Is this possible?

[alexXx]

Originally posted by: Insomniak

Originally posted by: hurubi
Easily

My housemate just built a gaming rig for under $750 from newegg. As follows:


A64 3000+ Newcastle
Epox 8KDA3+ Nf3 250GB
1GB Mushkin DDR400
LeadTek 6600GT AGP
80GB Western Digital HD
Few misc other items.


Now of course, he kept his old monitor, speakers, perhipherals, etc...If you went all new on that stuff as well, you would have to drop the specs a bit.

i spent that much in CDN $$ and got better stuff..
3000+
1024mb ram
680NU
160gb hd

 

[slash196]

I've seen several good AMD 64 configs, but I'll give you one.

ANTEC Solution Series Super Mid Tower Case with 350W Power Supply, Model "SLK3700AMB" - Retail $62
AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor - Retail $146
CHAINTECH nForce3 250 AMD Socket 754 Athlon 64 CPU, Model "VNF3-250" -RETAIL $76
Seagate 120GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model ST3120022A, OEM $85
Mushkin Dual Pack 184-Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 - Retail $137
EVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Video Card, 128MB DDR3, 128-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, AGP 8X, -RETAIL $213

Total: $719 before shipping. Plenty of room for other stuff if you want, but I think this is a solid setup.

EDIT: All parts are in stock at the Egg. You could have a new comp on the way in just a few minutes.

 

[dc5]

Originally posted by: hurubi
Proc - http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=19-103-509&depa=1
Mobo - http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=13-131-455&depa=1
Ram - http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=20-145-416&depa=1
case/psu - http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=11-129-140&depa=1
hd - http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=22-144-164&depa=1
vid card - http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=14-150-080&depa=1

$656.25 and it still can play all the games u want it to! modify it and make ie better! you still got like $200 left!

go read some articles. for a $850 budget, you can do way better than an athlon xp.

 

[dc5]

Originally posted by: EQTitan
Ok, most are saying AMD but have yet to post a config...

how about you list the parts and we critique them?

here is your basic outline:
amd athlon 64 (winchester)
6600gt or 6800
1gb ram
nforce 4 ultra motherboard

 

[imported_Poozler]

dude go AMD all the way.

 

[EQTitan]

Originally posted by: dc5

Originally posted by: EQTitan
Ok, most are saying AMD but have yet to post a config...

how about you list the parts and we critique them?

here is your basic outline:
amd athlon 64 (winchester)
6600gt or 6800
1gb ram
nforce 4 ultra motherboard

I'm not sure what is the "best" in class ATM thats why I came here. To get the people who know the newer hardware better to try and help me out...

 

[piasabird]

I can vouch for the Asus A7N8X motherboards; they run great. I currently have the A7N8X Ultra 400 model and I have the the AMD XP2800+ Retail and I run it with the original Retail Heatsink just fine. The retail version came with some kind of thermal paste already on it. I dont run any really ultra modern games; However, I have a Radeon 9000 and I can run games like HALO if I just turn down a few settings without hesitation. An Envidia AGP 6800 series video card would do this motherboard up nice. My son has the Pro version of the A7N8X with a Radeon 9800 PRO AIW and he likes hooking up his xbox to play Halo 2 Online. It runs great with just a XP2400 and PC2100 RAM. I have watched him play different games, but I cant remember what exactly he was playing. Sometimes he plays unreal tournament or some games like that. Not sure which versions. I think he might of been playing something like HL2. He was using some kind of gravity gun with one of his games.

I like the versatility of the ATI ALL-IN WONDER Cards. You can watch TV Play games, etc. E-VGA sells a Nvidia based chipset TV Card you might like with Hardware Encoding.

 

[dc5]

take a look at the new benchmarks. Text amd literally murdurs intel.

 

[EQTitan]

Geez, just switching the CPU board for AMD would run me like $60 - 100 more =(

Thats switching from the previous posted setup to the AMD 3200+ winny and a Chaintech Nvidia Nforce4 Ultra

 

[slash196]

I am really confused. Have you not seen something you like yet? Didn't you see my setup? I can't help if i don't understand.

 

[erikistired]

i used to have amd issues in the past (k5 anyone?) but i have an a64 system now and i love it. it's definately worth looking at.

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: EQTitan
Geez, just switching the CPU board for AMD would run me like $60 - 100 more =(

Thats switching from the previous posted setup to the AMD 3200+ winny and a Chaintech Nvidia Nforce4 Ultra

Well, SLI is just for hardware enthusiast. An SLI motherboard is not worth it if you are on any type of budget.

I would recommend the same system I have.

90nm Winchester 3200
A8V K8T800 Pro for 939 Socket
if you want PCI-Express you can get the newer A8V-E from asus.

If you don't need all the extra's like WiFi wireless internet and other stuff, you can get the Epox 9NDA3J for 99.00 dollars at Newegg. http://www.newegg.com/app/view...s+AMD&CMP=OTC-d3alt1me

430-480 watt Antec "TruePower" series PSU

6800GT AGP

And 1 Gig of PC3200 2.5 Corsair value select.

With the ability to overclock the 3200 Winchester to 2.4GHz with ease, you'll have a 2nd to best gaming rig compared to the SLI's that are largly more expensive.

 

[tenoc]

sharkyextreme has a value gaming guide you might want to read.

 

[Terumo]

Originally posted by: EQTitan
Geez, just switching the CPU board for AMD would run me like $60 - 100 more =(

Thats switching from the previous posted setup to the AMD 3200+ winny and a Chaintech Nvidia Nforce4 Ultra

Go with what you feel comfortable with (and one with the best resale value if you're going to sell used parts). If you do want to resale, you get a better value using Intel products -- another reason to use them instead of AMD.

