Help Me Build A $400-$500 System

[Onizuka]

My sister wants a computer and has about $400-500 to spend on it.
Dont need a printer or monitor, just the system itself.
She wants to be able to play Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, and other new games that are coming out.

What do you guys think I should get her?

Was thinking an AMD XP CPU , Abit Mobo, Kingston Value Ram, and whatever hdd is on sale =). Not sure about what video card to get though....

[ajrettke]

Case w/420 watt PSU, 50 bucks
Sempron 2500+ retail 75 bucks
512 PC3200, 70 bucks
For the HDD you can get deals from officemax and staples etc for big drives for under 50 after MIR and stuff, so I'll figure 50 bucks.
CD Burner, 25 bucks (DVD/CD RW is 35 and DVD burner is 50)
Gigabyte NF2, GA-7NF-RZ 50 bucks
Ok that makes 320 bucks.
In order to actualy play those games you need a good video card, and a 9600p new is 110 and that's the lowest I would go...but that's week, I'd say go newegg refurbs and buy a 9800np (NOT SE) for 130.
That makes 450 for the whole setup...save the 50 bucks for the future to upgrade to 1gb of RAM, or spend 520 now.

They also have a 9800p for 165.
If you want to push the envelope to right at 500, you can get an asus nforce2 refurb board for 30 bucks, the 20 you save will bring you to 430, allowing the second stick of 512....not a shabby system if you ask me.

[Elif Tymes]

Ajrettke's looks good. Im however, would get a 2X 256 Kit for RAM to ensure Dual Channel. Dual Channel gives you a good 2GBs additional memory bandwidth(not a bad deal, IMHO)

Course, if you DO get 2 sticks, make sure you get the gig, as it will require you to sell your existing ram later to get 1GB dual channel later.

[YoMatta]

These systems look great. I love galaxies and have been running it off a year and a half old toshiba laptop just fine. I don't know the specs on the vid card for the laptop (though I very highly doubt it having more than 64mbs of memory), but it has a 2.4 (i believe) P4 with 256mb RAM (not sure on speed). Galaxies runs just fine under these conditions (though I still hit some lag here and there), so rest assured that the system, as listed, will be more than enough to handle galaxies. I'm not a huge hard drive space hog, and have never come to the point of filling the 40g that's on the laptop either, so if she's the same way she maybe able to save at least a couple bucks and stick with a smaller drive.

just my $0.02 - good luck with the system!

[RAMMAN]

whatever you get,make sure it has a 9600xt and the best amd xp cpu you can afford.

[Mr. Chambers]

whatever you get,make sure it has a 9600xt and the best amd xp cpu you can afford.

I personally wouldn't recommend a 9600xt at this point, unless he came across it VERY cheaply. A 9700pro or 9800np/pro would give her much more headroom in the future, and could probably be added and still stay under the $500 mark. I haven't a clue what's available on the Nvidia side of things, but I'm sure they have similarly priced cards in the same league of performance.

[RAMMAN]

well there is the 5900.

[Ad Rock]

Have you read the excellent front page article yet?

http://overclockers.com/articles1134/

It is pretty much exactly what you are looking for :D.

[RAMMAN]

ad rock are you implying i cant overclock?516/525 just happens to be the fastest stable overclock my defective card will run without any mods.

[Onizuka]

I dont want to hassle with OCing the system any, and sister wouldnt want it either.
What exactly is the AMD Sempron?
And is the Gigabyte NF2 Mobo good? I heard Abit NF7-S is really good.
I dont have to worry about cdrom/cdburner/dvdrom, got extras Im using.
For the memory Im thinking 2x256 Kingston Ram for now.
Now what should I do about the graphics card? Heard several recommendations, just not sure what to go with. Dont think she would want a refurb though.

[GUNNaH]

I'm not trying to be rude but have you considered, I hate to write it, buying a pre-built system since it seems that computer hardware is new to you? I know text can come across as harsh but that's not my intent at all. Building a PC is a great experience and by doing so one can learn a lot. However, if you are new to all this then there are other things to consider like the Operating System. You will probably need to add on more money to the spec's listed from others listed here for WindozeXP Home Edition even if you get a copy off Ebay. And your sister would at least get some type of support after the purchase if the system comes from a vendor.

BUT, if you do build it ...

