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My first build soon! Help!

M

melomania

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 16, 2005
Messages
266
I plan on doing my first small form factor build.

You guys are the experts. I need recommendations. I want something similar to that of a Shuttle. I will go intel, but I definitely prefer AMD.

I have the hard drive covered.

I want it to be a bit stylish. I am not looking for performance at all. Maybe something that could run very minimal games. Uh, a good example would be to run Guild Wars. Ill use that game as an example. This machine will mainly be used for a small cheap 'on the road/lan machine.'

My budget is no more than $350. I know it can be done. I want to go as low as I can guys.

Feedback plz!
 
In all honestly, the only way to make a computer at the price point that you specified would be to use technology that is years old, and at that point, it is not worth it in my opinion.

This especially holds true if you already have another computer.

The best price I can see utilizing current parts is right under $450 and does not include a CD-Rom drive.

That said, if you still want to go through with this it will be most feasible using Socket A and not Socket 939.

Keep in mind that a $450 solution would leave plenty of room for upgrades down the road in case cash becomes available and will likely have a longer future.

EDIT: I entirely forgot about the Socket 754 T-Force. My beliefs still hold the same, however, as I tend to think of Socket 754 as a dying socket. Although it would be much better than any Socket A solution: my bad on that one.
 
melomania said:
I plan on doing my first small form factor build.

You guys are the experts. I need recommendations. I want something similar to that of a Shuttle. I will go intel, but I definitely prefer AMD.

I have the hard drive covered.

I want it to be a bit stylish. I am not looking for performance at all. Maybe something that could run very minimal games. Uh, a good example would be to run Guild Wars. Ill use that game as an example. This machine will mainly be used for a small cheap 'on the road/lan machine.'

My budget is no more than $350. I know it can be done. I want to go as low as I can guys.

Feedback plz!
Click to expand...

QPACK-75
TFORCE 754 MOBO-70
CPU ( sempron 64 1.8ghz)-100
RAM(2x512)-70
HD(80gb)-55
DVD/CDRW-30
 
 
Heres mine: Since your not looking for performance you can defiantely cut this down A LOT!!!!!

Case: Aspire X-QPack Black
Mobo: MSI Geforce 6150
GFX: eVGA 7800GT
PSU: Enermax Liberty 500W
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
Ram: G.SKILL (2 x 1GB) DDR 500 (PC 4000)
HD: Seagate 250GB IDE
Keyboard: Lite-On SK-1788/BS
Mouse: Razer Plasma Diamondback Black
DVD: Lite-On SHW-1635S RTL (Is this a good model?)
Speakers: Logitech X-530

Total w/ S&H: Less then $1400!

Hope it helps!
 
Goran said:
Heres mine: Since your not looking for performance you can defiantely cut this down A LOT!!!!!

Case: Aspire X-QPack Black
Mobo: MSI Geforce 6150
GFX: eVGA 7800GT
PSU: Enermax Liberty 500W
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
Ram: G.SKILL (2 x 1GB) DDR 500 (PC 4000)
HD: Seagate 250GB IDE
Keyboard: Lite-On SK-1788/BS
Mouse: Razer Plasma Diamondback Black
DVD: Lite-On SHW-1635S RTL (Is this a good model?)
Speakers: Logitech X-530

Total w/ S&H: Less then $1400!

Hope it helps!
Click to expand...
um.... he's asking for like 1/3 of the price of your system

i think the first recommendation with the biostar tforce 754 and sempron64 is a good setup. it's the best you're going to get with a budget like that.
 
chambersc said:
Although I would HIGLY (and I mean HIGHLY) recommend AMD, I've found some items for a budget PC.

All from NEWEGG:
ASPIRE X-QPACK-AL/420 Black/Silver Aluminum MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 420W Power Supply - Retail
Fujiplus FP-FX5200 Geforce FX5200 128MB DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail
CORSAIR ValueSelect 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model VS512MB400 - Retail
ECS PM800-M2 Socket 478 VIA PM800 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Intel Celeron D 345 Prescott 533MHz FSB Socket 478 Processor Model BX80546RE3066C - Retail

TOTAL:
Case - $75.00 (ar)
Vid card - $29.99 (ar)
RAM - $38.00
Mobo - $44.00
Processor - $118.25

Shipping: $30.77 (could be lower or higher with your zip and not mine)

TOTAL: $336.01
Click to expand...

I'd say factor in a little extra for a different power supply; It seems that general consensus has been that the aspire unit that ships with the case is unreliable enough to not be trusted.

Plus, say a 300-350w FSP/Sparkle isn't THAT expensive.
 
Check the refurb section of newegg, I picked up my ideq there for $100 cheaper than a new one and the only problem with it was the handle for the locking tab on the pci-e slot was broken. No big deal and everything works fine. If you can find an ati based shuttle in the refurb section, all you'd have to add is ram, cpu and your hard drive. You could still do it pretty easily with a socket 754 system using your hard drive, but if you want future upgradeability while staying under your budget, keep an eye on the refurb section.

Your best bet without going refurb:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16856101483 $195 with onboard video
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103443 $139 for 2ghz, 1mb l2 cache (can go for a sempron or lower a64 if you really can't break $350 or you have to get an optical drive)

Add $35 for a cheap stick of 512mb pc3200 and you're at $370. Then all you need is to scrounge up an optical drive...That's what I would do in your situation as I have a bunch of old cd-roms laying around and could just map a drive if I need dvd access before I could save up the $40 it'd cost to get a dvd-r.
 
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