yes, another budget build thread...LOL

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nobody_here

[H]F Junkie
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Feb 1, 2006
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Here's the situation.

I use this PC mainly for picture and movie editing so Firewire is preferred on the mobo (unless the Firewire port on the Audigy 2 sound card i have will work just as well...not sure what it is good for or if it functions as a normal IEEE1394 port??

also used for general surfing, email, etc.....

I plan to run Vista.

I also will be using the media functions of Vista with my networked in 360 to view/stream video and pictures to my HDTV across the network

I am looking at selling my current setup, mobo, cpu, memory, which should bring $200-$250 roughly based on recent past sales on fleabay (as bad as i hate to sell there, there's no way i would get that much on a private party sale here)

now, i already have a EVGA NF-41 939 motherboard (free) that i can use, so for $200-$250 i could get a higher end 939 CPU (if i can find one) and 1 gig of DDR memory (already have 1 gig)

OR

it looks like i could get a E4500 Core 2 Duo CPU for $129 and a Asus P35 mobo for $100 roughly, and then it looks like DDR2 memory goes for as little as $50 for 2 gigs now....but then i would likely want to OC it a little so a new PSU would also be in order

i could also do some purchasing here instead of Newegg/ZZF/TD, etc... and save some money on the CPU/Mobo/Memory maybe.....

so keeping all the above in mind, is it really worth spending the little extra for the Core 2 Duo system for what i am going to be doing, or would the 939 setup do just as well for much less cost?

i am attempting to do an even swap as far as money goes and still get good Vista performance in what i use it for

thanks
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103543

actually that 4200+ at $63 looks like it will work great for the intended useage

add 2x512Mb DDR memory for $68....

so the system would consist of a EVGA NF41 mobo, Opteron 175 dual core CPU, 4x512Mb DDR memory, and probably a ATI HD2600XT after i sell this 7600GT AGP card

should run Vista and do what i want to do quite nicely for about zero out of pocket dollars
 
What's your total budget? Even swap? So your budget is whatever you get for your old parts?!?!?!?

Yes, the Core2Duo would outperform the 4200+ X2, even if both were OC'd.

You could actually get:

$120 - E4500
$86 - Abit IP35-E ($20MIR)
$57 - 2GB DDR2-800
======
$263 - $20MIR

If thats too pricey, then yes, I'd go for the X2 4200 and OC it with an Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro.
 
enginurd said:
What's your total budget? Even swap? So your budget is whatever you get for your old parts?!?!?!?

Yes, the Core2Duo would outperform the 4200+ X2, even if both were OC'd.

You could actually get:

$120 - E4500
$86 - Abit IP35-E ($20MIR)
$57 - 2GB DDR2-800
======
$263 - $20MIR

If thats too pricey, then yes, I'd go for the X2 4200 and OC it with an Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro.
Click to expand...

thanks, yeah, thing is, my power supply is not going to handle anything other than a minor 200-300Mhz overclock i think....it's 12v rail drops when i do any overclocking right now on this old P4 3.06Ghz Northwood from 12 to 11.65v....and i really dont want to do much if any overclocking, going for a cool running stable system with no headaches

basically i have what i get for my old parts to work with, want to do an even swap without investing any more money into it, i've already got a CNPS7500CU-LED HSF to go on it

honestly, with what i do i think the 4200 X2 will be plenty and wont require any more money invested
 
What PSU do you have? I'd sell all your parts, including that Zalman, and see how much I end up with, then go from there. Socket 939 has been dead for almost a year, so I really wouldn't suggest going that route unless you don't want to sell everything.
 
enginurd said:
What PSU do you have? I'd sell all your parts, including that Zalman, and see how much I end up with, then go from there. Socket 939 has been dead for almost a year, so I really wouldn't suggest going that route unless you don't want to sell everything.
Click to expand...

i forget...and cant tell by looking

found it in my newegg order history

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817159062

when i bought it, it was to power a very old weak Celeron system with onboard VGA and sound, extreme budget, never planned to push it, and i see why already

as far as the Zalman, i broke the clip, Zalman is dragging their feet, so i am basically about to have to buy a HSF AGAIN to get this running before i have to leave town, my wife needs it running, not apart on the table

the 939 motherboard is free, a EVGA NF41 SLI board, the CPU i already ordered, $69 for a Toledo X2 4200+, and the memory i already have is 2x512Mb Geil Ultra Platinum PC4400 memory, good stuff and near impossible to find now and ready for overclocking if i choose to

just sold my used Asus P4C800 Deluxe motherboard for $125 + shipping so it paid for the CPU and probably now a HSF...again.....

bah!
 
f-it, just ordered a AC Freezer 64 Pro from Newegg for $19.95 + shipping....guess i'll try the Zalman when i get the clip and sell one of them....LOL
 
Danny Bui said:
I say get a new PSU. Coolmax makes some pretty crappy power supplies form what I've read.

