Build My Cheap Ass Computer... Under Budget :)

# 1 23-11-2003 , 04:54 PM

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Build My Cheap Ass Computer... Under Budget :)

Okay guys, here's a chance for someone to shine. I have no prizes or goodies to give out to the winner but there might be a cardboard cookie or a plastic porkchop in it for you if you can help me out. See, I've been trying to get my own computer for years now and now I'm in the financial position to build one of my own. My budget is between $450 and $700. I know the most important things are RAM, graphics card, hard drive (kinda?) and maybe processor speed. Are there any good places out there I can go online or otherwise to find the parts to build my own or to find a barebones computer I can add components to? What reasonably priced video cards (there's an oxymoron for ya) are supported by Alias that a schmuck like me could get to be sufficient for my work? Thanks in advance guys and gals for all of your help! user added image

Russell

Russell Bolding
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# 2 23-11-2003 , 04:55 PM

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BTW, memory: 256 MB or 512 MB?

Russell

Russell Bolding
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# 3 23-11-2003 , 07:27 PM

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Ok heres a quick go for you.

Abit nf7 $81.99 - The daddy of AMD motherboards saved a bit with no SATA
AMD ATHLON XP 2500+ "Barton" 333 FSB $90 - With luck you should get at least 3200+ with a small Overclock.
PNY Quadro FX 500 128MB DDR DVI/VGA 8X $299 - Bout the cheapest good card I could find. You could save alot by going for a "highstreet" card
2*GEIL 256MB PC-3200 (400MHz) DDR RAM $94 - nice fast memory good timings, 2 sticks to get the dual channel performance benifit.
Maxtor 80GB 7200RPM Hard Drive 8MB Model $82 - nice fast, quiet realiable harddrive
Thermalright SLK-900-A $33.99 - Superb heatsink, allows you to max out that cpu while maintaining 100% stability
Panaflo Axial Fan 92mm $11 - high quality, low noise, good airflow fan.
Lite On LTR-52327S Beige 52x32x52 CD-RW $38 -no dvd, but its a budget system
PREMIER CP-TM-109-3P4 300W Mid Tower ATX Case $36 - just a case, would suggest a better PSU when you get a bit of cash.
ms mouse and keyboard, 3 1/2" floppy $37.75

not sure if you need a display or not.
total $803. Now i'm in the UK so I just chose a supplier at random, newegg.com, so you may find prices vary a bit. Personally I would try and find a overclockers store where you can get a cpu with a good stepping code. This will allow you to get a nice overclock and therefore save money on a more powerful cpu. And yes overclocked systems can be 100% stable and safe.

A bit over you budget, but those gfx cards aren't cheap. Hope this helps, if I can help any more just ask.

www.snipersupplies.co.uk

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# 4 24-11-2003 , 12:06 AM

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Of course 512 is better than 256!!!!!!! anyway since lonepig typed oodles of good advice, i'll just suggest tigerdirect.com (good prices, and reliable)or pricewatch.com (low prices). they're mostly what i use. user added image

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# 5 25-11-2003 , 05:45 AM

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Okay, my budget may go up a little. user added image

I think I'd still like a DVD burner and a bit better case. I found an advert for one in a Maximum PC magazine made by AOpen called the Ultimate 550 Series Cabinet. It's awesome! Looks like a car! LOL! Asthetics, I know. I think I found the MOBO for $70 - if it's the same one you mentioned, Mr. Pig. user added image

It was the Abit Nf7 but there was an S after one and an M after the other. On the memory, do I have to find the Geil brand? Are there other brands as comparable? BTW, what is SATA? Where can I go to get my MOBO overclocked - not that I'd really want to risk frying my board? And on the graphics card, you're sure there aren't any cheaper ones that would work with Maya? None at Best Buy? How about ATI cards? FireGL? Throw me a frickin' bone here. user added image

Just kidding. Seriously, I may have to buy the parts piece by piece but I'll have it put together by January. Thanks for the help Lonepig... and you too, Goni! user added image

BTW, do you suggest getting rounded cables?

Russ

Russell Bolding
CEO/Founder - Russelltopia Studios
Web:https://www.russelltopia.com
Email:russbo@russelltopia.com

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# 6 25-11-2003 , 07:21 AM

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512 SD-Ram V. 256 DDR 3200

256 Will win. Promise. Quality is better than size. (Lol, get your mind out of the gutter)

Armitrex Studios
Now open!!

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# 7 26-11-2003 , 07:44 AM

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Can no one answer my questions? LOL! Oh, my wife has decided she want to take our old eMachines case and put in a new MOBO, processor, RAM, and use her old hard drive (15 GB) and her new internal hard drive and CDRW drive. She wants to upgrade it to make it work a little faster than it is now. She's actually trying to find a pink case or a way to paint the old case pink. Any ideas? She won't shut up til I give her an answer. LOL Thanks! user added image

One last question for me: Will the Abit Nf7 MOBO be compatible with the Athlon 64 processors when they come down in price in the future?

Russell

Russell Bolding
CEO/Founder - Russelltopia Studios
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Email:russbo@russelltopia.com

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# 8 26-11-2003 , 10:27 AM

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use her old hard drive (15 GB)

Originally Posted by

get a newer faster hard drive, they are cheap as chips nowadays (£40-50 for 40gig Western Digital (Which are the best ones))

She's actually trying to find a pink case or a way to paint the old case pink.

