[Mmmm]Homer December 31, 2003 Share [Mmmm]Homer Member December 31, 2003 Updated! 4-13-04 Updated video card, sound, hard drives, CPU's, and motherboards. AMD AMD Athlon 64 3000+, Retail $224 Get a perfomance upgrade when Windows 64 comes out. AOpen K8T800 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 754 CPU, Model "AK86-L" $95 Great performance, highly rated mobo on the cheap. Intel Pentium 4 2.8C 800mhz FSB $185 Northwood, retail. Non-overclocker's option: Biostar P4VTB $58 Audio, LAN, SATA RAID, 800mhz FSB. Overclocker's option: Asus P4C800-E DELUXE $179 Expensive as heck but about every option known to man on it, overclocker's dream to boot. If you overclock you may consider a different HSF. Common components: SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9800PRO Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP -BULK -OEM $212 Bang for the buck! OCZ Performance Series 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 2 x $96 = $192 A gig is the new standard, buy half now (1x512mb) if you can't afford all of it. CD-RW Option: Lite-On Black 48X24X48X16 Combo Drive $48 Great brand! Comes with Nero. DVD option: NEC 8X Black DVD+RW/-RW Drive, Model ND-2500A, O $109 Write Speed: 8X DVD+R, 4X DVD+RW, 8X DVD-R, 4X DVD-RW, 32X CD-R, 16X CD-RW Read Speed: 40X CD-ROM, 12X DVD-ROM Roxio Software Antec All Clear 120mm SmartCool Thermally Controlled Case fan, Model "75012" $20 The case suggestion comes with one 120mm fan, add this one blowing in at the front of the case. It'll be quiet and keep your hard drive(s) cool. Option 1, RAID, or non-RAID, or secondary drive: SAMSUNG 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model SP1614C, OEM Drive Only $127 SATA, 3 year warranty, high performance, quiet. Option 2, RAID 0, high: Western Digital 36.7GB 10,000RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD360GD, OEM Drive Only 2x $121 = $242 10,000rpm, 5 year warranty. [http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=29-118-101&catalog=57&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1]Turtle Beach 6-Channel PCI Sound Card, Model "Santa Cruz" -OEM[/url] $43 3.5" floppy drive $6 You still need one. WinXP Home OEM $91 Still waiting for Linux to mature. Symantec Norton SystemWorks Professional 2003 with 1 Year of Live Update - OEM Full Version $24 And worth every penny. Optional: Antec 430W Power Supply, Model "TRUE430" -RETAIL $71 If you've ever had PSU problems you'll know why.... ANTEC Solution Series Super Mid Tower Case with 350W Power Supply $55 A case is about the most subjective item here, you may want to spend $20 on a beige clunker or over $150 on a sleek one. Optional: Kingwin Mobile 5.25 HDD Rack KF-22 Beige Retail $20 This is a basic one, but these come in many colors as well, some have LCD screens. I find it very handy for backup and troubleshooting other drives. Open Office $FREE! Great MS Office competitor, full MS Office compatibility, and a full office suite! Exciting titles like Text Document, Spreadsheet, Presentation, Drawing, and HTML Document. It's a shame to buy MS Office or pirate it if you have a FREE alternative!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crowbar December 31, 2003 Share Crowbar Member December 31, 2003 thanks for the info Homer, now add a ATI Radeon 9600 XT (best performance for the money according to Tom's) at $170-190 about that RAM...if I get that processor, how much could I overclock it on a gig of the non-overclocker's RAM? I'm not going to push that CPU for all the power it has, but maybe bring it up to speed with a 2800+ or 3000+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwEEziL December 31, 2003 Share dwEEziL Member December 31, 2003 With the AMDs you can overclock the multiplier without overclocking the FSB (you won't be overclocking the RAM and AGP and PCI slots). Also, some mobo BIOS's (like my Epox) let you overclock the FSB but lock the AGP at 66 and the PCI at 33. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[Mmmm]Homer December 31, 2003 Author Share [Mmmm]Homer Member December 31, 2003 Thanks Crowbar, I realized this as soon as I went to bed last night that I forgot the video card. I was distracted because it had started to snow here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playaa December 31, 2003 Share Playaa Member December 31, 2003 ok NOW you forgot the Biostar Biostar M7NCD Pro = $70 (it's going up in price) HOWEVER! this board isn't as good overall...but I thought were were going budget gamer right? the difference: Abit has 2 Firewire (1394), Bios. has none Abit has better onboard sound Abit has Raid Bios. has none Abit can do 3GB of memory up to 333mhz, 2GB of memory at 400mhz. Biostar can do 3GB memory at all speeds (up to 400mhz) so for $30 less you lose Firewire (I've never used it or needed to), worse sound (but prolly very good anyway), and no Raid. but 3GB of the best ram. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[Mmmm]Homer December 31, 2003 Author Share [Mmmm]Homer Member December 31, 2003 I considered the Biostar, but the SoundStorm audio was the real kicker so you don't have to necessarily buy a sound card. If you look up this is the Mainstream system, the Biostar would be good on more of a budget or if you are upgrading and have a good sound card already. The Abit also had the ability to have RAID. A side benefit of this is that it frees up an IDE channel for the optional removable drive tray (these trays like to be the master and the only device on the channel or it will fubar another device on the channel if you boot with no device in the drive tray). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini_Me December 31, 2003 Share Mini_Me GC Founder December 31, 2003 Does the Biostar support hyperthreading? I didnt see anything about it listed. good write up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[Mmmm]Homer December 31, 2003 Author Share [Mmmm]Homer Member December 31, 2003 All 800mhz FSB motherboards and CPU's are HT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatty December 31, 2003 Share Fatty GC Founder December 31, 2003 Homer,Dec 31 2003, 12:09 AM] 3.5" floppy drive $6 You still need one. LOL! I started to think this the other day when I installed a WD HD, but I d/l the setup from the web. Still don't need! