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11-20-2006, 03:26 PM
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#1 |
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Member (7 bit)
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Colorado
Posts: 92
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New build, please review
Im thinking of building my brother a new PC for X-Mas. He needs something that can handle multiple open apps, like Illustrator, Explorer, quickbooks and AOL. And at an affordable price.
Heres what Ive planned so far...Ive got a leftover 400w silverstone PS that Ill use and an extra copy of XP64, so those costs are $0. Total estimated cost $750.00 Proc: AMD Athlon 64 3800+ 2.40 Ghz / 512KB Cache / 2000 MHz FSB / Socket 939 / with Fan MOBO: Biostar Geforce 6100-M9 NVIDIA Socket 939 MicroATX Motherboard / Audio / PCI Express / 10/100 Ethernet LAN / USB 2.0 / Serial ATA / RAID MEM: 4 x Corsair Value Select 512MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz CL2.5 for a total of 2Gb Video Card: EVGA GeForce 7300 GT / 512MB GDDR2 / SLI / PCI Express / DVI / VGA HDD: 2 x Maxtor / DiamondMax 10 / 80GB / 7200 / 8MB / SATA-150 / OEM / RoHS Compliant, probably Raid Mirrored for backup. CD/DVD: Lite-on Super Allwrite SHM-165H6S / 16x8x16x DVD+RW / 16x6x16x DVD-RW / 5x DVD-RAM / 8x DVD+R DL / 4x DVD-R DL / 48x24x48x CD-RW / OEM DVD Writer with Lighscribe Case: PowerUp 5701 Black/Silver ATX Mid-Tower Case with Front USB and Audio Ports add a Floppy Drive and thats it...lemme know what you think. I'm curious if the graphics card is enough for running multiple graphics apps. Thanks to everyone for your comments and suggestions. SEE BELOW FOR NEW UPDATED BUILD SPECS. Thanks to everyone for your input... Last edited by Wolverdick; 11-20-2006 at 05:29 PM. |
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11-20-2006, 03:42 PM
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#2 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 398
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looks like a good, compatible build.
you may want to find a graphics card that uses GDDR3 memory instead of GDDR2, but other than that (and myself not knowing what case that is exactly) this build looks just fine. in all honesty, the dual HD's and 2gb of ram is quite generous for a gift! lol -DarkPacMan77- |
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11-20-2006, 03:47 PM
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#3 |
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Member (7 bit)
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Colorado
Posts: 92
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Yes I know. But memory is what he really needs to run lots of open apps. Two HD's, well that may be overkilll. I could probably save 50 bucks and get just one, but I may end up Raid mirroring so he always has a backup. Never underestimate the ability of his kids to break something. The case is totally base. Has good reviews and is built sturdy. No frills, since its gonna live in a desk anyway. Does have a 110mm fan and a CPU air cone.
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11-20-2006, 03:56 PM
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#4 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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I see no problems with your selections. You know it won't really be upgradable, though. $750 is a decent budget, try to get a dual core processor. THAT is what he needs for the apps. like the ones you listed above.
I have built 3 of these: Pentium D 805 Corsair ValueSelect DDR2 667 Asus P5L-MX Western Digital hard drive Antec case w/ PSU Liteon DVD reader Cheap and easy. Although I would get yourself another Asus motherboard with an x1300 video card - awesome choice for rendering!
__________________
“To me there are three things everyone should do every day. Number one is laugh. Number two is think -- spend some time in thought. Number three, you should have your emotions move you to tears. If you laugh, think and cry, that's a heck of a day.” - Jim Valvano |
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11-20-2006, 03:58 PM
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#5 |
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Member (7 bit)
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Colorado
Posts: 92
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Yes Upgrading is not in the future. As for dual core...Im a big AMD fan, thats not changing.
Heres another option for the video card, its 100$ more but has DDR3 memory. Also very highly reviewed. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GS / 512MB GDDR3 / SLI / PCI Express / DVI / VGA / TV Out / Video Card I may drop a HD and Cut the memory back, to keep the cost around $750-800, also I may break down and go for a lesser processor. |
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11-20-2006, 04:01 PM
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#6 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 398
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4gb isn't really needed unless you are 100% sure you are going to install xp64, b/c if you installed xp32 it would be able to utilize 2gb of ram very nicely and still perform great.
a core 2 duo might be able to be crammed in this computer.... maybe. and newbuilder, if you mind me asking, how well do those pentium D 805 builds work? I am interested in picking up a cheap gamer and maybe throwing a x1900xt in it. |
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11-20-2006, 04:04 PM
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#7 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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Get 2x1gb of memory, why waste all the slots with 512mb? As for the video card... your getting close... but your best bet is going to be the x1300 if your doing 3d rendering, etc. If you want I'd also recommend the 7600gs. You don't 'need' GDDR3 memory.
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11-20-2006, 04:16 PM
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#8 |
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Member (7 bit)
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Colorado
Posts: 92
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OK heres my Video Card choice...only $129 at newegg...
eVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card |
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11-20-2006, 04:17 PM
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#9 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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Get the KO factory OC'ed edition - at least that is what I'd do.
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11-20-2006, 04:25 PM
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#10 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 398
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ram looks good and so does that graphics card
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11-20-2006, 05:07 PM
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#11 |
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Member (7 bit)
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Colorado
Posts: 92
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updated build...
ok new build specs...
