OK so I have $2,500 to spend on new computer gear. Help me build a box from scratch :D

The prerequisites: AMD-based only, no laptops, no need for wireless, no monitor, no SCSI drives.

Thanks.

pricewatch.com , help yourself

Such a quick and useless answer.

NEXT!

Only problem with pricewatch is soooooooooooo many bad bargain offers. Check out local shops to compare prices online. When you have to pay 10 bucks or more/less shipping on each it adds up!

sowwy :P

Hmmmf let me rephrase my question:

I need your help to build a computer. Going to pricewatch or the local store is not what I intend to do without choosing the parts first.

Originally posted by timechange
Hmmmf let me rephrase my question:

I need your help to build a computer. Going to pricewatch or the local store is not what I intend to do without choosing the parts first.

Ah well if you have NO IDEA what you want... I would say:

MSI motherboard

AMD whatever is second newest XP

some sort of decent processor fan

120GB HD's in a raid 0 or 1 array

Tweaked out nice looking case

Case fan depending on temperature

300 watt power supply of a well known company

Some cheapo realteck nics (unless you plan on doin major transfering).

Audigy 2 for sound...


Uhh did I leave anything out? It's late.

:D thanks you left out the video card

Originally posted by timechange
:D thanks you left out the video card

Radeon 9800. You will probably have a lot of pocket change (this system should only cost you 1500-2000 bucks).

Price runout:

box: 50-100
graphics: 400-500
sound: 200 or less
fans: ~30
processor: 200-300 (I 'think')
Motherboard: 110 or so
Raid card (if not onboard): 50-100
Hard drives: ~300 for two 120's
Power supply: 50-100

All USD. Leaning on the high end, that adds up to about $1640.

Oh yeah, thermal glue if you plan to put the CPU on the mobo.

Oh, and tax, another 100 bucks or so.

If you have $2,500, visit alienware.com or dell.com and get a pre-built system.

If I was building a new AMD system, I'd get:

AMD Athlon XP 2400+
MSI motherboard -- I love microstar. Never had a problem.
1GB kingston DDR pc3200+
80gb maxtor 7,200rpm+

Originally posted by kerplunk
If you have $2,500, visit alienware.com or dell.com and get a pre-built system.

If I was building a new AMD system, I'd get:

AMD Athlon XP 2400+
MSI motherboard -- I love microstar. Never had a problem.
1GB kingston DDR pc3200+
80gb maxtor 7,200rpm+

Ack ram!!! add another 200 or so dollars to my figure!

And for the love of god dont dont dont dont dont buy from one of those high end PC makers. (most of)Their rigs are overclocked and unstable to hell on many games. Also, you are paying a GIANT premium to them.

Thank you for your feedback.

Perhaps I should have made it clear that I plan to build my own and that my current specs (of which I will go upwards) are:

XP 2100+
Shuttle AK35GT2R mobo / integrated sound / raid
1 Gb PC3200 RAM
Radeon 8500 DV
Maxtor 80Gb x 2

So I am looking for a couple of notches up in every direction.

Originally posted by timechange
Thank you for your feedback.

Perhaps I should have made it clear that I plan to build my own and that my current specs (of which I will go upwards) are:

XP 2100+
Shuttle AK35GT2R mobo / integrated sound / raid
1 Gb PC3200 RAM
Radeon 8500 DV
Maxtor 80Gb x 2

So I am looking for a couple of notches up in every direction.

You probably wont notice a huge difference upgrading the 2100+ to a faster AMD. I would get the new graphics. Your current box seems quite good, I would spend ~500 to upgrade it, and... i dunno, take a bath in the other 2000 :D