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mellon December 31, 2003 Share Mellon Member December 31, 2003 AMD is now locking the Multiplier on the Barton cores. So OC will have to be done through the front side bus and you need good RAM for that and your Over Clock will not be nearly as good if you could move the Multiplier down. Do not discount the Athlon64 3000 cpu for around 220 bucks and the ECS-755 mobo for 80. Very great price for a high end system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOFX December 31, 2003 Share NOFX Member December 31, 2003 (edited) Do not discount the Athlon64 3000 cpu for around 220 bucks and the ECS-755 mobo for 80. Very great price for a high end system. yea but dont only the athlon fx run in windows? So you would be forced to use linux? Edited December 31, 2003 by NOFX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[Mmmm]Homer December 31, 2003 Author Share [Mmmm]Homer Member December 31, 2003 Homer,Dec 31 2003, 12:09 AM] 3.5" floppy drive $6 You still need one. LOL! I started to think this the other day when I installed a WD HD, but I d/l the setup from the web. Still don't need! Only n00bs download a hard drive setup dealy from the web, or use the floppy disk they give you. It's all built into Windows! d'oh! For a new system Fdisk and format are built-in during setup. For adding a drive to a WinXP system - it will auto detect it and ask you if you want to format it. You can manage your disks here: Start | right-click on My Computer | Manage | Disk Management Form here you can Fdisk, Format, change drive letters. And you will need a floppy drive if you use a RAID or SCSI controller when setting up Windows. You hit F6 during the setup and the only way you can load a driver is on a floppy. Athlon64's run Windows just fine, they will get a bump in performance when upgraded to Windows64 when it is released in 2004. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All Kill3r December 31, 2003 Share All Kill3r Member December 31, 2003 Homer,Dec 31 2003, 12:09 AM] 3.5" floppy drive $6 You still need one. LOL! I started to think this the other day when I installed a WD HD, but I d/l the setup from the web. Still don't need! i dont have one either. no need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[Mmmm]Homer December 31, 2003 Author Share [Mmmm]Homer Member December 31, 2003 It's funny that RAID requires a floppy drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwEEziL January 1, 2004 Share dwEEziL Member January 1, 2004 AMD is now locking the Multiplier on the Barton cores. So OC will have to be done through the front side bus and you need good RAM for that and your Over Clock will not be nearly as good if you could move the Multiplier down. You could still just unlock your AMD yourself. Currently only takes a $16 modding kit (prices vary) but there are other options. 1) You could get lucky and get one of the older, already unlocked CPUs or 2) You can get a mobo that automagically unlocks your CPU when you insert it in the CPU slot. Don't know how many do this but my Epox mobo does. It was pretty sweet when I found out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mellon January 2, 2004 Share Mellon Member January 2, 2004 Do not discount the Athlon64 3000 cpu for around 220 bucks and the ECS-755 mobo for 80. Very great price for a high end system. yea but dont only the athlon fx run in windows? So you would be forced to use linux? of course not. Windows XP and other windows work fine with the Athlon64. The FX series is dual channel while the regular Athlon 64 3xxx series is single channel. the cost of the athlon 64 3000 is less than a 3200 XP Barton by about a 100 bucks and performs much better. it is a shame that a 2Ghz cpu can outperform a 3.2 Ghz. There is a review somewhere of the 3000 Athlon64, I think it was xbitlabs or tomshardware or something but it was pretty good. If you have the money the athlon 64 is the best buy for your money right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdman January 2, 2004 Share Birdman Member January 2, 2004 I would have to say overclocking a cheap system is the best way to go right now. Either a 2500+ or 'C' Class p4 pwns when it comes to price. You'll end up with a 3200+ or a 3.2Ghz p4. Athlon 64 3000+ is nice. But ill take the 2500+ @ 3200+ right now. When they come out with an AMD 64 3000+ that runs on a smaller micron process and that can overclock with dual channel ram suppport Ill say go for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini_Me February 9, 2004 Share Mini_Me GC Founder February 9, 2004 for a side job I just ordered 2 complete PCs using MB above and SATA HD above... used diff case, 1GB RAM, Intel 3.4C CPU, DVD/CD drive, 400w PS and will use an exisiting GeForce 5950 256MB graphics card. i cant wait to get these systems running :-) thanks homey for a good page! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdman February 9, 2004 Share Birdman Member February 9, 2004 Give us pix and benchmarks when you get it all running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[Mmmm]Homer February 9, 2004 Author Share [Mmmm]Homer Member February 9, 2004 I'm thinking I'll revise this soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdman February 9, 2004 Share Birdman Member February 9, 2004 Still seems relevant to me though. Prices have went down, but these are still good selections. Could use a lil tweaking though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchtower February 14, 2004 Share Watchtower Member February 14, 2004 Floppy free as well and Proooud of it I feel so liberated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[Mmmm]Homer February 26, 2004 Author Share [Mmmm]Homer Member February 26, 2004 bump for update, see first post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All Kill3r February 27, 2004 Share All Kill3r Member February 27, 2004 nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[Mmmm]Homer April 13, 2004 Author Share [Mmmm]Homer Member April 13, 2004 Updated, 4-13-04. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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