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The Official Budget-Conscious Dream Machine!
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Sir-Age
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9. May 2005 @ 08:14 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
I'm wanting to build my first build with a maximum budget of around £350.

I have done a bit of research and i have come to this system (at ebuyer):
CPU:
Intel Pentium 4E Prescott 2.8GHz SKT478 800FSB 1MB Cache OEM Processor: £107.99
OR
Intel Pentium 4E Prescott 3.0GHz FSB800 1MB Cache OEM Processor:£107.48

As I don't really know much about this subject I was looking through the feedback and found Asus P4P800-E Deluxe has a good reputation, but when i did a search i found two types, any help?

MOBO

Asus P4P800-E Deluxe Socket 478 Intel 865PE - Sound G-Lan IEEE1394 USB2 800FBS SATA Retial Box: £70.09

OR

P4C800-E Deluxe SKT478 I875 ATX Sound Gig LAN USB 2.0 FSB800 Retail Box:£100.50

Are these ok? Or have I made a big mistake?

Memory

Any, as long as It is 512mb+ and pc3200

HDD:

40gb+
Again Don't mind preferably cheap

Optical Drive

I know which one (£30)

Case and PSU

Don't mind if its a gaming style or not as long it is enough to run it. I'm guessing about £50 including PSU

Graphics
This pc will be for gaming but I don't mind if its not the ultimate graphics as long as it can play new games.

A graphics card a bit better than the Radeon 9200 preferably no more than £55

Sound Card?

Do I need one or is it built into Mobo or something?

Broadband Modem?

Is this built into the MOBO or will I have to buy one or take it out of this pc, I have a Net Gear branded one that my broadband company installed for me.

Can anybody recomend anything or have I got everything wrong?

Where do I get all the cables that joins everything together or do they come with the MOBO and PSU?

Just to clarify, the following list, is this all the parts I will need?

List:

MOBO
CPU
Case
PSU
Graphics Card
Sound Card
Memory
HDD
?Sound Card?
?Broadband Modem?


Thanks again!

Asus A8N-E
Amd Athlon 64 3000+ (O/C from 1.8gz to 2.05gz)
1GB Crucial
128mbmb ATI Radeon X700
280GB Seagate HD
Windows XP Pro SP2
NEC 3540A 16x DVD±RW

This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. May 2005 @ 08:24

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liuanator
Junior Member
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2. July 2005 @ 08:33 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
Matrix 775 Socket 775 mb paired with P4 3.05ghz 533mhzfsb: $200 (microcenter)

6800gt 128 meg: $190
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16814130202)

2 gig of PC3200 RAM; 1024*2: $167 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16820141182)

DVD/CD rw dl x8 burner: $30 (office max, last thanxgiving sale)

Antec case w/ 380 watt TruePower psu: $90 (microcenter)

2*80 gig hd: $40 (compusa, last thanxgiving sale)

total= $717

sure the case doesn't look great but I think it'll get the job done when it comes to gaming..you might have to wait a bit for the dvd/cd rw drive and harddrive but you can spend a little more and buy those early. Oh yeah you might wana add tax to the total.

2.66 Celeron D
512MG PC2700 RAM
80GB HD
DVD/CD-RW & DVD-R/RW+R DL
FX 5500 128 MEG Video Card
5.1 Sound Card
--all for 300 bucks :D
dannymac3
Newbie
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12. August 2005 @ 21:07 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego Socket 939 1MB L2 (280)
Motherboard: MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum (100)
Memory: Corsair ValueSelect 1GB 2x512 (85)
HDD: WD Caviar RE SATA 250GB (120)
GPU: ATI X700 Pro 256MB PCI-E (140)
Optical Drive: Plextor PX-712SA/SW-BL SATA DVD+/-RW (70)
Sound Card: Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum (100)
Case and PSU: Chennming and 450W PSU (105)

In at 1,000 exactly.

All prices from New Egg, except the sound card, which goes on sale for half off every 6 weeks or so at Circuit City. And yes, it is right now.

