My new, Super Cheap rig!

[number29]

I am only 15 with a very limited income, and a very crappy computer. For the past 3 years I have been forced to endure and MX4000, Duron 1.8GH, and 256MB PC2100. I have really only been able to play americas army and Wolf3D, but that is gonna change.
I have scraped together $500 (after I sell this junk heap to my friend) and here is the rig I will get with my $500. What do you think? All prices include shipping. And yes the floppy is needed, it is still the way I get data to and from the school computers.

AMD Semperon64 2600+ @1.6GH (will overclock to 1.8) $64.99
ECS socket 754 nForce4 w/PCIe $67.99
PQI 512MB PC3200 (1x512) $44.82
Gigabyte Radeon X600XT 128MB PCIe $90.50
APEX ATX case w/350wh PSU $44.98
Rosewill DVD/CD-RW combo drive $30.98
Samsung Floppy Drive $10.49
EXCELSTOR 80GB 7200RPM HardDrive $53.99
Windows XP Home sp2 $92.94

Total: $500.68

 

[twitchee2]

this hdd instead
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822152010

i dont think that PSU will hold up see if there is any way for earn/find a little more money and one of these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129148

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

I don't recommend that power supply. It'll probably fail on you/blow your parts up. If you're on a really tight budget, a weaker ~$40 Thermaltake PSU would be alright. I'd recommend a Seagate or Samsung hard drive, or Western Digital if you can't spare a couple extra bucks for the aforementioned two brands. That video card will be okay if you're gaming at some low quality.

Twitchee2: That HDD only has 2MB of cache. 8MB should probably be what you want.

 

[ballmode]

I think you should look for a dell system for $500 with monitor/speakers/etc. save up and get a videocard in a month or two.

 

[Azndude2190]

Do you have a friend that can lend you there OS?...I got WinXP Home
Edition SP1 from my friend(actually gave it to me cuz he had Pro too) and dl SP2 of the internet...you'll save 90 buck...the hdd you have isnt good so i suggest you look into another brand

 

[number29]

I can switch the Hard Drive, but I am still going to have to use the case PSU, I just dont have the money to buy a new one. I rarely get any money and my dad wont give me any, he has always had the belief "Your computer is for work and internet, PS2 is for playing games with".

 

[Hacp]

2800+ is defenetly worth the extra money. The extra 128 MB of cache will make a HUGE difference.

 

[enwar3]

u could get a lotta dell for 500 bucks.. thatd be with monitors and speakers and stuff too... only thing is, you dont know what u acutally have in ur comp..

i would scrap the OS, borrow one from a friend - 90 bucks saved right there..

see if you can cannibalize the floppy from your old comp, cuz floppys havent changed much over the years...

u could check the hot deals forums for a lotta this stuff, http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=1663363&enterthread=y that there is a 160gb harddrive for only 40 bucks, if youre willing to deal with sending in rebates.

those are my suggestions, but everything overall looks fine! =) good luck!

 

[mOeeOm]

Originally posted by: Azndude2190
Do you have a friend that can lend you there OS?...I got WinXP Home
Edition SP1 from my friend(actually gave it to me cuz he had Pro too) and dl SP2 of the internet...you'll save 90 buck...the hdd you have isnt good so i suggest you look into another brand

But...thats illegal! I should report you and your friend to Microsoft authorities!

 

[Azndude2190]

Originally posted by: mOeeOm

Originally posted by: Azndude2190
Do you have a friend that can lend you there OS?...I got WinXP Home
Edition SP1 from my friend(actually gave it to me cuz he had Pro too) and dl SP2 of the internet...you'll save 90 buck...the hdd you have isnt good so i suggest you look into another brand

But...thats illegal! I should report you and your friend to Microsoft authorities!

lol go ahead..my sisters a lawyer...

 

[Porter21]

Originally posted by: Azndude2190

Originally posted by: mOeeOm

Originally posted by: Azndude2190
Do you have a friend that can lend you there OS?...I got WinXP Home
Edition SP1 from my friend(actually gave it to me cuz he had Pro too) and dl SP2 of the internet...you'll save 90 buck...the hdd you have isnt good so i suggest you look into another brand

But...thats illegal! I should report you and your friend to Microsoft authorities!

lol go ahead..my sisters a lawyer...

LOL


Looks like a good system. Def go with different brand hd like seagate, western digital, samsung etc. That ps could last a little while for the parts you have. I had a 350 watt power supply that was included in my Aspire case, and it lasted until i added another raptor to my system

 

[imported_Kensai]

What everyone else said..

:camera:s of the sister?

 

[Azndude2190]

anyways if u can end up saving the 90 bucks from getting a OS...than you have ~180...you can get a 6600GT with that kind of money which is way better than the X600XT

 

[mr2xxx]

I suggest you skip the idea of a new gen mobo with pci xpress and the other xtras because you will not be able to take any advantage of its benefits with this setup.
I came up with a couple of alternatives

This would be a more powerful alternative to your cpu/mobo combo for a lil more
http://shop2.outpost.com/product/4522847

This would be a more powerful card that has potential to unlock upto 16 pipes..6800Gt hmm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814122212

Good luck with your setup

 

[jonmcguffin]

I'm thinking in a situation like this you definately need to eliminate that Windows XP Home and that no-name Hard Drive situation.