Originally Posted by

take everything out get the spray paint and have at it... user added image

Abit Nf7 MOBO be compatible with the Athlon 64 processors when they come down in price in the future?

Originally Posted by

very highly unlikely, in fact I'm almost 100% certain that it wont be user added image

Alan

Technical Director - Framestore

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# 9 26-11-2003 , 10:15 PM

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MY system was 770

barton 2500 xp
gigabyte MOBO raid and dual channel ram 400 FSB
2X 512 DDR400
80 gig SATA
Gf4 4800
CD read and write
3.5

Cruical for the RAM

go to https://www.pricewatch.com for the components. Make sure you do compatability checks on the parts.

https://www.pricegrabber.com/home_com...2a8d03dd0936f7 there is another one to check. Order everything online. Just make sure they ahve a good rating. I did and I got everything within three days of the order.

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# 10 27-11-2003 , 05:38 AM

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Hmmmmm, okay, let's take a look see... user added image

So, we're all agreed the Athlon XP processor is the way to go. Anyone have problems getting any heatsink installed on their mobo and processor without muckin' it up? Rick, I've done some price comparisons on that mobo and I like the price and if it's the one I think it is, which i saw in a local PC shop here in Sioux Falls, I-I-I-I-I-I-I liiiiiiike it! user added image

And it's cheaper than the Nf7 ( sorry, Mr. Pig). It does all kinds of stuff I have no clue how to use... but I can always learn. RAM wise, I may start out with just 256 MB to keep the budget reasonable. HD wise, 80 GB is niiiice, but can't I get away with 60? Or is 80 better?

Now, onto the coup de grace... the graphics card. I like the idea of the GeForce FX card but I found a GeForce FX 5200 (!) for $80. Yippee! I'd like to have a DVD burner and I may have found one for around $150, which is fine by me. However, the wife and I are continually arguing over the case. Any suggestions on a good case? I want one that's gonna have functionality but also be cool to look at as well. 350 or 400W PS? Thanks for all of your help guys. I'm getting there, eventually... user added image

Russell

Russell Bolding
CEO/Founder - Russelltopia Studios
Web:https://www.russelltopia.com
Email:russbo@russelltopia.com

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# 11 28-11-2003 , 08:37 AM

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Ooops forgot about this thread sorry dude. Ok all motherboards for the Athlon XP will NOT take the athlong 64. They are a totally differnt design physically.

As for hard drive size, yes you can get away wth a 60 or even a 40. I just choose 80 because it was good value, cost vs size. SATA is the newest hard drive type. It replaces, sort of, IDE133. Its has better transfer rates and its generally faster.

Memory is one of the things that can have a huge affect on your machines performance and all are definatly not equal. Geil is a brand that is know to offer good performance, OCZ and Corsair altho these are you premium very high speed memory. If you can find it Twinmos do some good memory at a good price, I use it myself, Cruical is also good stuff. If you've decide to start with 256mb make sure that is on one memory stick. As this will allow you to use dually channel setup when you get another.

Cases are very much a personal thing. All I would say is think of air flow. You want to make sure you can add a few extra fans too create a nice flow of fresh air, from outside the case, over you components and out again. This will allow the computer to stay cooler and therefore be more stable and less prone to lockup.

I must admit I think it would be sensible to start with a non-pro gfx card. As this will allow you to get the rest of the machine up to a far better spec.

Back on the motherboard issue, whilst there is nothing wrong with the gigabyte one, i've used several in the past. The nf7 offers, at the moment, the best overclocking potential. For example i've have a xp1800+ running as a 3400+. Amd don't even make a chip that fast so I'll let you guess how much it would cost if they did. As regards the S and M options those are SATA and Multimedia. The M has a geforce built in,can't remember which thou.

Installing heatsinks is something that always give new system builders cold sweats. Just remember to get a good thermal material to put on the chip, Artic Silver 5 is ment to be superb, and take your time. Try looking at some computer website reviews as they usuall mention any mounting issue a heatsink has. Try www.cluboc.com and www.hardocp.com they bother cover alot of gear.

Hope this clears up a few of your questions. user added image

And remember the fan is your friend.

www.snipersupplies.co.uk

Last edited by lonepig; 28-11-2003 at 08:49 AM.

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# 12 28-11-2003 , 02:20 PM

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WOW! LOL! I feel like a Padawan who has just approached Yoda at the Jedi Council and gotten all the wisdom of the Force slammed right into me. LOL! I'll respond to this thread in a bit. I think I may have found my first two components... an Aspire
X-SuperAlien case and a 19" monitor from Overstock.com for $140. Next will be the MOBO. This'll be fun ! LOL!.....

To Be Continued...

Russell

Russell Bolding
CEO/Founder - Russelltopia Studios
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Email:russbo@russelltopia.com

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# 13 30-11-2003 , 10:43 PM

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Okay... another question... this time, I need to know about cases. I know it seems moot but I have to ask. Has anyone heard anything good about the X-Dreamer II from Aspire? It's cheap and the wife won't choke me at the price I found. I was going to put my money into one of those X-SuperAlien cases but she flipped out when she saw the price, even after Isaid I put my own money into this (don't ask...). Any suggestions on cases? Thanks guys! I owe you all big time if I ever get this figured out...

Russell

Russell Bolding
CEO/Founder - Russelltopia Studios
Web:https://www.russelltopia.com
Email:russbo@russelltopia.com

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