Challenging build- 700 flat w/ everything

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[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 23, 2005
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Here is what I have come up with. It is for a friend who will be doing moderate gaming, but has little cash. He cannot go over this budget, even by 10 more dollars. He also needs everything from keyboards, mouse, speaker, monitor, etc. To make it even more difficult, he wants everything new, not used, and wants an LCD screen. Seems impossible? Well, here is what I have come up with. I think it should run most games at medium to low settings at native res. What do you think. Also, the shipping cost has to keep it within budget.

1 AMS CF-1089BK Black Steel/Plastic MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: CF-1089BK
$32.99
1 CHAINTECH MBAV-MK8T890 Socket 754 VIA K8T890 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: MBAV-MK8T890
$39.00
1 REFURBISHED: SAPPHIRE 100121L Radeon X700 128MB DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card - OEM
$75.00
1 Thermaltake TR2 W0070 ATX 430W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: W0070
$39.99
1 AMD Sempron 64 3000+ Palermo 800MHz FSB Socket 754 Processor Model SDA3000BXBOX - Retail
Model #: SDA3000BXBOX
$86.00
1 G.SKILL Value DDR Series 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model F1-3200PHU1-512NS - Retail
Model #: F1-3200PHU1-512NS
$36.99
1 Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6B100M0 100GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: 6B100M0
$54.99
1 Logitech Internet Pro Desktop 967457-0403 Black PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard Mouse Included - OEM
Model #: 967457-0403
$16.00
1 BenQ FP71G+ (Black) Black 17" 8ms LCD Monitor - Retail
Model #: FP71G+ (Black)
$199.99
1 NEC Black IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner Model ND-3550A - OEM
Model #: ND-3550A BK OEM
$39.75
1 Logitech S200 30 watts 2.1 Speaker - OEM
$17.75
Subtotal: $638.45

With shipping it comes to 705.00. Pretty good deal I think, but the motherboard is a piece. Also, I just can't get the RAM to 1 gig without dropping down the video card. For him, a 25-35 FPS is fine.

What do you think?
 
As much as I hate OEM builds, when you need EVERYTHING for sub-1000, It might be time to start looking at some of them.
 
I did do some looking a OEM, but I couldn't find one for the price that had a dual layer DVD burner, a video card on the quality of an X700, and a quality LCD. Also, didn't have a 100 gig SATA drive.

Do you have any links to any for 700 that would have that level of quality?
 
You know, you might just have to tell him to suck it. Buy used. Buy a CRT for $40 off of Craigslist.org until he can scrape together another couple hundred. Steal a damn keybord and mouse from work (you can avoid stealing by asking nice. We have boxes of Dell QuietKeys and their respective ball mice. I respond to flattery, booze and cigarettes, give 'em a shot). Use an old pair of headphones that came with that CD player he wanted so bad when he was eleven.

That way he gets a decent rig (which can be done for $600, it really can) and he won't have to dick around with a future-wimpy PC.

But there's no sense in doing this half-assed. Seriously, he can get another part-time job. If he's in Denver, I got an opening this week stuffing envelopes. It's twelve bucks an hour four days this week. That's enough to get him some real hardware.

It's either that or just tell him to buy an Xbox 360.

By the way, you forgot the $80 for a copy of Windows.
 
I have the OS worked out.......

Is the rig really that bad? Its a lot better than what I started trying to game on I think (AMD Athlon XP2400, 256 MB RAM, Geforce 4 MX 440).

What parts are lacking for a low-mid level gaming PC?
 
I think you've got all the parts, though I'd look to the 6600gt instead of the ATi card. . .same price, a little more kick.

You can do better for shipping with one of these, by the way:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16856140021
Remember, it's a case, (good) PSU, PCI-Express motherboard, and excelent custom heatsink. For $150! (Rebate.)

When you come out ahead you should definitely spend the difference on a gig of RAM.
 
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