Super Cheap Build - Advice Needed

S

Scotty

Weaksauce
Joined
Apr 23, 2009
Messages
72
1) What will you be doing with this PC?
Lots of video (would like to be able to play 720p video), light gaming (WoW in 1680x1050)

2) What's your budget?
$300-$350 w/tax+shipping

3) Where do you live?
California

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
Everything, I do have some spare parts from my old computer, however they are outdated

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
3 IDE Drives; DVD, DVD-R/RW, 200 GB HDD
Also have an EVGA GeForce 7900GS KO, but could probably do with an upgrade even w/my low budget

6) Will you be overclocking?
No

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Acer AL2016W (20" Widescreen LCD, No DVI)

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
1-2 Weeks (ASAP)

9) What features do you need in a motherboard?.
Just the basics

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Yes, XP/Vista/Win7


My previous desktop stopped working last week, and is too old to invest any more money into, so I'm looking for a cheap temporary fix so-to-speak here. This would be my first attempt at putting my own PC together. I've replaced parts before and took my previous computer apart and put it back together last week trying to revive it, so I've got a little bit of experience with this stuff. There are still some things I could use some advice on; mainly Power Supplies and Graphics Cards. Like I stated above, I do have the card from my last computer, however I know extremely little about GPUs and which (if any) of the cheap-o ones out there would be better than what I already have. With power supplies I understand that the total wattage doesn't necesarrily mean much, but everything else I've read doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me as I know nothing regarding electronics.

Here's a list of possible components, I've put together quite a few over the past few days, this being the most recent..

CPU/Case: AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz & Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

MOBO: PC CHIPS A15G (V1.0) AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

RAM: Kingston HyperX 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model KHX6400D2/2G - Retail

PSU: Antec earthwatts EA430 430W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.0 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

HDD: Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM

GPU: ASUS EN8400GS SILENT/HTP/512M GeForce 8400 GS 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

TOTAL: $344.12 (incl. $26.23 Tax & Free Shipping)

I'd love some advice here as I'm just looking for the cheapest compilation of parts possible to achieve my needs.
 
Reuse your 7900GS KO: It'll be faster than the 8400GS. The 7900GS would be faster than the onboard video of the 780G as well. Speaking of mobos, don't go with PC Chips: They're well known for low-quality POS parts. Mobo wise I recommend spending the cash for this better quality mobo:
$65 - Asus M3A76-CM AMD 760G uATX AMD Motherboard

Also to cut costs a bit, get the PSU and HDD from Amazon.com since they don't charge us CA residents tax:
$50 - Western Digital WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$55 - Antec Earthwatts 430W PSU

If you come into some extra cash and/or really want a GPU upgrade over your current 7900GS, I recommend this GPU as a minimum upgrade over the 7900GS:
$64 - VisionTek 784090022400 Radeon HD 3850 512MB PCI-E Video Card
 
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First off thanks for the replies, they helped. After looking a little more on Amazon it looks like I can get almost all the components from there and not have to pay tax or shipping, so I think I'm gonna do that. The only exception might be the CPU+Case combo on Newegg just because I can't find a nice case on Amazon that would be around $50.

So here's the updated list of parts (while reusing my old GPU):

AMAZON
$50 PNY XLR8 4GB 2x2GB Dual Channel Kit DDR2 800 MHz
$53 Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L S-Series
$50 Western Digital Caviar Blue 320 GB
$55 Antec Earthwatts 430 Watt Power Supply ATX12V
___
$207.96 (No tax/shipping)

NEWEGG
$99 Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case & AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz
___
$107.10 (w/Tax & Free Shipping)

So the grand total comes to $315.06, which is just about what I was initially aiming for. Not going all the way up to $350 will save me some money and should I decide once I put it together that my 7900GS KO isn't cutting it I will probably be able to upgrade there as well. Any thoughts? Does this list look OK? I'm guessing that since the same PSU was recommended on Amazon that that unit will be a good fit here?
 
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Umm, dude that mobo won't work with the CPU you chose.

If you really want to keep that mobo, you will have to use an Intel CPU. The Intel E5200 is equal to the AMD Athlon X2 7750+ CPU. Case wise, check out these Coolermaster Cases:
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master...ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1240617720&sr=1-4
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master...ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1240617720&sr=1-5
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master...ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1240617720&sr=1-6
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master...f=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1240617720&sr=1-11
 
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Danny Bui said:
Umm, dude that mobo won't work with the CPU you chose.
Click to expand...
Hah, don't know how/why I added that board without looking at it closer, total brain fart. I think it was just there incorrectly under AMD on Amazon and I didn't look any further than that. :eek:

I looked at the Intel equivalent you mentioned and in addition to a slightly cheaper case, I can pull that off for basically the same price. I looked at the cases you linked however I also saw the Cooler Master Elite 330 ATX Mid Tower for just $41, plus it looks a little better IMO. Is there something wrong with this case that I don't see?

