New Budget Build

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MaKaVe|i

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 17, 2002
Messages
384
Looking to build a budget system for a friend around the $600-$700 range. He will be running Windows XP which we already have a copy of and he is keeping his current monitor, keyboard, & mouse. He will be doing some moderate gaming but not too much and pretty much uses it for internet, music, etc. He has a 5.1 speaker setup so he wants a sound card.

So he will just need a case, system board, cpu, memory, hard drive, dvd drive, sound card.

Any suggestions on what to buy would be a great help.
 
What size monitor does he have?
What resolution does he game at and what games does he play?
What features does he need in a motherboard?

Here, start with this and upgrade as needed...

$170 - HD3850
$75 - PDC E2160
$90 - GA-P35-DS3L
$45 - 2GB DDR2-800 CL5
$60 - 250GB SATA300
$50 - XClio Goodpower 500W
$35 - CM Elite 330 or some other case
$30 - SATA DVDRW
========
$555 + tax and shipping
 
I believe it is a 17" monitor.
Not sure what resolution he does gaming at.

This is what I have pieced together so far.

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L - $99
E6750 - $189.99
G-Skill 2GB - $44.99
EVGA Geforce 8600GT 512-P2-N757-TR - $139.99
Seagate Barracuda 320GB SATA - $84.99
Cooler Master Case - $49.99
Lite-On 20x DVDRW - $31.99
Creative Soundblaster SB0570 - $29.99
Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500watt - $59.99

For a grand total of $740 with shipping. Let me know what you think about this setup.
 
MaKaVe|i said:
I believe it is a 17" monitor.
Not sure what resolution he does gaming at.

This is what I have pieced together so far.

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L - $99
E6750 - $189.99
G-Skill 2GB - $44.99
EVGA Geforce 8600GT 512-P2-N757-TR - $139.99
Seagate Barracuda 320GB SATA - $84.99
Cooler Master Case - $49.99
Lite-On 20x DVDRW - $31.99
Creative Soundblaster SB0570 - $29.99
Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500watt - $59.99

For a grand total of $740 with shipping. Let me know what you think about this setup.
Click to expand...

Ditch the 8600GT for the HD3850 instead. The 8600GT performs far worse than the 8600GTS, and the 8600GTS performs far worse than the HD3850. Here's some reading material:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3151&p=8

The A-Data is on sale for $45 - $15MIR right now, and performs similarly to the G.Skills you chose. I have both kits, and both work well -- both are CL5 1.8v.
$43 - A-DATA 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 ADQVE1A16K ($15MIR)

Which CM case is that? You should be able to find one for $35 somewhere; don't limit yourself to newegg. Check zipzoomfly, clubit.com, and svc.com, but also take into account shipping. You should be able to find one for around $35 shipped unless you live out in the boonies.
$25 - Cooler Master RC-330-KKN1-GP Elite 330 Mid-Tower ATX Case (Shipping charge varies, based on zipcode)

Ditch the soundcard and stick with onboard sound. This is a budget system, and the onboard HD audio should suffice. Onboard is much better than it used to be.

Ditch that Thermaltake PSU. Tt PSUs that aren't from their toughpower lineup are crap for gaming systems. The lowest PSU I'd suggest is the XClio Goodpower 500W. If you want something better, look at the Corsair 450W/550W/520W, Enhance 5150GH, XClio Stablepower 460W/500W.
 
Ok... I swapped out the 8600GT for the HD3850... and the TT PSU for the XClio Goodpower. I also scrapped the sound card. I will be ordering this system tomorrow. Also the case I am looking at is the COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW. Thanks for your input enginurd and Danny Bui.
 
Your last two posts both showed up fine... but I can't vouch for the "better" card maker. Use Google to find reviews of the HD 3850 from each maker, and don't rely on NewEgg's reviews to make your decision.

As for the case, you may want to reconsider, as the Centurion 5 only has a front 80mm fan intake. Choose a case with at least two 120mm intakes (one for the front and one in the rear)... but if you still want a Cooler Master case, the Elite 330 and the RC-690 are good alternatives. (And if you need some case fans, pick up some 120mm Yate Loons from Jab-Tech.)
 
If I remember right visiontek has a lifetime warranty, but you may want to check that to make sure.
 
If you want to save $99, if your friend is not going to overclock, and you have a Fry's in your area you can usually find a deal on the E6750 + ECS mobo for the price of the CPU only. The motherboards are nothing fancy, but they run stock just fine and I've put a couple of dozen in budget systems with no problems.
 
tiraides said:
As for the case, you may want to reconsider, as the Centurion 5 only has a front 80mm fan intake. Choose a case with at least two 120mm intakes (one for the front and one in the rear)... but if you still want a Cooler Master case, the Elite 330 and the RC-690 are good alternatives. (And if you need some case fans, pick up some 120mm Yate Loons from Jab-Tech.)
Click to expand...

