Building a super-budget comp.

Hey all, this is my first time posting on the forums.

I'm thinking about building a budget comp because I currently don't have one (and my roomates are little ****ed off at my using theirs all the time ). So anyways, I was wondering if you guys could give me a little advice on what to get and where to get it.

Here's what I've got so far:
WD 80 GB IDE 8 MB Cache 1 Year Warranty (picked it up for around $40 dollars after tax and rebates a couple of weeks ago)
Mouse, Keyboard, and CD-RW (just got them for around $15 after tax and rebates)

Here's what I'm thinking about getting:

Monitor: 17"-19" CRT (cheapest I've seen is around $60)

CPU: Barton 2500+, maybe mobile. For this I have a couple of questions, is there any reason to get Intel for a budget PC, is the mobile actually worth it, is the boxed version worth it if I'm planning to over clock) Also, what's the difference between an o/ced Tb and Barton?

HS/Fan: Wide open, maybe the one out of the box, but I'm open to suggestions.

Mobo: I'm looking at a sub-$100 preferably with Serial ATA. I'm looking at the NF7-S, but I'm also thinking about going for the KV7.

Memory: Cheap, brandname DDR 400. 2 x 512 or 1 x 512.

Case: The sonata looks really nice, but it's also a little too expensive. Any suggestions?

PSU: Either with case, or an antec, fortron, or enermax. Suggestions welcome.

Video: Cheap vivo, DX9 capable video card.

I'm trying to get all of this under $400 (although $500 is my hard limit), so I'd like to ask you guys what you think. Also, I can afford to wait say a month or maybe even a month and a half if I have to (although then there will be the fact that the parts I already bought will have depreciated significantly) if there are price cuts just looming over the horizon.

Anyways, any suggestions are welcome, and thanks for your time.

if your going for a budget, you definitly dont want insmell.

ill get on newegg and tell you what i see.

Chepo 17" Monitor - $75
Barton 2500+ OEM - $85
HSF: ALX-800 w/ Any fan (Panaflo's are some of the best though) - $30
Mobo: NF7-S - $100
Case: Anything that looks good and looks like it has good airflow - $50 (after s/h)
Memory: Buffulo Technologies PC3200 512Meg - $75
PSU: Fortron FSP350-60PN - $35
Video Card: Prolink GeForce FX 5600nu 128 Meg VIVO - $128

This is about as cheap as you're going to get. $578 I really don't know how much cheaper you could get unless you go for a non-VIVO DX8 card or a 1700+. Stock HSF's in the retail boxes are only usefull when you run that chip at it's rated speed.

Monitor: 17"-19" CRT - biggest and best you can afford, your eyes will thank you. KDS makes good cheap ones, refurb NECs look nice too.

CPU: Barton 2500+ - this is fine even @ stock for whatever, RETAIL, it is a bit more but has the HSF and better warrenty.

HS/Fan: Stock

Mobo: NF7-S yup, tried tested and true. lok no further
Memory: Cheap, brandname DDR 400. 2 x 512 or 1 x 512.

Case: They are nice, I have one, and a a great deal with the PSU.

PSU: w/ the sonata or an Antec.Fortron thinger

Video: 9200SE (cheapo one)

Dont know how much that is but it sould be fine, sink as much as possible into the monitor.

OK, thanks for your input, but I have a couple more questions:

Is the NF7-S worth the 24 dollars over the KV7? (what if I only use single channel with the NF7?)

Is the 5200 actually better than the 9200? I know the 5200 boasts DX 9 support, but I've read that it doesn't really have the hardware to support DX9 games.

Should I get a separate TV capture card, and which one would you recommend or maybe just forgo VIVO entirely?

Should I get some crappy video card and wait till prices come down a bit?

This is what my proposed system looks like right now (with some prices from newegg)

Monitor: I think I'm going to hold off on this (maybe find a friend who can loan me one for now) The 17" Envision 60 dollar deal expired, but I'm going to wait until something similar shows up I think.

Video Card: Powercolor Gigabyte Radeon 9200 128 MB with VIVO $90 (The gigabyte one looks pretty shady, and I've never heard of info-tek.)

