Need Guru help, best bang 4 the buck combo >$500

[almstsobur]

I have been out of the hardware loop for far to long, but I know you guys are freaks about this stuff, so lend me a hand please. My 1.4 Gig Athlon is just not cutting it anymore. I do mostly gaming/internet, FPS, MMRPG’s. I need to buy a new “bare bones” system this weekend and my budget is about $400-$500. What is my best quality bang for the buck (not to worried about overclokcing it) Looking to stay AMD, onboard LAN would be good, Onboard sound is fine if it’s good quality, NO onboard video. I need a motherboard, processor, and RAM (looking for at least 512, maybe a gig) recommendation please.

Thanks A lot all,
Happy OC’ing.

 

[jonspd]

Do you wanta go A64 maybe?

Also you said no overclock right.

I would go with the epox a64 board for $158 and a 3200 for $265 and then some ram.


http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-123-220&depa=1


http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-483&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE

 

[almstsobur]

Do you wanta go A64 maybe?

Also you said no overclock right.

I would go with the epox a64 board for $158 and a 3200 for $265 and then some ram.


http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-123-220&depa=1


http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-483&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE

I'm not real big on overclocking, Just don't have the time to tinker with it. I am not real sure about the A64? Is it worth the extra money? Is it performing that much better? And excuse my ignorance but what type of RAM (and rough cost) would I need with that type of system? I also notice that the A64 3000 is $60-$70 cheaper, is there a down side to that CPU?

 

[jonspd]

Well I was going on your limit you set so 265+158 Plus a good 512 stick =500$

If you are wanting to save some get this board instead

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-457&depa=1

and I guess you could get the 3000 instead but I would go with the 3200 IMO

As for ram some good pc3200 should do you ok for this system.

 

[wuzzapiman]

umm...not
get a
1700+
NF7-S
WD400JB
9800 Pro
512 Corsair/Crucial/OCZ value RAM PC3200

and just skip the case part

 

[jonspd]

Would agree with that but a 1700 I would @ least get a 2500.

Plus he said no overclocking Y would you want such a slow cpu without a overclock.

 

[almstsobur]

umm...not
get a
1700+
NF7-S
WD400JB
9800 Pro
512 Corsair/Crucial/OCZ value RAM PC3200

and just skip the case part

Um can someone translate please? who/what makes a NF7-S?
What is WD400JB?
9800 Pro is a video card right? I have a pretty high end G-force card now.

How much faster is an Athlon 64 2800/3000 comapred to an Athlon XP 3200??

 

[Ramlaen]

nf7-s is an abit motherboard for the socket a platform known as a great overclocker

wd400jb is a 40 gig wd 8 meg cache hd

9800pro is one great video card. Much better than your high end G-force card more than likely

Not sure on 64's vs xp performance. but they are better.

 

[almstsobur]

Okay i figured out the the NF7-s is. But is the NF7S-2 better?

 

[almstsobur]

Also will my standard IDE ATA 100 drive work with that motherboard is I decide not upgrade HD's right away? Or am I forced to upgrade the harddrive?

My video card is a GeForce FX 5700 if I recall correctly.

 

[almstsobur]

Okay so here is the run down I am thinking.
NF7-S
Athlon Xp 3200 400fsb
1 Gig of (PC 3200? Or do I need higher with 400FSB?)
WD400JB


Skip on the video card for now. I pretty much just bought the one I have.
I assume this motherboard is ATX? Will work with my current case and a 350W PS?

Does that sound decent?

Thanks again for your help people. There is a computer show in my area this Sunday, I wanted to get all my ducks in a row before I go up there and buy it all.

 

[Ramlaen]

pc3200 is 200 fsb, which is what you want for a 400 fsb chip.

and that looks like a prety good setup

that will run on the ps

 

[shard]

yes the motherboard is ATX,
Yes pc3200 is perfect, it runs at 400mhz
I wouldnt get the NF7-s it is realy only good for overclocking, I would get the Asus A7n8x-E deluxe, its loaded with features and it is rock solid
a 5700 is a good card, but dont expect miracles


also unless yu are doing some heavy gaming and such i would only get 512mb of ram trust me it will do fine, also you will want to get 2 sticks of 256mb so you can run in dual channel mode, you wil want to get crucial memory, its one of the best memory companies out there

heres the run down
Asus A7n8x-E deluxe $90
512mb(2x256mb) crucial $80
AMD athlon XP 3200+ 400mhz $130
WD400jb $50

Total $350
spend the rest on cool stuff!

this should do you a great job, and hopfully it should last yu awhile

 

[almstsobur]

Ut oHH I ws looking at Crucials site for memory. If i go with the A7n8x-E deluxe what type of PC3200 do I want?

256MB $51.99 (USD) CT3264Z40B DDR PC3200 • CL=3 • Non-parity • DDR400 • 2.6V • 32Meg x 64
256MB $74.99 (USD) CT3272Z40B DDR PC3200 • CL=3 • Unbuffered • ECC • DDR400 • 2.6V • 32Meg x 72
256MB $97.99 (USD) CT3272Y40B DDR PC3200 • CL=3 • Registered • ECC • DDR400 • 2.6V • 32Meg x 72