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Old Sep 17, 2008, 08:08 AM   #1
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Low budget build

Well, its my second proper build, and I'm on a budget; $265.
With this, I plan on building a gaming PC.
I am getting $105 + 8600 GT + 320 GB HDD (which is broken but works) by selling my Dell to a friend, and I already have $90.
My main supplier for parts will be MSY, the Newegg of Australia. Their site may look a bit shifty, but I've been there before and its all good.
http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/msy.htm (click the PDF Best Parts List)

So far, I'm pretty sure of what parts I'm getting, except for the motherboard.
CPU: Intel C2D E1200 - $45
RAM: 2 GB DDR2-800 Kingston RAM - $49
Graphics: Galaxy 8600 GT 512 MB - $40 (second hand)
HDD: 320 GB HDD, with a kind of broken SATA port that has the cable soldered to it... - $30 (for being broken)
Case: SHAW Xtreme-550 - $39
PSU: Either the 550 SHAW or my friend's PSU
DVD Drive: Free, probably.

So, with the prices all added up I have $62 (maybe more) to spend on a motherboard.
I plan to buy that from MSY as well, so what ever is on the price list that is less than $65 I can buy: which one would be best for overclocking? I only need one PCI-E slot, but I'd prefer 4 RAM slots for future upgrades.
Also, any suggestions on alternative parts sourced from the internet would be nice.
I plan to overclock the hell out of these parts (ignore the fact that I'm using a stock Intel cooler), so it will go VROOM!
All help is good!
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Old Sep 17, 2008, 08:12 AM   #2
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can i just recommend something - dont fall into the trap of just buying right now and going super budget on everything, why not save up and get a really decent system? I mean an 8600GT isnt really going to cut the mustard in the future, is it?

Just consider saving this money, and then getting something a little better
 
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Old Sep 17, 2008, 08:13 AM   #3
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can i just recommend something - dont fall into the trap of just buying right now and going super budget on everything, why not save up and get a really decent system? I mean an 8600GT isnt really going to cut the mustard in the future, is it?

Just consider saving this money, and then getting something a little better
 
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Old Sep 17, 2008, 08:16 AM   #4
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But I want a fast computer NAOW!!

Dont worry, I'll be happy with this PC for the next year or so, then I'll sell it and get a PROPER one.
I'm considering maybe one of the Gigabyte motherboards (abbreviated to G-B for some reason), but the Asus ones looks good as well.
Would all that stuff be compatible with an Asus P5N motherboard?
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Old Sep 17, 2008, 08:18 AM   #5
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But you wont be getting a fast computer, just an all right one

If you really must spend and spend now ( i have the same problem haha, i have to be really strict to say no sometimes ) then do get an ASUS board, you wont be dissapointed.
 
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Old Sep 17, 2008, 08:32 AM   #6
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i agree with kyle
this build wont go "VROOM" even if you overclock it. It'll be putt putting along
save some more money and get yourself an e7200 or even e5200, better ram(corsair, crucial, ocz etc etc) and an 8800gt or better
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Old Sep 17, 2008, 08:35 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCrisis View Post
i agree with kyle
this build wont go "VROOM" even if you overclock it. It'll be putt putting along
save some more money and get yourself an e7200 or even e5200, better ram(corsair, crucial, ocz etc etc) and an 8800gt or better
a HUGE +1 on that - you could even grab an E8200 and overclock the nuts off it like tatty has, he gets 4Ghz stable out of that thing!

And, being an 8800GT owner myself, i can vouch for the card and proclaim that it is one of THE best nvidia cards ever released - a GTX beater for half the price, and with them coming down as low as £80 here, you cannot go wrong - even slapping two in for SLI is a golden setup.

Please think about it mate! dont want you building this thing up then being dissapointed so long down the line!
 
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Old Sep 17, 2008, 08:49 AM   #8
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I'd say go for it. It will be a nice upgrade. And you wont be dissapointed, as it seems you know the gaming performance will be limited. But it's a HUUUUGE step up from what you have now.