LOL funny

AMD Athlon XP 2400 1.93G 266MHz FSB +$175.00
1.0GB PC-2700 333MHz (184 pin) DDRAM +$385.00
120G ATA-100 HDD 7200 RPM +$95.00
1.44MB Sony Floppy drive Standard
250MB Zip Drive w/Media +$99.00
Black Pioneer 2X DVD-R/RW Writer +$215.00
40x12x48x Sanyo CDRW +$69.00
8X AGP NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4800SE 128MB DDR w/TV Out & DVI +$209.00
Sound Blaster Audigy 4X Gamer +$88.00
10/100 3Com 905CTX-M PCI Network Card +$49.00
Firewire IEEE 1394 Adapter +$29.00
107-Key Hugebee Win98 PS/2 Keyboard Standard
Hugebee Internet Scroll Mouse PS/2 Standard
Silver LED 400W Alum Case w/3 Fans&Color Lights +$69.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Base Price: $279.00
Add On Price: $1,482.00
Your Price after Configuration: $1,761.00

www.krex.com

That's who I've used to build two systems recently. They've got good prices on OEM chips and a great selection of Socket A motherboards.

Also, they offer free tech support on anything purchased from them for 60 days just in case you run into a snag in setting it up.

I wouldn't mind the left over $700. PM will give you my PayPal address.

Don't know.. it would be easier for me if you asked me about a guitar and amp setup, but computers? these days for personal use most of them for that price perform pretty much the same so just pick the best looking one :)

I'd get a laptop if i had 2500!

Originally posted by timechange
XP 2100+
Shuttle AK35GT2R mobo / integrated sound / raid
1 Gb PC3200 RAM
Radeon 8500 DV
Maxtor 80Gb x 2

Then what are you going to do with all the leftover money from the $2500?

The motherboard is going to make or break your machine, so that really needs to be studied carefully.

www.hardocp.com

Lots of motherboard reviews (as well as video cards and other stuff) And I tend to agree with their opinions there :)

Originally posted by JeremyV
The motherboard is going to make or break your machine, so that really needs to be studied carefully.

www.hardocp.com

Lots of motherboard reviews (as well as video cards and other stuff) And I tend to agree with their opinions there :)

Do people still flame madly on that board? I stopped going because I got sick of flames :angry: .

Hello,

Everyone has neglected to ask the question which could change a lot of things. What do you use your computer for?

Graphics & web development 75%, about 25% games :D

Nice sig tazzy.

Originally posted by timechange
Graphics & web development 75%, about 25% games :D

Nice sig tazzy.

And you think you need a new desktop?! :confused:

Upgrade your current desktops graphics card, and processor, then buy a laptop. You will thank me later ;)

alienware.com :D

Originally posted by timechange
Graphics & web development 75%, about 25% games :D

Nice sig tazzy.

Hey,

Do you want a nice fancy case or don't mind?
Do you want a monitor as well?

Thanks :D

Originally posted by alapo
Do people still flame madly on that board? I stopped going because I got sick of flames :angry: .

You mean do they still ban trollhunters and those who critisize Kyle? Yes, the last string of bannings were a few months ago.

Originally posted by tazzy
Everyone has neglected to ask the question which could change a lot of things. What do you use your computer for?

Finally, someone asked!

Originally posted by OmniSlash
alienware.com :D

If you feel like spending a lot of money and getting little performance in return, be my guest.

My suggestion

A small form factor PC with a 15k RPM boot SCSI drive and an external array of RAID 5 IDE drives for storage. If you go to a lan (you said you game, I'm assuming you do) you can leave behind the external storage array and just bring the small form factor PC. Ideally you can cram a monitor into the front of a Shuttle, I've seen a few people do it. That hsould eat up your $2.5k quickly.

Or, if you don't like small form factors, get a dually.

Why you say no Intel is beyond me, where else will you be running 12+ GB of RAM as well as multiple PCI buses (maybe if you get an opteron mobo, you won't saturate your PCI bus, but I doubt you want to get into 64 bit computing).

Hello,

Just without "pretty" case, speakers and monitor (Should be to your preferance):

Source: NewEgg.com & MWAVE.com

Asus Motherboard for AMD Athlon/XP/Duron Processors, Model# A7N8X Deluxe Retail
Price: $141.70
Amount: 1
Source: MWAVE

AMD ATHLON XP 3000 "Barton" 333 FSB PROCESSOR CPU- RETAIL
Price: $579.00
Amount: 1
Source: NewEGG

CORSAIR CMX512-3200C2 64X64 400MHZ 512MB CAS2 DDR DIMM W/HEAT SPREADER
Price: $138.16
Amount: 3
Source: MWAVE

