Jump to content

THE REAL DEAL: Spend Fatty's Money


Fatty

Recommended Posts

Ok gang, I'm back to it again...the secondary pc died, but, more importantly, I'm just not seeing what I want out of Source with my current configuration.

 

What I need are Cujo and the rest of you building guru people to come up with a few proposals for me, 3 each. I'd love for you guys to hash it out and debate with each other because frankly, I just don't have the technical knowledge and am not up on technology parts n schtuff in the least anymore.

 

So I'm relying on you.

 

If you think I'm lazy, I'd called it more like efficient networking. I have other things to do with my time. More importantly, I know there are geeks and gamers out there that just love to mix and matchparts and pricehunt, especially on someone else's dime!

 

So, here's what I need...the best computer you can put together for me in three different price ranges....

 

$800

 

$1000

 

$1200

 

So, basically, I need 3 from anyone who wants to participate: If you had $800 to spend, I go this way: and so on....

 

Here are my current specs again so you don't have to search and you know for sure I'm gonna feel the upgrade in PC:

 

EXTREME GAMER CASE COPPER

AMD ATHLON 3200+

GIGA BYTE GA-7VT600L SOCKET

2 x 512 MB DDR PC3200 400MHZ

80GB 7200RPM SAMSUNG HARD DR

ATI RADEON 9800XT

WINDOWS XP HOME EDITION

 

Here's some information to help you in your selections:

 

1) This will be for gaming, just about soley. The machine above will remain intact and works for imaging, video, etc.

 

2) Sound in-game is crucial to me. I use sound in CS:S more than anything else. Right now I'm still using an SBLlive. I don't care about music, symphonies, etc...I'm talking about the game sound. I have a nice headset by Seinhowitzer or whatever heinser they are (they're d/s, no I can't just look at em).

 

3) We have some time here. I'm counting on gifts from Christmas and my birthday, so we'll know more at the turn of the year....

 

4) I have no allegience to anything, no names, nothing.

 

5) I need 2 HD...one smallish one to run the OS and general programs, then a larger one for everything else.

 

 

*********

 

For the winner of the contest, or whose proposal my pc most closely resembles: You'll get $20 paypal from me for your time (not that everyone's time isn't worth anything, I just can't pay everone who posts here....)

 

So, anyways, please take this seriously...it's gonna/gotta happen!

 

THANK YOU!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

to clarify this is for a tower only? ie. no kb, mouse, monitor, etc. would you like a case included? dvd/cd drive? operating system? the less you spend on the extras the more we can spend on the goodies!

Edited by Cujo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

TY for questions.

 

Simple CD rom...no dvd required, i have no reason to watch movies here. I have 3 burners laying around, including a DVD burner if I ever needed one. I'm not motivated to do anything with that atm. Now, if we're talking $10 between a CDrom and a DVD player...well, I'll get the player..etc.

 

No kb, mouse, or monitors needed. No floppy.

 

I probably could reused one of the cases I have....or I'll buy that from NCC, have him deliever it, and while he's here ask him if he can put it together. :D So let's not include the case. (NCC has a treat to TP's for coming up to construct for me).

 

Oh, one other thing....I really like at least one usb port in the front if possible. Not critical, just nice for pen drives, cameras, etc. Or is this standard now?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

sorry, this may be a dumb question but if you have 3 burners lying around why spend 20 bucks on a new cd-rom?

 

usb on the front is mostly dependent on the case. most mobos and for sure one i quote you for will have extra connections on the mobo for front usb.

 

i will get to work on your quotes soon. i imagine the $1000 dollar system will be very similar to the one i posted a couple weeks ago. just to give you an idea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alright I recommended something along these lines to my boy Gleb, who used to play here on .gc with me. He doesn't play CSS no more but tells me he's very happy with his system and plays all games on max:

 

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $163.00

 

eVGA 256-P2-N516 Geforce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $299.00

 

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3700BNBOX - Retail $235.00

 

Creative SOUND BLASTER X-Fi Platinum 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail $185.00

 

Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM $156.00 (+$20.00 mail-in rebate)

 

Western Digital Caviar RE WD3200SD 320GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM $145.00

 

Total: $1,183.00 (+$20.00 mail-in rebate)

 

Notes:

* The mobo I think should be the best on the market.

