[lilmojo]

Hi,

I'm trying to build a decent gaming machine with a limited budget. I've come up with the following hardware selection and would like to have some input on it. I plan on overclocking to 3.2 GHz and was wondering if this setup can handle that.


Abit IS7-E i865PE P4 800FSB Retail $80.99
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...127-156&depa=1

Intel P4 2.4GHz 800MHz FSB Socket 478 Retail $163.50
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...Code=80646-800

Corsair VS256MB400 256MB DDR400 PC3200 CAS2.5 Value Select Memory Retail $88.00
2x 256MB @ $44.00 each
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...ctCode=80093-6

Thermaltake A1715 P4 Spark 7 Retail $29.50
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=370438

Foxconn ''Super Case'' Series Black Mid-Tower Case w/ Front Door and 400W Power Supply OEM $68.00
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...talog=7&depa=1

Western Digital WD400JB 40GB 8mb 7200RPM and Vantec Round Cable Bundle $68.50
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...=101200-315002

Samsung 52x32x52 E-IDE/ATAPI CD-RW 2MB Buffer w/Nero Software (Black) $38.50
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=332619

Lite On Black 52X CD-ROM Model LTN-526S Full OEM Pack $22.00
$17.00 plus $5.00 S/H
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...talog=55&depa=1

Samsung SFD-321BLEL1/ SFD-321BLBL1 1.44MB Floppy Disk Drive (Black) $13.99
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...alog=55&depa=1

OPTIQUEST Q71B 17" CRT Monitor RETAIL $135.00
$125.00 plus $10 S/H
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...alog=19&depa=1

Logitech Desktop Keyboard & Optical Wheel Mouse (Black) $29.00
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=211027

Logitech Z-340 Speaker System Retail $48.00
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=360402

Total $784.98

I have an Asus GeForce FX5200 AGP 8X 128MB video card that was given to me by a friend. Should I upgrade to a better card or will this one be ok?
Another thing i was wondering about was buying a case OEM. I've never purchased a case before so I don't know what might be missing by not buying retail.

I appreciate any and all help.

Thanks

I fixed the links. Thanks for pointing that out.

[xanderjobizzle]

Do u plan on gaming alot? If so might i siggust u get n MX700 duo with a ratpad form newegg, and a Radeon 9700 pro or 9800 pro. I switched from a GeForce FX 5200 to a Radeon 9700 Pro and the change was fanaminal! I highly dought that u will be sad about getting a 9700/9800. Btw half of the links dont work.

-Xander

[baltoos]

lilmojo,
Looks like a nice system! If I may, I have a couple of suggestions:[list=1][*]Better cooling for your CPU. Thermalright SP94 is about the best there is right now, but is rather expensive (~$50 for just HS - Fan extra) Thermalright SLK800U or SLK947U are also very good & less expensive. The Vantec Aeroflow w/ TMD Fan offers good colloing for a very nice price (I have 1 & I'm pleased w/ it) SVC & KD Computers have some very nice deals on Heatsinks & fans.[*]If you can afford it, a 19" Monitor would be very nice. This might cost another $50 or so. I have a Sun/Sony 21" & it is AWESOME![*]IMO the FX5200 would be OK for now, but you should consider upgrading to an ATI 9600 Pro or similar whn you can afford it. From what I've seen here the FX5200 cards aren'y the greatest, & the 9600Pro offers a lot of performance for the $$. [/list=1]
Just my opinions! Hope this helps!
-Dave

[stompah]

You can find the Z-340s cheaper. I got mine for $20 at Best Buy. If you cant then stepping up to 640s would be a better value.

[lilmojo]

Thanks, this info is really helping me

I've decided to buy the p4 2.6 instead of the 2.4. It's only $11.50 more.

Yes baltoos, the 17" monitor was a budget decision. After looking at the prices again for the 19" I've decided to go with the Optiquest Q95B

[VMU]

I dont think the 2.6 have M0s. are you getting the B or C? i havent really seen to many people that have gotten good OC with a 2.6c, they always told me that it was just a matter of luck. But i have seen more people with good result from a 2.4 M0. Go for a cheaper floppy drive. i think there is a sony one @ newegg for 8 dollars. Look for another Speaker system. Get a DVD drive instead of the CD-rom.

[lilmojo]

I was going to get the 2.6c but I remember seeing an article that said the 2.4c had outstanding OC potential so I think I'll stick with the 2.4c

Good call, I'll get the LITE-ON BLACK 16X DVD ROM Drive, Model XJ-HD166/XJ-HD 165H OEM for $33.00
Going back to the 2.4c allows this upgrade at no additional cost.