I actually think the suggestion above about going with one of those cheap Dell's isn't all that bad or maybe you want to start thinking about going with some used equipment in your area. Truth is, with used, you often can avoid tax, shipping, etc and a lot of times come up with some pretty good stuff for dirt cheap. You never know when some guy may be willing to ditch his 6600GT for that new 7 series card he just picked up. But if you are going to do this and can only spend the $500, here's what I would do...

ECS nForce4-A754 Mobo w/PCI-E $69.00 (mwave)
AMD Semperon 64-bit 2800+ CPU $68.00 (mwave)
OCZ Value Series 512Mb Dual Channel Kit (2X256Mb) DDR333 2.5-3-3-8 $48.00 (newegg)
EVGA GF6200TC 256Mb PCI-E w/DVI $59.90 (mwave)
WD 80GB 7200rpm 8Mb SATA HD $55.90 (mwave)
NEC 3520A DVD-RW $42.90 (mwave)
Logitech Keyboard & Mouse Combo $9.99 (mwave)
NEC 1.44Mb Floppy Drive $7.90 (mwave)
Antec SLK1650 Mid Tower Case Antec SmartPower 350-Watt PS $59.00 (mwave)

That comes to $420.59 before S&H. I presume it's going to run you $450 without the OS but as far as I can tell that system will outperform your spec'd machine easily. Some may argue the Video Card isn't good enough, but I think it's a good start and a heck of a lot better to what you are using now. It's also quite upgradeable.

You figure if even if you have to plop down $100 for Windows XP, you're still only $50 over your budget and you can't tell me you can't go crank out $50 somewhere. Frankly if you can't go make $50 over a fairly short period of time, you're lacking imagination and you should work on that before spending $500 on a computer.

Jon

 

[flatblastard]

Originally posted by: ballmode
I think you should look for a dell system for $500 with monitor/speakers/etc. save up and get a videocard in a month or two.

There is no such thing, well, not a new Dell anyways. A new $500 computer from Dell would not include an external graphics port. Dimension 2400/3000 are only ones I can think of less than $500.

 

[notanotheracct]

jonmcguffin's setup seems a bit better but seriously, PCI-E and SATA just seem like a waste here, you should try to get the best you can right now rather than try to make it upgradable. you can probably get a better and cheaper AGP X8 card and better 754 AGP mobo. you're looking at very limited upgradability as is and by the time you can afford real upgrades you'll probably be better off getting a completely new system anyway.

everyone already mentioned trying to save by not getting an OS but don't bother with a floppy drive either. you'll probably only use it to update your bios so just borrow the one from your old comp from your friend or something, what are friends for?

 

[w00t]

save more.

 

[mOeeOm]

Originally posted by: Azndude2190

Originally posted by: mOeeOm

Originally posted by: Azndude2190
Do you have a friend that can lend you there OS?...I got WinXP Home
Edition SP1 from my friend(actually gave it to me cuz he had Pro too) and dl SP2 of the internet...you'll save 90 buck...the hdd you have isnt good so i suggest you look into another brand

But...thats illegal! I should report you and your friend to Microsoft authorities!

lol go ahead..my sisters a lawyer...

Sarcasm detector broken?

 

[KenSr]

Originally posted by: flatblastard

Originally posted by: ballmode
I think you should look for a dell system for $500 with monitor/speakers/etc. save up and get a videocard in a month or two.

There is no such thing, well, not a new Dell anyways. A new $500 computer from Dell would not include an external graphics port. Dimension 2400/3000 are only ones I can think of less than $500.

Dell small business has a 4700 with 19" flat panel for $479 right now.
You should be able to sell the monitor for more than any upgrades would cost.
And it comes with a ligit. XP OS.

 

[flatblastard]

Originally posted by: KenSr

Originally posted by: flatblastard

Originally posted by: ballmode
I think you should look for a dell system for $500 with monitor/speakers/etc. save up and get a videocard in a month or two.

There is no such thing, well, not a new Dell anyways. A new $500 computer from Dell would not include an external graphics port. Dimension 2400/3000 are only ones I can think of less than $500.

Dell small business has a 4700 with 19" flat panel for $479 right now.
You should be able to sell the monitor for more than any upgrades would cost.
And it comes with a ligit. XP OS.

Ah, I see I was wrong, oh well, wasn't the first time wont be last either. I still wouldn't recommend buying that comp. It's actually $579 with a $100 rebate. Also only has 256MB RAM of which 128MB is used for on-board graphics leaving 128 for the system. Selling the monitor to upgrade the RAM/GPU/HD etc is a good idea but remember this kid only has $500 to start with which isn't enough.

 

[IeraseU]

One suggestion I would make is to go with an AGP mainboard rather then PCI-e in this case. That way you can get the better deals on agp videocards, such as the following refub 9800pro from newegg ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814164025R ).

I agree with others in saying not to try to make this system so upgradeable, in the future you will have more and better sources of income to build or buy an entirely new setup should you need to. So I recomend getting the best 'bang for the buck' components. This means avoiding relatively new technologies like PCI-e and SATA hard drives imo.

 

[munchow2]

Go dell.

nuff said.

 

[Hacp]

I didn't buy Xp at all. ALthough it is illegal, I made my old Dell a Linux machine, and moved the XP Home key to my current rig by calling Craposoft and telling them my Dell's mobo burned, and I had to get a new one. Its Craposofts own fault for screwing the customer and requiring new Oses for enw computers. I mean wheres the logic in that?

Later on when my cousin bought an XP pro version from Newegg, I hijacked it and gave him the Home Key . Had to make a few more calls to Microsoft .