1500 to spend

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Face Fantastic

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Jul 7, 2004
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Howdy kids. I have around $1500 to spend on a computer. I've seriously been dying researching everything to make sure I make wise decisions. Id like to reserve $500 for the x800 xt PE. Id appreciate any suggestions. At first i was looking at newegg.com, then I went to mwave.com and now im at cyberpowersystem.com

Im totally lost. I dont know whether to go with the Prescott or Northwood, or even to go with a P4 at all. An Athlon 64 might be nice, but im not sure if thats the best idea. I'd like to do some overclocking but theres no way im going to watercool. Give me your suggestions on what I can do to get the most hardcore bang for my buck.

P.S.
no moniter needed.
 
Well.... The video card is up to you. Processor is up to you too. If I had $1,500 to blow on a computer I would get the best processor and motherboard first then I would make my way to RAM then over too Cooling (cooling comes before RAM) then over to video card. The set up is up too you.
 
Just remember, 64bit is the future of computing. What does a P4 have to offer you in terms of growth?
 
Well since you want an x800xt its safe to assume that you're a gamer, so that means almost certainly get an athlon 64, they are THE gaming processors to beat.
 
Save half of it it. Let it accumulate a few months' interest. Get an AGP Socket 939 board (nForce3 or K8T800, whatever), CPU, etc. etc.. Keep your current graphics card.

Set aside a good chunk of $$$.

Then, in winter (or spring, depending), get an nForce4 motherboard and a PCIe graphics card.
 
i really need to replace everything

i currently only have a geforce 4 ti 4200 64mb

do you still think thats a wise decision?
 
Face Fantastic said:
i really need to replace everything

i currently only have a geforce 4 ti 4200 64mb

do you still think thats a wise decision?
Click to expand...
I'm running a '4200 128MB. Whatever.

I'm waiting until the cheaper NV40-based cards are out, and even then I'm waiting until I can upgrade to PCIe and all on nForce4. If it gets to be unbearable, you could always just go ahead and get everything else; it's not like it won't last a couple of years.
 
wait, you're building it right?.. or looking for a pre-built?
 
building, mos def

Alright, I was thinking about getting the Athlon 64 3000+ and OC'ing to 2.4

Its cheap as dirt! Is this a good idea? I was also wondering if the extral low latency (2-2-2-5) Corsair XMS was a necessity, its a little pricey.
 
The first thing I would buy is a new pair of underwear for the whole crapping the pants issue.

Go with Athlon 64.
And with that much cash you may as well throw in a hauppauge PCI video capture board and a DVD burner and do some DVD burning.
 
ever consider getting an a64-fx or an p4ee? itll cost the better half of that 1500 but at least you can get the big cost out of the way.
 
Do yourself a favor and buy one of the new sockets for upgradability, so that means 939 on the amd side of things and 775 on the intel side.

As for ram, go for pc4000/4200 ish you will be able to overclock nicely and not need to spend an extra kidney on low timings, which wouldnt hold in a 1:1 ratio anyway.

If you decide to go intel you may want to get some 533mhz (pc4200) (or higher) DDR2 sticks (intel will soon release a 1066fsb cpu, so conside 533mhz dual channel a minimum w/o overclocking)

I think the new trend of $500 gaming cards should be avoided, so if you can wait for the next greatest thing to come out you can save a bundle on gfx. (the greatest thing usually is just last segments card overclocked a little, so its no big deal if you overclock)

Since your rich might as well buy a pretty case, some fans, and round cables (the little things).
 
I just dont have $2000+ and I want a nice vid card. In computers, its always waiting, because technology changes every 5 months. So...

im seriously concidering overclocking the Athlon64 3000+, its really really tempting.

It would last me two or three years... i hope.
 
Lord of Shadows said:
Do yourself a favor and buy one of the new sockets for upgradability, so that means 939 on the amd side of things and 775 on the intel side.

As for ram, go for pc4000/4200 ish you will be able to overclock nicely and not need to spend an extra kidney on low timings, which wouldnt hold in a 1:1 ratio anyway.

If you decide to go intel you may want to get some 533mhz (pc4200) (or higher) DDR2 sticks (intel will soon release a 1066fsb cpu, so conside 533mhz dual channel a minimum w/o overclocking)

I think the new trend of $500 gaming cards should be avoided, so if you can wait for the next greatest thing to come out you can save a bundle on gfx. (the greatest thing usually is just last segments card overclocked a little, so its no big deal if you overclock)

Since your rich might as well buy a pretty case, some fans, and round cables (the little things).
Click to expand...

uhm HELLO! he has 1500 dollars not 15000!
 
