Building new box for friend, need sugestions for parts

Daegon · Dec 17, 2002

Hi! I'm building a (somewhat) new computer for a friend of mine... the only issue is it is a budget box... we already have Hard drives (60gb in all), 192mb of pc133 sdram (which can be discared for ddr) a gf4 mx440(i didn't suggest it!!), cd-r drive, sound card(sb live value) dont need modem, he uses cable through usb... aside from that I need suggestions.

One catch...Under 400 in all.

here's list of what we need. (sorry if i forgot anything)
case/powersupply
motherboard
cpu (he's not big on oc'ing, but thats cause he had a 370 celery 800 with stock cooing)
ram (if not sdram)
fans
he wants to replace his 6 year old speakers

thanks!

Ben721 · Dec 17, 2002

We'll this is where I think the ECS K7S5A would fit in perfect. He can use his current Sd-ram until he can afford some new ddr ram. As for a cpu he can use a 1800+. Then for the case pick out one from newegg with like a 350 watt psu. He should be well under the limit.

Captain Slug · Dec 17, 2002

Here's my list = $ 362 (I left wiggle room for shipping)

Athlon XP 1900+ AGOGA
Thermalright SK-7 w/ Enermax adjustable 80m fan
Shuttle AK32A (KT266A motherboard)
256mb PC2100 DDR RAM
Black Chieftec Mid-Tower
Sparkle 350w PSU
Labtec 3-piece Speaker set

NO LIFE · Dec 17, 2002

All at www.newegg.com/

case
fans
mobo
PSU
CPU
HS/F
RAM
Speakers: Logitech Z-340 (out of stock for now at newegg)

Grand Total: $430 USD

This system is REALLY fast. Plus you leave plenty of room for upgrades such as another stick of RAM or a new CPU (overclocking too if he changes his mind

. I am building a system for a friend exactly like this one. PM me with any questions. Hope I helped!!!

-JP

Tecumseh · Dec 17, 2002

This is no joke. Have him buy a Dell online. Building or re-building
a system for a friend almost always comes back to bite you on the
backside. Just say no.....

NO LIFE · Dec 17, 2002

Plz ignore the previous post.

1) He cant use the stuff he already has.
2) You cant get a Dell for 400 bucks that doesnt have horrible 8mb integrated graphics.
3) If you manage to find a system for $400 with out the worst graphics, you wont be able to get more than 128mb sdram. The pc800 they offer cost a fine premium...I know
4) Dells suck ***
5) Re-read 1-4
6) slap yourself and read 1-4 again

NO LIFE · Dec 17, 2002

I forgot to mention that if you plan on having more than 2 hard-drives and to cd-rom drives then get raid. Without raid you get 2 ports and 4 channels. Keep that in mind.

Captain Slug · Dec 17, 2002

Tecumseh said:
This is no joke. Have him buy a Dell online. Building or re-building
a system for a friend almost always comes back to bite you on the
backside. Just say no.....

I pity the foo...

OEMs no longer provide meaningful support. And your friend would be spending three times as much for a machine that can't even compare in quality. He also already has half of the machine in parts. What are you thinking Tecumseh?

I myself have built machines for several friends and have yet to have one of them complain. In fact my second customer is about to sell the machine I built for him to an envious friend of his and I will be building another machine for him soon. I've made a nice commission off of each machine, and I've provided a meaningful service to each one. I've provided more simple and easy tech support for them than any OEM ever would.

NO LIFE · Dec 17, 2002

Plus companies like dell charge a fortune for on-site support. I doubt daegon will charge his friend money if something goes wrong.

Daegon · Dec 17, 2002

current plans...
(most prices from directron.com)

my case which i like, but isn't the best in the world
http://www.directron.com/00301wb.html
Enermax CS-003-01WB
$56

http://www.directron.com/a1357.html
4 tt smartfan II's (just cant be beat)
1 in front, 2 in back, 1 on hsf
$40

and all this.
http://www31.brinkster.com/daegon/shopping cart.htm
$267
total cost $363
having a friend with a semi-kickass computer for less then 400 bucks...less then for hundred bucks... i mean priceless

NO LIFE · Dec 17, 2002

Looks pretty nice to me...but if you have $40 of lack space why dont you spend in on a faster processor. For a non-overclocker the 1600 is pretty slow, considering for 40 bucks more you could get him a 2100.

-JP

Captain Slug · Dec 17, 2002

NO LIFE said:
Looks pretty nice to me...but if you have $40 of lack space why dont you spend in on a faster processor. For a non-overclocker the 1600 is pretty slow, considering for 40 bucks more you could get him a 2100.