And as for the motherboards: The MSI P35 Neo-F or Gigabyte P31-DS3L. I don't know how the Neo-F overclocks, but the GA one seems to be a decent overclocker.

On a sidenote, here's a quick review I found on the Neo-F:

Quote:
I have used plenty of these in builds and for myself, Very Stable, very fast, very compatible with memory & AMD AM2 CPUs.
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Old Sep 17, 2008, 08:52 AM   #9
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I'll have a look on the net for suggested motherboards, see which one suits my needs.
I have 2 main reasons as to why I want this PC:
1) I'm sick of the slooooooow P4 that I currently have (just look at the specs in my stats).
2) Money of this quantity does NOT come by me very often; I dont have a job (yet), I probably wont have one for a few months (hopefully less than that), and I wont be playing very demanding games on it; just Half Life 2, Halo 2, stuff like that.
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Fourth Rig: Dell Optiplex 170L, P4 Prescott 2.8GHz, 512MB DDR266RAM, 80GB HDD, FX5200PCI 128MB, 250W PSU,XP Pro
Fifth rig (Laptop): Dell Inspiron 4000, 14.1", PIII 850MHz, 384MB RAM, 9.3GB, XP Pro. Now with passive cooling!

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Old Sep 17, 2008, 09:03 AM   #10
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In the case of money / job issues, go for it! like frick said, it will be a huge step up, and you wont regret it. When you get a job, you can then, but only if you want to, start doing a more up-tp-date upgrade.

Tell us how you get on!

Im off to school now
 
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Old Sep 17, 2008, 09:26 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Error 404 View Post
Well, its my second proper build, and I'm on a budget; $265.
With this, I plan on building a gaming PC.
I am getting $105 + 8600 GT + 320 GB HDD (which is broken but works) by selling my Dell to a friend, and I already have $90.
My main supplier for parts will be MSY, the Newegg of Australia. Their site may look a bit shifty, but I've been there before and its all good.
http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/msy.htm (click the PDF Best Parts List)

So far, I'm pretty sure of what parts I'm getting, except for the motherboard.
CPU: Intel C2D E1200 - $45
RAM: 2 GB DDR2-800 Kingston RAM - $49
Graphics: Galaxy 8600 GT 512 MB - $40 (second hand)
HDD: 320 GB HDD, with a kind of broken SATA port that has the cable soldered to it... - $30 (for being broken)
Case: SHAW Xtreme-550 - $39
PSU: Either the 550 SHAW or my friend's PSU
DVD Drive: Free, probably.

So, with the prices all added up I have $62 (maybe more) to spend on a motherboard.
I plan to buy that from MSY as well, so what ever is on the price list that is less than $65 I can buy: which one would be best for overclocking? I only need one PCI-E slot, but I'd prefer 4 RAM slots for future upgrades.
Also, any suggestions on alternative parts sourced from the internet would be nice.
I plan to overclock the hell out of these parts (ignore the fact that I'm using a stock Intel cooler), so it will go VROOM!
All help is good!
This is more change than budget build .
But for the money you got are good choices. E1200 is great overclocker it has low FSB so it will overclock in all motherboards, the 8600 will every game (except Crysis ) on High without AA and AF on 1024x768 and 1280x1024 some games so if you do not mind lower resolutions you have OK system.
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Old Sep 17, 2008, 09:35 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by r9 View Post
This is more change than budget build .
But for the money you got are good choices. E1200 is great overclocker it has low FSB so it will overclock in all motherboards, the 8600 will every game (except Crysis ) on High without AA and AF on 1024x768 and 1280x1024 some games so if you do not mind lower resolutions you have OK system.
Spare change, certainly.
I have plans for that 8600 GT though, involving (safe(ish) Volt-mods and heavy overclocking.
I'm not expecting super-spifical POWAH, but compared to my Dell it will be a whole new level of performance.
I'll certainly try to go for the Gigabyte G31 board, if my parents give me $13.
Thanks for the suggestions, I'll let people know how I get along in the Overclocking section!
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Fifth rig (Laptop): Dell Inspiron 4000, 14.1", PIII 850MHz, 384MB RAM, 9.3GB, XP Pro. Now with passive cooling!

