Extremely limited budget, does this make sense?

I

ibrobert

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Jul 7, 2004
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I'm ready to build a new computer (I'm on a 500mhz celeron eMachine) and I'm on what seems to be the most unfortunate budget ever. I'd like to not spend more than $800 (but getting it under $600 would be beautiful), and for various reasons it has to be an intel machine and fairly quiet.

With some help I've come up with this. More than anything I'd like you to tell me if this makes sense.

ANTEC "Sonata" Case - $99
ABIT "IC7" I875P Mobo - $110
INTEL P4C 2.8Ghz - $175
(2) CRUCIAL 512 DDR PC-3200 - $78
SAPPHIRE ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128 - $209
ASUS 52x QuietTrack CDROM (black) - $19
SONY 3.5 Floppy Drive - $10
Total - $787

I've already got a suitable HD. So, how would you suggest I make this system cheaper without sacrificing too much? Will it run okay with a 380W PSU and one fan?
 
If you are on a very limited budget, I would downgrade a few of the components, unless you really want the best for that price range.

You do not necessarily need a $100 tower, when a $30 - $40 would suffice. Unless the PSU is different or what you need, of course.

Everything looks good unless you downgrade the video card.. but I am guessing you want the most punch.. so it's hard to downgrade much.

At any rate, for $800, it's a very nice setup.
 
Pass on the Sonata and get an Antec 3700AMB or 3700BQE (I recommend the AMB overall, I think its a better case, plus, its cheaper!) The AMB is selling off of newegg for $65 with a 350 watt Power Supply. That saves you $35 dollars! Plus, it has better potential as a silent case than the Sonata.

Also, if you hop over to gameve they are selling a Visiontek 9800 Pro for $190 right now. Save you another $20. Here it is

Now you're down to $732. I wouldn't sacrifice anything else though unless you have to... that being said...

Getting a 2.6C and overclocking it to 2.8 rather than getting a 2.8 will cost you $150 instead of $175. Another $25 in savings.

And finally, (THIS IS A LAST RESORT DOWNGRADE) getting a 9600XT for $150 will saveyou $60 on that sapphire card, and $40 on the visiontek one I recommended above.
 
What are your "various reasons"?

Anyway, get a CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive; Lite On's is less than $60 (less than $50?) at 'Egg, and it's a lot more useful than a plain CD-ROM.

Why not just strip the floppy from your old machine?
 
um, this guy needs a replacement for a 500mhz celeron and you guys are throwing $800 systems at him? Fer crissake, he can go down to his local shop and pick up a 1.7ghz celeron(complete system minus monitor) for $199 these days if he is careful.

Will it run farcry? no. Will it do anything that a 500mhz celeron could do and do it better? Yes.

My question to the original poster: what are you planning on doing with this machine? If you are word processing and viewing web pages, you can get away with $199+tax. or thereabouts. You could do it easily for under $400.

edited to add: I misread the first post. I thought his first machine died and he needed a replacement. The question still stands: what does he want to do with the system.
 
my uncle got a dell 2.6 p4 with 512 and onborad video and sound for $ 700 with free shiping :)
 
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