• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Building My First Ever System

T

The Hockster

Gawd
Joined
Oct 27, 2002
Messages
909
I have had a burning desire in me for quite a while now to build my own PC. Currently I have a Dell system (the one in sig), and I have regretted buying the overpriced system ever since...

But anyway, my younger brother has been thinking about buying a pre-built computer so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to make one for him, which will finally give me the chance to build my own system! I can't quite build my own yet as I haven't the money, my younger bro will be getting this one paid for him by parents. :)

This system needs to be a fairly low budget one though, which is why I'm almost certain it will be an AMD system as they seem to dominate this part of the market as far as price and performance is concerned.

A rough target price that my parents are willing to pay is around £600...maybe even slightly lower, but then again, maybe a tad higher if I use my persuasion skills (although that will be quite hard, so really I need it as cheap as possible).

All the parts will be needed to be ordered from a UK site. So far though, I've been pricing up all the various components that I will need to give me a rough idea of the final price and I seem to be getting slightly higher than I originally though could be achieved by building my own. I even had a scary though run through my head, and my parents thought the same, that actually some of the cheaper Dell systems seem very reasonably priced and include all things such as a monitor and speakers (as well as Windows XP) in a nice package which would be far more convenient to get, and maybe even offer better price/performance than what I was looking at from buying everything separate.

Surely this can't be the case though, I'm pretty confident that I should be able to build one myself that will be cheaper than a Dell as well as being a fair bit faster.

Anyway, let's try to build one that can meet that target then. Remember, it needs to be as cheap as possible (but still be a fast system and play games fairly well) and needs to include monitor and speakers. Below is a list of what I've thought of getting so far. As it seems either an Athlon Barton 2500+ or an Athlon Mobile 2500+ will be a good option for this budget system (after looking at similar topics), I am prepared to do some overclocking, as after all, along with my flaming desire to build my own system I am also just as eager to do my first ever overclock. :p

Processor: AMD Athlon "Mobile" XP2500-M Barton 333FSB (Socket A) CPU - OEM (£66.92)

Or

AMD Athlon "Barton" XP2500+ 333FSB (Socket A) CPU - Retail (58.69)

I guess the Mobile chip should overclock higher therefore is the better choice, although that is only OEM so I will need to buy other stuff separately (I don't know what exactly, nor how much they'll cost).

Motherboard: So much to choose from in this category it seems... Seems as if the "Abit NF7-S v2.0 nForce2 (Socket A) Motherboard" is a good choice which is £63.39 or there is the newer "Abit AN7 nForce2 (Socket A) Motherboard" which is £69.91 so I don't think it is worth the extra cost... There are also very similar alternatives from Asus it seems, so is there any that is considered the better of the two, maybe some allow better overclocking? Both the Abit and Asus boards I'm looking at come with build-in Soundstorm sound technology anyway, so that saves my having to get a sound card.

Memory: Corsair 512MB DDR Value Select PC3200 Kit (2x256MB) (£67.56) I'm guessing it's better to get the two sticks instead of the one, it's practically the same price either way. I'm guessing 3200 is overkill if I run the AMD processors at their stock speed as they are only on a 333MHz FSB, but I'm also guessing if I overclock them I could get the FSB to 400MHz allowing things to run in sync and giving me more allowing the faster memory speeds to make a difference.

Graphics Card: Sapphire ATI Radeon 9600XT 128MB DDR TV-Out/DVI - Lite Retail (£105.69)

Or

Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB DDR TV-Out/DVI - Lite Retail (£149.17) As much as I'd like the 9800 Pro it does seem to make a difference to my total cost so unless I can decrease the overall price by changing other things, I may have to go with the 9600XT instead.

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar 160GB (1600JB) Special Edition 8MB Cache - OEM (£72.85)

CDRW/DVD Drive: LiteOn SOHC-5232K 52x/52x/32x/16x CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive - Retail (31.61) There are other drives that do the same thing and are all practically the same price, so it all comes down to which brand I choose. I'm sure I've heard good things about LiteOn so that's why I've choose that so far.

Speakers: I don't really have much of a clue here...need something cheap, I guess I'll have to look around more but so far I’ve seen "Creative Inspire 5.1 P580 - OEM" speakers for £39.36, on this page: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/creative_speakers.html

Case and PSU: This is the area which I have probably been mostly baffled about. After looking around for a while though I have spotted an "Antec Plus 660AMG Metallic Gray Mini Tower Case - 330W TruePower PSU" for £63.45 or Antec Plus 1080AMG Metallic Gray File Server Case - 430W TruePower PSU for £93.94. Is it a good idea getting the case and PSU combined? Any good, cheap alternatives? Also, which one of the above, if they're what I need, should I get? Will I need a 330W PSU or 430W? I really have no idea...remember I'll probably be overclocking though.

Keyboard: Just gonna be getting a £24 keyboard probably...funny I already have a mouse though so I won't need to buy one of them.

Monitor: Really I want as cheap as monitor possible without it being too bad...you know what I mean. ;) A CRT monitor is what I'm after probably, and I've spotted a "Samsung Samtron 76E 17" CRT Monitor - Black" one for £73.44 on this page: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_CRT_Monitors_66.html

A Rough Total Price: £632 - that's with the Radeon 9600XT

Well, that's practically it I think lol (or hope)... Obviously if I go with an OEM processor I will need some additional bits and pieces it seems, a heatsink and a fan if I'm correct? Not sure if I'll be able to afford that on top of the 2500 Mobile processor price (as the 2500 Barton is cheaper), but we'll see as hopefully I'll be able to make a few changes somewhere and save some money.