AMD Athlon 64 3200+
15.4" SXGA LCD @ 1680x1050
512MB DDR2700
GeForce 4 440 MX
60GB 5400RPM HDD
8X DVD+/-RW
Bose TriPort Headphones
Secondary Display: 20" Toshiba Flat Screen TV

This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 12. August 2005 @ 21:10

Senior Member
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18. August 2005 @ 06:34 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
wow you guys should go to novatech.co.uk i'm just building one for £451
mind you it's not gonna be playing games :)
for a student ok ok it prolly will be playing games

i7 3770 12GB ram terrabyte sata drive 1 750Gb sata drive 285GTX graphics Sony dvdwriter same NZXT Nemesis case
Still playing Black Hawk Down why did I upgrade?
Member
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21. September 2005 @ 16:41 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
i live just up the road from novatech, they are ok but still far from the cheapest unless you grab their special offers.if your in the uk try :-

in my favorite order
(1) http://www.overclockers.co.uk
(2) http://www.microdirect.co.uk
(3) http://www.autdirect.co.uk
(4) http://www.savastore.com
(5) http://www.dabs.com/uk
(6) http://www.novatech.co.uk
(7) http://www.refreshcomputers.co.uk (phone for stock level)
(8) http://www.ebuyer.co.uk (not the best poor delivery)

1 thing i have to say about novatech their showroom is great, but when you have to return something in person they send you to a dingy very poorly lit room, it made me laugh.


FX8120 @ 4.5Ghz 1.3v,Asrock 970 extreme 3,8 gig crucial ballistix 1600 @ 1866, thermalright true spirit 140, 120gb Sandisk extreme ssd, 3TB second drive. Hd4830. Corsair Hx520 PSU.

This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 21. September 2005 @ 16:46

AfterDawn Addict

1 product review
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21. September 2005 @ 16:44 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
dannymac3

Nice, but you should have gone with Corsair XMS instead of Value select, more head room.

"Please Read!!! Post your questions only in This Thread or they will go unanswered:

Help with development of BD RB: Donations at: http://www.jdobbs.com/
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64026402
Senior Member
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25. September 2005 @ 05:51 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
XMS memory may not be the best choice for the budget thread. Although with the low overall price of memory it is a viable option.

I'm cheap and will probably get XMS soon.

Donald
AfterDawn Addict

1 product review
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25. September 2005 @ 07:24 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
Memory is not an area to start saving money in because it can have a sizable impact on performance. Quite often a failed over clock is the result of budget memory. My solution was simple, save on the CPU install good memory, and then over clock the hell out of my CPU to balance it all out.

"Please Read!!! Post your questions only in This Thread or they will go unanswered:

Help with development of BD RB: Donations at: http://www.jdobbs.com/
.
64026402
Senior Member
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25. September 2005 @ 07:59 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
Fair enough. 2650 mhz from a 2.0 AMD is definately budget power. It does fly.

Donald
datageek
Junior Member
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29. September 2005 @ 21:02 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
Well, I finally have power to our "budget" PC. It's a dual XEON on a PC-DL mobo. It runs at about 3.0ghz but will try to push it up a little more. The cpu's are LV's (low voltage) 1.6ghz at $60ea. The mobo has been modded to run 2.64v up from the measley 2.5v standard. Have 4x 512mb Kensington Hyper X DDR400, WinTV 250, 2x WD SATA, 2x WD RAID, Lanboy case w/lots of fans, it's on air with modded windtunnel's using 80mm fans, a cheap agp video card. Pioneer dvd-burner, dvd. Just loading XP and soon all the software for video capture/record.

Asus PC-DL Xeon, Antec Lan boy, Pioneer A107, DVD rom, Dual 1.6ghz LV's @ 2.89ghz, 4x 512 Mushkin, 2x WD 120gb hd, 2x WD 80gb Sata, XP Pro SP2, PS 500w, WinTV 250 PCI, ATI agp Video Card

This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 29. September 2005 @ 21:07

ManuelJ
Account closed as per user's own request
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3. October 2005 @ 09:30 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
Well, I'm planning on building a new gaming PC by the end of the month and this what I've chosen. Let me know what you think.


ASUS A8N-E Motherboard

Athlon 64 3200+ CPU

ASUS Nvidia GEFORCE 6600 256MB PCI EXPRESS Video Card

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR Memory

Samsung 120GB 7200RPM SpinPoint 8MB SATA HARD DRIVE Model SP1213C

SAMSUNG Black IDE DVD Burner TS-H552U/BEBN BLK-OEM

As for the case and PSU I'm still undecided. How much power do you think would be appropiate for this system?

One last thing: I've found some great deals that I dont want to miss. Do you think I should start buying components now or do you think I should buy everything at the same time, perphaps to save me the trouble of having a defective component and not know about it until I build the PC?

Thanks a lot! I'll appreciate the help!
mr_magnon
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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16. October 2005 @ 22:56 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
I'm building a pc for gaming pretty quick here and I got this list of components from tigerdirect.ca(im canadian)was wondering if ths looks all right for about 1000$ bucks.

