Looking to build a cheap but quick machine

[DEredita]

Price: $595.94 + $20 mail-in rebate ($575.94)


AMD Athlon X2 3800+(65W)
MSI K8M890 motherboard
2GB (2 x 1GB) G.Skill DDR2 800 ram
EVGA GeForce 7600GT (256MB)
WD Caviar 250GB SATA HD 7200rpm 16MB cache
Samsung 18X DVD +/-R DVD burner
Xblade Case
450Watt PSU



The monitor is a 17" CRT - so super high resolutions in games not an issue.



.

 

[DEredita]

Good? Bad? Money is tight - it's gonna be used by family member away at college. So, obviously it needs to be done on a budget. I just don't want to build a snail or something that will choke.

.

 

[Steve325]

I'd like to know too! You're after the exact same thing I'm looking for.

Where did you get all of these prices?

 

[DEredita]

Newegg. Shipping is like an added $23 or $24. Not too bad.

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

Whats wrong with your current pc?

 

[DEredita]

Just note - there is no OS in that price.

 

[DEredita]

Originally posted by: SoundTheSurrender
Whats wrong with your current pc?

The ones in my sig are fine - he has an old eMachine which is got either PSU or Motherboard issues. It'll power off on its own, and also randomly boot up on its own. PSU doesn't smell burned out, and the Capacitors on the motherboard look fine. I'm gonna reinstall the OS from scratch again tomorrow night along with the drivers and run a torture test overnight and see if it's still running in the morning.

.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

you can do a e4300 C2D for that price and it will be a much better machine.

 

[DEredita]

The E4300 is $175.00 compared to $109 for the 3800+.

 

[jpeyton]

Try this config instead. An X1950Pro will run circles around a 7600GT in games, and the TForce 550 is a pretty decent overclocking motherboard. We don't even know what case/PSU you picked out, but Antec/Fortron are quality.

AMD Athlon X2 3600+ AM2 + Biostar TForce 550 Combo $160

Arctic Cooling Alpine 64 $10

HIS X1950Pro $155

PQI 1GB DDR2 667 $57

Lite-On 20X DVD Burner $33

Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB $53

Antec Solo ATX Case $40

Fortron 400W PSU $42

Total: $550 After Rebates Plus Shipping/Tax

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Well if you sub the xblade with a rosewill case and 450W PSU that will be about $20-$25 cheaper and still be a good case/PSU. So you'd be looking at about $50 more, if you buy it all at Newegg soon you can use the Paypal $15 rebate thing and get $15 back from paypal. Trust me, a C2D is a much better option to go with even if it is a little more, It will last longer due to it's better performance, and you're upgrade path will allow you to just drop in a e6xxx series and boost further down the road instead of having to build a new machine again.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
a rosewill case and 450W PSU that will be about $20-$25 cheaper and still be a good case/PSU.

Saving a few bucks on a PSU isn't the best idea. I haven't seen anyone honestly recommend a Rosewill PSU for a dual-core gaming rig.

and you're upgrade path will allow you to just drop in a e6xxx series and boost further down the road instead of having to build a new machine again.

Why would he have to build a new machine? K8L quad-cores are coming out in socket AM2.

 

[justly]

I don't see anything wrong with your original configuration.

Some people will recommend changes based on their own needs/wants/preference instead of considering what is best for you. If there is a actual problem with your configuration anyone that makes a recommendation should also be able to tell you why you need to change a component.

Personally there are a few things I would change but not because what you listed wont work, but because I could tailor it to fit my needs/preferences/budget a little better.

 

[DEredita]

I made one change - I switched for the 65W version of the AMD X2 3800+. I figure less power and heat is a good thing.


.

 

[imported_kiwik]

Originally posted by: DEredita
I made one change - I switched for the 65W version of the AMD X2 3800+. I figure less power and heat is a good thing.


.

The stock X2 3800+ has really fine temps. I don't get over 45 on load, and it's running at 2.4GHz.

 

[Zap]

Here's my take...

Unless you're gonna overclock it, don't spend extra on RAM. Even if overclocking, you can still get good clocks on the A64 with DDR2 667. eWiz had (off and on) 2GB of DDR2 667 for around $125 or so. Alternately get just one gig.

If you do want to overclock, then get a different motherboard. If you want to stick with the mATX form factor, the Abit NF-M2 nView (not the NF-M2S) is a good choice, with the Biostar Tforce6100-AM2 as runner up.

The combo that jpeyton listed seems a nice one. Board is decent enough for a cheap overclocker and the CPU should run nice and cool.

I vote for this PSU. $32 plus shipping, 300W. Yes, only a mere 300W!!! However, it may be better quality (Fortron FSP model instead of ATX model) and it is 80+ efficient (supposedly). It has enough power for such a modest machine.

Case... get whatever tickles your fancy unless you want specific features such as smaller, larger, quieter, clear side, colors, etc.

Video card choice is fine for either 7600GT or X1950Pro, depending on if you want to spend the extra $65 or not (eVGA 7600GT $90AR).