If you had $1000+/-

knight0334 · Posted: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:12:34 Post Subject: If you had $1000+/-

If you had roughly $1000, a little more or a little less. What would you purchase as for a new system.

Mind you, this system would need to be AMD, highly overclockable, a reliable. This machine would be used for gaming, CAD-E, and general PC stuffs.

CPU: **** X2 socket AM2
Mobo: socket AM2
RAM: PC2 ****
HDD(s): (I prefer 2 for RAID0, no need for mass capacity)
VGA card(s):
PSU(s):
HSF:

I'd really like to hold out for the AMD 4X4 system - but dont think I can do it any longer

**Doctor Feelgood** · Posted: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:29:52 Post Subject:

Is this supposed to be what we actually build, or to try to help you spend a $1000?

My $1000 would get:

Core 2 Duo E6600

ABIT AW9D-MAX Motherboard

2x Sapphire Radeon X1900 GT Video Card or something similar to use up the balance of the money and allow CrossFire!

and I'd use my old stuff on the rest!

mrweasel · Posted: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:36:03 Post Subject:

AMD is so last week...Core2 0wns!

knight0334 · Posted: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:55:44 Post Subject:

BB, ...help me spend $1K.

My old stuff wont work. standard DDR RAM, HDD dying, AGP video, etc... .its a Athlon XP system of yesteryear... even my power supplies are outdated. using two of them to power system, fans and lights - 20pin ATX.

-----

Weasel, Core2 doesn't impress me. Yeah, they perform - but not much more then an AMD.

Hellfire · Rated XXX Joined: 05 Aug 2003 Posts: 3473

Well, I'll actually answer your question....

CPU: 4600 (1mb Cache per core) or whatever you can afford
Ram: OCZ, G.Skill, Corsair PC2 800MHz
Motherboard: Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe
Video Card: eVGA 7900GTO (underclocked 7900GTX and better benchmarks than 7900GT and 7950) or 1 7950GTX2
PS: OCZ GameXStream 700W
HS: Tough Call, lots of good ones out there
HD: 2 x Whatever Size you want SATA-II (3.0Gb/s)

If no desire to go SLI, let me know, there are other great MB for about 1/2 the cost or more.

Kilamon · Rated XXX Joined: 22 Mar 2005 Posts: 811

Here's the hardware leaderboard. http://www.pcper.com/hwlb.php It's not updated as often as I'd like, but it's a good place to start. Personally, I'd just upgrade my video card cause my system is already pretty kickass and, while not bleeding edge, it certainly isn't healing up soon.

For you, however, I'd start looking at pricewatch.com and start considering a DFI motherboard. In my opinion, the rest suck. I've worked on MSI and ASUS and ABIT and none were as supported or as easily worked on as my DFI. Even the post codes are easy on DFI.

Honestly, though, you're best off to start by making a list of the parts you'll need (Evaluate your case, your keyboard, mouse, monitor, cdrom drives, etc) and determine which parts you're going to keep and what will be replaced. Determine where you're going to skimp (get a less expensive video card, but better quality ram so you can overclock or get the noname/LQ ram and a better video card without being able to OC reliably). Once you've figured out your priorities, then you can start ordering. Start with the basics, like a case PSU, CPU, RAM and hold off on the video card for a week or two. I read that Nvidia will be releasing their new N80 spec next month, which is a week away, so you might be able to save some cash on a 70 series nvidia when they drop the prices as the 80 series is release.

Finally, you'll need to consider cooling. The stock heat sink in the retail box of intel and amd sucks. Get a new one. The Thermaltake Big Typhoon is popular but you may want something else so look around and plan to spend about $100 on peripherals and fans (cables, LEDs, other must-haves and incidentals). I saw a review posted here for the latest Armor case that includes water cooling so you might check that out too.

Good luck! You're the only one who can pick the parts you want. I can only suggest what I like and think is best. Grin

BeerCheeze · Posted: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 13:23:13 Post Subject:

I'd have to disagree with at least the top 2 systems on that list. But that's just my opinion.

Here's a quick shopping trip to NewEgg. I'd probably actually get X2 4400 if you can find it, also tack on about $50 for a good HSF and you're good to go.

2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: ST3320620AS

$94.99 Each
$189.98 Total

ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: M2N-SLI Deluxe

$141.99

eVGA 512-P2-N635-AR GeForce 7950GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: 512-P2-N635-AR
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate

$269.99

COOLMAX CUG-600B ATX 12V( V.2.2) 600W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: CUG-600B
$30.00 Mail-in Rebate

$139.99

OCZ S.O.E 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2SOE6672GK - Retail
Model #: OCZ2SOE6672GK
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate

$219.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Windsor 2.4GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADA4800IAA6CS - OEM
Model #: ADA4800IAA6CS

$249.99

total: $1,211.93

BeerCheeze · Posted: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 13:30:22 Post Subject:

Of course, I'd probably actually do this instead:

ABIT AW9D Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

$189.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail
Model #: BX80557E6600
$312.99

Subtotal: $1,322.93

(With all the other stuff listed above)

**Doctor Feelgood** · Posted: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 16:19:44 Post Subject:

DDR2 800 Senor Cheeze! The Ballistix I just reviewed and some OCZ goodness is about the same price!

Hellfire · Rated XXX Joined: 05 Aug 2003 Posts: 3473

Aye for that matter the OCZ SOE Elite is about that price too and is 800mhz