* The video card, although not GTX still has 20 pipes and give you very good frames.

* CPU, it's no dual core but it's from the same family as FX-57 and FX-55 only clocked slower.

* The sound card, I can't really tell for sure but I heard ppl on here were talking good about it.

 

* Couple of hard drives. I know 74G Raptor is very good, I have one. The 320G doesn't seem too bad from my perspective either.

 

Other notes:

 

* For PSU you should wait until Cujo replies, he's an expert there. I have a very good NeoPower 480W thing, although it's SLI and PCI-E compatible I don't know if you'll require more than 480W if you ever consider upgrading to two videocards. And Newegg doesn't sell the anymore either...

 

* What else? You'll probably need some RAM. But with my not so great expertise on that I won't recommend anything. I'm still trying to figure out if MY RAM is good enough for me or if I should upgrade...

 

*Case is just own preference, I don't know your tastes, cause it's just all about the looks there. Here's the link for Newegg's case assortment here

 

PS. I know it might run you a little more than you wanted but it might be well worth it. If not we'll think of places we can trim...

Edited by Vovik
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok gang, I'm back to it again...the secondary pc died, but, more importantly, I'm just not seeing what I want out of Source with my current configuration.

 

What I need are Cujo and the rest of you building guru people to come up with a few proposals for me, 3 each.  I'd love for you guys to hash it out and debate with each other because frankly, I just don't have the technical knowledge and am not up on technology parts n schtuff in the least anymore.

 

So I'm relying on you.

 

If you think I'm lazy, I'd called it more like efficient networking.  I have other things to do with my time.  More importantly, I know there are geeks and gamers out there that just love to mix and matchparts and pricehunt, especially on someone else's dime!

 

So, here's what I need...the best computer you can put together for me in three different price ranges....

 

$800

 

$1000

 

$1200

 

So, basically, I need 3 from anyone who wants to participate: If you had $800 to spend, I go this way: and so on....

 

Here are my current specs again so you don't have to search and you know for sure I'm gonna feel the upgrade in PC:

 

EXTREME GAMER CASE COPPER

AMD ATHLON 3200+

GIGA BYTE GA-7VT600L SOCKET

2 x 512 MB DDR PC3200 400MHZ

80GB 7200RPM SAMSUNG HARD DR

ATI RADEON 9800XT

WINDOWS XP HOME EDITION

 

Here's some information to help you in your selections:

 

1) This will be for gaming, just about soley. The machine above will remain intact and works for imaging, video, etc.

 

2) Sound in-game is crucial to me. I use sound in CS:S more than anything else. Right now I'm still using an SBLlive. I don't care about music, symphonies, etc...I'm talking about the game sound. I have a nice headset by Seinhowitzer or whatever heinser they are (they're d/s, no I can't just look at em).

 

3) We have some time here. I'm counting on gifts from Christmas and my birthday, so we'll know more at the turn of the year....

 

4) I have no allegience to anything, no names, nothing.

 

5) I need 2 HD...one smallish one to run the OS and general programs, then a larger one for everything else.

 

 

*********

 

For the winner of the contest, or whose proposal my pc most closely resembles: You'll get $20 paypal from me for your time (not that everyone's time isn't worth anything, I just can't pay everone who posts here....)

 

So, anyways, please take this seriously...it's gonna/gotta happen!

 

THANK YOU!!

Save your mobo, case, ram, harddrive. Get these:

AMD Athlon XP 3200+* 512K 400MHz CPU, OEM

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=AX-3200&c=pw

 

SAPPHIRE Radeon X800GTO 100131 Video Card - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...&ATT=14-102-608

 

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS 7.1 24bit Internal PCI OEM

http://www.compuvest.com/Description.jsp?S...le=T&iid=125005

 

WESTERN DIGITAL(WD4000KD)400GB SATA 16MB 7200RPM

http://www.acnt.com/product.asp?pf_id=HD400WD500

 

The hdd is a little spendy but its great (Maximum PC couldnt praise it enuff) and youll be able to use your old one as a backup. The video card is great but not too expensive for the money and a great improvement over our 9800xt's. I too have the same soundard as you. The soundcard here is better than our SBlive cards, wich ive been using for a while now with my 5.1 speakers and isnt overly expensive.