CPU: 2500+ Retail Barton $80. I originally wanted to go for the mobile version, but it looks like high demand has driven it up to almost $100.

Heat Sink, Fan: I've heard that Bartons can o/c pretty well just with the stock heat sink and fan, but I'm considering spending a little bit of money (10-20 dollars) if I need to get a better heat sink and fan. (although the thermalright solution looks to be a little too expensive for my wallet right now)

Case: Sonata still looks promising $100. However, if I were not to get that and rather get an El Cheapo case, then I would spend around $20-$40 on the case. I could also forgo the case completely for a while and run the comp without one pros: great cooling, cons: I don't think my roomates would like my comp laying all over my desk.

Power Supply: Included with Sonata. Otherwise, the
Fortron ATX350GU 350W HiQ Brand power supply is selling on Newegg for $20. Is this any good? I expect to spend about $20-40 on a decent power supply though.

Memory: Corsair Value DDR 400 x 1 $82. I didn't find the buffulo for the price Mr.Radar mentioned, but I'd get get that if I could find it (with comparable shipping). Memory looks to be pretty expensive now though.

Motherboard: KV7 or NF7-S $67 or $90 respectively.

So it looks like if I bought the system now, minus the monitor, it would come out to 359 on the low end or 442 on the high end. However, I'm still very much open to any suggestions you guys have.

Domingus said:

Is the 5200 actually better than the 9200? I know the 5200 boasts DX 9 support, but I've read that it doesn't really have the hardware to support DX9 games.

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In DX8 games, I believe it is. However, the 5200 will SUCK at DX9 and the 9200 won't even play them. 9500 and above are the only ATI cards that really support DX9. The other's just make it seem like they do with the 9XXX model number

Domingus said:

Should I get a separate TV capture card, and which one would you recommend or maybe just forgo VIVO entirely?

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If you can fit it into your budget, TV cards are a nifty thing to have. If you can get a seperate card cheaper then an "all in one" VIVO, go for it (I hear Hauppage is good).

Domingus said:

Should I get some crappy video card and wait till prices come down a bit?

Click to expand...

Prices aren't going to come down drastically in the near future from what I can see. ATI will be releasing a new core generation, but I wouldn't expect any huge price drop on the lower end models.


JigPu

I would watch out with the vid card if I were u. I have Radeon9200SE here and I can tell u that it runs absolutely nothing, from quake3 to UT2K4, the framerate just sucks and I don't get higher than 40 average in quake3. U better think twice before buying such a uber-budget card.

Domingus said:

OK, thanks for your input, but I have a couple more questions:

Is the NF7-S worth the 24 dollars over the KV7? (what if I only use single channel with the NF7?)

Click to expand...

If you're on a budget, I doubt it. If you don't need SATA/RAID, Newegg also has a refurb Shuttle AN35N-Ultra for $41 right now, which is pretty damn cheap. If you plan on buying SATA drives in the future, you could get an addon card for them and save a few bucks now. But it's your call.

Is the 5200 actually better than the 9200? I know the 5200 boasts DX 9 support, but I've read that it doesn't really have the hardware to support DX9 games.

Should I get a separate TV capture card, and which one would you recommend or maybe just forgo VIVO entirely?

Should I get some crappy video card and wait till prices come down a bit?

Click to expand...

Dude, those *are* the crappy video cards. The 9200 is pretty poor, and the 9200SE is worse. The 5200 isn't much better, if any, and is definitely too slow to run any DX9 programs of reasonable complexity.

Take a look at: http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/index.html

If you're really trying to save a few bucks, go the uber-budget route and get a GeForce4 MX440 (~$50), then upgrade later.

And if you want a TV tuner, look for an add-on one. That way you can replace just the video card and keep the tuner.

This is what my proposed system looks like right now (with some prices from newegg)

Monitor: I think I'm going to hold off on this (maybe find a friend who can loan me one for now) The 17" Envision 60 dollar deal expired, but I'm going to wait until something similar shows up I think.

