Cheap $700 Build

balls · Jul 13, 2007, 07:54 AM

So I'm finally getting a new computer which I hope will bring me up to date with some more recent games (I've been playing Wolfenstein for the past 2 years). I didn't want to spend that much money, and I'm not looking to make an OMGWTF1337 machine. So anyways, here are the parts I have picked out. Any comments or suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks.

EVGA 122-CK-NF63-TR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188019

EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130085

Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 Allendale 2.0GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115014

Patriot eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820220144

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822148140

RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811156062

Operating System will be Windows XP SP2. Not quite ready for Vista, but when I am, I'll be set with a DX10 card.

I already have a sound card I'm reusing from my current system, in addition to my optical drive.

Thanks again.

Sovereign · Jul 13, 2007, 08:30 AM

Heres a good quality AMD alternative (just thought I'd mention this in all fairness to both partys and not to appear as a fanboi of just one side - also, this setup should compete with a more expensive E6600 setup and be future compatible with AMD's Phenom):

ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard + AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX - Retail Combo Special - Great motherboard coupled with Intel's E6600 equivelant and current competition

Sapphire Technology Limited 100208L Radeon HD 2600XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail - equal in performance to a 8600GT and no need for a MIR

Patriot eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) - didn't change/same memory, good price and excellent bang for the buck value with this memory

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD - Same as above...

APEVIA X-CRUISER-BK/420 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 420W Power Supply - Retail - Better quality case for the same price but this pretty much is a personal taste choice area so...

Anyhow, thats a decent AMD/ATi alternative just for you to keep in mind. Nothing wrong with the C2D setup you chose and no real need to switch.

hv43082 · Jul 13, 2007, 08:34 AM

If you game, might want to consider better vid card than that.

balls · Jul 13, 2007, 08:43 AM

Thanks for the advice, and I think I might go through with a better card.

Sovereign · Jul 14, 2007, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by balls

Thanks for the advice, and I think I might go through with a better card.

Good idea! At minimum, I'd recommend an 8600GTS or a GDDR4 based HD2600XT. Have you decided on which direction you'd like to go as far as the main setup is concerned?

Ketxxx · Jul 14, 2007, 10:16 AM

If you go the AMD path the M2N isnt the greatest choice, the Crosshair is the muts nuts and really is no other alternative, stable, reliable, and fast. Stock or OCd.

balls · Jul 14, 2007, 05:47 PM

I'm gonna go Intel I believe, but I'm gonna do the GTS as well.

mrw1986 · Jul 14, 2007, 06:10 PM

The Smilodon blows away anything Apevia has to offer...I own both cases

SlipSlice · Jul 15, 2007, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by balls

So I'm finally getting a new computer which I hope will bring me up to date with some more recent games (I've been playing Wolfenstein for the past 2 years). I didn't want to spend that much money, and I'm not looking to make an OMGWTF1337 machine. So anyways, here are the parts I have picked out. Any comments or suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks.

EVGA 122-CK-NF63-TR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188019

EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130085

Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 Allendale 2.0GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115014

Patriot eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820220144

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822148140

RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811156062

Operating System will be Windows XP SP2. Not quite ready for Vista, but when I am, I'll be set with a DX10 card.

I already have a sound card I'm reusing from my current system, in addition to my optical drive.

Thanks again.

that is a very good 700 dollar build there, and i think u will enjoy it, plenty of power, u will be able to run crysis pretty well if u are wanting to play that game.. I don't know if u could max it, but u would be damn close with a decent res.

tkpenalty · Jul 15, 2007, 09:51 AM

Some changes that would do you a LOT better.

"Downgrade" the motherboard to something like a Gigabyte GA 965P DS3 Rev 3.3, and Upgrade the CPU to the E4500; it will do you MUCH better, overclocking etc.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128012

However with the GPU, reconsider... its very weak and we arent going to be using DX10 for a while. And you DONT have vista.

freaksavior · Jul 15, 2007, 05:18 PM

honestly i would ditch the patriot ram, i've always been told it's crappy ram

now http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231087

it's a tad bit more but if you overclock, you will have much better luck with this than the patriot

edit: unless you want to go sli, i would go the ds3 mobo instead as well

PuMA · Jul 16, 2007, 10:05 AM

I wouldn't go for the 8600 either...

theres some nice dx9 cards cheap ATM.

