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mesman00

mesman00

What's that...?
well my apartment got broken into over the weekend while i was gone, and my computer was on of the items stolen (if you are the culprit i'm gonna find you and feed you to my dog). i have been looking around for prices and stuff like that...and i just wanna know if the prices i'm seeing are good or bad. for starters

AMD Athlon XP 3000 barton w/ North Bridge mobo and heatsink and fan- $298.00
512 MB PC 2700 DDR Ram - $70.00
Western Digital 80 GB Hardrive ATA/100 7200 RPM - $68.00
Lite On 16x DVD Drive - $30.00
Lite On 52x24x52 CD-RW - $38.00
Sony Floppy Drive - $8.00
Sound Blaster Audigy X Gamer - $72.00
400 Watt Case - $28.00

Total Cost: $612.00

last thing i need is a video card. i'm looking for something in the range of 70 dollars. i've always been true to nvidia and plan to stay that way because there driver support is excellent. so, any tips/opinions would be appreciated. by the way, this is all in U.S. currency.
 
Martin

Martin

Active member
Administrator
Looks good, except, don't buy that CPU, it's much too expensive. Go down a few steps and save some cash. Just my opinion, it's stupid to buy the newest chips unless you just want to brag. :)
 
fivefeet8

fivefeet8

-= Clark Kent -X- =-
What motherboard are you getting? I'd suggest one of the Revision 2 Nforce2 mobos. I have a Nf7-S rev2.0 board myself and it is the best. Stability, Features, and overclockability are unmatched.

If your not planning to Overclock the Cpu then that Athlon xp 3000+ Barton should be ok. But the Athlon xp 2800+ 2700+ and 2500+ can overclock to and above that CPU quite easily on Nforce2 boards. And they cost a lot less.

Also, is that cpu the 400 mhz FSB versions? I'd get the one with 400mhz FSB for a little boost in performance. But then again, if you get the 2800+'s and below, they can pretty much be Overclocked to a 400mhz FSB and more.

One more thing, a $40 newer dated Athlon Xp T'bred 1700+ can overclock to and above the 3000+.
 
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OP
mesman00

mesman00

What's that...?
ok, i think i'm gonna step down to a 2700 and save about $100.00 (AMD Athlon XP 2700 Barton w/ ASUS mobo is $202.00). and one more thing, i've never actually built a PC from the ground up before. i've taken out parts and tinkered with stuff, but thats about it. so, do motherboards fit the same into all cases? do the cases come with the proper mounting screws, etc? thanks
 
Doomulation

Doomulation

?????????????????????????
Buying anything of the latest kind is very stupid. Waiting until a newer processor comes out, that one will drop in price. It's ridicoulus to get the newest stuff.
So, I very much agree with Martin on that one.
The rest of the parts are ok.
As for screwing and cables, your mainboard manual will cover where to put these cables. And screwing it isn't really hard, you'll see where to put those screws. But just in case, do look in the manual for such information, too.
 
james.miller

james.miller

HELL YES. IT'S ME!
one word, OVERCLOCK.

xp 1700+ dltc3
abit nf7-s v2
2x256mb twinmod ddr 400 (pc3200)
thermalright sk7 or slk-800 heatsink and a thermaltake smartfanII
no soundcard needed - as the on board sound on the nf7-s is easily as good as an audigy.


that setup will easily see 200mhz fsb, 2.3ghz cpu which will destroy your choice for half the price.



as for the video card, well. that's up to you. but you are looking at one of the many happy ati owners. BTW, my card crushes any nvidia card thats twice the price - something to think about.
 
OP
mesman00

mesman00

What's that...?
james.miller said:
one word, OVERCLOCK.
as for the video card, well. that's up to you. but you are looking at one of the many happy ati owners. BTW, my card crushes any nvidia card thats twice the price - something to think about.
Click to expand...

what card is that?
 
The Khan Artist

The Khan Artist

Warrior for God
The sweet spot with AMD CPUs right now is the 2500+ Barton - $91 at NewEgg, as of three days ago.

