Building a budget comp for a friend of mine

[Shurakai]

Hey everyone, good to finally be apart of the forums
I've been planning a budget computer for a friend of mine for some time now, and i was hoping to get some other peoples opinions on it, oh and i know its AMD, Intel just aint cheap enough for this build, but anyway, onto the build:

CPU: AMD X2 4000+ LV
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-M52S-S3P
GPU: Sapphire X1950Pro
RAM: 1Gb Stick Corsair Value Select 667mhz
Case: A cheap one that comes with a 400w PSU

Comes to around roughly $600 Australian dollars (oh and my friend already has 2 hard-drives to use with this new computer)

Any advice on this build would be much appreciated, anyway, thanks in advance

 

[quickie]

welcome to the boards!

what is your friend planning to use this computer for? gaming, office apps/internet, a bit of everything?

I'd recommend more RAM (2x1GB) if that is still within budget.
The motherboard is ok. Nothing wrong with it though. But, personally, I'd go for a motherboard with a 690G chipset.

What kind of case/psu is this? The last thing you want is an el cheapo psu dying taking out half the components.

The X1950 is not a DX10 part, so depending on what games your friend plays (or is planning to play), it may or may not matter.

 

[Shurakai]

Thanks for the quick reply, i should of included that stuff in the first post
Well, he wishes to play games like Team Fortress 2 and Unreal Tournament 3 (im only worried about the cpu not being able to handle these) so its basically a pure gaming machine

Case & PSU
http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/show_...oduct_code]=AL-CX-7859&input[category_id]=221

Another friend of mine has had this case and PSU combo for a long time (nearing a year) not a single problem yet, and powers all the components just fine (little less powerful than this build)

 

[quickie]

UT3 is DX10. Although you can run it in DX9c mode (not sure of the quality though).

I'm sure your friend will want to run UT3 in all its glory. Unfortunately, if you want DX10, you'll have to get Vista. Which makes having 2GB of RAM even more important.

You'll need a DX10-class graphics card. Sadly, the X1950 (although it has a lot of raw processing power) is only DX9.

 

[Woah Mama!]

You can get two gigs of generic DDR2 for the price of that Corsair. The CoolerMaster TO5 or 534 are good sized and solid cases, should be able to find either with the dual 12V rail 430W PSU and 2x120mm fans as standard for between $80-120. You would be able to fit everything in that case for later upgrades and as I said, very solid. I'd not get a generic case, they will make your computer run too hot.
Save on your build by buying a cheap 8*** nVidia or 2*** ATi card. Is that website the only dealer you can by from down there?

 

[Shurakai]

Ah, well i reckon he will be happy enough with DX9 quality, as i currently only use Windows XP, so ive been playing the demo in that mode, it looks amazing, made my jaw drop when i saw some of the scenery. I'll take your advice on the 2gb of ram though

Thanks for the advice quickie

 

[Shurakai]

Hey thats a nice case, i never found that on Auspcmarket before... i need to look harder, excellent idea, im sure my friend could spare a bit extra for something that much better. Oh and sadly yes, this is the only store i'll be buying the parts from, as i get a 2% discount on everything, and free postage , so in the end it isnt much dearer than other stores

On the subject of graphics cards, the 1950Pro seems to be the best bang for buck atm (going by the recent benchmarks a reviews ive seen for UT3 and TF2), but i'll definitely re-consider the 2600/8600 series as they dont fall too far behind the 1950Pro

Much thanks for the advice Woah Mama!

 

[DrunkenMafia]

Hey man

Here is a quick system I put together for you. I have used itestate before and they are pretty good. The frieght is a little slow because they use fastway couriers... But they are pretty good.....

This system comes to $635 and is pretty kick ass...

Its DX10.... Its got 2gb geil ram..... Nice little coolermaster case.... Core 2... And a P35 mb....

 

[Shurakai]

Well thats pretty nice, but its actually more like $697 (with GST), and thats doesnt include postage... and theres a case in the order, and by experience that adds $10-$20 to the cost. Still, the price is damn good for those parts, wouldnt be able to find that price at Auspcmarket

 

[J-Man]

400 Watts PSU won't be enough. Get the Corsair HX 520W

 

[Woah Mama!]

The power supply will be ok for now, it'll just create a lot of heat and be straining under a decent game until your mate gets a better one. The best thing with the CoolerMaster cases that come with PSUs is that their PSU is good enough quality to use for some gaming but its not so hot and power hungry as a generic. IT also doesn't have the tendency to short out at any given time and take some of your computer with it.
I'm also not one to fuss about DX10 just yet but it will play a big part in games next year. I recommend the cheap 8*** and 2*** cards just because they are exactly that, cheap. You can save some money to get something else improved in your computer like a better board or CPU so that its a more long lasting component. You can always pull out your $90 vid card later on when you buy a good unit later.


Budget PCs never stay cheap forever. My original under $650 computer ended up costing me about $1900 in the long run.

 

[DrunkenMafia]

Well thats pretty nice, but its actually more like $697 (with GST), and thats doesnt include postage... and theres a case in the order, and by experience that adds $10-$20 to the cost. Still, the price is damn good for those parts, wouldnt be able to find that price at Auspcmarket

oooops

My bad mate, didn't even see that, so yeah, $700. You could go with cheaper ram and save yourself $40.

I reckon that psu would be fine with that setup. Its 460watts and coolermaster brand. Which is better than generic.

But Even so, that system would be shitloads better than the old amd you were lookin at getting. And Itestate isn't necessarily the cheapest place either mate. Have you tried using shopbot.com, or pricespy.com... they can be pretty useful too.

I agree with the frieght as well, if you buy a case locally you can save some cash there too. From memory the last time I ordered a case from them it was $30 postage to cairns in QLD.

Good luck with it though..

 

[DrunkenMafia]

400 Watts PSU won't be enough. Get the Corsair HX 520W

its 460watt bro. It should be fine for that system...

It may strain a little over time if he oc's like mad or has a lot of extras plugged in.

 

[hat]

2600xt... 8600gts... Dx10...

 

[Snipe343]

My build costed 600 USD and it ran the UT3 great that doesnt include the operating system cost tho. I dont know how much the currency there differs from usd

 

[DrunkenMafia]

My build costed 600 USD and it ran the UT3 great that doesnt include the operating system cost tho. I dont know how much the currency there differs from usd

There is a huge difference man between US and Aussie. No so much the conversion rate but the general price of pc parts over here... They are coming down which is good but are still much more than US.

 

[Shurakai]

Thanks for all your opinions mates, my friends a bit of an AMD man so im going to go with a 4400+, as itestate have those for $99, an amazing price, so, here is the build he likes atm

An 8600GT can play UT3 great eh Snipe343? Awesome, that and the Orange Box is pretty much all my mate wants to play (but as the 8600GTS at itestate is cheap, i'll go for that hehe)