ASUS M2V Socket AM2 VIA K8T890 ATX AMD Motherboard - $79.99 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2.2GHz Socket AM2 Processor - $182.00 Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) - $209.99 eVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 video card - $129.99 Seagate Barracuda 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $49.99 LITE-ON Combo Drive Black ATAPI/E-IDE Model SOHC-5236V-61 - $24.69 MITSUMI 1.44MB 3.5" USB 2.0 digital card reader and Floppy Drive - $18.99 Rosewill R5717-P BK 120mm Fan ATX Mid Tower Case - $24.99 SILVERSTONE SST-ST405 ATX12V 400W Power Supply - leftover from upgrade $0 Windows XP professional - leftover from upgrade $0 This might be the build.... Last edited by Wolverdick; 11-20-2006 at 05:25 PM. |
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11-20-2006, 05:33 PM
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#12 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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Mobo: Drop the VIA chipset. Pick up the M2N-E
CPU: Okay Memory: You'd be better off with DDR2 800, but if you do get the 667, get the Corsair ValueSelect Video Card: As I said above, I'd still recommend the 7600gt KO from eVGA Hard drive: I've had good luck with the 80gb WD Caviar SE 80gb - cheaper, too Optical Drive: Get a DVD burner, not that much more and better in the long run FDD: Fine Case: Decent I guess, but Antec makes higher quality ones PSU: Good choice Windows XP: You cannot use an XP disk more than once without buying a license |
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11-20-2006, 05:51 PM
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#13 |
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Member (7 bit)
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Colorado
Posts: 92
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i agree, i prefer the Nvidia chipset. So how about this Mobo...
ECS NFORCE4M-A (V3.0) Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce4 4X ATX AMD Motherboard its not ASUS but it has everything I need and it costs less... as for memory...im gonna stick with 667 for the price and Kingston, because i trust them. Seagate drives come with a five year warranty, and Ive had great success with them. as for Windows XP, I originally bought XP for my system then upgraded to XP64, still havent used the license so its ok. |
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11-20-2006, 05:53 PM
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#14 |
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Member (7 bit)
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Colorado
Posts: 92
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going with this instead, only five bucks more and im sure its worth it...
LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black ATAPI/E-IDE Model SHW-160P6S-04 - Retail $30 |
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11-20-2006, 05:54 PM
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#15 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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Well then everything is fine. The motherboard you selected is worse than the Asus VIA chipset. You want the Asus M2N-E. ECS makes poor quality boards, but they are working on that.
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11-20-2006, 05:56 PM
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#16 |
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Member (7 bit)
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Colorado
Posts: 92
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well then I should just pony up the extra 20 bucks for the M2NE. Ive never used anything but ASUS boards, and I dont really wanna try...
 got more room for expansion too.all this with shipping comes to $771.00, its gonna be one heck of a christmas present. Last edited by Wolverdick; 11-20-2006 at 06:04 PM. |
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11-20-2006, 06:06 PM
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#17 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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I trust Asus and Kingston myself - they are quality, reputable manufacturers.
By the way, I ordered that DVD drive for myself. 
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11-20-2006, 06:22 PM
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#18 |
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Member (7 bit)
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Colorado
Posts: 92
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ok then, which would you pick...
Kingston HyperX 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model KHX6400D2K2/1G - Retail 171.00 or VIKING 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VGDDR212864PC667/2 - Retail 181.00 1Gb of 800DDR2 or 2Gb of 667DDR2. I dont know much about Viking. |
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11-20-2006, 06:33 PM
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#19 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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I would stick with your original choice. If your not overclocking, that is a solid choice.
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11-20-2006, 06:34 PM
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#20 |
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Staff
Premium Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Doncaster, UK
Posts: 3,563
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You really need DDR2-800 for an AM2 system, whichever brand you go for. I'd go with 2GB of Corsair XMS memory for a gaming system.
FK
__________________
-FK- "Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw, The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die, We shall not sleep, though poppies grow, In Flanders fields." - John McCrae, May 1915 |
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11-20-2006, 06:36 PM
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#21 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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I never knew why. I mean it just doesn't make sense because the processor FSB is not anywhere near 400mhz. Nevertheless, even if you did go for the DDR2 667 memory, I really doubt he'd notice any difference.
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11-20-2006, 06:39 PM
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#22 |
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Member (7 bit)
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Colorado
Posts: 92
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yeah this isnt a gaming system. I dont think my bro will know the difference. Going with quantity over clock speed then. in his eyes, and most peoples, 2Gb is better than 1Gb.
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11-20-2006, 06:41 PM
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#23 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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Some manufacturers use DDR2 533 memory with their AM2 builds.
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11-20-2006, 06:42 PM
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#24 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 398
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it IS possible to use 667 on am2 instead of 800 right?... b/c... i mean, if you are truly doing this for a brother (very kind of you btw) then you should protect your own wallet as well and get 667
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11-20-2006, 06:46 PM
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#25 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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Yes you can use memory that is slower than 800mhz.
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11-20-2006, 06:47 PM
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#26 |
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Member (7 bit)
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Colorado
Posts: 92
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Thats the idea, the budget works with the 2 gig of 667 ram, heck i could have gone with 400mhz ram, but i think the upgrade to 667 is warranted. Ive scrimped some pennies by going with the Windsor processor...I think it will do everything he needs and be a huge upgrade from the two year old Gateway he's got, without breaking my bank.
Truthfully, I just love building PC's, ill take any excuse... |
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11-20-2006, 06:48 PM
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#27 | |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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Quote:
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11-21-2006, 05:35 PM
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#28 |
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Member (5 bit)
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: australia
Posts: 30
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hi to everyone, i saw in one post that if you have a dual core am2 its better to go ddr2800 as dual core can better utilize it. thats if i remember right.
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