at good timings.

 

[adams828]

if you don't mind rebates, OM has the WD 120GB JB for $59.99 after rebates... linky

 

[shenaniganz]

save some money on the motherboard with a shuttle an35n and use the extra cash to get an 80gig HDD.

 

[Salvador]

Why just a 40 gb hard drive? I can fill that in an afternoon. I'd go at least 80 and preferrably 120 if not more. He'll fill it a lot quicker than he thinks, especially if he had a broadband connection. Besides, the larger hard drives are only a few bucks more than the 40 gb hard drives these days. Considering his budget, you can do a lot better than a puny 40 gigger.

Sal

 

[Corporate Thug]

u can get a much larger HDD after rebate

 

[nick1985]

for 20 more bucks get him a 5900NU. it will BLOW AWAY the 9600XT.

 

[Markfw]

Or for $27 more get him a 9800np, it will blow away the 9600XT, and beat the 5900nu.

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Or for $27 more get him a 9800np, it will blow away the 9600XT, and beat the 5900nu.

Please don't start this again...