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12-10-2005, 05:50 PM
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#1 |
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Member (10 bit)
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Sterling Heights, Michigan
Posts: 892
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Another AMD build - Need Some Suggestions, ~$2000
Hey guys,
Im getting ready for my second build - this time its for my aunt and uncle. its mainly used for web browsing, DVD burning and occasional gaming (nothing big though). The budget is around $2000 for a tower, monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers ect. A couple things they requested were DVD Writer and large storage capacity. Some components I would like to use: AMD X2 3800+ Socket 939 ($323) Asus A8N-E Motherboard 939 Socket ($110) Cosair ValueSelect 184-pin DDR400 SDRAM 1 GB (2x 512MB) ($72) Western Digital Caviar 250 GB, SATA, 16MB Cache, 7200 RPM ($115) SAMSUNG 740B Black 17" LCD ($255) That is $875 and leaves ~$1125 for a nice quiet PSU, Video Card, Optical Drives (perferably DVD Writer and DVD-ROM), floppy, mouse+keboard, case, speakers and OS. If I forgot anything, let me know. For the video card, I would like to go with ATi for one reason - I heard thier AIW cards are pretty nice, and if I understand correctly, have a built in TV tuner. I don't follow up on ATi's products OR TV tuners, so any help would be appreciated. A quick question have though: Is only a digital cable feed necessary to watch TV on a PC? Will an AIW allow me to do that? Everything needs to be in black, so I want to get the case and optical drives squared away pretty soon. Got any suggestions for a nice black mid-tower case? I was told no "windows and lights and crap" lol Thanks all-- MakeYourslf2012 Last edited by MakeYourslf2012; 12-10-2005 at 06:23 PM. |
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12-10-2005, 09:16 PM
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#2 | |
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Member (8 bit)
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 161
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Quote:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112078 |
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12-10-2005, 09:39 PM
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#3 |
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Member (12 bit)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,509
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Here is a nice "old fogey compliant" Antec with an ATX 2.0 450W PSU.
Liteon has some real nice drives that come with CD and Dvd burning software and a few with Lightscribe. Check thier website since a lot of them are out of stock right now at the E-stores because of the Christmas rush. Budget looks like you might fit 2 of that hard drive into it. OS: The OEM version of windows is about $100 cheaper than the retail. Floppy: Good idea, might be needed during setup. Video card: an AIW would be OK, or if you want a seperate tuner card the Hauppage PVR line is pretty nice and has the PVR functionality. Speakers: Kind of depends on what level they want.
Last edited by jayb1234; 12-10-2005 at 09:41 PM. |
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12-10-2005, 11:38 PM
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#4 |
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Member (6 bit)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 38
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12-11-2005, 10:04 AM
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#5 |
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Member (10 bit)
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Sterling Heights, Michigan
Posts: 892
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Thanks
All those cases look nice. right now im leaning towards the Lian-Li case, but only if I have room to fit it in the budget, we'll see. I'm going over to my aunt's house tuesday night to plan out the build and get her opinons. I'll be back then and post a full list of parts. But if you guys have any sugguestions towards the parts that I still need, please feel free to post. I'm also thinking of getting them a sound card. TIA |
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12-11-2005, 12:22 PM
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#6 |
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Member (8 bit)
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 161
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For the intended uses, web surfing, video, light gaming, I think the dual-core processor is overkill. You could easily downgrade enough to add a Soundblaster X-Fi card.
And to jayb1234, I'm an uncle, but hardly an "old fogey" 
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12-11-2005, 12:49 PM
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#7 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 313
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for 2k you can get the ultimate gaming machine, well almost. u shouldnt sepnd over $1200 for what you are doing.
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12-11-2005, 09:36 PM
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#8 |
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Member (10 bit)
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Sterling Heights, Michigan
Posts: 892
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I'm sorry, I guess I should have specified more...