MAXTOR 160GB 7200RPM Model # 6Y160P0 OEM, DRIVE ONLY
Price: $175.00
Amount: 2
Source: NewEGG

ATI RADEON 9700 PRO 128MB AGP DDR (Retail)
Price: $344.00
Amount: 1
Source: MWAVE

CREATIVE LABS SOUNDBLASTER AUDIGY2 PLATINUM EX
Price: $202.57
Amount: 1
Source: MWAVE

SONY 52X/24X/52X CRX220A1 EIDE INTERNAL CDRW W/SW (Retail)
Price: $61.00
Amount: 1
Source: MWAVE

SONY 16X-DVD/40X-CDROM EIDE INTERNAL #DDU1621/C1 (Retail Box)
Price: $66.74
Amount: 1
Source: MWAVE

Total Cost: $2158.75
Cash left: $341.25
Note: Cost may exclude delivery.

Should be enough left for nice speakers and nice case.

You will then have
AMD 3000+
1.5GB DDR
2x160GB

Done

Originally posted by alapo
Do people still flame madly on that board? I stopped going because I got sick of flames :angry: .

Oh, I don't know. I never read the forums, I just browse the tech news and refiews that are on the rest of the site :)

I would wait for AMD's 64bit hybrid CPU as long as you got the cash to blow...

Many thanks for the awesome feedback!

tazzy:

Wow, talk about overkill and overspending!

Originally posted by hostpath.com
tazzy:

Wow, talk about overkill and overspending!

Maybe --> thats for TimeChange to decide. I built the best system for $2500 I could. Was that not the task? Give me $500 for Shopping, I spend $500. You say, what a waste you spent the $500 on the best equipment and got everything you needed and more........ Roger That Sparkey! :D

Actually, I was looking at what he intends to use the system for, not "buy as much as you can for $2500". I can build TWO or THREE great boxes for that same money that will do his 75% graphics and Web development and 25% gaming.

But if he wants to spend the entire wad, so be it. Very hard for me to justify spending $2,500 on just one system. Heck, I can build a rocking PC and three rackmount servers for that!

I Just upgraded to a new case and board/prcocessor.

I got the A7N8X Deluxe Retail (http://www.asus.com.tw/mb/socketa/a7n8x/overview.htm) from NewEgg (www.newegg.com) for about $150, got the AMD XP2400 (2Ghz Chip) for $135 Retail Box, a Pair of 512 meg (1GIG) DDR PC2700 RAM (Crucial Micron) for $72 each from NewEgg (www.newegg.com) Relocated my ATI All In Wonder 8500DV card to it, along with my 3 hard drives (C: = Maxtor 30 gig 7200 rpm, D: = IBM 80 gig 7200 rpm, E: = WD 30 gig 7200 rpm) along with my TDK 40x Burner.

Using OEM heatsink/fan + 80mm window fan, my processor runs @ 40C idle, or if I am doing video capture/encoding 46C max. I still need to add another case fan, and possibly new heat sink/fan.

Video encoding has vastly improved with new setup, along with the capture looking better than ever.


=)


Chris

I just added this cooling unit to my AMD. Very nice...

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=&submit=Go&description=Zalman+CNPS3100%2B

How much did it cool your chip down?

I want to get it down to around 30C if I can...so when I capture/encode its still under 40C

Vamp22:

Low 30's...

TC, what I suggest you do, is upgrade the processor and mobo on that system, and buy this and start the overclocking. :)

http://www.chip-con.com/index.php?pageid=14

Hey,

I just asked what he uses his computer for ... for the fun of it. You know... I love asking questions for no reason. :rolleyes:

To come back to this topic....I decided to wait a while. And I am glad I did. Prices are dropping and AMD is now officially launching 400 MHz FSB processors. Which means, new versions of motherboards (or at least, new BIOS). My estimate is that I should wait until June.

Are you sure you want to build your own? Maybe buy a nice dell, the 3 year on site parts and labor you can get is really really nice. You should also maybe check out the hot deals section of the anandtech.com forums.