 

Sorry I didnt give a list for the $1000 and $1200 range, but I thought ths would give the best bang for the buck.

 

Total: $661.00 and some shipping and handling.

 

The only difference Im running diffrent than you is that I have an AMD64 3400 and an asus mobo. If you want to go a little past the $800 mark and upgrade to a 64 bit cpu get these:

 

Asus K8N Athlon64 754 ATX

http://www.ajump.com/ajump/product.asp?pf%...&dept%5Fid=5122

 

AMD Socket 754 Athlon 64 3400+ CPU, 512K L2

http://www.pcdirect.com//product.asp?Sku=A...400%2BOEM%2D754

 

Total $876 and change.

Hope this helps. If I win could you take the twenty off my annual subscription to GC? lol :D

Edited by TheReverend(c)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 x WD Raptors in RAID Configuration Hard Drive $328-40 mail in rebates= $288.00

 

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium ATX AMD Motherboard $160

 

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - Retail

$321

 

eVGA 256-P2-N515-AX Geforce 7800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Desktop PC - Retail

$304

 

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 8 (7.1) Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retai

$121

 

CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200)

$208

 

ENERMAX All in One Noisetaker Series EG701AX-VE SFMA(24P) ATX12V 600W Power Supply 90

$148

 

COOLER MASTER Centurion $49.00

 

I know you said you didnt want a case but i threw it in there anyways because i like that case.

 

Unlike vovik i included memory and a psu which both will bump the price up

 

LOL I made one for 1599, thats a little off your mark.

 

I would go broke or go home so to speak, why buy new components that are semi old and then have them not be able to handle the best games in 8 months and have to do this again.

Edited by M2.gc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've never spent out of my shorts before, and my current system, with a couple upgrades has lasted me about 2 years...not bad.

 

But who knows....I might just have to pull out the stops. That said, I can't see spending over $1500 on a PC.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've never spent out of my shorts before, and my current system, with a couple upgrades has lasted me about 2 years...not bad.

 

But who knows....I might just have to pull out the stops.  That said, I can't see spending over $1500 on a PC.

 

there are acouple things you can tone down a little to lower the price

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest zerodamage
Guest zerodamage

First thing you can consider doing which is what I am in the middle of doing now is sell your current rig or parts of it to offset the cost of your new system.

 

I sold my X800XT Vivo for 200 bucks which went towards a new vid card from ATI where I get an occasional one use coupon. I also sold my cpu, mobo and some other junk and I ended up only 100 bucks out of pocket for a new rig minus a new PSU which I need but can do without for a bit.

 

I went from the X800xt, 3200 Athlon 64 and MSI motherboard to this:

 

 

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...uctCode=80719-5

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ Processor (San Diego) Socket 939 Retail ***Free 2nd Day***

$213 Shipped

 

 

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16813123236

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

$105 + 2.99 Shipping

 

Now since you can not get the same deal as I did with the ATI card, you will want to go with something different.

 

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814127182

MSI NX7800GTX-VT2D256E Geforce 7800GTX 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI E

449 + 3.50 shipping

 

The 7800GTX is a better gaming card than the ATi card I am about to post however, the ATI card now has the ATI tool that does video encoding and conversions extremely fast compared to normal conversion types. Also, ATI owns Nvidia right now with Video quality so if you watch tv with it or anything... Anyway.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814121547

SUS EAX1800XL/2DHTV/256M Radeon X1800XL 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI E

$359.00 + 3.50 Shipping

 

 

Now, I am unsure of your RAM but if it is of decent quality and brand, then you can move it over to the new pc and save some money on that.