Is it really that big of a deal if the front fan is only 80mm instead of 120mm? I am just looking for a case for $50 or under, it does not have to be a Cooler Master. If I did get the Cooler Master Elite 330 I would need to order a 120mm case fan for the front. Is getting that front case fan into this case pretty easy?
 
MaKaVe|i said:
Is it really that big of a deal if the front fan is only 80mm instead of 120mm? I am just looking for a case for $50 or under, it does not have to be a Cooler Master. If I did get the Cooler Master Elite 330 I would need to order a 120mm case fan for the front. Is getting that front case fan into this case pretty easy?
Click to expand...

Well a 120mm fan can move more air than an 80mm while being significantly quieter. In addition, a 120mm has a greater area of cooling than an 80mm fan. You can fit more hard drives in the space of a 120mm fan than a 80mm fan. So yes, it's a big of a deal.

As for installing a front fan in the CM 330, depends on which way you screw it in. If you're screwing it from the back, it might be hard. If you're screwing in the fan with the front case bezel/cover off, it should be pretty easy.

I do recommend getting this 120mm fan:
120mm Yate Loon D12SL-12 Case Fan - $3.50

And yes the Centurion 534 and 532 are some of the best cases for under $50:
Cooler Master Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP ATX Case - $25
Cooler Master Centurion 534 ATX Case - $40
Cooler Master Centurion 532 ATX Case - $50
 
Danny Bui said:
Well a 120mm fan can move more air than an 80mm while being significantly quieter. In addition, a 120mm has a greater area of cooling than an 80mm fan. You can fit more hard drives in the space of a 120mm fan than a 80mm fan. So yes, it's a big of a deal.

As for installing a front fan in the CM 330, depends on which way you screw it in. If you're screwing it from the back, it might be hard. If you're screwing in the fan with the front case bezel/cover off, it should be pretty easy.

I do recommend getting this 120mm fan:
120mm Yate Loon D12SL-12 Case Fan - $3.50

And yes the Centurion 534 and 532 are some of the best cases for under $50:
Cooler Master Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP ATX Case - $25
Cooler Master Centurion 534 ATX Case - $40
Cooler Master Centurion 532 ATX Case - $50
Click to expand...


Thanks for all of your help... I did decide to go with the Cooler Master Elite 330 case. I have just ordered everything and can't wait to build it even though it won't be for me. The only thing I didn't get was the 120mm case fan for the front of the case. I will just wait until everything gets here and pick one up at a local store.
 
Its up to you. If you don't mind the noise of an 80mm fan that can push as much air as a quiet 120mm fan, then no, its not that big of a deal. If you'd like the system to be fairly quiet, then change the C5 to something else. The alternatives we listed are your best options, IMO. Yes, its not hard to install a fan in the Elite 330.
 
enginurd said:
Its up to you. If you don't mind the noise of an 80mm fan that can push as much air as a quiet 120mm fan, then no, its not that big of a deal. If you'd like the system to be fairly quiet, then change the C5 to something else. The alternatives we listed are your best options, IMO. Yes, its not hard to install a fan in the Elite 330.
Click to expand...

What I do is move the pins in the molex connect so that the fan is drawing from the 5v rail instead. Easy to do with a pair of tweezers. This way you don't have to buy extra fans.
 
enginurd said:
Its up to you. If you don't mind the noise of an 80mm fan that can push as much air as a quiet 120mm fan, then no, its not that big of a deal. If you'd like the system to be fairly quiet, then change the C5 to something else. The alternatives we listed are your best options, IMO. Yes, its not hard to install a fan in the Elite 330.
Click to expand...

Yeah I went with the Elite 330. I am sure he would like it better if it is not as noisey. Thanks for your help as well. The parts have been ordered and should be here in a few days.
 
munkle said:
What I do is move the pins in the molex connect so that the fan is drawing from the 5v rail instead. Easy to do with a pair of tweezers. This way you don't have to buy extra fans.
Click to expand...

This just lowers the fan's power. Its known as a simple 5v mod (or 7v mod if you flip a couple more wires). The lowering of the fan's power lowers noise, but it also lowers the amount of air being pushed into the case. If its the only intake in a modern system that has medium heat output (from cpu/vidcard/hdds), then I would advise against this mod, depending on temps at normal speeds.
 
enginurd said:
This just lowers the fan's power. Its known as a simple 5v mod (or 7v mod if you flip a couple more wires). The lowering of the fan's power lowers noise, but it also lowers the amount of air being pushed into the case. If its the only intake in a modern system that has medium heat output (from cpu/vidcard/hdds), then I would advise against this mod, depending on temps at normal speeds.
Click to expand...

It will push the same amount of air a quiet 80mm fan will push. Quiet fans are just slower and thats what this mod does slows down the fan so that its quiet but pushes less air. Sure a good quality quiet fan will push a little bit more air but not all that much.
 
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