And they overclock pretty well, too, from what I hear. You should be able to make it a 3000+, no sweat. With the $200 you'd save on buying a real 3000+, you can get a sweet fan/heatsink combo for $50, and still have an extra $150.
 
james.miller

james.miller

HELL YES. IT'S ME!
the best IMO are still the 1700+. there are a lot of bartons that are hitting a wall at 2.3ghz, while the 1700's are reaching 2.5ghz.
 
Xade

Xade

Irrelevant Insight
Mr Miller, I somewhat doubt your 9700-type thing is going to be doing much crushing as far as the 5900 Ultra is concerned!

Seriously though, I know I'll get a lot of stick for saying this, but all that dicking around with mid-range CPUs, average graphics cards and generally mediocre specs is a waste of time. Why buy into an ever-changing market with a view to acquiring a machine that is already a fair way though its' life span?

I can tell you this: you'll end up spending almost as much money anyway through future upgrades in the next couple of years anyway, not to mention all of the time and effort involved in fitting the parts. I speak from experience.

Buy THE very best you can afford. Save a bit of cash if you need to. You'll save a hell of a lot of heartache down the line.
 
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Martin

Martin

Active member
Administrator
Xade said:
Mr Miller, I somewhat doubt your 9700-type thing is going to be doing much crushing as far as the 5900 Ultra is concerned!

Seriously though, I know I'll get a lot of stick for saying this, but all that dicking around with mid-range CPUs, average graphics cards and generally mediocre specs is a waste of time. Why buy into an ever-changing market with a view to acquiring a machine that is already a fair way though its' life span?

I can tell you this: you'll end up spending almost as much money anyway through future upgrades in the next couple of years anyway, not to mention all of the time and effort involved in fitting the parts. I speak from experience.

Buy THE very best you can afford. Save a bit of cash if you need to. You'll save a hell of a lot of heartache down the line.
Click to expand...

I think i's a very bad idea to get the absoluetely latest chips, and a waste of money. No, he shouldn't get something that's a fair way through its life span, but definitely not the absolutely newest. So, instead of getting an XP 3200+, perhaps get an XP 2800+ and save money. :)

I agree though, buying the best he can afford is a good tip, but by saving a few dollars on getting a cheaper CPU for instance, leaves more money for other important parts like monitor and keyboard, rather than getting the latest CPU and gfx card and a crap monitor.
 
james.miller

james.miller

HELL YES. IT'S ME!
Xade said:
Mr Miller, I somewhat doubt your 9700-type thing is going to be doing much crushing as far as the 5900 Ultra is concerned!
Click to expand...

but wait, i don't have a 9700. i have a softmodded 9500non-pro. how much do they cost? last time i check they were around £115. now, concidering ti4600's still go for anywhere up to £200, i think my card does indeed crush anythin thats's twice the price.

Whats that? 5900ultra you say? they go for anywhere upto £400 dont they? well, that's over 3 times the price. hmmmmmm..........


I'm speaking from experiance. i haven't spent more than £600 on my entire pc. and for that £600 in hitting 17k on 3dmark2001se. you show me a xp2800+ based pc that will do that for £600, or a 5900ultra based pc for £600. 'Bet you can't.

you go ahead and put down £200 for an xp3000+, and watch my £40 xp1700 overtake you. Yes your xp2800 will overclock, but check the price difference - £160.
 
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Doomulation

Doomulation

?????????????????????????
Helooo--------! You needn't buy the latest at ALL! And if you overclock, you definetly save money. You don't actually need to upgrade at ALL until games/programs start as to needing it. So, you don't have to upgrade so often...sheesh. Just wait until it gets a little old and you save money.

Why is everything new launched at a high price? Why was the ps2 launched at at least $400? Because many idiots pre-order the console and many people MUST have the latest, and guess what? The company gains Lo-------ts of money on that. When they stop buying it, they immidietly cuts the price. Marketing. Simple. And you fall for it.
 
karth95

karth95

Lord of the Cats
I would like to drop in one piece of advice... The people who are telling you to overclock may have great success with it, and never burn out a processor. I wouldn't suggest it, at least not for the first machine you build. You'll have enough heat issues with the 2700 without needing to add bulk fan kits or watercooling to overclock.
 
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