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11-20-2006, 04:11 PM
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#1 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 398
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Trying to make a gamer on a cram budget and need suggestions for Intel AND AMD system
First of all, hi all of you. Some of you may remember me, but anyways, it is good to be back.
First question on the table : Is it even worth my money to buy a computer NOW instead of waiting until after Vista? Today my questions revolve around a cheap gamer computer. I'd like this computer to be under $800 TOTAL with shipping and tax included... quite a toughie I understand. I will provide some basics. I do not plan on overclocking. I don't have a preference with either Intel or AMD so maybe two setups could be suggested and I'd compare them. I want to fit in the 256mb model of the x1950xt which is $209 I think ( I know it is worse than the other ones, but I like what I've read. I am open to suggestions). I don't need a monitor or speakers or a mouse or keyboard and I may be able to get a cheap OS from my sister in college, so I don't think I need an OS either, but I will most likely run XP32. It would be nice to have a card reader included... I would prefer a motherboard with 4 ram slots (ddr 400 or higher) so that I could get 1 gig (2x 512) and pick up another 1gb kit later on. I also don't think I need to get another hard drive. preferably dual core, but I don't need Intel core 2 duo either pentium D dual core is ok with me as well and I'd like a fsb of 800-1000mhz thanks for all of your help guys. |
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11-20-2006, 04:17 PM
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#2 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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Don't you already have a 3800+ AM2 build (I remember you from Xoxide I think?)?
Anyway, here is a rough idea: Core 2 Duo E6300 Asus P5B 1gb or 2gb Corsair Value Select DDR2 667 Seagate 7200.10 hard drive Video card that you chose Liteon DVD drive Antec case w/ PSU That should run you around $850 with 2gb of RAM, $750 with 1gb.
__________________
“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, 04:31 PM
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#3 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 398
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I was SERIOUSLY considering an am2 build with a 3800+ once, but never went ahead with it. I instead decided to put back my money and spend some towards a Sony PSP (a great hand-held when you have homebrew for it). Anyways...
I had already been looking at the corsair value select 1gb (2x 512) so that is good to see on your list. I was also considering the antec sonata II case with the 450W truepower (I think) power supply (everyone should know what that is by now lol). is the core 2 duo really needed for that build? I mean, I would love to have it, but even $30 saved is good money saved for me, and there are good pentium D regular ol' dual cores for $153... also, is there any specific reason to buy seagate instead of western digital/ other? |
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11-20-2006, 04:37 PM
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#4 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 463
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seagate has the best 7200 rpm right now
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11-20-2006, 04:40 PM
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#5 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 398
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If I bought a new hard drive, I would want it to be 250gb or higher. So if someone could convince me with a link, I'd be very appreciative. I myself am busy for about ten mins.
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11-20-2006, 05:22 PM
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#7 |
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Member (14 bit)
Premium Member
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: The Great NorthWest
Posts: 12,594
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The sale ends today (I think) but you can get a 500 GB 10 series for $229... so what the deal? They are giving away a 250 GB 9 series with it! $229 is the latest "normal" price at Newegg for just the 500 GB alone from what I've seen.
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11-20-2006, 05:28 PM
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#8 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148136 If you're interested.
If your on a budget get the 250gb version. |
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11-20-2006, 05:49 PM
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#9 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 398
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regarding my graphics card, does anybody have any second opinions or thoughts about it?
I would like to get the beefier 512mb model but the 256mb gddr3 model caught my eye at like $210 and I thought that would be a great deal... is it? And what would you guys suggest? |
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11-20-2006, 05:55 PM
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#10 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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The 256mb should be fine until DX10 fully establishes itself.
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11-20-2006, 06:12 PM
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#11 |
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Member (5 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 17
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right now on newegg you can get an overclocked BFG 7600gt 256mb for $113 after rebate (140 I think before) great card if you're just buying one to hold you out for DX10 or for SLI
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11-20-2006, 06:13 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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Yes, great prices on the 7600gt cards now. I took advantage of this and picked up a 7600gt for myself.
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11-20-2006, 06:28 PM
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#13 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 398
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oh, stupid me must have been looking at another card.
That x1950xt model that had 256mb was $269, still not bad, but if the 7600's are that low.... give me a few good reasons to have a direct x 10 compatible card .....wouldn't games still run on dx 9? |
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11-20-2006, 07:14 PM
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#14 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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Yes, they would. I think the 7600gt is a fine choice when your on a budget. You can spend your money of RAM, CPU, etc.