I've been building my own since 1990, why stop now? :D

Originally posted by timechange
To come back to this topic....I decided to wait a while. And I am glad I did. Prices are dropping and AMD is now officially launching 400 MHz FSB processors. Which means, new versions of motherboards (or at least, new BIOS). My estimate is that I should wait until June.

Hey,

Yes. I suggest waiting a while too.... :D Thats what i'm doing....:D

Building your own is a great way to go. Hand pick every component.

Regarding the idea of waiting a while...I tried that 20 years ago when I decided to first try my hand at building my own PC. Back then I learned a valuable lesson: there's ALWAYS something new and exciting to wait for.

I just built myself another PC the other day. This time out I decided to pick up an Antec Sonata case with a super quiet PS. I coupled that with an AMD 2100+ and put that same Zalman cooler in it that I referenced earlier in this thread. What a beautiful, fast and best of all, quiet machine!

Oh BTW here's a mouse for 1 cent :D
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=26-129-001&DEPA=1

Definately bump your video card to the ATI 9500 (9700 I forget where its at now) All-in-wonder

You mean 9800. I already have a 8500 DV

Since ATI is up to 9800 now, no sense getting 2nd best now! :D

I already looked though - noone has the Radeon 9800 on sale yet

Originally posted by timechange
OK so I have $2,500 to spend
Thanks.


donate it to the people of iraq ...It can be used for rebuiding a full home !

*sigh* $2500 is the check I'm writing to the government right now.

It's exactly the same amount I will be getting back from Uncle Sam :D

Epox 8RDA+
Lian-Li PC75 Full Tower w/Antec Truepower 430
AMD Athlon XP 2800 (Barton Core)
SK7 Heat Sink w/Vantec Tornado 80MM
Vantec Nexus Fan Controller
Sata Western Digital Raptor 36 GB (10,000 RPM IDE - Primary)
120 GB Western Digital Caviar SE (8MB Cache IDE - Downloads)
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro Stage 2 or 3
1GB Corsair XMS 3200 (x512mb) run in dual channel
Sound Blaster audigy 2 Sound Card
CD-Burner, Floppy, Cd-Rom

Yes that sounds like a good system.

Enermax EG465P-VE 431 Watt Power Supply
Dual AMD Athlon™ MP Processor 2000+
Tyan S2466N - AMD 760MPX Dual-Processor Motherboard DDR
1GB DDR SDRAM PC-2100 w/ECC
80GB Seagate Barracuda ATA IV 7200RPM 2MB Cache
80GB Seagate Barracuda ATA IV 7200RPM 2MB Cache
PlexWriter 48/24/48A CD-RW - IDE - Black
Pioneer DVR-A05 DVD-RW - IDE - Black
NVIDIA Quadro4 900 XGL 128MB 4x AGP Dual Monitor
Sound Blaster® Audigy 1394 - 5.1

Price: $2,779.00 at AlienWare, exclude the monitor and other accesorries and I`m sure it`s below the $2500 budget, good system!

If you have money to burn buy another monitor or two. Can't go wrong with a dual or triple head setup.

googlegear.com!

I heard back news about googlegear's support - I prefer newegg

You should contact Timmy, I bet he could get you a top of the line dual intel Xeon computer with a GB of RAM and a few TBs of diskspace :p

those high end ati cards are really noisy
only buy one at a place with a no questions 30 day return policy

edit add-> actually i've been told that the high end nvidias are awful loud too, but i've only experienced the ati in person

You people can hear the noise of your video cards? Thats madness, I can hear the whirl of 18 or so fans but can't hear the vid card.

Originally posted by Reality Hosting
You should contact Timmy, I bet he could get you a top of the line dual intel Xeon computer with a GB of RAM and a few TBs of diskspace :p


My ATI AIW Radeon 8500DV isn't loud at all. My loudest thing in my comp is my window fan. Which is getting replaced with a quieter fan soon. And come friday I will have my 450w p/s with 4 fans in it (thermal take quiet fans) :D

naw, the 8500 is ok.

my roomate traded down from the 9800 because it made this horrible whistling sound. it was annoying even in a room with 6 other computers and their fans.

stinking whistling sound wasn't constant. might have been able to get used to that, but this thing would change it's sound from moment to moment. maddening!