Video Card: Powercolor Gigabyte Radeon 9200 128 MB with VIVO $90 (The gigabyte one looks pretty shady, and I've never heard of info-tek.)

Click to expand...

Seriously, consider a GeForce2/GeForce4MX for now. You're not losing much performance, and it's half the price.

CPU: 2500+ Retail Barton $80. I originally wanted to go for the mobile version, but it looks like high demand has driven it up to almost $100.

Heat Sink, Fan: I've heard that Bartons can o/c pretty well just with the stock heat sink and fan, but I'm considering spending a little bit of money (10-20 dollars) if I need to get a better heat sink and fan. (although the thermalright solution looks to be a little too expensive for my wallet right now)

Click to expand...

Frankly, I would stick with the stock HSF for now (there's some overclocking headroom in there, but your temps won't be quite as low as with a fancy copper cooler on there). You can always upgrade it later, and you're on a budget here.

Case: Sonata still looks promising $100. However, if I were not to get that and rather get an El Cheapo case, then I would spend around $20-$40 on the case. I could also forgo the case completely for a while and run the comp without one pros: great cooling, cons: I don't think my roomates would like my comp laying all over my desk.

Power Supply: Included with Sonata. Otherwise, the
Fortron ATX350GU 350W HiQ Brand power supply is selling on Newegg for $20. Is this any good? I expect to spend about $20-40 on a decent power supply though.

Click to expand...

No case = very bad idea. Too much risk of a static shock frying something valuable, dropping something on it, etc.

Buying a nice case is a good investment, since it can be reused several times over. The Sonata also includes a good power supply, which is important (and often overlooked).

Otherwise, consider a super-cheap case such as this:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductdesc.asp?description=11-156-011&depa=0

paired with a decent power supply such as that Sparkle you mentioned, or a 300-350W Antec/Fortron. It's not exactly going to be a precious family heirloom, but it is cheap.

Memory: Corsair Value DDR 400 x 1 $82. I didn't find the buffulo for the price Mr.Radar mentioned, but I'd get get that if I could find it (with comparable shipping). Memory looks to be pretty expensive now though.

Click to expand...

Fast memory is. If you're running the Barton 2500+ at stock FSB, PC2700 RAM is a bit cheaper (although it's probably worth buying PC3200 if you intend to try to overclock at all). $80 is about as low as you can get without buying CL3 or totally off-brand memory (neither of which I recommend).[/QUOTE]

So it looks like if I bought the system now, minus the monitor, it would come out to 359 on the low end or 442 on the high end. However, I'm still very much open to any suggestions you guys have.

Click to expand...

Here's what my system would look like:

Monitor: None (wait for a good deal somewhere local to save on shipping anyway).

CPU: Retail Barton 2500+ ($80)
RAM: Corsair Value PC3200 ($80)
Motherboard: KV7 ($65)
Case: cheap case w/ship ($40)
PSU: Sparkle w/ship ($25)
Video Card: GF4MX440 ($50)
Hard disk: already got ($0)

Total: $340

Plus whatever you'd spend on a video capture card (around $50, usually).

And that's about as cheap as they get without some refurb parts in there (the refurb AN35N Ultra MB would knock off another $25 or so, but you'd lose SATA support) or cutting some serious corners (like getting a Duron and a low-end ECS motherboard). I suppose you could get just 256MB of RAM, or really crappy RAM, but you're likely to shoot yourself in the foot doing that. You could also find an absolute clunker of a video card (maybe a used TNT2 or RADEON 7000) for $20 or so, but it would make gaming practically impossible, unless your idea of 'high-end' gaming is Quake 2.