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11-20-2006, 07:14 PM
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#15 |
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V12
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Houston, T.E.X.A.S
Posts: 3,488
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I have tons of bad reasons for a DX10 capable card
 .DX9 and DX10 are cross compatible.
__________________
“We must not let ourselves get driven off course, no matter what happens we must stick to our natural game” -Zenedine Zidane |
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11-20-2006, 07:18 PM
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#16 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 398
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thank god...
what specific things would a dx10 card do that a dx9 card wouldn't. All I know about the newer cards is that they are supposed to be used with Vista for 100% compatibility and things... but is that just a marketing ploy? anything that I would be missing out on? and hello Mr. Ferrari, good to see you again (though I am unsure if you remember me) |
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11-20-2006, 07:43 PM
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#17 |
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V12
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Houston, T.E.X.A.S
Posts: 3,488
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DX10 will imploy newer shader and texture techniques that you will be seeing used in games during the upcoming years. I say years because, yes there will be the likes of HALO3 and a few others coming out in '07.
But like I've said before, by the time dx10's capabilities are used to even 50 percent potential. Your card will be considered "average" or "subpar". SM 4.0 (shader model 4) is also a component of DX10. Nvidia's current offerings have..erm..skipped on a few aspects of dx10. With VISTA, you might not get 100% out of the "Aero" interface. Some of the eye candy might not be as shiny lol. The 7600gt that has been mentioned before is a good choice. Last edited by Mr.Ferrari; 11-20-2006 at 07:48 PM. |
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11-21-2006, 12:44 PM
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#18 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 398
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I think I will get a the 7600gt.
this is what I've decided I think Case + psu = antec sonata II w/ 450W truepower2 psu motherboard =ECS p4m890t-m2 mtx processor = intel core 2 duo e6300 ram = pqi powerseries 2x512 kit ddr 400 those will be the main parts. I will most likely put a card reader in there to make things easier on myself and put another hard drive... most likely a dvd burner as well. regarding the motherboard, I know it is ECS and everyone hates them. I have faith in them though. That motherboard is rated very well as well. I won't be overclocking and I won't be needing two SLI slots. I am open to suggestions about the motherboard still. Intel + Nvidia gpu... bad? |
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11-21-2006, 12:51 PM
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#19 |
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Wrench Bender
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Plymouth,MN
Posts: 5,961
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Generally, it's Sli and Intel chipset=bad/one nVidea card is fine.
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"When sliding down the banister of life; look out for splinters pointing up."
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11-21-2006, 01:16 PM
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#20 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 398
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yea I wondered b/c I had figured I'd get an ATi graphics card once upon a time; however, I thought I that one nvidia card would be fine.
I need a few people to confirm that ONE nvidia card is ok to use with Intel parts |
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11-21-2006, 02:15 PM
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#21 |
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V12
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Houston, T.E.X.A.S
Posts: 3,488
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First of all. You need to stick with an Intel chipset. VIA is just asking for major trouble.
The minimum board I would suggest for core two duo would be: Asus P5L-MX $75.99 With that board, you need DDR2. This would be the minimum for a safe choice: 1gb Corsair VS DDR2 667 $106.99 |
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11-21-2006, 02:40 PM
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#22 | |
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Kickin' it
Staff
Premium Member
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: USA
Posts: 7,723
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Quote:
Second Mr F's suggestion. Definetly go with the P5L-MX if you're on a budget. It is a solid board for the price. Much better then anything from ECS.
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Fold for PCMech: Team 13761 |
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11-22-2006, 02:37 AM
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#23 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 398
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ok, I definitely trust Mr. Ferrari and Alaron
the ram that Mr. Ferrari had suggested still fits in the price range and is corsair, so I have no problems with that. the price is definitely good for the first mobo and I like that I can throw up to 2gb of ddr 400 and later upgrade to ddr2 533 (4gb capacity) if I needed to. Neat little feature. The second motherboard is a great price as well, and very workable into the budget. My question is (and I know that VIA is something people stray from) what is so bad about the VIA chipset compared to an intel one? during last summer, when I basically learned everything I needed to ever know about computers (in my eyes) I think I remembered something about the VIA chipset being a nvidia chipset or something... is that why it would be a double-whammy? Or is it just b/c VIA is a little dated? |
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11-22-2006, 07:08 AM
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#24 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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VIA chipsets have a tendancy to have instability issues. You'd be so much better off with the Intel chipset. The P5L-MX is a fine board, I've used a few.