If u go with ATI get crossfire board and u can use the old dx9 card as a physics card in the future

Jul 13, 2007, 07:54 AM	#1
balls Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 18 (0.01/day) Thanks: 2 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Cheap $700 Build So I'm finally getting a new computer which I hope will bring me up to date with some more recent games (I've been playing Wolfenstein for the past 2 years). I didn't want to spend that much money, and I'm not looking to make an OMGWTF1337 machine. So anyways, here are the parts I have picked out. Any comments or suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks. EVGA 122-CK-NF63-TR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188019 EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130085 Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 Allendale 2.0GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115014 Patriot eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820220144 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822148140 RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811156062 Operating System will be Windows XP SP2. Not quite ready for Vista, but when I am, I'll be set with a DX10 card. I already have a sound card I'm reusing from my current system, in addition to my optical drive. Thanks again.

Jul 13, 2007, 08:30 AM	#2
Sovereign Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Midwest USA Posts: 717 (0.31/day) Thanks: 50 Thanked 65 Times in 51 Posts System Specs	Heres a good quality AMD alternative (just thought I'd mention this in all fairness to both partys and not to appear as a fanboi of just one side - also, this setup should compete with a more expensive E6600 setup and be future compatible with AMD's Phenom): ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard + AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX - Retail Combo Special - Great motherboard coupled with Intel's E6600 equivelant and current competition Sapphire Technology Limited 100208L Radeon HD 2600XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail - equal in performance to a 8600GT and no need for a MIR Patriot eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) - didn't change/same memory, good price and excellent bang for the buck value with this memory Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD - Same as above... APEVIA X-CRUISER-BK/420 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 420W Power Supply - Retail - Better quality case for the same price but this pretty much is a personal taste choice area so... Anyhow, thats a decent AMD/ATi alternative just for you to keep in mind. Nothing wrong with the C2D setup you chose and no real need to switch. __________________ [SOVEREIGN'S uATX HTPC : OPTERON 1216 @ 2.8Ghz] [CURRENT STABLE OC : *3.0Ghz & 2GB MEM] [POWERED BY* : AMD/ATI \| CRUCIAL \| nVIDIA™] PCs are a lot like air conditioners - they both work great until you open up windows!

System Name:	"The Gateway Donation"
Processor:	Mobile AMD Turion 64 ML-34, 1975 MHz (9 x 218) (1MB L2)
Motherboard:	MSI K8N Neo3-FSR (3 PCI, 1 PCI-E x16, 1 AGR, 2 DDR DIMM)
Cooling:	Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 PRO + Various 80mm Case Fans
Memory:	1024 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM, Hynix & Nanya Chips)
Video Card:	MSI HD2600XT 256MB GDDR4 Diamond OC Edition PCI-E x16
Hard Disk:	Maxtor 6E040L0 (40 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133)
Optical Drive:	MATSHITA DVD-RAM SW-9585 (16x DVD+RW + RAM, ATA/66)
CRT/LCD Model:	Princeton LCD1950 19" 8ms Digital LCD (1280x1024 @ 75Hz)
Case:	Gateway (2000) Beige P150 ATX MidTower Case
Sound Card:	Aureal Vortex 2 SQ2500 "SuperQuad" Audio
PSU:	HEC Orion 500 watt ATX Power Supply
Software:	Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 w/ SP2
Benchmarks:	SuperPi 1M @ You don't even want to know! ;)

System Name:	Desktop / MacBook Air 13 / The new ipad
Processor:	Intel Core i5 2500K
Motherboard:	Asus P8P67 Pro
Cooling:	Noctua NH-D14
Memory:	Samsung 30nm 4x4 GB DDR3-1866
Video Card:	670 GTX x 2
Hard Disk:	OCZ Vertex 3 240GB SSD + 12TB storage
Optical Drive:	LiteOn Light Scribe burner
CRT/LCD Model:	3 x Crossover 27Q LED-P 7680x1440
Case:	Lian Li PC-80NB
Sound Card:	Asus Xonar DX + Logitech Z5500 + Ultrasone Pro 650
PSU:	Corsair AX1200
Software:	Window 7 Ultimate x64

System Name:	"The Gateway Donation"
Processor:	Mobile AMD Turion 64 ML-34, 1975 MHz (9 x 218) (1MB L2)
Motherboard:	MSI K8N Neo3-FSR (3 PCI, 1 PCI-E x16, 1 AGR, 2 DDR DIMM)
Cooling:	Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 PRO + Various 80mm Case Fans
Memory:	1024 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM, Hynix & Nanya Chips)
Video Card:	MSI HD2600XT 256MB GDDR4 Diamond OC Edition PCI-E x16
Hard Disk:	Maxtor 6E040L0 (40 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133)
Optical Drive:	MATSHITA DVD-RAM SW-9585 (16x DVD+RW + RAM, ATA/66)
CRT/LCD Model:	Princeton LCD1950 19" 8ms Digital LCD (1280x1024 @ 75Hz)
Case:	Gateway (2000) Beige P150 ATX MidTower Case
Sound Card:	Aureal Vortex 2 SQ2500 "SuperQuad" Audio
PSU:	HEC Orion 500 watt ATX Power Supply
Software:	Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 w/ SP2
Benchmarks:	SuperPi 1M @ You don't even want to know! ;)

Jul 13, 2007, 08:34 AM	#3
hv43082 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Orange County, CA and Miami, FL Posts: 1,237 (0.51/day) Thanks: 42 Thanked 95 Times in 73 Posts System Specs	If you game, might want to consider better vid card than that.