Everything isn't about speed. It's about overall value. Do you want to have bragging rights but fork over extra $$$ just to do so? Or do you just want to build a rig, and not spend every weekend tweaking everything to make it work right? And do you want to make an extra $10 or $20 when it comes to offload old parts?

There's an incredible push to buy XYZ and OC it today, but it doesn't make much common sense to do so. When P3's were $300 and Celerons were $100 it made real sense to OC the mess out of a celery. But look at the prices today between the AMDs and Intel processors. No cost advantage. You'll be buying now for brand loyality and a particular benchie you prefer. It's also insane to buy a water cooler on top of it all to push a processor by 200 or 400mhz -- that won't be felt much. Heck, I didn't really see much of an advantage from a slot 1 P3 1ghz/PC133 to a P4 2.4ghz/1066mhz RDRAM.

If OCing were truly what it's claimed, businesses would all be doing it to save a buck. They don't as there's no clear advantage and the risks of hardware failure too great -- look around here of all the problems occurred from OCing to see by how much.

It's because of all of the hype, and all of the insanity to just get 200mhz out of a processor to get a slight increase in performance, I'd still stick with the most simple and cost effective solution: buy yourself an Intel board and a Intel processor. Turn your computer on and go about your business. Not spend all day running back and forth to the BIOS, Prime95, memory testing proggies and wondering what water cooler would bring down the temps by 10F, nor watching your power bill go up from pushing more voltage/wattage through a narrower pipe.

Get a solution that meets your wallet, and your peace of mind.

 

[overst33r]

Originally posted by: jagec
1) get one of those $350 Dells from Hot Deals
2) Add a decent video card for ~$150 (Radeon 9800pro, etc from FS/FT)
3) Add some RAM if you like
4)...
5)PROFIT!!

except for the part that those systems dont come with AGP slots:roll:

 

[EQTitan]

Originally posted by: Terumo

Originally posted by: EQTitan
Geez, just switching the CPU board for AMD would run me like $60 - 100 more =(

Thats switching from the previous posted setup to the AMD 3200+ winny and a Chaintech Nvidia Nforce4 Ultra

Go with what you feel comfortable with (and one with the best resale value if you're going to sell used parts). If you do want to resale, you get a better value using Intel products -- another reason to use them instead of AMD.

Everything isn't about speed. It's about overall value. Do you want to have bragging rights but fork over extra $$$ just to do so? Or do you just want to build a rig, and not spend every weekend tweaking everything to make it work right? And do you want to make an extra $10 or $20 when it comes to offload old parts?

There's an incredible push to buy XYZ and OC it today, but it doesn't make much common sense to do so. When P3's were $300 and Celerons were $100 it made real sense to OC the mess out of a celery. But look at the prices today between the AMDs and Intel processors. No cost advantage. You'll be buying now for brand loyality and a particular benchie you prefer. It's also insane to buy a water cooler on top of it all to push a processor by 200 or 400mhz -- that won't be felt much. Heck, I didn't really see much of an advantage from a slot 1 P3 1ghz/PC133 to a P4 2.4ghz/1066mhz RDRAM.

If OCing were truly what it's claimed, businesses would all be doing it to save a buck. They don't as there's no clear advantage and the risks of hardware failure too great -- look around here of all the problems occurred from OCing to see by how much.

It's because of all of the hype, and all of the insanity to just get 200mhz out of a processor to get a slight increase in performance, I'd still stick with the most simple and cost effective solution: buy yourself an Intel board and a Intel processor. Turn your computer on and go about your business. Not spend all day running back and forth to the BIOS, Prime95, memory testing proggies and wondering what water cooler would bring down the temps by 10F, nor watching your power bill go up from pushing more voltage/wattage through a narrower pipe.

Get a solution that meets your wallet, and your peace of mind.

I never OC my systems as it's a waste of time and effort to do so just to replace hardware sooner then need be. I like my P4 setup because it's cost effective, though I do like the specs of the AMD rigs I have previously built a 3000+ and loved it.

So, How much of a difference will i notice with this 6600GT 128 vid card over a 9800 Pro 128? Will the PSU supplied withthe Antec case be enough for all the components?

 

[Philippine Mango]

Be sure to get a system with an Nforce2 chipset (Socket A...) because I built a system for about $400 with it and it's very stable (for a friend). Fast too, you should be find with a budget for $800, quite surprising how much the typical guy will spend on a system these days ($2000)!

 

[Pciber]

Shuttle SK83G (case, mobo, ps) - $261
Lite-On CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo - $38.50
Samsung 120gb 7200rpm hdd - $75
Mushkin 1gb kit (2x512mb) - $137.25
A64 3000+ newcastle - $133
BBA Radeon 9800 Pro - $205

Being $0.25 under budget on an A64 SFF system - priceless


*edit* oooh, you already have a DVD burner. Soo, take out the lite-on combo drive, and that frees up $38.50 to spend elsewhere...

 

[dc5]

Originally posted by: Pciber
Shuttle SK83G (case, mobo, ps) - $261
Lite-On CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo - $38.50
Samsung 120gb 7200rpm hdd - $75
Mushkin 1gb kit (2x512mb) - $137.25
A64 3000+ newcastle - $133
BBA Radeon 9800 Pro - $205

Being $0.25 under budget on an A64 SFF system - priceless


*edit* oooh, you already have a DVD burner. Soo, take out the lite-on combo drive, and that frees up $38.50 to spend elsewhere...

heh, for $800, you can get a socket 939 easily. i wouldn't bother with the obsolete socket 754.