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Cost effective upgrade. :)

U

USMC_Grunt

Gawd
Joined
Nov 9, 2000
Messages
559
Ok, I am getting a new job now so I should be able to afford more than a $400 upgrade, well new system really. Now I can spend maybe $200 or $300 more on my new system. What would be the best thing I could get for around the $700 price range. I will go either AMD or Intel, it really doesn't matter to me anymore. I would really like 1gig of RAM if possible also. I just need the actually rig, well I guess a keyboard and mouse also. Ok, so everything but a monitor lol. Suggestions?
 
ive allways liked amd but intell is getting kinda low in price, so......
amd run hotter and to me seem less reliable.
kind of ur desicion on personal pref.
 
Do yourself a favor and keep your rig until you have more money. Then you can get what you actually want all at once, and will probably get a better deal on something better.

Honestly, I can't make $700 go very far with D3 and HL2 coming out, along with all the other high demand games that are coming out like mad right now.

Save every penny you get for like another month, see what happens with the next gen of graphics offerings from nvidia and ATi, buy from there :)
 
I think you could do quite a lot with 700.

I'd get an ASUS mobo, or somewhere around the likes of ABIT.

Go AMD, get something around 2.3 ghz, and OC it to 3.0 or so (might need a little more than stock hsf though ;)). Get some nice CORSAIR XMS ram, get a radeon 9800 pro.. :)
 
!! an amd processor at 2.3? none go stock that speed! heh

I'd get a Mobile AthlonXP 2400 or 2500, motherboard liek a A7N8X type or a Abit NF7 (which is amd right? heh confusion). 512 or 1024mb of PC3200 or PC3500 ram, 9800 Pro.

I'm pretty sure you can hit that in your price range.
 
Read this for ideas: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?threadid=739043&perpage=&pagenumber=1

I found that a 2.8c, 512 meg RAM, 9600SE, new PSU and 40Gig HD could be possible for $700. But, i have the case, fans, CD-ROM, burner, monitor, sound card, sound system..... you *might* be able to buy a system for under $700, but you would have to compromise in some departments, and a gig of RAM is out the question. The tip here: save up, and save up big so you can buy a kick ass system that will run anything you throw at it. ;)
 
Ah, my sound system still works great for me, and I've had it for quite a few years now. Altec Lansing...... hmm... can't remember model, but its 175W. :D I'm not able to get it as loud as it can go because it starts to hurt lol. No reason to replace that. heh

For some odd reason I want to try Intel again, but I really can't justify going Intel. AMD is still much cheaper and pretty much performs the same. However, I really like the bus speeds on Intel.

So, what I need is:
Case/PSU
MB
Processor
Video
RAM
CD/RW
HD
Floppy :) (I'm sick of using my friend's miscolored modded one)
New Mouse, 'bout time, I'm using an Intellimouse 4 button optical
New Keyboard..... man, I'm afraid to open this thing up to clean it. I've had it for..... 7 or 8 years or so and never cleaned it. :rolleyes:

Ah shit, I need a new printer too. Ok, this may be slightly more than I expected, or slightly less quality.

What other neat toys are out there that I could consider getting? I haven't built a system in 2 years so I'm out of the loop.
 
Heres what I see

120 for good case / PSU
100 for a good enough MOBO
100-200 for a good enough PROC
100-200 depending on what you're doing for a VID CARD
200 or so for 512x2 ram..
40 for a fine CD/RW
80 for a fine HD
3 for a floppy
12 for a mouse
12 for a keyboard

(Estimates)
 
Ah, never even considered getting a 64 bit system. But I'm not sure that would be to practical yet. hmm... Too many decisions.
 
Yeah I probably will. I may have to cut a few corners here or there. But I'm not quite sure how my financial situation will be in the near future.

Are there any neat toys or shit out there that I don't know about? :D For example..... RAID, however I have no use for that really, or firewire. I'm still not completely sure what that is yet.
 
Don't bother on firewire unless you're doing video editing and the such.

Usb 2.0 is now faster, I hear, although I bought firewire anyways (for my I-pod).

A neat toy.. hrm.. I-pods are neat.. great for data theft from your local compusa :) just kidding.
 