Here's a pretty good quality PSU:
XCLIO Goodpower 500W PSU - $50
Click to expand...

yeah, i will, i know all about using crap PSU's....i just never meant to get this much back into computers....i thought i was done, sold off all my nice stuff and had to start from nothing

but not too bad so far

started with a free Celeron system and by selling parts and upgrading and looking for deals, i went from that crappy Celeron system with onboard video and sound to this 4200+ X2, EVGA NF41 board, 2x512Mb PC4400 memory, HD2600XT vid card system and will have spent exactly, maybe $75-$100 out of pocket
 
nobody_here said:
the memory i already have is 2x512Mb Geil Ultra Platinum PC4400 memory, good stuff and near impossible to find now and ready for overclocking if i choose to
Click to expand...

Which is why I suggested you sell it. I'm pretty sure you could get $100+ for it on ebay, and 2GB of DDR2-800 is only $57. But since you already bought the CPU, just OC it instead, lol.
 
enginurd said:
Which is why I suggested you sell it. I'm pretty sure you could get $100+ for it on ebay, and 2GB of DDR2-800 is only $57. But since you already bought the CPU, just OC it instead, lol.
Click to expand...

but why? (that cheap DDR2 for $59 is not going to perform as well as this high end DDR, DDR2 is not automatically better) theres basically going to be zero real world benefit for me if i did that, because that would mean i had to buy a AM2 or Core 2 motherboard (remember i already have a motherboard that is free), and then the CPU

you say 939 is dead (i agree), i say this 939 system will work 100% just as well as a "newer" AM2 system or Core 2 system and costs less to build for my application, the only thing i had to buy was a CPU for $69, everything else can be used again

not to mention, by the time i upgrade again, people with the older 939 systems will be paying top dollar for a high end 939 board, DDR memory, and CPU, etc...etc.....thus boosting resale value
 
nobody_here said:
but why? (that cheap DDR2 for $59 is not going to perform as well as this high end DDR, DDR2 is not automatically better) theres basically going to be zero real world benefit for me if i did that, because that would mean i had to buy a AM2 or Core 2 motherboard (remember i already have a motherboard that is free), and then the CPU

you say 939 is dead (i agree), i say this 939 system will work 100% just as well as a "newer" AM2 system or Core 2 system and costs less to build for my application, the only thing i had to buy was a CPU for $69, everything else can be used again

not to mention, by the time i upgrade again, people with the older 939 systems will be paying top dollar for a high end 939 board, DDR memory, and CPU, etc...etc.....thus boosting resale value
Click to expand...

Like I said, you could have sold all the parts, including the free mobo, for an even better system with the same out of pocket expense. It was just another option you had open to you that most people wouldn't think about. It would have been a good idea to sell because those old parts could still bring it great money. Sure, there's minimal improvement of DDR2-800 over DDR-400, but there's still an improvement. The sheer speed increase outweighs the lower latency of DDR. Its not the RAM alone that improves overall performance, but the CPU as well. So the cheap DDR2-800 paired with a cheap Core2 OC'd would still outperform a 4200+ OC'd with some low latency DDR.

I agree. In fact, the AM2 system would only offer better CPU choices. As far as comparing AM2 vs S939 (with equal clock speeds), its been proven that there isn't any improvement with the move to DDR2. But I was merely mentioning the scenario that would get you the most money for a Core2 system.

Yah, I hope I'll be able to sell my s939 parts later down the road for a great price, too, just as I've sold some great s478 parts for more than what I paid for them, lol.

I'm not sayin you made a bad decision. I'm merely finishing my thought process from the other posts. Like I said, since you already bought the CPU, just OC it. Its still good enough for 99% of today's apps/games.
 
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