 

If you wish to buy new RAM, then this is what I currently use. It can overclock from 400 to 500 easily so if you wish to upgrade to a faster fsb cpu or something later, this memory will still work (if not at some lower cas latencies)

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16820148007

Crucial Ballistix 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200)

119 + 4.81 Shipping

 

 

As for Hard Drives. There is no need to go PATA anymore (with the floppy cables). Newer Mobo's all have SATA on them now days and the one linked above has SATA-2.

 

Here is your smaller Windows based drive.

 

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...ctCode=101206-1

Western Digital WD Caviar WD800JD 80GB Serial ATA 7200RPM Hard Drive w/8MB Buffer *** Free 2nd Day ***

55.50 Shipped

 

 

Your larger drive

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...tCode=101220-11

Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JS 250GB Serial ATA II 7200RPM Hard Drive w/8MB Buffer ***Free 2nd Day***

99.80 Shipped

 

 

I know some people love the 10,000 RPM raptor drives. I do not think they are worth the cost unless you want that map to load up a second faster or windows to load up 3 seconds faster. You will already see a signifigance boost in speed over the old IDE HDD's by going SATA in the first place. That is my opinion, others may disagree. I just do not think the cost + smaller in size justifies the extra couple of seconds.

 

Your power supply.

http://3btech.net/ulx500waatxm2.html

Ultra X-Connect 500 Watt ATX Modular Power Supply-- Titanium Color

79.99 Shipped

 

Our store uses 3btech all the time. Shipping is always included and we have never had a problem with them.

 

All of this is 1042 if you go with the ATI card. 1152 if you go with the Nvidia card.

 

Want a case too?

http://3btech.net/desicocaw2fr.html

DEMON Silver Computer Case w/ 2 Free Blue and Red LED Fans, 4 Front USB

Sale price: $29.99 + 12 dollars (shipped) to add 3 fans for cooling (Required if you want to keep your stuff from turning into my wife's toast)

 

Now, if you go with the ATI card, then you can move away from the onboard sound or from using your old card (I personally see no reason to spend hundreds on the new X-Fi).

 

But if you must, you can go with this X-Fi Music branded sound card.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...ductCode=290236

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic Sound Card Retail ***Free 2nd Day***

$113 Shipped

 

You will still be right around the 1200 mark or literaly a few dollars more.

Edited by zerodamage
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest zerodamage
Guest zerodamage

To add to the above, sell some of your existing hardware and it will give you some room for more or less if you decide to reuse it like your RAM. You should get around 150 for the vid card (no more than that though) if you try to pawn it off online.

 

And...

 

Reviews for the above can be provided if requested.

The Epox board was one of two top awards from Anandtech.

Edited by zerodamage
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest zerodamage
Guest zerodamage
1) This will be for gaming, just about soley.  The machine above will remain intact and works for imaging, video, etc.

 

Not trying to sound smart here, I'm actually very interested in what you guys suggest as well. However I thought I should note the above.

 

 

Yeah, I did see that. Some people like myself however only have room for one or two pc's. I typically buy higher end stuff than not as it resells well later when I do my upgrading. It is costing me more this time around due to my bump to 939 pin over 754 pin. Otherwise, I would still be using the same mobo/cpu.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest zerodamage
Guest zerodamage

One last thing. None of this is definate as things change all the time in price and etc. ATI might have new stuff out in January which could result in lower prices of current high end stuff. X2 processors prices may drop. ATI's chipset mobo's may actually go into full mass production and be really good (especially since they have onboard sound that is HD and great about not using much cpu time.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just to emphasize what Bub quoted:

 

My current gaming machine MUST remain intact. The machine I stole from my daughter to run AIM / HLSW can only do that....and it doesn't even do THAT very well. But it runs the hell out of JumpStart.

 

Plan: take her pc and work it over with the working parts from the machine that just died and get her going on something a little better.....but that's another side job. This journey is an entire PC on it's own.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest zerodamage
Guest zerodamage

Everything you will need for a new tower is listed above at 1200-ish.

 

If you want another for 800, etc. I can do later.

