Partial Build / Upgrade Advice

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PrkChpXprss

Gawd
Joined
Nov 7, 2003
Messages
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Hi all,

My brother brought me his computer the other day and asked me to upgrade it. I'm keeping some parts (DVD/CD Rom burner, Antec Mid Tower) and putting in some parts that I already own (Antec TruePower 2.0 power supply, PCIe Graphics Card, SATA hard drive).

Questions & Answers for the build:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Primarily web browsing with some 3D & RTS gaming (probably a 50/50 split). I already have a graphics card for 3d gaming.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? Budget for the upgrade is $250 -- could go to $300 only if necessary, tax & shipping inc.
3) Where do you live? [H]ouston
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific. CPU, RAM, Motherboard
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. Refurb Antec TruePower 2.0, DVD-R, SATA 7200 500GB drive, Antec ATX Mid Tower, Nvidia 7600GT PCIe graphics card
6) Will you be overclocking? Yes, lightly if possible, but not necessary. Only want air-cooling.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? Already have 22" LCD
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? This week / order parts this week
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc. Only *required* decent on-board sound.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? Yes, Windows XP Pro

The parts I need are:

  • Motherboard with PCIe graphics slot, decent onboard sound. No overclocking or frills' needed -- just solid/stable one that would allow a CPU upgrade and RAM upgrade in the near future. Please no Asus recommendations as I have been burned too many times.
  • Intel CPU -- Dual core, entry level
  • RAM DDR2 or DDR3, whichever is more cost effective.

Here is the goal:
Entry level web browsing / light 3D & RTS gaming PC that can be upgraded in stages over the next year. He wants to spend as little as possible now, and upgrade in 'stages' over the course of the next year. More Ram maybe in a few months, followed by GPU, then followed by CPU.
 
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First, DO NOT reuse the TruePower 2.0 power supply. The long story short is that Antec's TruePower 2.0 and SmartPower 2.0 line have a history of dying randomly and often. It a risk that you shouldn't carry over to your new system.

Second, there are a series of questions listed in the sticky called "Asking for build help?" that you need to answer. Though you have answered a few of those questions, we still need more details.
 
tiraides said:
First, DO NOT reuse the TruePower 2.0 power supply. The long story short is that Antec's TruePower 2.0 and SmartPower 2.0 line have a history of dying randomly and often. It a risk that you shouldn't carry over to your new system.

Second, there are a series of questions listed in the sticky called "Asking for build help?" that you need to answer. Though you have answered a few of those questions, we still need more details.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your input on the Antec power supply. I agree and understand that this is not the best PS out there. What I have is a new / refurbed RMA that I will use for the build. It is not in my budget to get something better. Again though -- I truly appreciate your advice!!!

Also, I edited my post to answer specific questions from the 'Read Me'. Thanks for not being a rude about the 'rules' like some other posters are.

Thanks for your input.
 
To answer your original question:

$70 - Intel E5200
$85 - Gigabyte GA-EP43-UD3L
$40 - A-DATA 2x2GB DDR2 800 (free shipping)
=====
$195 - Subtotal (not including shipping or taxes)

I recommend getting the following parts, in addition to the above, to make your life easier:

$25 - Xigmatek HDT-S963 CPU cooler
$55 - Antec Earthwatts 430W PSU (free shipping)

I know that all of the above, purchased together, would bust your budget, but this is a decent Intel-based solution. However, Socket 775 is a dead-end path; but I don't have time to think of a decent AMD-based equivalent.
 
PrkChpXprss said:
Thank you for your input on the Antec power supply. I agree and understand that this is not the best PS out there. What I have is a new / refurbed RMA that I will use for the build. It is not in my budget to get something better. Again though -- I truly appreciate your advice!!!

Also, I edited my post to answer specific questions from the 'Read Me'. Thanks for not being a rude about the 'rules' like some other posters are.

Thanks for your input.
Click to expand...

When you say "Refurb," what do you mean? You RMA'd the original and Antec sent you another TP2.0 PSU? When did you get that RMA? All recent TP2.0/SP2.0 replacements have been with the new Earthwatts or NeoPower lines, so if you have a refurb TP2.0, it must be quite old. I believe even the refurb'd units were still notorious for failing prematurely, which could simultaneously take out your brand new parts along with it. You said you could spend $300 if necessary, and I would consider a new PSU necessary. Drop the Xigmatek cooler if you can't afford it, but I'd keep the EA-430 in the order.
 
AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core black edition Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103300&Tpk=kuma $65

GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128376 $75

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122 $43

$183 - Subtotal (not including shipping or taxes)
 
I concur with Enginurd and Tiraides: Do not reuse that Truepower 2.0 PSU. An alternative build:
$65 - AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 CPU
$75 - GA-MA770-UD3 AMD 770 Motherboard
$40 - A-Data ADQVE1B16K 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM
$55 - Antec Earthwatts 430W PSU
----
Total: $235 plus tax and shipping

The X2 7750 performs about the same as the E5300 but it does use significantly more power. However, you might get bit more of an upgrade path with an AMD setup rather than an Intel setup.

EDIT: Totally didn't see lt_shiro's build :)
 
how about this upgrade,

AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core black edition $64.99 + fs
GIGABYTE GA-M61PME-S2P AM2+/AM2 $49.99
Open Box: MSI N9600GT-2D512-OCv2 GeForce 9600 GT 512MB $63.75
CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified $59.99 - $20 mir + fs
Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $37.99
Total: $276.71 - $20 mir

or for $20 more grab the sapphire 4830

- not sure if that 7600gt will cut it in those games or anything new @ that 1680x1050 res.
- I have this ram oc'd to 4-4-4-12 @ 1.9v ands rock solid.
- like others said the psu is too important to gamble on.
- i did a build with this mobo and it was solid and booted up no worries.
- I also have this AMD Kuma cpu and it rocks through any game I have thrown at it Left 4 Dead, COD4, COD WaW etc.
GL!
 
Wow, I should go through my PC closet more often. I have a ton of stuff in there that is hard to give away (like scsi raid card, 10K scsi drives, etc). Maybe I can donate that stuff to the folding Horde.

Anyway, the good news (I hope) is that I have a brand-new-in-retail-box Antec Earthwatts 380 power supply. Has the newer style connectors and all. I forgot I never returned it when I built my son's system last year.

Is this a good choice / sufficient for the 'entry level' build? I'll tell my brother that he'll may need to upgrade the power supply when he upgrades his GPU. I don't have a problem with that and I don't think he will either -- I'm pretty much buying the parts for the upgrade ;)
 
Thanks guys for the alternative look at AMD. :)

I think I'm going to go Intel because I believe that (while the upgrade path for 775 is dead), there is more 'headroom upgrade' from the base dual core that was suggested. I had an AMD system running for years, so I still have love in my heart for AMD. I loved blowing the doors off of the early P4s :p
 
PrkChpXprss said:
Is this a good choice / sufficient for the 'entry level' build? )
Click to expand...

More than enough for the entry level :) As long as your bro knows that he would need to upgrade his PSU if he goes any higher than a 9800GT/HD4850 in terms of power usage, it's a-ok to use that Earthwatts 380W PSU.
 
Which suggestions? There were at least two calls for an Intel build and two more for an AMD build.

(In other words, tell us everything that you plan on buying from NewEgg.)
 
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