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11-22-2006, 10:32 AM
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#25 |
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Member (14 bit)
Premium Member
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: The Great NorthWest
Posts: 12,594
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I hope this doesn't turn into yet another VIA bashing party... Intel makes good chips, and good motherboards. VIA can go into any motherboard, quality or junk. When folks have a problem with a less then quality motherboard, they blame VIA and not that they bought a cheapo mobo. I wonder if Intel let their chips go into, say, an ECS mobo if everyone would blame Intel for all the mobo problems like they do with VIA?? Most of builds for many years have been VIA (some nForce) and have Never experience what others say is a definite VIA chip set problem. Why? Because I use only quality mobos, namely Asus. If VIA has all these problems, then why have they never surfaced for me? Quality motherboards. And that's not to mention that if VIA truely had all these problems, why are they still in business when there are other choices?
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11-22-2006, 10:50 AM
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#26 |
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Kickin' it
Staff
Premium Member
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: USA
Posts: 7,723
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VIA may work fine for some boards. I still have a system on a VIA board without problems. But when you combine a VIA chipset (the most likely to have issues compared to Intel or Nvidia) with an ECS motherboard (A very low tier builder), that is asking for issues.
The P5L-MX has a solid reputation, both as an Asus product and some of the members here have used it. That's why I seconded that recommendation, not merely to bash VIA.
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11-22-2006, 10:52 AM
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#27 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Indiana
Posts: 500
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$100 - Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard (This is the cheapest reputible brand C2D board that has 4 ram slots, you could save some money and get the P5L-MX, but if you plan on adding ram in Dual Channel Pairs, you will probably want to get the foxconn or the P5B)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813186102 $180 - Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz 2M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115005 $103 - CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145568 $196 - SAPPHIRE 100189L Radeon X1900GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 (RoHS) CrossFire Video Card (Great deal on a Video Card, but it will be a bit of a step down from a X1950XT) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102022 $75 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148144 $30 - LITE-ON Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache ATAPI/E-IDE 16X DVD Burner - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106013 $0 - Windows XP copy from sister $54 - FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX450-PN, 12cm FAN, version 2.0, 2 SATA, PCI Express, 450W Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104954 $30 - Rosewill R6AR6-SL 0.8mm SECC 120mm Fan ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (This is a nice basic desktop budget case, but if you want to show your rig off, you might want to get a case with a side panel and possibly a nicer cooling setup) ($5 - I would also get a yate loon 120mm fan for the front intake [http://www.petrastechshop.com/12yalod1cafa.html]) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147045 That comes out to $773 before shipping (w/ additional the fan), and newegg doesn't charge tax (although I'm not sure about Petra's tech shop). What kind of HD is your old one? It think that I have heard that it will run slow if you have an IDE HD on the same IDE Channel as the CD/DVD Drive. Enjoy your build!
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11-22-2006, 10:54 AM
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#28 | |
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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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11-22-2006, 08:54 PM
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#29 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 398
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andper10, thanks a lot for the list of parts you suggested, but I am quite satisfied with what the other users have suggested. And I am not against using the VIA chipset, however, I can see how a (generally) low quality motherboard manufacturer and intel + nvidia can possibly present problems... and I really don't need that. Granted I will only be using one GPU, but still, no issues are better than even one.
My goal now is to create a budget AMD build. I have already selected a few parts but really want to see what you guys would choose. I have pretty much decided that it will be a 939 build b/c the parts are so much cheaper now and has driven ddr 400 prices a little lower as well. the psu that andper10 suggested seems like a good start |
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11-22-2006, 10:11 PM
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#30 |
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Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
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If you wanted 939, it is not a bad choice, it is showing its age but it is stable. Here is what I would choose:
cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103626 mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131530 mem http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145440 hdd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144415 dvd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106017 psu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104954 vid http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130017 That would make a fine gaming rig. This would run around $700. You can change many things. This is merely a rough idea. You mentioned you had $800 to spend, either get 2gb of memory or a stronger video card and you are good to go. However, if you have a budget of $800, you could get an AM2 based system and have the oppurtunity to upgrade. Last edited by newbuilder14; 11-22-2006 at 10:14 PM. |
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