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$600

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by best49erfan, 18 Oct 2006.

  1. best49erfan

    best49erfan What's a Dremel?

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    Next month I am planning on spending $600 dollars. I am thinking on upgrading my PC. Here is the hardware that I will keep:

    Case
    KB/mouse
    Monitor
    Hard drives
    DVD ROM
    DVD RW

    What I want to upgrade:
    CPU: AMD
    MOBO: Would like Crossfire compat incase I decide to upgrade to that
    Memory: Would like at least a Gig
    Video: A decent one that would run Half Life 2 decently, prefer ATI, does not have to be crossfire
    Power Supply: A good one to support the above.

    I would also like to get all this from one site in the US prefer newegg or zipzoomfly. Thanks in advance!
     
  2. Stuey

    Stuey You will be defenestrated!

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    We need more info. For example, if you have 4 IDE HDs 2 IDE opticals, you can't get a mobo with only two IDE channels.
     
  3. best49erfan

    best49erfan What's a Dremel?

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    i have 2 hdd and 2 optical
     
  4. DougEdey

    DougEdey I pwn all your storage

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    Can you give us more information? Are they SATA? SCSI? IDE? USB???
     
  5. Stuey

    Stuey You will be defenestrated!

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    That was an example. We need MORE info that that.

    Types of HDs, chassis form factor, Intel vs. AMD, etc.

    You have to do *some* work yourself. If not, just get a Dell. We build out own PCs for the fun of it and/or we're obsessive about configuring our machines EXACTLY as we want them. Nowadays, you can get a Dell for a lot cheaper than otherwise.

    Also do you have an OS? If not, and you want Windows, it'll cost you $100, or you can always run a RC1 or RC2 of Vista, but that's not really recommended. If you get a Dell machine, you get your OS, and a coupon to upgrade to Vista.
     
  6. Austin

    Austin Minimodder

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    :thumb: If you can afford it I'd suggest going Intel C2D (ideally 6400 but 6300 okay), Asus or Gigabyte P965 chipset mobo, 2x512MB DDR2-800. For gfx try to budget in a 7900GS, X1950Pro, 7950GT, 7900GTO or X1900XT_256MB. For PSU look for 400-500W of a decent mid-range brand (like Sparkle, Hiper, Tagan etc - plenty of PSU posts).

    :D If that exceeds your budget you could opt for Athlon64 (pref X2 dual-core) meaning Socket AM2 (DDR2) or 939 (DDR) in order to keep a good gfx card like those listed above. IMHO you're better off with A64+7900GS than C2D+7600GT (or A64+X1950Pro versus C2D+X1600XT). 939 is phasing out but enables you to use/reuse basic DDR400 whereas AM2 has the best longevity of all current sockets.
     
  7. best49erfan

    best49erfan What's a Dremel?

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    They are all ide. I am doing some work, i just have not built or upgraded a pc in a long time and wanted some opinions.
     
  8. pillow

    pillow What's a Dremel?

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    what parts you have now. if ur going to be keepin parts we have to know were ur coming from what parts you have. an old s939 system with and agp 6800gt will run hl2 at very good framerates. so wat parts do you have. uve been around long enough to learn some of the basic facts.
     
  9. Bbq.of.DooM

    Bbq.of.DooM Custom User Title

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    CPU: AMD
    MOBO: Would like Crossfire compat incase I decide to upgrade to that
    Memory: Would like at least a Gig
    Video: A decent one that would run Half Life 2 decently, prefer ATI, does not have to be crossfire
    Power Supply: A good one to support the above.

    I would recommend C2D, but if you want AMD, what I suggest is:

    MSI k9A xpress3200: About $130
    AMD X2 4200+: $180
    Enhance ENS5150 at ewiz.com: $70
    1gb DDR2 667 = ~90

    I'd recommend an X1900GT, but that's a bit more than your budget allows.
     
  10. best49erfan

    best49erfan What's a Dremel?

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    i have an old p4 1.6 w/ 1gb of pc133 ram (eww) for video, i have a gforce 2 mx 400 64mb ram. psu: 350w standard.

    i know the basics of how to build one, i just wanted some opinions on what to get.
     
  11. Gravemind123

    Gravemind123 avatar not found

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    My AMD recommendation for AMD would be: The same Bbq.of.doom.

    If you don't really need crossfire or AMD, you could get a decent Core2Duo system without Crossfire, or a better AMD system with single GPU only.
     
  12. best49erfan

    best49erfan What's a Dremel?

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    I dont want to get crossfire cards yet, just the ability to upgrade to crossfire when i want to get some gpus for that.
     
  13. best49erfan

    best49erfan What's a Dremel?

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    link please
     
  14. Bbq.of.DooM

    Bbq.of.DooM Custom User Title

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    wheeeeeeeeeeee

    Good power supply. Quiet, high efficiency, reletivly inexpensive, and great regulation.
     
  15. best49erfan

    best49erfan What's a Dremel?

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    thanks a lot
     
  16. best49erfan

    best49erfan What's a Dremel?

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  17. Gravemind123

    Gravemind123 avatar not found

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    I think you did a pretty good job, although you will find that the x1600 is a very weak graphics card, and eventually you will need another GB of ram, but otherwise it looks pretty good.
     
  18. best49erfan

    best49erfan What's a Dremel?

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    thanks. Keep in mind that I am stepping up from a 64mb video card that is not even DDR. I also do not play many PC games. I really want it to try out the XNA Game Studio Express. I can always add more ram later.....and I think I will eventually upgrade to a SATA drive.
     
  19. Austin

    Austin Minimodder

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    :confused: If you're hoping to o/c the X2_3800+ (considering an average o/c around X2_4600+) you may want to check that MSI ATi Xpress mobo is up to the task of hitting at least 240HT and more ideally 270+. The X1600Pro is severely hampered by having HALF the memory bandwidth of the X1600XT which itself struggled against the 6600GT (let alone 7600GT, 7900GS or X1950Pro). Of course you don't need any super-duper 3D card but given how much faster the X1600XT is (let alone other cards) it's well worth investing that tiny little extra. Most people would suggest you go for any brand other than Powercolor too. Finally 1 stick of RAM will halve your CPU/mobo memory bandwidth which is likely to hurt you with dual-core. If that's anyhting more than just for the very short term I'd strongly advise 2x512MB with the option of moving to 4x512MB as and when you need more (although you'll take a little perf hit with 4 sticks at least you won't take a big hit by running only a single stick).
     

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