Jospeh said:
I'd probably save up another 100$ or so if possible and plop a decent graphics card in there(HD4850 or 4870 if you can afford it). Then you could probably game fairly well.

Also http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227420
37(with shipping)$ for 4gb if you don't mind the rebate.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'll keep your recommendations in mind when I can afford a new card, which should just be a month or so down the line. As for the memory, I'm getting everything else off Amazon, so I'd prefer to do it in one order. Plus I've had bad luck with MIR's in the past.
 
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Danny Bui said:
Umm, dude that mobo won't work with the CPU you chose.

If you really want to keep that mobo, you will have to use an Intel CPU. The Intel E5200 is equal to the AMD Athlon X2 7750+ CPU.
Click to expand...

its equal to a lot more then that when you overclock the crap out of it. 3.33ghz can be done on any cheap board with a VID mod, its really a simple mod to do. for less then $100 board and chip combo, there isnt a better value right now- nothing even close.

and with video cards under $100 that can play any game at max settings with reasonable resolution, you can build a gaming tower that will play any game high settings for less then $400.
 
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spacetrader said:
its equal to a lot more then that when you overclock the crap out of it. 3.33ghz can be done on any cheap board with a VID mod, its really a simple mod to do. for less then $100 board and chip combo, there isnt a better value right now- nothing even close.
Click to expand...

Since the op isn't planning on overclocking, the stock speed of either the E5200 or X2 7750 will be enough.

@ Scotty
That case you selected is a good choice. Go for it if you want.
 
Well, it's not that I'm against overclocking, just assumed with my budget it wouldn't be a good idea due to lower quality parts. Looks like my Motherboard mistake could turn into a blessing. I think I'm going to go with this setup, probably either later tonight or tomorrow. Thank you all for the advice, it's very much appreciated.
 
If you would like to maintain the small form factor for use with the Gigabyte mATX motherboard, also consider this small case.
 
Probably a good idea going with the smaller case as I don't plan on using all the space in the normal mid towers. Do you guys think that 341 is better than the Cooler Master Centurion 541? If not, I prefer the Centurion's appearance, although I read it apparently flips the mobo for some reason.

I'm also thinking that as recommended before, it'd be better to split up the order some. I'm thinking of getting the memory from NewEgg (OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB) to save a few bucks and the WD 320GB HDD from either ZZF or together with the rest on Amazon. The only reason I'd do ZZF is I read on here that they apparently package OEM drives better than other online shops. It'd only be a buck or two more than Amazon due to the CA tax.

Also, I'm thinking of going with the PC P&C Silencer 370 over the Antec earthwatts 430.
 
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From personal experience, the CM Elite 341 supports more fans than the Centurion 541. The Elite 341 has one slot in the front, one in the rear, and two on the side, and they all support 120mm case fans. (The case also comes with one 120mm fan that attached to the rear slot.) The Centurion 541 flips the motherboard so that the air coming from the front-mounted fan cools the CPU (in theory) first.

Yes, ZZF packages its hard drives much better than NewEgg. In addition to using packing peanuts, the HDDs are encased in foam.
 
Scotty said:
The only reason I'd do ZZF is I read on here that they apparently package OEM drives better than other online shops. It'd only be a buck or two more than Amazon due to the CA tax.
Click to expand...
Actually Amazon.com packages their drives just as well as ZZF. Hell it's slightly better IMO since Amazon.com ships drives in thick cushy foam.

Scotty said:
Also, I'm thinking of going with the PC P&C Silencer 370 over the Antec earthwatts 430.
Click to expand...

Go with the Earthwatts 430W. It has more power than the PC P&C Silencer on the +12V rail.
 
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ok you can get it all with free shipping from newegg =)

X2 7750 kuma + antec 300 combo deal + free shipping $98.94
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $42.99 + fs
Antec earthwatts EA430 430W $54.99 + fs
GIGABYTE GA-MA74GM-S2 AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX $54.99 + fs
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB $54.99 + fs
Total: $306.90

add in your 7900gs and you should be fine for a while.

Edit: for $15 more I would grab this mobo instead, 4 ram slots vs 2, full atx some more room for expansion slots(or for more than single slot gpu)
 
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