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You are currently in Hardware, Internet, Networking, Comms and Security
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Sat Apr 01, 2006 4:49 pm Reply and quote this post
Ok, a friend of mine has asked me to snoop around and design him a new system (cpu only).  I've been out of the loop for a good while, anyone care to give me a few opinions?

He didn't give me an exact price range, but maybe something 2-gigish (a little lower would probably work) and maybe 512MB of ram.  Decent vid card.  Sound shouldn't be an issue if its onboard.  I guess what he's looking for is a low to mid end system.  He has kids that play all of those kiddie games on it, so it doesn't need to be awe-inspiring.

Ideas on components?

Motherboard?
Video Card?
Ram?
Case?
Power Supply?
DVD Burner?
Audio? (if not onboard)

That's pretty much what I'm looking at at this point in the way of necessary hardware. I'd like to keep it well under $700 or $800, which shouldn't be too hard. As low as possible without sacrificing too much performance would be ideal.

Contributed by ChrisMG, iVirtua Ultimate Contributor
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Sat Apr 01, 2006 5:37 pm Reply and quote this post
Check out FRY's.  They currently have a 2.66Ghz Dual Core P4 and motherboard for $160.  Add in 1GB of RAM (somewhere around $75) an average case and PSU (~80), and a 6800GS or something (~190) along with a 300GB HDD (again, FRY's $80 AR).

Adds up to under $600 before shipping and after rebates.

**Well, I guess Fry's is a bit far from Bloomington.  But if you're up in the area...**


Last edited by Greg M. on Sat Apr 01, 2006 5:39 pm; edited 1 time in total

Contributed by Greg M., iVirtua Ultimate Contributor
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Sat Apr 01, 2006 8:12 pm Reply and quote this post
Hah, yeah that's a nice long drive Greg.  He's not THAT good of a friend.

But still, that's not a bad deal at all.  Might be a bit much for him though, powerwise.

Contributed by ChrisMG, iVirtua Ultimate Contributor
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Mon Apr 03, 2006 5:19 am Reply and quote this post
Quote:
But still, that's not a bad deal at all. Might be a bit much for him though, powerwise.


Power consumption-wise or performance-wise?

As far as I'd say, the Pentium D 805 is the best value processor mankind has ever seen. If he doesn't the graphics card, that's understandable, but MAN. I wouldn't forego that dual-core, he'd be happy. :)

Contributed by A_Pickle, iVirtua Ultimate Contributor
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Fri Apr 07, 2006 11:12 am Reply and quote this post
Ok, I've got him to narrow down his available funds for me.

Let's see who can design the best tower for $500.  Thats what he's got to work with, I know it isn't much, but I'm pretty sure it's enough to get him past the 800mhz 128MB monolith he's running on right now. Intel or AMD works. He'll need the complete system, not barebones (Motherboard, video, audio [if not onboard] RAM, case with power supply, and a DVD burner.

Ideas?


Last edited by ChrisMG on Fri Apr 07, 2006 5:11 pm; edited 1 time in total

Contributed by ChrisMG, iVirtua Ultimate Contributor
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Fri Apr 07, 2006 12:03 pm Reply and quote this post
From newegg.com:

AMD Sempron 64 3000+ - $84.00
EPoX 9NPAJ - $79.00
Kingston ValueRAM 1GB - $75.53
eVGA GeForce 6600 256MB - $89.99
Western Digitial Caviar SE16 250GB - $90.00
LiteOn 16X DVD?R - $35.49
Antec Sonata II w/ 450W SmartPower 2.0 - $99.99
Total - $554.00

Contributed by Myrdaal, iVirtua Ultimate Contributor
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Fri Apr 07, 2006 2:15 pm Reply and quote this post
Myrdaal, thanks a ton man.

Setup looks really nice.  I was stuck on pricewatch for the longest time, but I think you've found much better parts.

Contributed by ChrisMG, iVirtua Ultimate Contributor
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Fri Apr 07, 2006 2:34 pm Reply and quote this post
Alrighty... if you'd like me to e-mail you the wish lists, just tell me. If he doesn't mind spending a hair over $500 for a bloody good computer, here's the one I came up with.

System 1: $559.91
$133.00 - Intel Pentium D 805
$74.99 - ASRock i945G Motherboard
$79.98 - 1 GB (2 x 512 MB) Crucial DDR2-533
$78.00 - SAPPHIRE Radeon X1300 256 MB
$51.00 - Seagate 80 GB SATAII (3.0 GB/sec) HDD
$38.99 - NEC 16x DVD+/-RW Burner
$57.99 - Antec Solution SLK1650B Case
$32.99 - COOLER MASTER 92 x 25mm CPU Heatsink/Fan
$5.99 - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
$1.99 - MASSCOOL 80mm 2500 RPM 3/4-pin Case Fan
$4.99 - MASSCOOL 120mm 1500 RPM 3/4-pin Case Fan

If your friend can only do $500, I've come up with the system below, which is the exact same thing as the system above with the exception of a CPU change. As a result of that CPU change, however, motherboard, memory and the heatsink/fan combo were also changed.

System 2: $499.92
$121.00 - AMD Athlon 64 3000+
$59.99 - MSI Nvidia Geforce 6100 Motherboard
$79.98 - 1 GB (2 x 512 MB) Crucial DDR-400
$78.00 - SAPPHIRE Radeon X1300 256 MB
$51.00 - Seagate 80 GB SATAII (3.0 GB/sec) HDD
$38.99 - NEC 16x DVD+/-RW Burner
$57.99 - Antec Solution SLK1650B Case
$5.99 - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
$1.99 - MASSCOOL 80mm 2500 RPM 3/4-pin Case Fan
$4.99 - MASSCOOL 120mm 1500 RPM 3/4-pin Case Fan

Contributed by A_Pickle, iVirtua Ultimate Contributor
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Fri Apr 07, 2006 5:11 pm Reply and quote this post
Thanks Pickle, I'll definetly forward those lists on to him.

Gah, I might just build myself a new system.  Did you find all of those parts on Newegg or some other site?


Last edited by ChrisMG on Fri Apr 07, 2006 5:13 pm; edited 1 time in total

Contributed by ChrisMG, iVirtua Ultimate Contributor
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Fri Apr 07, 2006 5:20 pm Reply and quote this post
Quote:
Gah, I might just build myself a new system.


Seriously. :D

That's what I was thinking as I put these together.

Quote:
Did you find all of those parts on Newegg or some other site?


All of 'em at Newegg, though you *might* find some excellent deals at ZipZoomFly. Their site could use a major overhaul as far as organization goes.

Contributed by A_Pickle, iVirtua Ultimate Contributor
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Sat Apr 08, 2006 5:18 pm Reply and quote this post
what about windows or is that separate from the tower?
Contributed by krazykaveman, iVirtua Ultimate Contributor
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Sat Apr 08, 2006 6:12 pm Reply and quote this post
Good call, kaveman... I didn't think o' that.

...


...well sheeit.

Contributed by A_Pickle, iVirtua Ultimate Contributor
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Sat Apr 08, 2006 6:54 pm Reply and quote this post
Windows, as in the operating system?
Contributed by ChrisMG, iVirtua Ultimate Contributor
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Sat Apr 08, 2006 8:32 pm Reply and quote this post
Jah.
Contributed by A_Pickle, iVirtua Ultimate Contributor
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Sun Apr 09, 2006 8:09 am Reply and quote this post
He's on his own for an operating system.  I'm just building it.

He may have to go out and buy XP or something.  I think I have a couple of installs left on my corporate edition, but I'm rather loathe to use them.

Contributed by ChrisMG, iVirtua Ultimate Contributor
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