Network Cable
C184-27195::CTG 25ft Cat6 550Mhz Snagless Patch Cable Yellow (1 lbs) 15$

Case
B452-1124 :: Just4PC 747 ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Front USB and 425Watt Power Supply - Black (19 lbs) 53$

CPU
CP1-A64-30009 E :: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ / 512KB Cache / 2000MHz FSB / Socket 939 / Venice Core / Processor with Fan (1 lbs)
215$

Harddrive
TSD-160M R :: Maxtor / DiamondMax Plus 9 / 160GB / 7200 / 8MB / SATA-150 / OEM / Hard Drive (Refurbished) (3 lbs)
80.99$

Keyboard+Mouse 48$

Memory
C13-4901 :: Corsair Value Select 512MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz CL2.5 (0.5 lbs)
68$

Motherboard
S458-1204 :: ECS nForce4-A939 Socket 939 ATX Motherboard / PCI Express / Audio / Gigabit LAN / USB 2.0 / Serial ATA (2 lbs)
108$

Headphones 21$

Video Card
P56-2716 :: PNY Verto GeForce 6600 GT / 128MB DDR3 / PCI Express / Dual DVI / HDTV / Video Card (1 lbs)
203$

Shipping/Handling 64$
Tax 123$
=1,000.50$
Member
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17. October 2005 @ 02:10 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
hi Mr_Magnon

only one thing i can see is the memory , its better to go for a gig atleast when gaming. otherwise all seems ok :)

ah also check to see if the power supply that comes with the case is atx 2 , and that it has enough power on the 12v rails about 25 amps and up on the 12v should be ok

this bundle might be a good option

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-details.a...

FX8120 @ 4.5Ghz 1.3v,Asrock 970 extreme 3,8 gig crucial ballistix 1600 @ 1866, thermalright true spirit 140, 120gb Sandisk extreme ssd, 3TB second drive. Hd4830. Corsair Hx520 PSU.

This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17. October 2005 @ 02:17

ManuelJ
Account closed as per user's own request
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17. October 2005 @ 08:26 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
Why does he get a reply and I don't?
mr_magnon
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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17. October 2005 @ 10:49 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
yeah the pc case that i picked was bunk. Im buying a diffrent case now and thanx for the bundle deal that you found. Saved me some cash. Also how far do you think the athlon 64 3000 will go for overclocking?
Member
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17. October 2005 @ 13:50 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
mr_magnon - the 3000 venice isnt bad at overclocking, but it might be worth going for a 3200 upwards for overclocking , because the venice's multiplier is locked at x9, however in general venice cores clock quite well.
the maximum i had mine running stable at was 295 x 9 = 2.66 ghz . but for overclocking you will also need to look into better cooling, and a good case with good heat disipation.
also worth making sure that the motherboard you opt for has good reveiws for overclocking as some might be nvidia nforce4, but this doesnt mean that they will overclock well, you need to check they have good voltage options for the cpu, memory ,nforce chipset.

might be worth you looking in the official overclocking thread in these forums, there is a lot of advice in there.

ManuelJ - i didnt get a mail informing me off your post, anyway my previous post answered your power question, and as for a case the soprano by thermaltake is a sound case

FX8120 @ 4.5Ghz 1.3v,Asrock 970 extreme 3,8 gig crucial ballistix 1600 @ 1866, thermalright true spirit 140, 120gb Sandisk extreme ssd, 3TB second drive. Hd4830. Corsair Hx520 PSU.
mr_magnon
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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17. October 2005 @ 19:05 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
Ive heard the dfi infinity is good for overclocking, if not any reccommendations on a better motherboard and do you know of any good cooling fans that are not to expensive?


D452-2035 :: DFI NF4 Infinity NVIDIA Socket 939 ATX Motherboard / Audio / PCI Express / Gigabit LAN / USB 2.0 & Firewire / Serial ATA / RAID
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18. October 2005 @ 00:20 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
well i think the dfi is a bit expensive, fair enough it overclocks well, but like all motherboards it has had its problems.

the msi k8n neo4 ultra platinum ,is a very similar board , it has had its problems also bios ect but mine has been stable for overclocking , a nice amount of features.

there is also a foxconn motherboard which seems to be well received by a lot of reviewers, its nforce 4 again, i know most people think of foxconn as a budget board maker, but they also make alot of the intel boards which get rebaged.

http://www.amdzone.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=...

have a browse through the reveiws on here. when buying motherboards its always worth checking the returns policy on them incase of a dodgy board.

cpu coolers, right that is a good question, it does depend on how good you are at fitting stuff, as alot of the more modern coolers take a while to fir correctly.

i must admit i do like my vapochill micro ultra quiet, but it was a right sod to fit. i also have an amd system running with the Zalman CNPS7700-ALCU which is a good cooler , easier to fit than the vapochill.

the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64, is also a good cooler, it might be worth asking on the cooling thread about peoples experiences, or maybe the thread already contains the info you require .

