Attempted Budget Build

[theknight571]

My wife's machine is on it's last legs, and she has agreed to let me build a new one, so she can have my current one.

Unfortunately we're on a tight budget.

However I don't really need all that much "power" since I do mostly surfing / bills / Office Apps / etc.

I'm thinking though, that I might like to leave open the upgrade path, in case I or my son should decide to play games later on.

I've done some reading and research and come up with the following... (prices are from Newegg on 3/28)

[*]BIOSTAR TFORCE 550 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard ($79)

[*]CHAINTECH GSV73LE-G2 GeForce 7300LE 128MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Low Profile Video Card ($46)

[*]Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC ATX 430W Power Supply ($40)

[*]AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ Brisbane 1.9GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail ($89)

[*]CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory ($104)

[*]Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive ($85)

[*]LITE-ON Beige 20X DVD+R . . . 48X CD-ROM ATAPI/E-IDE DVD Burner with LightScribe Technology ($36)

Total: $479 (not including shipping)


I have a case I can reuse, but will need a new PS (listed above).

I'm unsure of the video card, but I'm used to intergrated graphics, so I figured it would suffice for the time being.

The memory.... is there a big difference between the DDR2-800 and DDR2-667? Would 2GB of the 667 be better than the 1 GB of 800? (Assuming similar pricing)

Is it worth it to get an SATA DVD Burner? It's beige since my old case is beige but I'd be willing to go with black if it was worth it.

I should also note that I may not purchase everything from the Egg.. it's just easier to piece it all together from one location.

I've read that price cuts are coming soon, so I might hold off for awhile yet...but I need to at least start to get an idea of what I'm looking for.

I'm open to suggestions / changes ( or even just some reassurance that this build will work )... but the budget is right around $500.

Thanks
-TK


Update - - - - - - - -

Ok... I went and looked at Dell... I do get a small discount through my employer...but it's really not much, so I never bothered before. lol

Here's what I've come up with... (I got the go-ahead to up the budget a little, if it meant that my wife could have my 19"LCD too.. )

Dimension E521
- Athlon 64 X2 3800+
- Vista Home Premium
- 1 GB DDR2-667 (2 DIMMS)
- 20" E207WFP Widescreen digital flat panel
- 250GB SATA Hard Drive
- 16x DVD+/- RW Drive

For $686 + tax (free shipping)

I figured I could get better speakers, cheaper, from the Egg or similar outlet. (~$40)


I couldn't get a system to price out to the $479 mentioned above... care to point me in the right direction? lol

Also, I did briefly look through Dell Outlet at the refurb's. Anyone have experience with these refurbs? Are they a good deal or are they of questionable quality?

 

[Cheezeit]

Looks good However, I'd buy two things from ewiz. At ewiz, you can get the highly reccomended Enhance 450Gh for 60 dollars. Also, you can get 2 gigs of Supertalent ram for $100. There's a huge thread in hot deals about it, its an unbeatable buy for value ram.

 

[Zap]

I'd second the eWiz RAM recommendation.

Buy two of these 1GB DDR2 667 for under $50 each

For PSU, it doesn't look like a "monster" machine so you can get by with low wattage, as long as it is of reasonable quality. For low priced and reasonable quality, I'd suggest:

Fortron "Green" FSP300-60GLN 300W for $32

Yes it has less power than the Thermaltake and no PCI-E plug, but it has a 120mm fan and is 80% efficient while the Thermaltake rates at only 65%. More efficient means less heat and noise, and a few pennies less on your power bill FWIW. Well, if you know you'll eventually go with a PCI-E video card that needs the 6 pin plug... then go with the Thermaltake.

For the video card, either bite the bullet and get something better (7600GT can be had for $90 after rebate) or get a board with Nvidia IGP such as the Biostar Tforce6100-AM2 and live with IGP until someone decides to play games (bound to be cheaper or faster later on).

SATA DVD... if it doesn't cost more, sure. Otherwise, no foul in using EIDE DVD. Unless you're positive you will be using LightScribe or will be paying extra for super high speed media, don't pay more for the 20X burner - get a cheaper one (look for free shipping too).

 

[freebee]

I bought a dell system yesterday for the same price ($479 including shipping), however it included a 19 flat panel monitor.

Link

Differences are slightly faster cpu, much less HD (only 160gb), and no dvd burner. If you can live with having a smaller case with somewhat limited expansion/OC options, the dell might work for you. You can sell the 19 flat panel, and use it to get a larger hard drive and dvd burner and still come out ahead.

 

[GregMal]

You may want to increase memory of the system and video card for Vista use.
2 Gigs system and 256M for vid card. Make sure the Vid card can handle DirectX9...

 

[yh125d]

That vid card will be fine for your application, but if you're gonna be playing anything very intensive, you're gonna want to upgrade to a 7600gt or better.

2gb 667 > 1 gb 800

SATA dvd drives are optional. AFAIK, they aren't any faster, just a bit more futureproof, but you're gonna see IDE devices being used for another 5-10 years at least.

Price cuts are coming April 22nd, for Intel. I dunno if AMD has any planned, but they probably do.

If you can wait until the 22nd, I'd get an e4300 for $113 and a cheaper mobo ~$60. There will be a huge upgrade in performance for only ~$10-25

 

[magreen]

Originally posted by: freebee
I bought a dell system yesterday for the same price ($479 including shipping), however it included a 19 flat panel monitor.

Link

Differences are slightly faster cpu, much less HD (only 160gb), and no dvd burner. If you can live with having a smaller case with somewhat limited expansion/OC options, the dell might work for you. You can sell the 19 flat panel, and use it to get a larger hard drive and dvd burner and still come out ahead.

Don't forget the Dell includes the OS. That plus the monitor can save quite a bit over building yourself.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: yh125d
Price cuts are coming April 22nd, for Intel. I dunno if AMD has any planned, but they probably do.

April 9th.

 

[tydas]

In my experience, the only time you save money in building a PC is when your building a mid to upper range gaming pc..and thats by collecting the parts over months with hot deals. For budget pc's Dell cannot be beat...

 

[theknight571]

Ok... I went and looked at Dell... I do get a small discount through my employer...but it's really not much, so I never bothered before. lol

Here's what I've come up with... (I got the go-ahead to up the budget a little, if it meant that my wife could have my 19"LCD too.. )

Dimension E521
- Athlon 64 X2 3800+
- Vista Home Premium
- 1 GB DDR2-667 (2 DIMMS)
- 20" E207WFP Widescreen digital flat panel
- 250GB SATA Hard Drive
- 16x DVD+/- RW Drive

For $686 + tax (free shipping)

I figured I could get better speakers, cheaper, from the Egg or similar outlet. (~$40)


I couldn't get a system to price out to the $479 mentioned above... care to point me in the right direction? lol

Also, I did briefly look through Dell Outlet at the refurb's. Anyone have experience with these refurbs? Are they a good deal or are they of questionable quality?