After more searching I found the cheapest black floppy available from newegg - SAMSUNG SFD321B/LBL1 Black 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive, OEM Driver Only $5.99 plus $4.00 S/H

Any ideas on a 2.1 speaker system in the $40-$60 range? I'm not interested in 5.1, just 2 nice stereo speakers and a sub to add some bounce to games and mp3s.

thank you for the input

[VMU]

The vid card should be ok, but if ur going to be playing lots of games, try with somethind else. An oem case basicly brings the case, the 5.25 abd 3.5 cover and its sides any accesories (power cord, bolts) will not be included. i mistook the sound system for another, it should be ok. Get a good heat sink, a Thermalright SP-94 should do the trick, even a SP-947. With some artic silver 5. The perfect combination. (noe HS doesnt include a fan)



now consider this, youll be buying online, i dont want to scare you or anything, i bought a new system from newegg on tuesday, it should have arrived on friday, but it arrived on thurdays expect for the CPU which came on friday. everything was perfect expect the case, it was bent . but i didnt want to rma it so i still have it. And the memory was bad, that i am going to RMA. It is not the first time i have this experience, with UPS its even worst, they lost 1293 bolts from an order i placed to an aircraft company, each bolt was being sold at about 1.23$ each, do the math. and they never told us. And also with a bose sound system, when it arrived the subwoofer had a crack on a side, the box a hole with some blood. But i recive about 5 to 15 package a week, since about 1 year ago, and these have only been my probs. Everything else always arrived in perfect condition.


Good lock

Vic

[lilmojo]

Thanks Vic,

I've added the SLK 947U to my list, any suggestions for a fan to buy for this heatsink?

[VMU]

only the case came damaged, now since ur buying a CRT that you should think if ur going to buy online or on store.
Good luck

[VMU]

depends on whetever you like noise or not. If you really dont care about noise go for Tornado, they are really fast, and REALLY loud. but if noise is kinda a problem, im using a Coolermaster 80mm case fan. It is fully compatible with the SP947U. And keep my CPU @ 45.5. i have a 2500 barton, not overclocked. So the temps are kinda high, but again my cooling of my system is very bad. i have no exahaust fan expect the PSU. im probably going to add a tornado fan to my system, and a couple of exhaunst and a 5.25 intake to take care of the cooling. but when in miami, how can you spect low temps. im looking at the case, looks good. i have a MAXTOP Signature Series case, it really good, but i have the shipping cost. And a enlight powersupply. But if you decide to change the psu go for a sparkle/antec/fortron. good psu.

try to stay within ur budget though

[baltoos]

I had a Q95 before I got my Monster 21" monitor. It's a very nice monitor. I sold my Q95 to a friend & he LOVES it!
-Dave

[baltoos]

I had a Q95 before I got my Monster 21" monitor. It's a very nice monitor. I sold my Q95 to a friend & he LOVES it!

This YS-Tech fan Looks pretty good to me: 66CFM & 40dB - Good airflow & not too loud. You WON'T have to worry about keeping your CPU cool AND your hearing with this setup! :P
-Dave

[lilmojo]

Ok guys, you're help is very appreciated.

So far I've decided to make these changes:

New Case (because Antec seems to be praised as a great case/psu)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...=BROWSE&depa=1 $77 plus $15.00 S/H

The Optiquest 19" monitor $179.00 plus $20 S/H

LITE-ON black 16X DVD ROM $33.00

Samsung SFD321B/LBL1 Black 1.44MB $5.99 plus $4.00 S/H

Thermalright SLK-947 $39.00

Aerocool Aerofan X-Static for SLK-947U $12.99

New total price: $902.47

Still within my budget and starting to look like the machine i'm going to be proud to own. I'll deal with the Vid card for now and upgrade it later because that would take me a little above budget at the moment.

[baltoos]

Looks Good!

[VMU]

looks very good

[VMU]

go BH-5 for the memory, look under the memory section of this forum to look which ones contain BH-5

[UPCguy21]

On the chip, how about instead of a 2.4 or 2.6 p4, why not look at a barton? Most people say those are better for gaming, and a 2800+ can be found on newegg for about 140 bucks. That would give you a little extra money to go to vid card or memory, or something like that.

[lilmojo]

BH-5

Thanks for pointing that out. This rig is being funded by my tax return so hopefully some will still be around when I get the money. Looks like it may be 2-3 weeks before I can actually order the parts.

Ok UPCguy21, I didn't want to bring up the Intel vs AMD issue but since you asked I'll tell you how I came to the intel decision.

My first wish list was actually an AMD setup.
Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe
Athlon XP 2600+ barton

Then while trying to find out how nice this setup would be I came across these two reviews.
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles...p?cid=2&id=845
http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rid=54982

These articles led me to believe that I would get more performance out of Intel.

I checked out the following at newegg to see how much I would save
Athlon XP 2800+ Barton $144.00
Abit nForce2 NF7 $77.99 (Abit instead of Asus since they get high praise for OC)

This setup is $22.50 less than the Intel setup mentioned in my first post.

Out of these 2 setups which one is going to perform better?

[VMU]

i have a NF7 and an 2500 barton, they are really good, and rock stable. They do perform better at games. this decition is up to you, i builded this system last week. and was looking for parts and all that stuff here at the forums. I was going for a p4p800 deluxe and a 2.4c but then had a budget cut. Reduced some price, and ended up with some pretty bad parts, then i changed to AMD. got more cash, got some good parts, a good Vid, mem, even a mouse. I wasnt going to be able to buy that if i went intel.

The 2500+ usually overclocks to 3200 speed with little vcore. Which is good, and comparable to a P4. i dont know how the 2800 do though. This is more of a personal decition.

it would help if you tell us for what are you going to use ur pc. If you are going to do video and sound editing and decoding, and some gamming, then go Intel. If the system is mostly gamming then go AMD