FX8120 @ 4.5Ghz 1.3v,Asrock 970 extreme 3,8 gig crucial ballistix 1600 @ 1866, thermalright true spirit 140, 120gb Sandisk extreme ssd, 3TB second drive. Hd4830. Corsair Hx520 PSU.

This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. October 2005 @ 00:21

foofdawg
Newbie
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27. October 2005 @ 05:34 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
Ok, so maybe I jumped the gun and posted in the wrong place. I'm new here but looking to build a new system, and now that I see this thread, I guess I am building a budget system for gaming. I didnt want to repost the whole thing in 2 places, so please see my post in the official computer building thread, its currently the last post, and probably my only other post in this area of the forums. I need help getting better stuff for the same money as I have outlined there. If it is appropriate, please move my post to this thread.
novicebb
Member
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9. November 2005 @ 04:46 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
any tutorials online on how to build a pc or on this forum site?
64026402
Senior Member
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9. November 2005 @ 17:04 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
There are no novice PC building guides around here, but as you can see there are plenty of threads with good infomation. Some general internet searches can yield many guides and sites specifically geared toward step by step.
What level is your experience if any?
We can give direct advice if needed.
Research is definately a must before building. Spend a lot of time reading. Pick the parts carefully. Give some infomation about your specific needs and budget.


Donald
AfterDawn Addict

1 product review
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10. November 2005 @ 13:14 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
Research is a crucial step in building a PC. But before you get started with your research you should ask yourself a few simple questions regarding its intended use. If it's for surfing the net and word processing then you probably don't want an SLI board and two video cards. If gaming is your intent then you should consider a board with SLI and you can start with a single video card for now and pick up a second one when you can afford it. Whatever you decide to do, I recommend that you do your best to build against obsolescence.

"Please Read!!! Post your questions only in This Thread or they will go unanswered:

Help with development of BD RB: Donations at: http://www.jdobbs.com/
.
SypherTek
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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9. December 2005 @ 02:59 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
I dont really see how the words "Budget conscious" and "Dream machine" can actually go together in the same sentence (unless ofcourse you have an rather high budget) dream machines that really are "dream machines" tend to cost quite a lot in as much as you wouldnt build a super computer on a budget of £200 infact youd be lucky to build a computer and still be able to afford a monitor of any kind on that kind of budget



Studio Comp: AMD Athlon XP 3200+ OC ~ 2.35GHz runs at 40 celcius idle and 48 under stress (aerocool GT1000 really works!), Asrock K7VT4A , 1024MB Dual Channel DDR 400, MSI Nvidia FX5200 128MB OC ~ 600MHz mem 350MHz core,80GB SATA + 200GB SATA + 120GB IDE, 7.1 Channel Soundblaster Audigy 2 Platinum EX sound and midi interface. 19" Sony SDM-HS95 TFT monitor - sweeet
Comp2: AMD Sempron 2400+ OC ~ 2.0GHz (Stable), Asrock K7S41GX, 512MB DDR 333, Onboard Graphics, 40GB Maxtor IDE


set of monitors on the way soon :P
Google is your friend...
WorkComp: LAPTOP, intel celeron D 2.4GHz, 256MB DDR, 20GB hd. NO SCREEN IT WAS SAWN OFF :S (bag of crap)
AfterDawn Addict

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9. December 2005 @ 12:29 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
SypherTek

Quote:
I dont really see how the words "Budget conscious" and "Dream machine"
I think what you're saying is that a "Buget dream machine" is an oxymoron. LOL



"Please Read!!! Post your questions only in This Thread or they will go unanswered:

Help with development of BD RB: Donations at: http://www.jdobbs.com/
.

This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. December 2005 @ 12:29

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vspede
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25. December 2005 @ 19:26 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
I built my PC a year ago so it was my dream PC back than. I believe you can build it now for about 350 bucks. Cost me about 600.

Asus P4p800-VM Mobo - $90

1 gig Ram Corsair Value Select - $90

P4 2.4 Gig CPU Socket 478 1MB cache - $110

Case w side fan and lights - $15 bucks

300 Gig Western Digital - $80

Mobo Comes with onboard Vid Card - free

Mobo is pretty good. Doesnt have PCI-E but its dual channel. Everythings great and FSB is true 800 checking with CPU-Z.

The only thing I changed was my vid card. I got a Geforce FX 5200 for free from my room mate. He bought an ATI.

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Real Friends will help you move the bodies...
 
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