Here is what I would buy, if you dont like the brands, pick your own, just an idea

the land of newegg

COOLER MASTER Cavalier 3 Silver/Blue ATX Mid-Tower Case With 350W Power 113.00
Lite-On 12X DVD±RW Drive, Model SOHW-1213S BLK 92.00
Western Digital 200GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive 111.00
Western Digital 200GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive 111.00
Kingston HyperX Series Dual Kits 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-4000 300.00
GIGABYTE "GA-K8NS PRO" nForce3 250 Chipset Motherboard for 754 CPU 122.00
AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor - Retail 223.00
SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON X800 PRO Video Card, 256MB GDDR3, 256-bit, DVI/VIVO 418.00


1487.00 + shipping
 
$230 775 prescot 3.0ghz [http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=BA20327]
$151 Corsair 512mb 533mhz DDR2 [http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=BA20331] -buy two for dual channel
$238 Asus P5AD2 [http://www.wiredzone.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=30359085&source=froogle]

I couldnt find a pci express x800 for some reason, so throw in $600 for good measure and $100 for shipping everything.

total...$1470

And im sure shipping will be less and hopefully so will the x800.

You could save loads by getting a via pt890 chipset motherboard when they come out july 20th. (via's intel 775 chipset, has agp, pci-e, ddr1 and ddr2 all on one board)

Edit: LoL just realized you need a whole computer, just froogle search for drives and a case, you can pick up that kind of stuff dirt cheap. 40gb should be enough for anyone, unless your a pack rat.

The motherboard I listed is overpriced, you should be able to find a cheaper one, i just grabbed asus's best.

Since your buying everything I would suggest on not buying DDR1 ram, but that would rule out AMD as a choice.

I hope this unorganized clutter of thoughts helped. =)
 
Prescott? Why the hell would you go for that if your gaming (or even decent computing for that matter)....

Anyways i would get the AMD 3*00 processor (my choice would be the 3200) and a good well reviewed motherboard. If you cant wait to upgrade just get what you feel is comfortable and enjoy. You can get a damn nice setup for a grand then you have the 500 left for video. Theres no point to buy 32 bit processors anymore, 64 is the future and the beginning of that future is very affordable right now. Once the software companies catch up *cough* Microsoft *cough* it will be well worth your while.
 
The problem with getting a amd 64 today is that you will need to upgrade to 939 in the future, and getting a 939 today is not practical due to cost.

And dear lord 64bit computing only allows a user to run a maximum of 8gb of ram as opposed to a 32bit's maximum of 4gb. Quit spreading mythology of a 64 bit heaven.
 
Lord of Shadows said:
And dear lord 64bit computing only allows a user to run a maximum of 8gb of ram as opposed to a 32bit's maximum of 4gb. Quit spreading mythology of a 64 bit heaven.
Click to expand...
If that the case why does my new 64bit board run to a maximum of 16 Gb of ram.....

Luck........ :D
 
like any one of us is going to use 16 GB of ram within the next year anyways
 
Its just the whole negative performance gain of prescotts over current P4s that are half the price. a64 is the way to go for gaming now until intel gets some problems worked out

and where did the memory thing come from =/ 64 bit is superior in many if not all respects :(
 
If so why dont we have 128bit cpu's, 256bit, 512gigbit cpu's? Its not an important factor =), a64 is a good chip, just has no future socket wise.

And I dont like changing out a motherboard everytime I want a faster CPU.
 
Well regardless, mobos are outdated every 8 to 15 months anyway, most get new ones in one or two years... How often do you keep one cpu and one mobo?
 