Ok, I think I'm going to try Intel again, why I don't know. So what would be a decent motherboard. I really don't want the IC7, that seems rather expensive. The IS7 looks good, as well as the P4P800. Never dealt with Abit or Asus, though I heard they are pretty much the best. I currently use an Epox which I like very much. Any ideas?
 
Oh shit thats right. I want to mod an LCD into the case to display temps and stuff. That sounds fun. :D
 
My new intel mobo I ordered ( don't know exact model.. but its 112$ on newegg, made by intel ) is coming tomorrow, I'll tell you if I like it.. I heard it was pretty damn good. Don't bother modding an LCD unless you really know what you're doing.. just buy a case that already has it.

I also heard the p4p800 is a great motherboard, although I have no experience with it myself.
 
Cool toys in the comp world? Well, I really like USB can warmers. Protects me from having to drink cold soda (I don't own one).

RAID you don't really need for most purposes (if RAID 0, risk of losing data is doubled for every drive in the array too).

Firewire, not much to know. Just another high speed interface between the comp and other devices (like iPod, digital camcorders, hard drives).

Here's a PC I'd recommend for your $700 budget.

I decided to go Athlon XP, Intel systems cost at least $250 for the mobo/proc alone in most cases.

Here's a system if you'll not OC the comp.

CPU: AMD AthlonXP Barton 2600+ retail - $85
Motherboard: Asus A7N8X - $87
RAM: you want a gig, so how about getting this? http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-290&depa=1 for $203
CD-RW: look no further than Lite-ON. $35 for a CD-RW. If you want DVD too, get the combo drive for ~$50.
HD: Western Digital WD800JB 80 GB - $75 full price
Keyboard + mouse: depends on what you actually want
Floppy: $5 tops
Case/PSU: depends on you. I'd like to go Antec because they come with Antec PSUs, but it's up to you.

Without the case, keyboard/mouse, and vid card, this thing is around $490 from Newegg.

Now, if you want a good vid card, you can get a Radeon 9800 Pro for $212 from the Egg. That'll bring you to your $700 budget though. You can get a Radeon 9600 Pro for about $130, or a Geforce 4 for around $100 now. Depending on what, you'll either be in budget or about $100 over budget.

EDIT: well, now that you're deciding to go the Intel route, I guess you can disregard my mobo/cpu choices...

If you're gonna OC, an Abit would be my recommendation. IS7 is nice, I use the IC7-G myself. If you want stock, stick with an Intel board (no Ocing, remember that) like the D865G Perl.
 
Thanx for all of the replies so far everyone.

I'm not dead set on Intel yet, but I would like to try to walk down that road again. :D I was just looking at the IS7-E at newegg. It seems pretty much like the IS7 retail but without the firewire, which I just learned from you guys that I don't need it.

I suppose what I could do is build a psuedo Intel rig, and a psuedo AMD rig, and weigh out my options. hmmm..
 
Hmm... ok the Intel setup seems to be running a bit more expensive than I would want. So far I have the MB, Proc, HD, and RAM, and I'm at $530. I doubt I'll be even close to $700. Well shit, I know I can't go wrong with AMD. :D

Now is there any problems with the 2600+ being locked? I plan on OCing.
 
What proc and MB were you looking at? RAM and HD are irrelevant when making amd/intel systems ;).
 
I was looking at the IS7 and 2.4C for Intel, and the 2600+ with a A7N8X or an NF7.

BTW, they do take DDR400.
 
Are there any decent cases with a built in LCD in it? I've never tried messing with those before, but I would really like to.
 
a pretty cool case is the
Aspire X-Dreamer II

LED fans, windows, LCD temp display.. not a great PSU though. Can't beat it for the price, however.
 
Now when you get a case with an LCD, can you program what you want displayed, or is it preset?

Hmm... I guess I could just get an Antec case or something of the like, and then do the LCD later. Is Antec the only really decent cases/PSU for the price or are there others?
 
Well, antec cases are awesome.. and for the money they are a good deal. Most don't come with a power supply, but hell, you'll probably be needing a better one than anything that comes stock anyways.

On the X-Dreamer, the temperature is displayed on LCD. Any temperature you want ( there is a white little probe you can sticky anywhere in your case and it gets the heat ) can be displayed on it, if you think about it.
 
Ok, also (I'm sure you're all sick of my questions now) what is a decent printer? I'm using a Canon BJC-250 right now LOL. So pretty much ANYTHING would be better. I just need the thing to print.