-JP

That "lack space" is going to barely cover shipping.

The only things I suggest changing...
- buy everything from one source
- That case is nice, but all of the fan holes are too restictive and will amplify the noise inside the case (as well as cut off airflow significantly). I also no longer trust power supplies included with cases.
- a TT smart fan is meant for use on a CASE, and it really isn't efficient enough to cool an XP in the summer months.
You're spending more on a bunch of fans than you need to. Instead your could buy adjustable fans for $7 each at Newegg. That would allow you to adjust each fan individually. Or just get the pre-7V modded Zalman fans that are silent (they're only $5 each).

Daegon · Dec 17, 2002

ok thanks for the suggestions.

1.i'm not too woried about buying from two sources aside from cost of shipping and his mother will probably pay that anyway. and directrons prices on some things are very high, but they are very reliable. (in my experience anyway)

2. The airflow thing, youre absolutly right, i cut and redid all the fan mounting areas on the case, and it is not bad at all.

3. TT smartfan II's have a max cfm of 75. i plan to run the rheostats for the intake and output ones to the front and back panels somewhere, and the only 80mm fans i know that move more air than it are delta's and the tornado/sunon84 ys-tech.. i'm pretty confident that it will sufficently cool it... who knows maybe i'm wrong.

4. fully adjustable fans for 7 bucks at newegg.. please show me where!! darn cool!! i'll gladly get them.

he will oc, he is just inexperienced because of stock cooling *shudder*

thanks again!

Captain Slug · Dec 17, 2002

Daegon said:
3. TT smartfan II's have a max cfm of 75. i plan to run the rheostats for the intake and output ones to the front and back panels somewhere, and the only 80mm fans i know that move more air than it are delta's and the tornado/sunon84 ys-tech.. i'm pretty confident that it will sufficently cool it... who knows maybe i'm wrong.

They're temperature variable, which means they have to heat up past 90f in order to start speeding up. I, quite frankly, don't like that idea.
It's best to have a consistant amount of air cooling the CPU because the air temperature will fluctuate quite a bit and thermal sensor doesn't read fast enough to tell if the CPU is getting too hot. For XP processors I recommend getting any moderately quiet 40CFM or better fan to cool your CPU. This will keep your machine stable whether you run it all day in a benchmark, or 2 months running Folding@Home.

This is my favorite adjustable fan currenly available. For extreme overclocking you can crank it all the way up and it still won't drive you crazy. When you leave your machine on idle you can set it 25% lower on the dial and you'll have a machine quiet enough to sleep around.

Daegon said:
4. fully adjustable fans for 7 bucks at newegg.. please show me where!! darn cool!! i'll gladly get them.

Enermax Adjustable 80mm fan with 3-to-4 pin adapter included = $7

Daegon · Dec 17, 2002

Captain Slug said:
They're temperature variable, which means they have to heat up past 90f in order to start speeding up. I, quite frankly, don't like that idea.

but the tt smartfan II has 3 modes. Temp controlled, rheostat, or fulll speed.. here's the link to the site. (woops forgot the link) http://www.thermaltake.com/products/dcfan/a1357.htm They really are good fans, if you switch a jumper on the fan (yes, its a fan, with a jumper) then you can plug in either a rheostat or a temp sensor.. and the temp sensor is one of those nice ones thats flat and the two wires are split so you can route it through your cpu pins.. it really is a good fan.

that ys tech is a really nice fan! quiet too... i'll probably use two of those for output in the back and 2 smartfan II's on the hsf and intake.

anti · Jan 5, 2003

yeah um...i'm his friend

anti · Jan 5, 2003

any more suggestions?

stompah · Jan 5, 2003

Captain Slug said:
Here's my list = $ 362 (I left wiggle room for shipping)

Athlon XP 1900+ AGOGA
Thermalright SK-7 w/ Enermax adjustable 80m fan
Shuttle AK32A (KT266A motherboard)
256mb PC2100 DDR RAM
Black Chieftec Mid-Tower
Sparkle 350w PSU
Labtec 3-piece Speaker set

That only get a 1600+ and spend the saved money on another 256mb of RAM.

U will likely get an easy overclock to 1700MHz and that should be enough.

EDIT: ditch the speakers and get some Logitech z-340's from Best Buy for $24 and no $8 for shipping.

NO LIFE · Jan 6, 2003

So anti you got your new comp yet....?

If so, do you like it? Is it fast?

-JP

anti · Jan 7, 2003

no, i havnet gotten the stuff yet, but it should run fine, as long as daegon doestn **** up the installation like the last time he buit my comp. he fried the ****in motherboard hahah...what a noob

Building new box for friend, need sugestions for parts

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