Jul 13, 2007, 08:43 AM	#4
balls Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 18 (0.01/day) Thanks: 2 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Thanks for the advice, and I think I might go through with a better card.

Jul 14, 2007, 10:16 AM	#6
Ketxxx Eligible for custom title Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Kingdom of gods Posts: 6,380 (2.42/day) Thanks: 35 Thanked 580 Times in 412 Posts System Specs	If you go the AMD path the M2N isnt the greatest choice, the Crosshair is the muts nuts and really is no other alternative, stable, reliable, and fast. Stock or OCd. __________________ WARNING: I am cracking down on stupidity in the forums. Anyone caught making a dumb statement clearly not knowing many, if any of the facts, will promptly be directed to xtremesystems. Sig edited. If anyone wants to know about the E4400 (E7200 sold) drop me a PM

System Name:	Prowler. V5.
Processor:	Q8400 @ 3.6GHz 450FSB (testing)
Motherboard:	P5Q Pro w\ my custom BIOS
Cooling:	CPU: CNPS 9500, VGA: VF900, RAM: XTC Cooler, Rest: 1x80mm LED, 2x 120mm LED, 1x 40mm LED, 1x 135mm
Memory:	2x2GB Transcend aXeRam PC2-8500
Video Card:	2x XFX HD4830 512MB
Hard Disk:	Maxtor DM10 NCQ, 16MB cache, SATA 250GB (WD Black 640GB ordered)
Optical Drive:	Pioneer 112DSV 18x dual DVD-RW, Lite-On 16x DVD combo
CRT/LCD Model:	22" LG Flatron W2242S
Case:	Unique
Sound Card:	Asus Xonar DX 7.1 PCI-E
PSU:	Hi-Power 800W Modular. 3.3 & 5v rails 30A, 4x 12v rails @ 20A each.
Software:	Windows 7 x64

Jul 14, 2007, 05:47 PM	#7
balls Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 18 (0.01/day) Thanks: 2 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I'm gonna go Intel I believe, but I'm gonna do the GTS as well.

Jul 14, 2007, 06:10 PM	#8
mrw1986 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Wallingford, CT Posts: 1,997 (0.90/day) Thanks: 122 Thanked 338 Times in 260 Posts System Specs	The Smilodon blows away anything Apevia has to offer...I own both cases __________________ Visit TechFuzion.net My Heatware

System Name:	Teh Pew Pew
Processor:	Intel i5-2500k 5ghz @ 1.41v
Motherboard:	ASRock P67 Extreme4 Gen3
Cooling:	XSPC RayStorm, BIP III, MCP655 w/ Alphacool Plexi Top, EK-Multioption RES X2 100 Basic
Memory:	2x8gb Patriot Viper 3 DDR3-1600
Video Card:	Asus GTX570 DCII 1280mb
Hard Disk:	1x Plextor PX-256M3 SSD, 2x WD 320gb SATA II (RAID 0), 1x WD 750gb SATA II, 2x Samsung 1TB SATA II
Optical Drive:	LG 20X Super-Multi DVD/CD Burner
CRT/LCD Model:	Dell U2312HM 23" LED Backlit IPS
Case:	Cooler Master HAF 932 Black Edition
Sound Card:	Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional
PSU:	Corsair HX620W
Software:	Windows 8 Professional x64

Processor:	AMD ATHLON 64 SAN DIEGO 3700@2.42GHZ
Motherboard:	ASUS A8N5X
Cooling:	1X80MM CASE FAN, 1X80MM CPU FAN, 2X120MM FANS(ONE TAKING AIR OUT..OTHER FOR HARDDRIVE
Memory:	1.5 GIG, DDR400 CORSAIR
Video Card:	eVGA 7900GS KO
Hard Disk:	160GIG WESTERN DIGITAL 7200RPM
Optical Drive:	NEC BURNER: CD/DVD DRIVE/BURNER
CRT/LCD Model:	Acer 22' Widescreen
Case:	ROSEWILL CASE 5600 SERIES..2 BLUE LED CASE FANS
Sound Card:	SOUND BLASTER LIVE 24 BIT!
PSU:	SPARKLE 400 WATT
Software:	WINDOWS XP HOME EDITION..its gr8/LOTS OF GAMES