When I say gaming, I mean very very very light gaming. My uncle plays a game title "Leasure Suit Larry" and thats about it, so I'm not really worried about the video card situation. I think they will benefit more from a Dual-Core CPU; they do quite a bit of multitasking and I think they would appreciate it more than if I were to go single-core with a powerful GPU. But like I said, I'll be heading over there sometime this week to plan out the build so I know exactly what I'm dealing with here. For sure, I know that the computer will be used for the tasks listed in the starting post. I will have more of an idea when it comes to CPU vs GPU. |
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12-16-2005, 06:41 PM
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#9 |
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Member (10 bit)
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Sterling Heights, Michigan
Posts: 892
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I finnally got the build list together, and as usual, have a couple questions for you guys:
Build Specifications: Motherboard Asus A8N-E Processor AMD Athlon X2 3800+ RAM* 2x Corsair ValueSelect 1GB [2 x 512MB] Video Card eVGA 6600GT Sound Card** Creative SoundBlaster Audigy2 ZS HDD Western Digital Caviar 250GB 16MB Cache Primary Optical Lite-On Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X Secondary Optical Asus Black 16X DVD-ROM Floppy Drive Samsung Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Keyboard + Mouse Microsoft Wireless Mouse and Keyboard Monitor Samsung 740B 17" LCD Speakers Altec Lansing MX5021 90W 2.1 Speakers OS*** Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition w/ SP2 Case Antec Solution SLK1650B Power Supply**** Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 Router ***** Linksys 10/100Mbps Router, 1 WAN, 4 LAN Total Price (w/ freight): $1,786 Intended Budget: ~$1,800-$2,000 Can you think of anything that would be worth the upgrade? *What would be more efficient; 4 stick of 512MB or 2 sticks of 1GB? I won't need to take price into consideration - I'm under budget **Is this a good sound card? I don't know alot about audio hardware. ***I forgot, what does the retail OS include that the OEM doesn't? And what is the maximum number of computers the OS can be installed on, legally? ****The Antec case I'm using comes with a 350W PSU. Taking into consideration that I'm using a Dual-Core CPU, a mid-range video card, and 2GB of RAM, would the 350W the be enough to provide adequate power? If not, I've included the Antec SP500W (which is included in the total price) *****This is the first network I'm putting together. It's only an internet connection, I don't want to get into anything too complicated like sharing printers and such. I just want to make this clear - all i have to do is plug the cable modem into the WAN port? Then route the other 2 computers to the two LAN ports? I'm sure that I'm making things more complicated for myself, I tend to do that when doing things like these. Do they have catagory 5 ethernet wire @ Newegg? I can't find it anywhere! I know that theres a couple other questions that I can't think of, but when they come to me, I'll post 'em. Feel free to make any suggestion to the list. TIA  MakeYourslf2012 Last edited by MakeYourslf2012; 12-16-2005 at 06:48 PM. |
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12-16-2005, 08:32 PM
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#10 |
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Member (10 bit)
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Sterling Heights, Michigan
Posts: 892
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Another quick question - are Plextor drives really worth the price?
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12-16-2005, 09:00 PM
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#11 | |
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Moderator
Staff
Premium Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Richmond, VA
Posts: 7,835
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Quote:
Four sticks or two sticks, matters less. I recommend two sticks just because it's cheaper. Audigy 2 ZS is an excellent sound card. The retail OS includes a nice giant box while the OEM comes plastic wrapped. 100 USD for a box sounds a bit steep to me. Considering your system, I would aim for a much stronger power supply unit. 350W may be toeing the line. kram
__________________
"For today, goodbye. For tomorrow, good luck. And forever, Go Blue!"
University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman Last edited by kram 2.0; 12-16-2005 at 09:02 PM. |
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12-16-2005, 09:04 PM
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Shiro Usagi
Premium Member
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Kaneohe, Hawaii
Posts: 34,002
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Cricket
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12-17-2005, 01:11 AM
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#13 |
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Member (12 bit)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,509
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The other thing you get with the retail version of windows is some support from Microsoft, but not really worth it in my opinion, and they only give you a limited amount before they start charging you.
Cat5 or Cat6 cable will both work, 6 is a little sturdier if that will be a consideration. If you go with the 1Gb RAM modules be sure to check the QVL, a lot of motherboards have problems with 1Gb sticks that aren't on the list.
Last edited by jayb1234; 12-17-2005 at 01:15 AM. |
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12-17-2005, 11:01 AM
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#14 |
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Member (8 bit)
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 161
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The 1 Gb sticks of Corsair Value Select aren't on the qualified list from ASUS, but they work fine in the A8N-E board. That's the setup I have.
The OEM version of XP is basically a shrink-wrapped CD with some very basic installation instructions. Note that the licence key is on a sticker applied to the shrink wrap, so don't throw the wrapper away before finding that sticker. |
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12-17-2005, 11:08 AM
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#15 |
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Member (10 bit)
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Sterling Heights, Michigan
Posts: 892
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Alright, thanks guys.
I plan on ordering the parts monday, so that way they will be delivered thursday or friday, which I have off from school. I don't really like the idea of $1,800 worth of parts sitting on my porch for hours. |
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