“I could make a better looking computer case with a bucket of Lincoln Logs.” -lemode
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Old Sep 17, 2008, 09:36 AM   #13
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ok i give you some smart chose
1-got some good geforce mobo with geforce 8200 chipset , this mobo have haybard sli
2-got 8500gt not 8600 cuz 8500 can run sli with this mobo and you got free sli with good performance you have now more than 8600gts or maybe reach 8800gs
and i give you other option
if you want game pc there is something better and more performance sure which is amd chose
1-got amd 780g mobo like gigabyte 780g it is with hybard crossfire just like geforrce but this one with ati 3200 it is give 2000 3d mark06 score this it written on the mother board

2-go for ati card my advice to you this is best card under 100$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161219

3- got some amd x2 cpu like this one or if you spare more got something high x2 but this one under 50$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103221

well come
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Old Sep 17, 2008, 09:38 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frick View Post
I'd say go for it. It will be a nice upgrade. And you wont be dissapointed, as it seems you know the gaming performance will be limited. But it's a HUUUUGE step up from what you have now.

And as for the motherboards: The MSI P35 Neo-F or Gigabyte P31-DS3L. I don't know how the Neo-F overclocks, but the GA one seems to be a decent overclocker.

On a sidenote, here's a quick review I found on the Neo-F:


I work in the PC shop we sell mostly MSI they are rock solid. About overclocking all reviews are complaining about bios isues bit I don`t now I use P31 MSI E2180 @ 3.2 not bad for that cheap mother board it costs half the price of P35. Or P6N sli that is the price round P35 maybe sheaper I tried that board with E7200 it goes rock solid 3.8 GHz and when I read reviews that reviewers can`t do any overclocking on MSI Platinum board I`m questioning the reviewers. These overclocks are done with the cheapest memory in the world with 20$ PSU(450w) and they are testing with 200$ PSU and memory and can`t overclock. I personaly thing that they should sell donats.
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Old Sep 17, 2008, 09:57 AM   #15
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@ hayday.master: my budget will not allow for anything more than bargain-basement parts, and MSY doesn't have any bargain-basement AMD CPUs, and I can't afford a $100 graphics card or a good motherboard; I am also not interested in SLI, because when I do upgrade it'll be an almost completely new PC.

@ r9: I'll consider the MSI motherboard as well, it depends mostly on what the store has in stock at the time.
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Old Sep 17, 2008, 11:06 AM   #16
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whatever you do, DO NOT BUY A SHAW POWER SUPPLY. They are THE worse power supply made, period. Here is the last thread I saw with someone getting SHAW, please read the whole thing.

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=67568


Shortly after that thread, I got this PM from valkarie

Quote:
hi BarbaricSoul

i just want to thankyou for your help with my Psu problem, you were correct in saying that the Psu was no good, goes to show that whats on the surface isnt always what you get inside, i replaced the SHAW 860W with a ANTEC 850W and now im getting 16000 on the 3dmark 06 and playing crysis on high with no problems.
(dont have to worry about the big bang) LOL

thankyou again for your help..
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Old Sep 18, 2008, 06:38 AM   #17
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Hah, I already know about the SHAW power supply issues, I'll almost certainly use my friend's PSU (which he's not using) instead.
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Old Sep 18, 2008, 06:57 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Error 404 View Post
@ hayday.master: my budget will not allow for anything more than bargain-basement parts, and MSY doesn't have any bargain-basement AMD CPUs, and I can't afford a $100 graphics card or a good motherboard; I am also not interested in SLI, because when I do upgrade it'll be an almost completely new PC.

@ r9: I'll consider the MSI motherboard as well, it depends mostly on what the store has in stock at the time.
my friend this is sli on mother board not two card , mean the builtin card on mother board work as sli with the 8500gt it is a free sli , only you nedd is 8500gt and geforce mother board 8200 chipset, and you got more performance than 8600
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