Budget Computer...

[[JiF]Sly Gambit]

Thanks for bringing that up--that is another question I had.

So, when allocating funds, is the priority mother board, CPU, RAM, graphics card?

Do some motherboards come with integrated sound? Would I want one of those?

Thanks again for the help...

My priorities were MB, CPU, GC, Case, RAM, HD. I figured the last thing I wanted to upgrade was the MB since everything else I bought would have to connect to it. I ended up getting an ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe MB 2 years ago and can still upgrade with relatively new stuff today - tho it's starting to show it's age with CPU selection. RAM was important but 2 gigs is 2 gigs and is easily upgradeable. The Hard Drive was almost an afterthought for me. If you have the funds go with a better graphics card but if you can eBay then there isn't a huge cost to upgrading that.

If you're not big on sound then having a MB with an integrated SC is nice but I don't think it's that important. You can pick up a working card for $30 and good gaming card for $70 at Newegg so it's not necessarily worth the premium.

[[JiF]Sly Gambit]

Not sure how much it'll help but here's what I got in January of 06 w/prices:

From NewEgg:

Track 1 EVGA 256-P2-N515-AX GeForce 7800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130247 $295.00
Track 1 NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A - OEM
Item #: N82E16827152058 $39.75
Track 1 ENERMAX Liberty ELT500AWT ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817194003 $109.99
Track 1 AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 2.2GHz Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3700BNBOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103539 $245.00
Track 1 Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition With SP2 - OEM
Item #: N82E16837102059 $89.95
Track 1 GIGABYTE 3D AURORA GZ-FSCA1-ATB Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811233003 149.99
Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822144417 $103.00
Track 1 OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K - Retail
Item #: N82E16820227210 $236.44

From ZipZoomFly:

1 x (247022) Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe nForce4 SLI Athlon 64(FX)/Athlon
64 X2/Sempron Skt939 DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio, Dual Gigabit LAN,
RAID/Serial ATA Retail ***Free 2nd Day*** @ $239.99

I've since added more memory, a sound card, a 22" monitor, and speakers.

[[JiF]Lonewolf]

I'll see what I can pull together for ya today. I might be able to set you up with an item or two that I have new for less then what you can buy it for. I have 3 reviews I need to finish up today so it might be sometime this evening before I can get something posted.

[[JiF]Lonewolf]

Here is what I have come up with.

ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131011

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Processor $87.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103773

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory $88
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145034

XFX PVT88PYDF4 GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card $269.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150252

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $69.99 (your pick)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148262

I have several 6xxW Power Supplys and may even be modular that will let you have for $100 or less. Will have to look to see what I have when your ready.

Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD $111.99 (your pick)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6832116202

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $59.99 (your pick)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811119137

LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM IDE DVD Burner $24.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827106049

That comes to a total of $982.93 before shipping.

You can drop down to a slower CPU if you want to save a little but I picked a good midrange one. The video card is the new 8800GT which will play anything you want. You could go with a cheaper video card but for the money I would go with the 8800GT and if you wait a few weeks till they release the other versions of the 8800GT you might be able to get it even cheaper. The PSU's I have are all new and still under warranty and depending on which one I find to work the best for you I can make you a good deal on it.

You can tweak all of that to bring down the price or if you wait till after the first of year you could get some betters deals as all of the new stuff will be coming out then and the prices on this stuff will drop.

[[JiF]Batman]

Thanks a bunch Lonewolf, much appreciated!

[[JiF]Lonewolf]

Not a problem. I know it might be a little more then you expected but you shouldn't have to upgrade for at least 2 years unless you just want to upgrade. I'll keep an eye on things to see how the prices and whats new coming out to help the prices go down.

[[JiF]Sly Gambit]

Here's a good thread that gives you prices on the different 8800 GTs if you end up going that route. I prefer eVGA for their service FWIW. Had a friend who RMId his 7800 twice and eventually ended up getting a 7900 from them w/o any hassle.

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread ... 0&t=642018

I usually buy everything from Newegg because of the service and teh ability to get 6 months no interest but there's your options. Nothing else to add from Lonewolf's excellent post except that now I want a new computer. Bastard.

[[JiF]Lonewolf]

Here's a good thread that gives you prices on the different 8800 GTs if you end up going that route. I prefer eVGA for their service FWIW. Had a friend who RMId his 7800 twice and eventually ended up getting a 7900 from them w/o any hassle.

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread ... 0&t=642018

I usually buy everything from Newegg because of the service and teh ability to get 6 months no interest but there's your options. Nothing else to add from Lonewolf's excellent post except that now I want a new computer. Bastard.

LOL, go out and get a new one Sly your the only one stopping you from it.

eVGA is a good company but I have had better dealings with XFX. I had a fan go out about 3 weeks ago on my 2yr old XFX 7800GT and RMAed it back to XFX and they replaced it with a new 8600GTS. I sent them back an email and told them it was nice of them to replace it with such a nice card but it screwed me in my SLI setup. They sent me back an email with an RMA # for my other 7800GT so they could swap it out for another 8600GTS to get me back into SLI. I should have my other card by the middle of next week. I figured they would have replaced my card with a 79XX somthing never expected to get an 8600GTS back and also never expected them to swap out my other good 7800GT for another 8600GTS. I have had XFX replace a card with the same one before and they also replaced one that was air cooled with one that had a water block on it since the rest of my PC was WC. I have no complaints at all with XFX.

I have a friend that is a programmer for MS and he told last night that he was working on some new code for Vista to come out in an update to work with some new cards that is suppose to be released before the end of the year and should cause the price of all the current cards to drop but that is his speculation on the pricing.

[[JiF]Sly Gambit]

LOL, go out and get a new one Sly your the only one stopping you from it.

Heh. Gotta finish off paying my tab from my last round of Newegg stuff before I get more. Besides I'm wasting money on furniture and appliances right now so it's hard justifying new gear. But I'm sure I'll buy myself a nice x-mas / birthday present soon.

[[JiF]Batman]

Hey Lonewolf...if you happen to check this thread, you've got a PM (actually 2, because I was not sure if it worked)

[[JiF]Lonewolf]

Hey Lonewolf...if you happen to check this thread, you've got a PM (actually 2, because I was not sure if it worked)

I replied back to ya.