Edited by zerodamage
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let me say again to anyone who has posted: Thank you for the time you're putting into this project for me. It is so appreciated. Not only will it help me, but I'm sure there are many others reading this that benefit from the discusions / comparisons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok gang, I'm back to it again...the secondary pc died, but, more importantly, I'm just not seeing what I want out of Source with my current configuration.

 

What I need are Cujo and the rest of you building guru people to come up with a few proposals for me, 3 each.  I'd love for you guys to hash it out and debate with each other because frankly, I just don't have the technical knowledge and am not up on technology parts n schtuff in the least anymore.

 

So I'm relying on you.

 

If you think I'm lazy, I'd called it more like efficient networking.  I have other things to do with my time.  More importantly, I know there are geeks and gamers out there that just love to mix and matchparts and pricehunt, especially on someone else's dime!

 

So, here's what I need...the best computer you can put together for me in three different price ranges....

 

$800

 

$1000

 

$1200

 

So, basically, I need 3 from anyone who wants to participate: If you had $800 to spend, I go this way: and so on....

 

Here are my current specs again so you don't have to search and you know for sure I'm gonna feel the upgrade in PC:

 

EXTREME GAMER CASE COPPER

AMD ATHLON 3200+

GIGA BYTE GA-7VT600L SOCKET

2 x 512 MB DDR PC3200 400MHZ

80GB 7200RPM SAMSUNG HARD DR

ATI RADEON 9800XT

WINDOWS XP HOME EDITION

 

Here's some information to help you in your selections:

 

1) This will be for gaming, just about soley. The machine above will remain intact and works for imaging, video, etc.

 

2) Sound in-game is crucial to me. I use sound in CS:S more than anything else. Right now I'm still using an SBLlive. I don't care about music, symphonies, etc...I'm talking about the game sound. I have a nice headset by Seinhowitzer or whatever heinser they are (they're d/s, no I can't just look at em).

 

3) We have some time here. I'm counting on gifts from Christmas and my birthday, so we'll know more at the turn of the year....

 

4) I have no allegience to anything, no names, nothing.

 

5) I need 2 HD...one smallish one to run the OS and general programs, then a larger one for everything else.

 

 

*********

 

For the winner of the contest, or whose proposal my pc most closely resembles: You'll get $20 paypal from me for your time (not that everyone's time isn't worth anything, I just can't pay everone who posts here....)

 

So, anyways, please take this seriously...it's gonna/gotta happen!

 

THANK YOU!!

Save your mobo, case, ram, harddrive. Get these:

AMD Athlon XP 3200+* 512K 400MHz CPU, OEM

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=AX-3200&c=pw

 

SAPPHIRE Radeon X800GTO 100131 Video Card - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...&ATT=14-102-608

 

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS 7.1 24bit Internal PCI OEM

http://www.compuvest.com/Description.jsp?S...le=T&iid=125005

 

WESTERN DIGITAL(WD4000KD)400GB SATA 16MB 7200RPM (equires SATA port or get one hats close enuff with eide)

http://www.acnt.com/product.asp?pf_id=HD400WD500

 

The hdd is a little spendy but its great (Maximum PC couldnt praise it enuff) and youll be able to use your old one as a backup. The video card is great but not too expensive for the money and a great improvement over our 9800xt's. I too have the same soundard as you. The soundcard here is better than our SBlive cards, wich ive been using for a while now with my 5.1 speakers and isnt overly expensive.

 

Sorry I didnt give a list for the $1000 and $1200 range, but I thought ths would give the best bang for the buck.

 

Total: $661.00 and some shipping and handling.

 

The only difference Im running diffrent than you is that I have an AMD64 3400 and an asus mobo. If you want to go a little past the $800 mark and upgrade to a 64 bit cpu get these:

 

Asus K8N Athlon64 754 ATX

http://www.ajump.com/ajump/product.asp?pf%...&dept%5Fid=5122

 

AMD Socket 754 Athlon 64 3400+ CPU, 512K L2

http://www.pcdirect.com//product.asp?Sku=A...400%2BOEM%2D754

 

Total $876 and change.

Hope this helps. If I win could you take the twenty off my annual subscription to GC? lol :D

Edited by TheReverend(c)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...