Help w/ a new system build.

Slimmy · Nov 10, 2005

Ok I haven't been following the new a64's. My friend wants to build a computer for $825. All he has is a hard drive. So he needs the works.

Newegg is the best place for us.

Mild overclocking is a maybe for him. Mostly for gaming.

Wants an a64x2 cpu, a pci-x mobo and I was looking at the new 6800GS. Doesn't need to be sli. Decent and not expensive ram.

Thanks in advance for your help.

White Runner · Nov 10, 2005

Tom's Hardware Guide recently did a $500 gaming rig...
http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20051014/index.html

Basically, their choices were

Processor AMD Athlon 64 3000+ $146
Motherboard ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 $69
Memory Corsair Value Select 512 MB (2x 256 MB) $52
VGA eVGA 256-A8-N340-TX Geforce 6600 256 MB $113
Hard Drive Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80 GB $57.50
Optical Drive LITE-ON Black 16X DVD-ROM $19.99
Power Supply SeaSonic S12-330 ATX12V 330W $59.00
Total $516.49

Drop the hard drive, use the money for a case. Hopefully he has a mouse, keyboard, and monitor

White Runner · Nov 10, 2005

whoa, didnt see $825... well, he can use the extra money towards a mouse, keyboard, cheap monitor a beefier psu, etc...

thegrouch · Nov 10, 2005

id recommend spending that extra money towards an opteron, its value in terms of overclocking will definelty be worth the money. I think the 165 is like 350. and the single cores are even cheaper. DC will be more future proof ...

White Runner · Nov 10, 2005

yeah, newegg has the opteron 165 at 289$ but like most retailers, they are currently sold out :\

ChonChon · Nov 10, 2005

hmmm.....the Opteron Single Cores....what are the models and Canadian prices (if possible, if not, i will search after). just want to know if its better to spend a little more and just drop the A64 project. apparently Opteron is insane, and i wouldnt mind getting the cheapest one and O/Cing thehell out of it!

EDIT:

also, are the socket 939 opterons better, or the 940 socket one is ok? because i foung this AMD Opteron 146 here at www.pccanada.com:

http://www.pccanada.com/viewitem.asp?id=3736

and i think thats an amazing deal. but the 2.0GHz one for 939 is here:

http://www.pccanada.com/viewitem.asp?id=4003

i can push for both i guess, so what do u think is better?

because from what i know, more sockets are better..........?

evancold · Nov 10, 2005

Whoa Slimmy, I just noticed that you live in the same town as me. well very close to my town, that is just crazy. I work in Idaho Falls...lol

Slimmy · Nov 10, 2005

evancold said:
Whoa Slimmy, I just noticed that you live in the same town as me. well very close to my town, that is just crazy. I work in Idaho Falls...lol

Kewl where do you live? :welcome:

Slimmy · Nov 10, 2005

The $825 is just for the tower.

So really what i need to know what is the best cpu and mobo pci-x in his price range.

Should some cheap corsiar value 1 gig ram be fine?

darksparkz · Nov 10, 2005

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra $102.99
AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+ $315.00
Forton AX500-A $71.07
eVGA 6800GS $209.00
Cooler Master CAC-T05UW Centurion 5 $45.95
Corsair ValueSelect 2x512MB $78.00

Total: $822.01

EDIT: Found that Forton for a cheaper price at ewiz.

Slimmy · Nov 10, 2005

darksparkz said:
EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra $102.99
AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+ $315.00
Forton AX500-A $79.49
eVGA 6800GS $209.00
Cooler Master CAC-T05UW Centurion 5 $45.95
Corsair ValueSelect 2x512MB $78.00

Total: $830.43

Can we shave like $30 off that to get a dvd burner?

What is the best mobo abit, asus, or epox? $70-$100 range

Oh yeah he said he won't have the money until next weeks. So I have a week to get together a good system for him.

darksparkz · Nov 10, 2005

That Epox board would be the best alternative to the DFI's OCing abilities. It's consider as the "second" best OCing board next to DFI. It runs great at low vdimm ram. The ASUS alternatives may be less OCable, same applies to Abit. If you drop to the ASUS alternatives, I expect something like a 200-300mhz OC from 1.8ghz with value ram.

Get the Forton FSP400-60GLN for $50.98

Slimmy · Nov 12, 2005

darksparkz said:
That Epox board would be the best alternative to the DFI's OCing abilities. It's consider as the "second" best OCing board next to DFI. It runs great at low vdimm ram. The ASUS alternatives may be less OCable, same applies to Abit. If you drop to the ASUS alternatives, I expect something like a 200-300mhz OC from 1.8ghz with value ram.

Get the Forton FSP400-60GLN for $50.98

I don't think he will do any overclocking if any so... At least until I get me an a64 setup.

Do you think I should get one gig stick or just 2x512? Or do they have 4 slots now? This is so he can upgrade later to 2 gig.

Also is it worth the x2 cpu now for games and ect?
Or just get a faster single core cpu?

darksparkz · Nov 12, 2005

X2 is definitely worth it, even for gaming. But it might be a smart choice for budget systems though, since you might have to sacifice a bit on other areas.

And yes, almost every nForce4 motherboard has 4 DIMMs that support up to 4GB max. I guess getting a 1GB stick would be a good choice.

Help w/ a new system build.

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