If your limit is $500, you could actually get a very nice video card along with this system (which would make it a fairly kick-*** gaming machine). A RADEON 9600Pro AIW (which includes video in) is only $213, which would bring the total up to $503 (you could get a similar effect for $20-30 less with a 9600Pro and separate video capture card). CompUSA also has a RADEON 9800Pro 128MB on sale for $200 AR this week, which would put your total at $490 (though without video capture). There's also the NVIDIA GeForceFX 5900SE/5900XT/5900, which are running around $180 and have very good performance.

vor video capture, nothing beats leadtek tv 2000xp deluxe. it even does video capture from video in at better resolutions and rates than cards that cost many times what it does. i've bought two (home and office) and they never let me down. dont ever get an Ati AIW type card, the leadtek is better. i've never used the Nvidia MyVIVO stuff so i cant comment on that, but i can say that long after your video card needs to be replaced, your leadtek card will still be going strong.

and btw, WELCOME TO THE FORUMS

Why not get a mobile barton? Paired with a dfi infinity, you can hit 2.7 gigs easy. As for the graphic card, dont get something in the middle--either get your final card, or a cheap budget card that will serve as a placeholder until you get your final one. If you get the middle one, you will either be disappointed with it's performance, or end up spending more money buying the final one. Good luck!

Other Options

Newegg and ZipZoomFly are hard to beat.Everyone has recommendations here are mineNewegg
Case-Codegen-400w pwr supply(L60181S2F)$29(shipping$10)
MB-A7N8X-Retail-$87(no shipping)if you can't afford the vidieo
card now go with the vm for $5 use the OB
GF4MX untill you can afford it-I recommend
add $25 get the deluxe for future upgrades
RAM-2x256 Corsair value PC-3200 DDR $96 (400)(no ship)
HD- you have
CPU-Bartom 2500 Retail If you want room to overclock got with
mobile 2500 for $98 and OC when you
can afford it(no ship)standard cpu$75
Vidieo-Powercooler 900PRO-$73 upgrade when you want
TV Card ATI TV Wonder Pro-$65
For $482 you get the Deluxe with raid for future use and an Mobile 2500 (expected to be unlocked)with 512 meg of 400 speed ram.a 400w pwr supply.2 case fans.a cpu fan and heatsink.
For $328 you get the cheap version using onboard sound and video
Good Luck whatever you decide

OK, I've looked at your suggestions, and it looks like I've got a couple of answers (and a couple more questions).

It looks like I'm going to end up getting a video card without the VIVO. This is after hearing what you guys have said and looking at other places on the net. It seems like that the video quality of most boards for TV in is still pretty lacking, that if I get a good TV board it'll probably last me a long time since the technology has stabilized quite a bit, and that I'm probably not going to stay with the same video card that long anyways.

So, that said, there's a couple of options I could take:

1. I could futureproof (for the near term future) my computer. That means that I will get a NF7-S v2, Barton 2500+ (or mobile) get a good case and power supply, but then getting 1 stick of ram of 512. This also means that my initial video card will not be that great to start off with (probably something along the power of a GF4 Ti 4200 or ATI 9200). The plan with this is to eventually upgrade to a high end AGP card once they come down in price or I get more money, an SATA hard drive, a gig of memory and a dedicated TV-in card.

2. I could go for the best performance/price right now. That means that I'll probably go for a single channel motherboard, a cheap(er) case and power supply, probably a cheap nForce2 or if I want to get a little better performance, maybe an A7N8X-X or KV7, and then a mid level graphics card (5700 or 9600).

3. Somewhere in the middle: Instead of a really nice case, maybe just a middle of the road with a sparkle. Maybe two sticks of 256 (I'm still heavily debating this because it would severely limit my upgrade options, but do you guys know if it's possible to operate dual channel with two different sticks of memory? (ie different brands or what not))

My Choice of your 3 Options

The options you give us in the above post indicate to me you now understand what your looking at and your the one that has to make the tough choices. My recommendation would be option one because it is a decient rig and you have pleanty of room for growth.
Dual Channel is somewhat fickle but I have made it operate with 2 differant brands of ram as long as thier compatable. I recommended 2x256 so you could use dual channel now but realizing sometime you may want to migrate to 2x512.Currently 2x256 ddr is a commity that has value that you could resell(thier seems to be a neverending market of Dell,Compaq and others that buy computers and find they need more ram).I have found if you put your money in the heart of the computer(MB.RAM.HD,CPU -you have already told us you didn't plan on holding on to a Vid card to long) more often than not you will be pleased with the computer and the options you have at upgrade time.Good Luck