Hope I haven't been wordy or lengthy in this post and put people off replying, but that's just how I post lol... Oh, and one more thing, I have a Windows XP Home disc that came with my Dell...there's nothing wrong with using that disc with this new computer is there?

On, and one more thing, I got all of these prices from: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ I haven't really looked anywhere else (and remember it needs to be a UK site) but I had a quick look on Dabs which was recommended to me but OCUK did actually seem cheaper on quite a lot of things, but still additional shopping around is necessary to find the cheapest deals I believe.

Thanks for any helpful feedback in advance.
 
Sounds good, I would go with Logitech Speakers, a 6.1 Set up if the sound card on the mother board has 6.1 support. I have the Logitech speakers, and I was really suprised on how great they sound.
 
One thing to realize, hockster, is that you may not be able to make a system that is actually superior to a similarly-priced Dell if you are going for a super-budget system. The nicer the system is, the better you can do in comparison to computers from the really big companies like Dell.

The one advantage that should not be underestimated is you're increased ability to upgrade a system that you build. Dell has moved to non-standard power supplies and some of their cheaper cases do not even allow for a floppy or second optical drive.
 
If you are overclocking, why not just purchase the Mobile 2400 instead? I have heard that those actually clock the same as the Mobile 2500. If you are overclocking, you must also purchase an aftermarket HSF. You can leave the Mobile at stock speed before you purchase the aftermarket HSF tho.

I will go with a 9800PRO vid card. The jump from 4600 to 9600XT is not that great IMO. The 4600 is still a kick ass video card.

Also, that Dell, will you be using parts from the rig or is still a totally new computer?
 
sounds like some good work you did on your own...good job!

you can save some money by waiting for sales or buy other kinds of ram.. maybe like pc2700 or something because i doubt the difference is high

as for the powersupply.. you can go with antec 350w or 430w...

as for the case, any cheap nice looking one will do if your not up for super good looks, super high effieciency, names, or whatever else brandname cases bring

as for the motherboard, i would go with the NF7-S as i feel that this is the best current board for overclocking and fits most budgets... i ll be getting this board over the summer :D

as for monitor, i would wait for a B&M retail store sale... i would buy stuff from bestbuy and circuit city and compusa to take advantage of their rebates to save money

as for the harddrive, look up for my previous opinion on monitors

as for the video card, i would go with a cheaper card unless your doing some seroius gaming

i think you are missing a heatsink?... i suggest a heatsink from thermaltake since you are overclocking and you would need decent cooling... make sure to get the right socket ones, i believe socket 423? correct me if i m wrong..... for a suggestion, i would suggest thermaltake volcano 7+ as the price is only $18USD and its all copper and should do great

as for processor, i would get the mobile type because it uses a lower voltage so it gives u a bigger range to move the voltage to to improve overclocks... altho its not THAT important but get mobile if u have the money

as for the speakers, i dont think you would need such speakers... if you really really want to bring the cost down, you could buy like basic 2.1 speakers with a sub and satellites.. but thats just me and i can be wrong bout it because i dont have a 5.1 system :(


If you are overclocking, why not just purchase the Mobile 2400 instead?
Click to expand...
because the 2500+ is a barton and they have bigger L2 cache


so good luck and keep us updated
 
Try www.aria.co.uk

Price wise they are about the best I've seen - cheaper than Dabs, Simply, watford.co.uk.

They have a fairly good returns policy but their customer service phone line can get a bit busy - 30 minute waits are common on Fridays etc.

I have bought stuff from them for years and it all still works - which is nice!

L
 
Chelica said:
Also, that Dell, will you be using parts from the rig or is still a totally new computer?
Click to expand...

It's a totally new computer as I'm building it for my bro. I'll still be using my Dell until I can save up enough money to build one for myself (which will take quite a while).

Thanks everyone for the replies so far. I was actually thinking of simply going with a normal 2500+ Barton retail box maybe, as then it'd come with a fan and heatsink and so additional stuff shouldn't be needed (I hope so anyway). I know that it won't overclock as well as a mobile chip, but I've read that a Barton 2500+ can reach 3200+ a lot of the times, which seems pretty good to me. I still haven't made a final decision on any of this yet though, I've got quite a while to wait before I can order anything anyway...

Thanks also for recommending http://www.aria.co.uk/ I'm checking it out now. If anyone else can recommend a good place to buy parts in the UK that'd be a big help. If only that newegg place was for the UK... :p

Oh, and quickly, should my Dell Windows XP Home disc work on this new computer too? Are you actually meant to install from the same disc onto more than one ssytem, it's not a crime or anything, surely?
 
should my Dell Windows XP Home disc work on this new computer too?
Click to expand...

NO.

It is illegal to install that copy on a second system and it is unlikely that you will get it to install it at all. I don't know about yours specifically, but alot of restoration-type disks will not work unless it is the original computer or at least the same model.

You need to buy a new copy of windows and there is no legal way around it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top