Project: College budget rig

[bigboi86]

This will differ from most other projects, being as this is done as cheaply as possible, as I have no income right now.

AMD Sempron 3000+ $28.99 - bought
Biostar Tforce 6100 AM2 $41.99 - bought
Corsair XMS2 675mhz 4-4-4-12 1gb $34.99 - bought x2
COOLER MASTER Elite 330 ~$40
WD1600AAJS 160GB ~$52 - bought
FSP Group AX400-PN ~$47 - bought
DVDRW ~$35 - bought

Total: ~$400 something

I know the CPU could be a brisbane, but I'm trying to cut down the cost as much as possible, I'll get a brisbane later on after I rip off the IHS of this sempron and play with it for a while. I kind of want to see what I can make a 30dollar CPU perform as. In the past I've done awesome stuff with cheap processors.

I'm getting a single stick of ram so I can upgrade to 2gb dual channel later on. I picked the Biostar motherboard because of the bang/buck, it will eliminate the need for me to buy a video card right now, though I do plan on getting a decent performing card later on.

Hopefully this project will show people that you don't have to spend thousands to have a decent running, highly upgradeable, and overclockable system.

If anyone knows of any better deals than I listed, feel free to input. I have only bought the botherboard so far. Any other comments are welcome too.

 

[Jimmy 2004]

Sounds like a good plan - leaves the door open for upgrades later on. Sempron 3000+ FTW (if it's a 90nm then it should overclock nicely), mine doesn't actually perform too bad.

The worst thing is probably the integrated graphics.

Edit: and you should consider getting 2x512MB ram sticks to have dual channel until you upgrade (buy two more 512 sticks then, or if it would work two 1GB sticks) - just that little bit of extra performance.

 

[bigboi86]

The worst thing is probably the integrated graphics.

I agree, but I wont be using integrated graphics for long . In the meantime it will still allow me to game with like Bf1942 or WoW, maybe even BF2 on lowest settings.

 

[bigboi86]

Changed the motherboard to Biostar Tforce 6100 AM2, known to go up to 425HTT

 

[bigboi86]

Just bought the rest of my system.

Would post a SS of newegg but this computer doesn't have paint!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136075

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104953

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106075

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145573

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824009074

Total of $339.77

So that makes:

Semporn 3000+ manila
Biostar Tforce 6100 AM2
2gb Corsair XM2 DDR2 675 4-4-4-12
160gb Sata Western Digital SE
Fortron Power Source 400watt PSU
Acer 17" DVI/VGA 8ms LCD
Lite-on DVD burner

Still have to get a Coolermaster Elite 330, but I seen a better deal at CompUSA than on newegg(scary right?), only because I'm saving money on shipping though, and it's still only like a 5dollar difference.

After I get this thing built, a few weeks down the road I'll be getting a nice video card, don't know which one yet though. I'm stuck between a x1950GT and a 7900GS. You wont see me going a cheap DX10 route.

Just thought I would update this thread as I'm pretty excited to get to be on AM2 finally and play with overclocking DDR2. Been a while since I've had my 939 rig, and I'm starting to miss having a decent performing computer(or one at all).

I'll be doing some mods to the cooler master case so that should keep some people interested in the build.

 

[Sovereign]

Congrats on your budget build!

Regarding the onboard Geforce 6100, from a person who actualy owns a TForce 6100 AM2, I can tell you for a fact that BF2 at the very lowest settings is possible but I guarantee you'll soon become quite frustrated as things will look like your playing from an Atari 2600.

Also, the TForce 6100 is quite an OCable board, especialy for a micro board but the one thing it lacks is voltage control over the memory. It has very basic voltage settings which do not go above 2.1v so if you are using any sort of performance memory, like my Ballistix Tracers for example, providing the extra volts to these sticks for OCing is out of the question. As soon as I took my sticks above their stock DDR2-800 speed, things became unstable. I wasn't even able to move past DDR2-850 before the system failed to POST.

Anyhow, do yourself a favor and get yourself a $30 Geforce 7300LE (The 7300LE is just a downclocked GS and is not the crappy TurboCache version or whatever. They can definitely be made to run @ GS speeds and they are cheap) or something like that on eBay to compensate for the onboard, that is until you finaly move up to something a bit more powerfull on the dedicated end. That'll at least let you game @ 1024x768 with medium settings or better.

 

[bigboi86]

Well, like I said I'm going to get a x1950GT or 7900GS soon, I think I can deal with onboard long enough for that. I'm sure it will play WoW easily at least.

Oh, and there is a jumper on the mainboard for 2.2v, I guess that's the max it will dish out though without a voltmod. Hmm... Hopefully this thing OCs well.

 

[Sovereign]

Well, like I said I'm going to get a x1950GT or 7900GS soon, I think I can deal with onboard long enough for that. I'm sure it will play WoW easily at least.

Oh, and there is a jumper on the mainboard for 2.2v, I guess that's the max it will dish out though without a voltmod. Hmm... Hopefully this thing OCs well.

THERE IS!?!

Please tell me where because I must of missed something durring installation! This would be huge for me if this is true!

 

[bigboi86]

THERE IS!?!

Please tell me where because I must of missed something durring installation! This would be huge for me if this is true!

It's up at the top right part of the board. It shows it in the manual, I can't remember if it's right next to the dimm slots or what. I remember it being up at the top right though for sure.

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1966

Yep, see it up at the top to the right of the DDR2 slots? In the 2-3 position it gives your DDR2 2.2v. It's in the manual if you wanna grab it off their site.

ftp://ftp.biostar-usa.com/manuals/TFORCE 6100 AM2/TFORCE6100AM2.pdf

 

[Sovereign]

I have no idea how I missed that!

Thanks much for the links, especialy to the manual since I can't seem to find my original any longer... This will definitely make my Tracers much more happy!!!

I'll be doing some mods to the cooler master case so that should keep some people interested in the build.

Definitely keep us informed! I'm interested how well that sempy does in a TForce.

 

[bigboi86]

I have no idea how I missed that!

Thanks much for the links, especialy to the manual since I can't seem to find my original any longer... This will definitely make my Tracers much more happy!!!



Definitely keep us informed! I'm interested how well that sempy does in a TForce.

Glad I could help I always read up on products to know the absolute limit I can push them. I can't wait to get the rest of everything in, newegg just shipped it all. I will take pictures and do mini-reviews for each product, if I can find someones digital cam to use.