[nth697]

my computer has quit. it wasnt much to begin with but I need to replace it. the good news is that all I have to get is a cpu, mobo and ram. I want to try to keep costs down to around $300.

it might make more sense for me to say what I want out of it...

1. upgradeability: when its slow in a couple of years I dont want to have to change out too much to keep up with higher processing demands.

2. I would like to overclock the computer (of course) but Im a beginner. so preference to the hardware that can take some abuse.

3. what I will use it for: I want to fold for team 32 most of the time, except when Im rendering video or something like that. so I must be able to fold and surf/watch dvds/music/whatever with no hiccups. I play console games mostly but Ill play a little on my computer now and then.

old hardware: AMD slot A 700mhz chip, 640mb pc100 ram, 32mb ati rage 128, asus k7v mobo.

is $300 enough for what I want?

hardware being reused: old tower case (I love it, its huge and awesome), 500w powersupply (dont know what brand but it has dual temp controlled fans and a sweet modular cable system), dvd burner, 9gb hd, 8gb hd, 8gb hd (fails POST). some time after I get it all working again Ill get a better hard drive.

so I guess thats all the info. my problem is that while theres a million places on the net I could find this I have no idea what price is a ripoff or not. I swear I give myself heartburn stressing about paying way too much.

so thank you all in advance for your input. I am without computer right now so all advice is extra appreciated. wish me luck, I hope to place my order in a couple of days (I feel kind of lost without the old box running )

[hUMANbEATbOX]

$300 is cutting it REAL thin, especially considering your future upgrade needs. in 2 years time, you would be better served by starting from scratch.

i would look at a intel 805, its dual core, and less than $100. cheapest cpu i can think of that would suit your needs.

[aaa]

Make sure that psu is up to it, the old psu's have weak 12v rails.

[nth697]

cool. $300 is just an arbitrary # that I came up with off the top of my head. I could spend a little more. NOT having to buy a new mobo and chip for a while is kind of important to me, but its because I dont want to spend the extra $ at that time. spending too much now defeats that purpose though.

would a dual core chip be more suited to my needs?

Im going to start off with air cooling but Ill move to water cooling when I get some time (gonna make it myself )

I am a little woried about the PSU. when I get a chance Ill check out the box and post the #s for it.

[hitbyaprkedcar7]

Hmmm... Upgradability? With upgradability in mind... I would go Am2. How much longer is 775 gonna last?

Dual core will suit you MUCH better if you do more multi tasking. Youll notice a HUGE difference as you actualy have 2 CPU's running instead of one, giving you twice as much performance as a single core.

With price in mind? Id get an AM2 X2 3800+ for 149 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103562
MSI K9N 77$http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130050
2x512mb ram 78$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820141018

304$

But.. Youd have to get a new vid card for that with PCI-E. If you dont do much gaming, you can get a decent one for cheap. Im not sure if your current vid card would cut it, lol.

[greenmaji]

Originally Posted by hitbyaprkedcar7

Hmmm... Upgradability? With upgradability in mind... I would go Am2. How much longer is 775 gonna last?

Kentfeild.. and thats going to be a better performer then a socket AM3 K8L in a AM2 motherboard (and IMHO theres about a zero chance thats going to work anyway)
AM2's upgradablity looks like your looking at 65nm K8 cores.. POSSIBLY a quadcore version of that.. I would side with the Kentfeild as being more powerfull.

AM2 more upgrade freindly.. I think not.

[nth697]

Ack!! Sorry!! havent been posting.

