Budget Build

[Wheelman56]

My girlfriend wants a cheap build capable of playing Battlefield 2, so I came up with this:

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST340014A 40GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM $37.00

TUL AX480A-GF Socket 939 ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $49.99

XFX PVT42EUDE3 Geforce 6800 XTreme 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $134.00 ($35 MIR if ordered by the 30th)

LITE-ON Black ATAPI/E-IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model SOHD-16P9SV - OEM $18.99

LOGISYS Computer PS480D-BK ATX12V 480W Power Supply With SATA and 20/24 pin connecters - Retail $15.00

PNY Optima 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model D512MPC32OPT - Retail $34.99

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3000BPBOX - Retail $109.00

$398.97 Subtotal, 29.30 for shipping
$428.27 total

All from NewEgg

I was hoping to limit it at $350, and the Graphics Card has the $35 mail-in rebate so that'd help knock the subtotal down to about $364 and I could cover the shipping and the extra $14. Just needing to know if there is anything I might be missing (besides the case, I have that covered) or any areas I need to improve on (such as RAM). I was looking for something that could run BF2 smoothly on low, but a friend showed me this 6800 and it looks like if I went this route I could maybe get it on medium... or would the CPU/RAM hinder that? Looking for input, thanks!

 

[Figure]

looks good to me...

is the 6600GT cheaper than that 6800 Xtreame ???

if so maybe get that,will basically do the same job

all else looks good for a nice cheap build

 

[OSX]

That PSU doesn't look too good. I would use any of the Fortron series instead if you're on a budget.

 

[dBTelos]

PSU: Fortron 450W
RAM: Corsair or Crucial Value RAM (names so similar I forgot which is better!)
GPU: eVGA 6600GT
HDD: You can go from that to 200GB for about $50 more if you wanted.

 

[evenmore1]

hmm...get a different PSU...also from newegg there are some great deals on video cards...such as:

ATI X800GTO
Nvidia 7600GS

or a X1600pro...your call

There's also a 6600GT for $115 here: There

 

[Wheelman56]

The power supply got many great reviews from NewEgg, the only one that I saw that was "Very Poor" was from someone who recieved it DOA, which happens every once in a while with all parts. Average vote out of 57 voters was a 5 out of 5.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustRatingReview.asp?Item=N82E16817170012

If I don't end up going with the 6800, I might go with a 6600GT or a 7600GS, but I do notice that someone said you can unlock a few extra pipes with the 6800 using Riv@tuner and OC the crap out of it. And which is better, the 6600GT or the 7600GS? I notice the 6600GT's clocks are a bit higher, but the 7600GS has 4 extra pipes.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: OSX
That PSU doesn't look too good. I would use any of the Fortron series instead if you're on a budget.

Did you not read or forget what the opening post said: This is a Budget Machine, so the PSU will just have to suffice.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: Wheelman56
My girlfriend wants a cheap build capable of playing Battlefield 2, so I came up with this:

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST340014A 40GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM $37.00

TUL AX480A-GF Socket 939 ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $49.99

XFX PVT42EUDE3 Geforce 6800 XTreme 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $134.00 ($35 MIR if ordered by the 30th)

LITE-ON Black ATAPI/E-IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model SOHD-16P9SV - OEM $18.99

LOGISYS Computer PS480D-BK ATX12V 480W Power Supply With SATA and 20/24 pin connecters - Retail $15.00

PNY Optima 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model D512MPC32OPT - Retail $34.99

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3000BPBOX - Retail $109.00

$398.97 Subtotal, 29.30 for shipping
$428.27 total

All from NewEgg

I was hoping to limit it at $350, and the Graphics Card has the $35 mail-in rebate so that'd help knock the subtotal down to about $364 and I could cover the shipping and the extra $14. Just needing to know if there is anything I might be missing (besides the case, I have that covered) or any areas I need to improve on (such as RAM). I was looking for something that could run BF2 smoothly on low, but a friend showed me this 6800 and it looks like if I went this route I could maybe get it on medium... or would the CPU/RAM hinder that? Looking for input, thanks!

I give you a :thumbsup: on a job well done; but to further lower the cost of this computer and possibly improve the performance for the same dollar amount. you should shoparound using anantech's RTPE. Also Zipzoomfly.com pricing is on PAR with newegg.com but their shipping charges are free. I sugest getting the video card from newegg with the rebate and try sourcing out the rest of the components on the net.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: Wheelman56
The power supply got many great reviews from NewEgg, the only one that I saw that was "Very Poor" was from someone who recieved it DOA, which happens every once in a while with all parts. Average vote out of 57 voters was a 5 out of 5.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustRatingReview.asp?Item=N82E16817170012

If I don't end up going with the 6800, I might go with a 6600GT or a 7600GS, but I do notice that someone said you can unlock a few extra pipes with the 6800 using Riv@tuner and OC the crap out of it. And which is better, the 6600GT or the 7600GS? I notice the 6600GT's clocks are a bit higher, but the 7600GS has 4 extra pipes.