From Newegg:

Antec Sonata Case w/ 380 Watt True Power PSU - $99
MSI nForce3 K8N Neo Platinum Motherboard - $130
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ - $282
Western Digital 74GB Raptor Hard Drive - $185
(2) Corsair Value Select 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - $170
NEC 2500A - $67.99

TOTAL: $939.99 + shipping


leaves you $500 for the x800 xt

still might want a regular IDE drive for storage
 
Alright, so far its basically this:

ANTEC ALUMINUM SERIES SUPER LAN BOY MINI TOWER CASE with Clear Side Acrylic Window and FREE Case Carrying Strap -RETAIL $80

Fortron Source 400W Power Supply With 12CM Blue LED, Model "FSP400-60PNU-R" -RETAIL $68

ABIT "KV8 Pro" K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard for AMD Athlon64 CPU -RETAIL $105

AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache, 64-bit Processor - OEM $211

ZALMAN CNPS7000A-Cu Pure Copper CPU Cooler for AMD XP Socket 462/ 754 and Intel Socket 478 $51

OCZ Enhanced Bandwidth Series Platinum Edition 184-Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3500, Model OCZ4331024EBDCPE-K - Retail $300

Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB 10,000RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD360GD, OEM Drive Only $116

Western Digital Special Edition 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD800JB, OEM Drive Only $62

NU Technology Black 8X DVD+RW/-RW Drive, Model DDW-082 BLK $68

= $1061 which leaves plenty of breathing room for the x800 xt :D

How does that look? I have my heart set on overclocking that beast, so theres no questioning the mobo and cpu, but other than that im plenty willing to take suggestions on my other decisions.
 
I think Kingston's HyperX PC4000 was available for ~$150 per 512MB stick. Look around. And that's a really nice PSU choice there. :) I just upgraded from a 300W version (needed more wattage), great design. Maybe consider getting an nForce3 250Gb board, but otherwise it looks good.
 
Lord of Shadows said:
If so why dont we have 128bit cpu's, 256bit, 512gigbit cpu's? Its not an important factor =), a64 is a good chip, just has no future socket wise.

And I dont like changing out a motherboard everytime I want a faster CPU.
Click to expand...
It can be an important factor, if there were software to use it.

Why aren't there 128, 256, 512 bit CPUs? Lots of reasons.
 
Nix the NuTech 082, Anandtech doesn't know jack about optical drives. Get the NEC2510A.
 
Face Fantastic said:
ZALMAN CNPS7000A-Cu Pure Copper CPU Cooler for AMD XP
Click to expand...
wouldnt spend $50 on cooling fo the proc unless ur going to OC, and i doubt you are with an athlon 64, spend that extra $50 to upgrade the proc to a 3200+, you arent going to want a bottleneck with that x800xtpe
 
blackrino9 said:
Just remember, 64bit is the future of computing. What does a P4 have to offer you in terms of growth?
Click to expand...


By the time he needs 64 bit computing, he'll be ready for his next system
 
advanced101101 said:
wouldnt spend $50 on cooling fo the proc unless ur going to OC, and i doubt you are with an athlon 64, spend that extra $50 to upgrade the proc to a 3200+, you arent going to want a bottleneck with that x800xtpe
Click to expand...

I will be OC'ing. to 2.2 ghz maybe even 2.4 ghz

i doubt I'll be bottlenecked, but I'll take your advice into concideration
 
You know... not getting the raptor would save me alot of money. Should I get a standard HD or stay true to the new?
 
Face Fantastic said:
Alright, so far its basically this:

ANTEC ALUMINUM SERIES SUPER LAN BOY MINI TOWER CASE with Clear Side Acrylic Window and FREE Case Carrying Strap -RETAIL $80

Fortron Source 400W Power Supply With 12CM Blue LED, Model "FSP400-60PNU-R" -RETAIL $68

ABIT "KV8 Pro" K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard for AMD Athlon64 CPU -RETAIL $105

AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache, 64-bit Processor - OEM $211

ZALMAN CNPS7000A-Cu Pure Copper CPU Cooler for AMD XP Socket 462/ 754 and Intel Socket 478 $51

OCZ Enhanced Bandwidth Series Platinum Edition 184-Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3500, Model OCZ4331024EBDCPE-K - Retail $300

Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB 10,000RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD360GD, OEM Drive Only $116

Western Digital Special Edition 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD800JB, OEM Drive Only $62

NU Technology Black 8X DVD+RW/-RW Drive, Model DDW-082 BLK $68

= $1061 which leaves plenty of breathing room for the x800 xt :D
Click to expand...
Damn thats pretty much the system I just started to build, minus that PS (undecided), Case (Lian-Li), DVD (NEC) and the HDD's (dont need 2). But everything else is right on. And going with the 9800 pro, and a 17" LCD.

Actually when I "Minus" that much stuff, I see their not the same at all. :D
 
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