Overclocking isn't a huge undertaking and you have so many people here that are Happy to assist you as you dive in! So, for example, if you built a system and went with an AnthlonXP2500+ CPU all you do is make sure you buy PC3200/DDR400 RAM and then just start the computer, enter the BIOS, change the FSB (Front Side Bus) from 166/333 MHz to 200/400 MHz and you have yourself an AthlonXP3200+ system and the CPU only cost you $75. It's just that easy if you have a decent motherboard that supports doing this through the BIOS (most do nowadays). This is what I did with my current system and it's Rock Solid up to AthlonXP3400+ speeds by increasing the FSB over 200/400. (Course, to be safe move the FSB up a little at a time until you reach 200.) With a Gigabyte Motherboard you will get a WindozeXP utility called EasyTuner that lets you OC in Windows (if not on disc, available for free download at their web site).

The same can be done with Video Cards using free programs like Powerstrip that allow you, while in Windoze, to increase the MHz of the Core and Memory.

Basically, the manufacturer's ship the items at speeds they are sure will work or to fill orders for a specific speed even if, for example, if a CPU passes for a 3200+ it may be labled a 3000+ (or lower) to fill demand. Not trying to overclock is like giving up free power and at the price range you want to build at AND stating that new games are to be played pretty much dictates that you should be thinking about overclocking in the future.

Your Questions:
What is the Sempron? The Sempron is the newest low end CPU from AMD, taking the place of the Duron CPU in this price range. The Sempron2400+ benchmarks at pretty much the same place the AthlonXP2000+ (from what I've read) but it's cheaper.

Is the n-Force2 Motherboard any good? It's great! The NF2 mobo's are very stable and come in many different versions (depending on the features you want or need). I have the n-Force2 Pro2 from Gigabyte and it's been trouble free since day one. You probably don't need this one as it's a bit more expensive. I've never purchased an Abit board so I cannot tell you if their support after purchase is any good ... which has been the big difference for me with boards from Asus, MSI and Epox and that's why I stick with Gigabyte myself.


The Kingston Ram? It should be fine. Are you planning on trying to use Dual Channel? If so, you will need to sticks of RAM. Even if you get the Sempron running a FSB of 333 MHz get the 400 MHz RAM (PC3200). The price will be pretty much the same but the 2 sticks, instead of 1, may cost you $5 more so your looking at $75 for the 2.

The Graphics Card? This is the one item that you will get many answers about. Some of us are firm nVidia Users and other ATi. Which is better, hard to say? I use nVidia. My rig has a Gigabyte motherboard using the nVidia nForce2 Chipset so I paired this with a Gigabyte Video Card using an nVida GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) ... a GeForceFX5900 Card. Why??? I figured I would have less of a chance of conflicts or problems with this setup by not mixing in ATi. That's me though. For DOOM3 I run in High Quality just fine but in Half-Life2 things are not so well for me because I'm forced into DX8 ... while my buddy with an ATi Radeon9800 (and a completely different rig all together) didn't do as well in Doom3 but his HL2 looks great. So, what to do??? Figure out exactly how much can be spent on the card and search for it all over, lol. Some online vendors may give you free shipping and with no tax (hopefully) you get a great deal. But, if you cannot get a newer card then the cards the other guys are listing are probably best. Just don't come back and tell us you got an FX5200, D'oh!

Ask more questions ... that's the smart thing to do. Hit's sites like NewEgg, etc to start getting a better idea of price. Hit other Threads on this site about building systems to see what others ran into along the way. The Overclockers.com site has a wealth of info on it. Good Luck to you regardless of the road you take man ... I hope it goes well for you.

GUNNaH

[GUNNaH]

Hey Onizuka, your not in Austin (or the area) as well are you??? Regardless, drop me a line if you want to ... I have a week before school kicks in again so I can help you out, if you like, promptly for a little while. After that, the Electrical Engineering eats up a lot of my time, lol. Happy New Year all ...

GUNNaH (ScttCmptng@aol.com)

[YoMatta]

*muses about the size of Texas and the probabilities of him being within a 300 mile radius*

[AZNBoiOnFIYA]

heres one i built for under $500

NEC DVD-RW $40 MIR
1gig Mushkin PC3200 DDR400 $90 MIR
Sempron 2500+ $60
Shuttle AN35NU $54
WDC 80gb HDD $30 MIR
Antec case +350watt psu $64
9800pro $170 MIR

[capmuffin]

heres one i built for under $500

NEC DVD-RW $40 MIR
1gig Mushkin PC3200 DDR400 $90 MIR
Sempron 2500+ $60
Shuttle AN35NU $54
WDC 80gb HDD $30 MIR
Antec case +350watt psu $64
9800pro $170 MIR
drop the sempron get a mobile 2400+ and drop the DVD RW and get a free burner MIR