Do not listen to newegg reviews, they are biased and are often filtered by the newegg.com people. So the what you see may not be a fair representation of the product.

 

[dBTelos]

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: OSX
That PSU doesn't look too good. I would use any of the Fortron series instead if you're on a budget.

Did you not read or forget what the opening post said: This is a Budget Machine, so the PSU will just have to suffice.

Fortrons are great PSUs and are not expensive at all. $150 for a 450W that is very high quality is great. It wouldn't be a budget PC if his bad quality PSU died and he had to buy a new one.

 

[alimoalem]

i would go with the 7600gs over the 6600gt.

your cpu shouldn't bottleneck you but i'm sure your ram will. try and get a gig of corsair, crucial, or g.skill (written in alphabetical order so don't think one is better than the other; they're all good).

the PSU isn't good but it is one of the better rated "unbranded" ones so either go with that or a fortron 350w. your choice.

there are a lot of bigger drives you can get (120gb-200gb) that can be had for only $30 more. i know it's over the budget but 40gb is too little

 

[Atheus]

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: OSX
That PSU doesn't look too good. I would use any of the Fortron series instead if you're on a budget.

Did you not read or forget what the opening post said: This is a Budget Machine, so the PSU will just have to suffice.

_Never_ skimp on the PSU, _always_ get a name brand, even on a budget system. Seriously. The PSU is the only component which can destroy the rest of your components if it fails - I've lost motherboards and HDDs to better PSUs than that one, and you won't catch me putting a $15 power supply in my machine, or even standing close to one while it's on.

 

[GML3G0]

Originally posted by: dBTelos

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: OSX
That PSU doesn't look too good. I would use any of the Fortron series instead if you're on a budget.

Did you not read or forget what the opening post said: This is a Budget Machine, so the PSU will just have to suffice.

Fortrons are great PSUs and are not expensive at all. $50 for a 450W that is very high quality is great. It wouldn't be a budget PC if his bad quality PSU died and he had to buy a new one.

Fixed

 

[MrX8503]

15$ for a psu? i wouldnt trust that.

I think you would be fine with a fortron 400psu. i dont think you would need 450w.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: dBTelos

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: OSX
That PSU doesn't look too good. I would use any of the Fortron series instead if you're on a budget.

Did you not read or forget what the opening post said: This is a Budget Machine, so the PSU will just have to suffice.

Fortrons are great PSUs and are not expensive at all. $150 for a 450W that is very high quality is great. It wouldn't be a budget PC if his bad quality PSU died and he had to buy a new one.

Considering he only has around 300-350 to spend, $150 is still a budget buster. If got such a PSU in that price range it would leave him with no money left over to spend on the rest of his PC. The remaining cash won't be enough to buy componets fast enough for Battlefield 2 and that is the main objective of his computer.

I am probably one of the biggest proponents of quality PSU's on this website, but when it comes to a budget system the PSU is the first area that needs to be cut in order to meet the goal of coming with in budget.

A cheap one will work for now and should it malfuntion in a year or two, it will give him the time to save for something nicer. Start with something affordable, it is so easy for all of you to recomend the best when it's not your money.

 

[GML3G0]

Originally posted by: Googer
Considering he only has around 300-350 to spend, $150 is still a budget buster. If got such a PSU in that price range it would leave him with no money left over to spend on the rest of his PC. The remaining cash won't be enough to buy componets fast enough for Battlefield 2 and that is the main objective of his computer.

I'm pretty sure he's referring to the fortron AX450-PN, which is only $50 @ newegg. Probably a typo.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: GML3G0

Originally posted by: Googer
Considering he only has around 300-350 to spend, $150 is still a budget buster. If got such a PSU in that price range it would leave him with no money left over to spend on the rest of his PC. The remaining cash won't be enough to buy componets fast enough for Battlefield 2 and that is the main objective of his computer.

I'm pretty sure he's referring to the fortron AX450-PN, which is only $50 @ newegg. Probably a typo.

Even at $50, it still puts him over budget and means that he will end up getting a slower Video Card or Socket 754 Motherboard and CPU.