I decided to say screw the upgradeability and just get something thats between budget and nice. so Ive ended up with:
pentium d 805 (hoping to hit 3.8-4.0ghz) |about $100|
ASUS p5n32-sli delux (yes I was fooled by the article in toms hardware) |about $150|
EVGA 256mb gddr3 geforce 7600 gt 16x pci-x |about $150 w/shipping and mail in rebate|
AData Vitesta Ram 2gig dual channel, supposed to o/c to 4-3-3-8 @ 2.1v and 800Mhz |about $150|

I think this will last me a good long while and deliver nice preformance despite toms hardware. by the time its too slow all the really expensive stuff available right now will be cheep cheep cheep and the next big thing will be out.

power supply #s are as follows:

3.3vdc 28a and 5vdc 30a combined max watt 200w
12vdc 34a max watt 408w

combined max watt for 3.3,5,12vdc 480w

-12vdc 0.8a 9.6w
-5vdc 0.3a 1.5w combined watt for these is 20w
5vsb 2a 10w

psu max watt 500w

sounds ok to me but Im no expert

[hUMANbEATbOX]

34a on the +12v seems good.. should be able to push that 805 quite a bit with it.

let us know how it all goes!

[ronaldo]

I dont think you made a right choice. For that money that you spended for mobo/cpu you could get a New Conroe E6300 + Asrock mobo. Not only Conroe will own that 805, but will run cooler, support VT and SSE4 and 2mb cache.

[nth697]

dang, wasnt aware of that. you mean literaly the same ammount? maybe I can return somthing....

[ronaldo]

You said you paid about 250$ for mobo/cpu combo. The E6300 cost around 193$ and a ASrock 775Dual-VSTA (this mobo support: AGP and PCi-e and DDR and DDR2) for 65$ = 253$

[nth697]

dosent sound like Id be able to get much of an overclock on that one. I dont know how an overclocked 805 will do against the e6300 but Im sure that Ill be able to use this setup for a while. If the diff between a fully overcloced 805 and a slightly overclocked e6300 is larger than Im guessing please let me know. if not then I dont feel too bad.

[ronaldo]

In games a e6300 at 1.83 ghz will be faster than your overclocked PD at 4.2ghz : http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu...-e6300_11.html

In audio/video encoding you need to overclock your 2.66ghz cpu to at least 3.8ghz to be competitive with a stock 1.83 ghz core2duo:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu...-e6300_12.html

The choice is clear in my eyes. You buy a Asrock + E6300 and few months or a year latter you just buy better mobo. Then you will can overclock your e6300 to 2.8-3.2 ghz and no PD will ever can catch it.

[nth697]

after looking at that link I have to agree with you.

but....


*sigh* I ordered the mobo through newegg and if I understand what I read on their site I wont be able to exchange. cpu came from outpost.com dont know what their policy is, but it doesnt matter. Im out of cash and I especially cant take a $150 hit for the mobo.

in the end Im going to be really happy with my new hardware (think happy thoughts). my old stuff was 700mhz o/ced to 840mhz w/ 640mb pc100 ram. I expect the difference to floor me.

I still dont feel too bad about this. originally I wanted to spend less money but I still didnt go crazy. I did as much research as I could stand and I ended up with maybe not the best choice..... but a good one (I hope!!!!) and no matter what this combo will give me performance to spare for a good long time.
If I could get newegg to take the mobo back or if I could sell it for about the same price I would still fight for it but I dont think it looks that way.

I would like to thank everybody for their help and suggestions. reviews are a great way to get info on products but having a humongous group of computer and overclocking enthusiasts in my corner cant be beat. pat yourselves on the back.

[hUMANbEATbOX]

you will be more than happy with that 805 setup. what ronaldo says makes sense as well, but in a years time, if you want another step up, you can always sell what you have and start again.

there will be some REAL cheap Conroe/Allendale cpu's coming out in the next 6-12 months. can't wait to see what people can do with the e4300.

[Chixofnix]

Allow me to throw in a little comforting knowledge - I purchased my Barton 2500+ almost 4 years ago, and it's still running strong. At that time, it wasn't the best of the best, but considering it's overclockability, this CPU has lasted me until now with perfectly acceptable performace levels. I paid 96 w/ shipping back then... and I'll bet it could last me a good bit longer if I wasn't in the fortunate situation of getting a mobo replacement allowing the option of upgrading to a new CPU socket...

Don't worry too much about your processor dating itself quickly... err on the side of overclocking, and get the best you can afford - it'll last