New System

[Farmer]

Hey folks. Friend needs some advice on new system. Been outta the loop for a while (I havn't built a system since winter 03, before the advent of PCI express). So, basically:

Sub $1000 system, preferably based around AMD64 Winchester 3000+, 512MB-1GB RAM. If possible, new PCI-E graphics, but, if not fittable, friend has a 9800Pro in AGP.

Thanks.

 

[UsandThem]

AMD Based Computer $954.00

AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache, Socket 939 64-bit Processor $151.00

GIGABYTE "GA-K8NS-939" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard $85.00

Thermaltake SOPRANO VB1000SWS Silver ATX Mid Tower Case $79.00

E-POWER "Tagan" Series 480W Power Supply $79.00

Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 512MBx2 DDR PC-3200 $91.00

Modem if needed $14.00

Windows XP Home $88.00

SAMSUNG 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive $94.00

Samsung 160GB 7200RPM Hard Drive $88.00

Leadtek nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Video Card $185.00



Just replace the motherboard and video card if you want a PCI Express setup.

 

[Farmer]

Good input.

However, he has specified that he now does not want to use the old 9800P, and I assume he would like to go PCI-E combination. Any mobo recommendations?

 

[UsandThem]

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra $113.00

or

DFI Lanparty $137.00

and

GeForce 6600GT $187.00

 

[filterxg]

Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu CPU Cooler $30.99
Zalman VF700-ALCU VGA Cooler $30.99
Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM 8MB WD800JD $60.00
Samsung 16X DVD±RW, Model TS-H552B $65.00
Antec Sonata w/380W $122.02
Microsoft Natural Keyboard and Optical Mouse $32.95
AMD Sempron 3000+ $96.00
Asus NForce4 4x Socket 754 K8N4-E Deluxe $125.00 (used a NF3 but this just became avail)
Asus N6200GE GeForce 6200 PCIE 128MB DDR $104.99
1GB Kingston ValueRAM $97.50
Creative SBS560 5.1 Speakers $55.00

Built for $820 so it should give you a baseline with room for change (Winny $50 + 939 board you wanted -$30 + bigger HD +$40 + graphics $50). I would have gone with a smaller HD if I could have, bc my friend will have (next month whenever I upgrade my junker) a file server that handles most things.

 

[ribbon13]

$50 Antec SLK3000B (Pics here)
$60 XClio 450BL

$138 DFI Ultra-D
$146 AMD ADA3000BIBOX
$110 TwinMOS TMII400/1GB

$145 Seagate ST3250823AS
$53 NEC ND-3520A-BK
$11 NEC FD1231H-302

$305 ATi X800 XL

~$1018

 

[filterxg]

Also look at the AT article, they are very good.

 

[Farmer]

wow, that xclio psu is not bad; very cheap for a modular psu.

 

[UsandThem]

Originally posted by: Farmer
wow, that xclio psu is not bad; very cheap for a modular psu.

The things that would concern me with that are:

1. No real reviews from any sites that I can find.

2. Cooling System specs:

Size:
12x12 cm fan

Type:
Ball Bearing

Air Flow:
?? CFM

Speed:
?? RPM

The ? marks for specs and no mention of the dB level.

3. Quoted from their Q & A sections:

Question: Why does XCLIO specify that a good case must have a requirable power supply?

Answer:
A good power supply is an important component to insure the stability of system and maximum performance of CPU and hard drive.
XCLIO recommends a power supply unit with the following features:
1. Weight of power supply unit is more than 1.1kgs
2. Power supply unit must have genuine safety regulations label. (i.e. UL, CSA, TUV etc)
3. A dual fan and temperature control system integrated in the power supply is recommended. Dual fan allows more heat to be dissipated into the environment.

However, their power supply only has one fan.

4. No mention of warranty length.

 

[ribbon13]

Two fan PSUs are dimished returns. A single 120mm fan is superior to 2x80mms in several ways. That XClio is made by Channel Well, who also supplies Antec. Its a very nice deal.

 

[Farmer]

Hmmm, well under these circumstances, I have no reason to believe that he will not agree with the use of this unit; it is really too cheap to pass, too good to be true. Now, he could invest $60 some more on getting a PC Power& Cooling unit, but I'm already stretching his $1000 cap.

I am at $1080 with a 160GB HGSI, ribbon's X800XL, 1GB of OCZ Premier Value 3-4-4 (I am arguing between this and the TwinMOS solution) DL DVD burner and $50 room for shipping. Going with a brand name PSU would push $1100, but that might be okay. I will have to check with him.

Honestly I'm very happy; I never though we'd be able to fit something as high end as an X800XL into this.

Here is what I have so far, pasted from the document I am doing for him, Newegg prices:

Case
Cooler Master Centurion 5 SECC ATX Mid-Tower (Black and Silver) $49.49
PSU
Channel Well XCLIO 450W ATX Modular PSU (Black) $52.50
CPU
AMD Athlon 64 Winchester 3000+, 512K L2, 1.8 GHz S939 $146.00
Systemboard
DFI nForce4U S939, 2xPCI-E16X, 1xPCI-E4X, 1xPCI-E1X, 2xPCI, ATX $136.99
RAM
OCZ Premier Value Unbuffered 2x512MB DDR400 3-4-4 Winbond $115.50
Video Card
ATI Radeon X800XL 400MHz PCI-E, 256MB GDDR-3 (OEM) $299.00
Hard Drive
Hitachi HGSD ATA100 IDE 160GB 7.2K RPM HDD (OEM) $83.00
DVD Burner
Pioneer DVR-109BK 16x DVD±RW, 6X DL IDE (OEM, Black) $62.99
DVD Reader
Sony DDU1613/B2S 16x DVD-ROM IDE (OEM, Black) $25.00
Floppy Drive
Sony MPF920 1.44MB Floppy Disk Drive, FDI (OEM, Black) $8.50
Keyboard and Mouse
?
Cooling
Panasonic Panaflo 80x80x25mm FBA08A12L $11.19
Zalman CNPS70000B-AlCu S939 HSF $39.99

Shipping: $50.00
TOTAL: $1080.15

That 80mm is for the front intake. I would order from BG Micro, but I think he'd like to buy from one place. Plus, I think I'll do another $40-some fan order sometime in the future. I have a 120mm Panaflo for his rear exhaust.

Perhaps I should recommend him wait for Venice?