Jul 15, 2007, 09:51 AM	#10
tkpenalty Eligible for custom title Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Australia, Sydney Posts: 5,023 (2.07/day) Thanks: 412 Thanked 361 Times in 266 Posts System Specs	Some changes that would do you a LOT better. "Downgrade" the motherboard to something like a Gigabyte GA 965P DS3 Rev 3.3, and Upgrade the CPU to the E4500; it will do you MUCH better, overclocking etc. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128012 However with the GPU, reconsider... its very weak and we arent going to be using DX10 for a while. And you DONT have vista. __________________ AMD Radeon X1950~HD4000 Support Clubhouse “Mac: "Woah, what are you doing?" Mac says as he levitates in the air. PC: "Playing Half-Life 2, this is my gravity gun." Mac: "Well I can sort of do that." PC: "Technically Mac, you have to become me first."” -From_Nowhere

System Name:	Tkpenalty's\Tkpenalty's Secondary
Processor:	Intel Core 2 Duo Q9300\Intel Core 2 Duo E2160
Motherboard:	GA P35 DS3P\Gigabyte GA P31 DS3L
Cooling:	Xigmatech HDT S1283, Accelero S1, HR-05\Thermalright Ultrra 120, AcceleroS1
Memory:	6GB (2x1GB, 2x2GB) DDR800\2x1GB DDR667 Kingston
Video Card:	Gigabyte 8800GT 512MB Ultra Durable 2\X1950PRO Extreme 256MB
Hard Disk:	Seagate 7200.11 500GB SD1A\WD800
Optical Drive:	2xLG GSA H6N
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung SyncMaster2243BW/17" LG Flatron L1750S
Case:	Antec SOLO\APEX PC-123
Sound Card:	ALC889\ALC888
PSU:	Corsair VX450\Coolermaster iGreen 600W
Software:	Windows Vista 64bit Ultimate/XP SP2

Jul 15, 2007, 05:18 PM	#11
freaksavior To infinity ... and beyond! Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: H-Town Texas Posts: 6,780 (2.88/day) Thanks: 1,031 Thanked 852 Times in 581 Posts System Specs	honestly i would ditch the patriot ram, i've always been told it's crappy ram now http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231087 it's a tad bit more but if you overclock, you will have much better luck with this than the patriot edit: unless you want to go sli, i would go the ds3 mobo instead as well __________________ Heat My HTPC Guide freak's F/S thread Fill Out you sp here.

System Name:	0 Kelvin 5.0 / Server
Processor:	i7 930 \|\| Q6600
Motherboard:	EVGA Micro X58\|\| Asus Rampage Formula x48
Cooling:	Mugen2 \|\| Rocketfish
Memory:	6Gb Crucial Value 1800mhz\|\| 4gb Patriot SLI
Video Card:	2x Asus 5850CU 800/1200 \|\| ATI 6450
Hard Disk:	Intel 320 80gb SSD + 72.11 750Gb \|\| 3 x 2tb Sea + 2 x 500gb WD B
Optical Drive:	Samsung SH-S203N \|\| None
CRT/LCD Model:	2x Samsung 245BW \|\| Samsung 40" 650A
Case:	NZXT Rogue \|\| CM690
Sound Card:	Onboard \|\| ATI 6450
PSU:	8Silverstone DA800 \|\| Kingwin 1000w
Software:	7U x64 \|\| Windows 7
Benchmarks:	http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l294/freaksavior/Overclocking-1.png

Jul 16, 2007, 10:05 AM	#12
PuMA Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Finland Posts: 707 (0.28/day) Thanks: 10 Thanked 29 Times in 28 Posts System Specs	I wouldn't go for the 8600 either... theres some nice dx9 cards cheap ATM. If u go with ATI get crossfire board and u can use the old dx9 card as a physics card in the future

Processor:	lapped C2D e6850, 3600mhz
Motherboard:	ASUS P5N32-E SLI (680i SLI)
Cooling:	NOCTUA NH-U9, 3 2x120mm 1x180mm case fans
Memory:	6GB A-DATA vitesta DDR2 900mhz (2x1gb + 2x2gb)
Video Card:	LEASTEK GTX 260 (701/1408/1105)
Hard Disk:	SAMSUNG F1 640GB SATAII/SEAGATE 250gb SATAII
Optical Drive:	SAMSUNG writemaster SATA
CRT/LCD Model:	SAMSUNG 226BW 1680x1050 2ms
Case:	ANTEC three hundred
Sound Card:	ASUS SupremeFX, SONY surround AMP
PSU:	XION 630W
Software:	VISTA ULTIMATE x64
Benchmarks:	3dmark06:15126 (701/1408/1105) vantage: 11698

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