Need help with a build

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Wingy

[H]ard|Gawd
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Dec 18, 2000
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A buddy mine has asked me to help him build a computer for school. He wants to spend about $1000-1500, so I guess assume somewhere in there.

The problem is, I am way out of the loop as far as hardware goes, so I was hoping you all could give me some suggestions on what he should buy.

Like I said, it's a compuer for school, so I'm assuming he'll do some very light gaming (But would like the ability to do more if he so chooses). He may also watch alot of DVD's and what not.

If you all could give me any suggestions, and anything new that I should know about as I attempt this build, please let me know.

Thanks.
 
If he's wanting the system now, this is what I would recommend. Not the best as far as upgradability goes (Socket 939 and DDR memory will be phased out for newer systems), but pretty good bang for the buck right now, IMO.

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ - $135, free shipping
ASUS A8N5X - $80, free shipping
Corsair XMS 2x1GB DDR400 - $179, $15 instant savings, free shipping
MSI X1800XL 512MB - $220, free shipping
Pioneer DVR-111D - $36, ~$6 shipping
Samsung Spinpoint SP2504C 250GB SATA - $80, free shipping
Fortron FSP400-60GLN - $45 + ~$10 shipping
Antec SLK3000B - $29 + ~$20 shipping
Viewsonic VX2025WM 20" LCD - $345, free shipping, $50 mail-in rebate

Total - $1170 before rebate and tax if applicable

If your friend is willing to overclock, you can probably take the 3200+ to at least 2.4GHz on the stock cooler. If not, feel free to go for a faster CPU like the 3500+. An alternative is the $300 X2 3800+, but it should be overclocked to make the most of it.

What kind of speakers would he want? 2.1? 5.1?
 
He mentioned something about wanting to go with dual core. He's not OCing.

Thanks guys!
 
How about the speakers?

If he's not doing anything like video encoding, 3D rendering, etc. dual core performance will not be fully realized. If his most strenuous usage is "light gaming" the 3200+ is perfectly fine.
 
My thoughts:

if he wants to go dual core, I would go intel. As much of an AMD !!!!!! as I am, intel has better deals on dual cores. Can't really recomment a board, but a Pentium D 930 or 940. This could easily take care of school work, or some light gaming.
 
454Casull said:
If he's wanting the system now, this is what I would recommend. Not the best as far as upgradability goes (Socket 939 and DDR memory will be phased out for newer systems), but pretty good bang for the buck right now, IMO.

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ - $135, free shipping
ASUS A8N5X - $80, free shipping
Corsair XMS 2x1GB DDR400 - $179, $15 instant savings, free shipping
MSI X1800XL 512MB - $220, free shipping
Pioneer DVR-111D - $36, ~$6 shipping
Samsung Spinpoint SP2504C 250GB SATA - $80, free shipping
Fortron FSP400-60GLN - $45 + ~$10 shipping
Antec SLK3000B - $29 + ~$20 shipping
Viewsonic VX2025WM 20" LCD - $345, free shipping, $50 mail-in rebate

Total - $1170 before rebate and tax if applicable

If your friend is willing to overclock, you can probably take the 3200+ to at least 2.4GHz on the stock cooler. If not, feel free to go for a faster CPU like the 3500+. An alternative is the $300 X2 3800+, but it should be overclocked to make the most of it.

What kind of speakers would he want? 2.1? 5.1?
Click to expand...

great list although I would go with 1 gig or 2 gig value ram to save money for speakers, keyboard, mouse

nm noticed he said up to 1500$
 
I'm thinkin 2.1, but who knows. I'll let him take care of that.

Thanks a lot guys. You all rock!
 
Get a nice set of headphones, most of the midgrade sennhiesers and some of the low end ones will rape a 2.1 setup. I have a pair of hd 202s and there better than any 2.1 setup I've ever heard
 
I would make sure to get 2GB's of ram, a cheap but nice logitech keyboard/mouse set will only run you $20, and a set of logitech X-530's are around $55. That extra gig really makes a difference.
 
daphatgrant said:
I would make sure to get 2GB's of ram, a cheap but nice logitech keyboard/mouse set will only run you $20, and a set of logitech X-530's are around $55. That extra gig really makes a difference.
Click to expand...


ya I just noticed he said up to 1500$ since thats the case definetly 2 gigs
 
Wingy said:
I'm thinkin 2.1, but who knows. I'll let him take care of that.

Thanks a lot guys. You all rock!
Click to expand...
Perhaps these: Swan M200

Or these: Altec Lansing MX5021

Or these: Klipsch ProMedia 2.1

Or if he's a more discerning music aficionado and doesn't mind headphones:

Chaintech AV-710 sound card - $23 + $5 shipping
PA2V2 headphone amp - $70 + ~$7-10? shipping
AKG K-501

Of course, if he likes another set of cans, he can go for those. The K-501 is highly recommended over at head-fi, though, ESPECIALLY considering its relatively low price.
 
I would suggest single core 939 for now. He can upgrade in a years time to a fast (by right now stardard) 939 chip when everyone moves to AM2.
 
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