Also, is there a big difference between the 9600 Pro and the 9600 XT? The Transcend 9600XT is $158, and I'm wondering if that would be better than the Gigabyte 9600 Pro for $137.
 
Would you be printing digital photos, or just text docs? Etc?

I use an Epson Stylus COLOR 880 ( I am sure are extremely cheap now ), and it is quite good for my needs ( printing text.. mainly, and when I do need to print pics, its not bad. ).
 
I'll mostly just be using it for text. Pictures probably on the rare occasion, but I won't need any photo quality stuff.
 
Morning all.

If you want to overclock, you might want to look into the AthlonXP Mobile 2400+ Barton. It's almost the same as a regular desktop Barton, except it has a 266 Mhz FSB.

The mobile chips are unlocked however, and they overclock a very fair amount. You'd probably be able to make up the FSB difference between them and regular Bartons' FSBs, while also attaining a much higher clock speed.

However, I think desktop Bartons are multiplier locked now. If you want one of those, get a 2500+ (the lowest end Barton); you can probably take it to 3000+ or 3200+ speeds or beyond.

The difference between the 9600XT and 9600Pro is clock speed. The XT runs its core 100 Mhz faster (500 core / 300 memory). The 9600 Pro is 400 core / 300 memory I think. The XT also has a temp sensor on the core, and it can use the gimmicky OVERDRIVE feature in the newer catalyst drivers (Overdrive lets the card self overclock depending on its temperature; doesn't really do anything for me; I just overclock it normally).

If you're strapped, the 9600 Pro is good enough; you can just OC the core a little for some extra oomph.

Also, now that you want to OC, get an Abit NF7-S motherboard. I feel Abits are better for OCing.

And for a printer...I've used an Epson 580. It's not really that good, but it's a cheap printer, and the ink is not too costly ($15 for black). However, I don't really like Epson that much these days.
I use a Samsung ML1710 laser printer that's always for sale at $100 after $100 rebates. I really like it, and I don't print pictures anyway (only black and white laster), but the cost of toner might seem expensive ($80). However, the starter toner included has printed about a 1000 pages already (starter toner prints less than regular toner), and the normal toner is said to print 3000+ pages. A much better deal than inkjet for mass text printing.
 
Wow, yeah the reviews on newegg are all very nice with the XP mobiles. They all seem to be unlocked and run cooler.

Is there a big difference between the NF7 and the NF7-S? I don't really need the SATA or Firewire.

Also, will the slower FBS make a big difference? I'm currently planning on getting 1 gig of Mushkin PC3200. Would PC2700 be just as good?
 
Originally posted by Porphyria
Well, antec cases are awesome.. and for the money they are a good deal. Most don't come with a power supply, but hell, you'll probably be needing a better one than anything that comes stock anyways.

On the X-Dreamer, the temperature is displayed on LCD. Any temperature you want ( there is a white little probe you can sticky anywhere in your case and it gets the heat ) can be displayed on it, if you think about it.
Click to expand...

!! (that is my quote of the week)....most Antec cases do come with power Supplies. I have a 2600 series, Lanboy, and Sonata and all came with PSUs. I think the Super LanBoy is the only one I know of that doesn't come with one.

If you get an AthlonXP, get a mobile chip if you want to OC, hands down.
 
Originally posted by USMC_Grunt
Wow, yeah the reviews on newegg are all very nice with the XP mobiles. They all seem to be unlocked and run cooler.

Is there a big difference between the NF7 and the NF7-S? I don't really need the SATA or Firewire.

Also, will the slower FBS make a big difference? I'm currently planning on getting 1 gig of Mushkin PC3200. Would PC2700 be just as good?
Click to expand...

If you get a Mobile 2500 like I did, you can easily set it to 200Mhz bus at a multiplier of 12x. I haven't pushed mine yet, haven't had the time, but at 200 x 12, it is rock stable, gives you a good bit of memory bandwidth also. As you can see below I have a A7N8X-E Deluxe. It was refurbished on newegg for $75. I had to get a driver CD/RF shield off of ebay though for $10. You won't get any cables with the refurb.

No doubt though, get a Mobile AthXP and run it at 200Mhz bus and tinker with the multiplier.
 
Well I guess a mobile would be the best option then. :D I'm assuming I'll probably just need PC3200 ram?
 
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