NEED A PC Put Together IN a 500 dollar budget

[zOaib]

all i need is

-- a cpu ( can be either intel P4(lga775) or amd 64)
-- MBoard
-- ram
-- hardrive
-- video card (pci express)


i have the rest , thx !!! ( please also provide links ) much appreciated all the help in advance thx !!!

 

[gygabite]

Is it a gamerPc or do you want to use it for bureau and working?

 

[zOaib]

Is it a gamerPc or do you want to use it for bureau and working?

games !!! (this build is for a friend)

 

[zOaib]

I HAVE FOUND THIS AS FAR YET , LET ME KNOW WHAT U GUYS THINK !!! THX

ASUS P5GD1-VM Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 915G Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - ($94)

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 SATA NCQ ST3120827AS 120GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - ($85)

CORSAIR XMS 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System - ($99)

Brand Intel
Series Pentium 4
Model BX80547PG3000F
CPU Socket Type
CPU Socket Type LGA 775
Tech Spec
Core Prescott
Name Pentium 4 630
Operating Frequency 3.0GHz
FSB 800MHz
L1 Cache 12KB+16KB
L2 Cache 2MB
Process Type 90 nm
Hyper-Threading Support Yes
64 bit Support Yes
Multimedia Instruction MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3
Voltage 1.25-1.388V
Cooling Device Heatsink and Fan ----------- ($180)

total is approx 450 dollars at this point ................... now all i need is a vga card in or around 150 dollars can go +30 dollars , can be a possibility ! (only if the card is worth that much) thx

 

[wtf8269]

A 6600 GT or x700 Pro both cost around $150 and are great cards for the money.

 

[bruins004]

Do yourself a favor and dont go with Intel if you are on a budget. You can get a better system if you go with AMD. Also, CompUSA and Circuitcity usually have their 160GB or 120GB on sale every now and then for $40. So there is some more money to save. Even 100GB is good enough for $40. I also just found a good deal on a GPU....Here is the stuff I found listed below:

EVGA GeForce 6800XT - $139 after mail in rebate (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130261)
AMD Athlon64 3200+ w/ MSI MSI K8NGM2-L NVIDIA C51G motherboard (1 PCI-E x16 slot) - $244.09 (http://www.smksuperstore.com/catalog/view.asp?ID=13833).

That brings your grand total to around $530. This system will be able to keep up for a while on top of that (unless there are any multi-processor games coming out soon which will prob. not happen for a while).

 

[zOaib]

Do yourself a favor and dont go with Intel if you are on a budget. You can get a better system if you go with AMD. Also, CompUSA and Circuitcity usually have their 160GB or 120GB on sale every now and then for $40. So there is some more money to save. Even 100GB is good enough for $40. I also just found a good deal on a GPU....Here is the stuff I found listed below:

EVGA GeForce 6800XT - $139 after mail in rebate (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130261)
AMD Athlon64 3200+ w/ MSI MSI K8NGM2-L NVIDIA C51G motherboard (1 PCI-E x16 slot) - $244.09 (http://www.smksuperstore.com/catalog/view.asp?ID=13833).

That brings your grand total to around $530. This system will be able to keep up for a while on top of that (unless there are any multi-processor games coming out soon which will prob. not happen for a while).

thx for the info n links , i am gonna draw my friend 2 pictures one with AMD and one with INTEL and let him go on about it ..............

 

[Jimmy 2004]

I'd say AMD too, generally more power for the same price. Obviously, if your friend is an Intel fan, let him have an Intel CPU.

 

[zOaib]

I'd say AMD too, generally more power for the same price. Obviously, if your friend is an Intel fan, let him have an Intel CPU.

thx for that input i am an AMD guy myself , well my first amd was a 3500+ amd 64 , and i upgraded from a p4 2.4 at that time , the diff was like night n day , and have never went back .............. i am asuming the amd 3200 is faster than a p4 3.0 even having a 2mb l2 cache ???

i am open for different complete setups than the one above mentioned , if someone can put some componenets together n tell me its optimal for price with performace , much appreciated thx !

 

[bruins004]

Hey,
I just stumbled across a better GPU for only $30 more. This is equivalent to a 6800GT which would be a nice boost opposed to the other one and its on sale for $169 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130267). Enjoy

 

[BSB_GRAVES]

A AMD 3000+ OC'd ($120 newegg/ebay/outpost) with a ATIx800pro ($175) (new quality power supply -$80) add a gig o' el-cheapo Muchkin 3200DDR ($84 outpost/newegg)
This combo will blow away whatever he's got now

mine plays BF2 at about 40fps @1200x1000 and CS: S at about 100fps

 

[trog100]

u can put together a decent performing system for $500.. but u can also pay $500 dollars just for a grfx card.. the grfx is the problem.. when u end up costing the other bits out then use whats left over under the total budget for the card.. u aint gonna get a very good one..

when u cost it all out then add the price of decent grfx card.. u go over budget.. i think he needs to think about spending a little more money.. locking yourself into a fixed $500 aint a good idea.. i know its a nice round figure but thats about all it is..

cost wise it all comes down to one single thing.. the grfx card.. how good does it have to be.. what does he expect for his $500.. ????

trog

 

[zOaib]

u can put together a decent performing system for $500.. but u can also pay $500 dollars just for a grfx card.. the grfx is the problem.. when u end up costing the other bits out then use whats left over under the total budget for the card.. u aint gonna get a very good one..

when u cost it all out then add the price of decent grfx card.. u go over budget.. i think he needs to think about spending a little more money.. locking yourself into a fixed $500 aint a good idea.. i know its a nice round figure but thats about all it is..

cost wise it all comes down to one single thing.. the grfx card.. how good does it have to be.. what does he expect for his $500.. ????

trog

he can go another 100 over the 500 limit , he just wants a PC which he can trod along to all LAN events he goes to , and play games well on it !

he doesnt want a shuttle pc made out of it , mid atx is whats on his mind !

 

[bruins004]

Hey Trog,
I agree with you completely.
However, I do have a decent idea.
I think you should wait to build this system for at least a month.
Let the new AMD M2 CPUs come out and the new GeForce 7900 come out.
This should make prices drop of the current AMD socket 939 processors and some of the GeForce GPUs.
Hence, 500 dollars might be able to go a lil further.
But if you want to build it right now I would go with a slightly difference setup than graves gave you.
Here is what I think (I know I did post this before, but prices have changed as they do everyday):
- I would go with at least a Athlon64 3200+ (Venice Core) for $169
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535). THis CPU can
be overclocked rather nicely too.
- Memory I would go with Corsair or OCZ. I found this Corsair XMS 1 GB which isnt priced
that bad (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145450).
- GPU I would go with nothing less than a 6800GS to tell you the truth. The reason with
that is bc if your friend wants this to last then you are going to at least need this. I also
wouldn't tell you to go higher since your GPU will be bounded by your CPU and RAM. Here
are two of them the XFX (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E
16814150118) and the Evga (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E
16814130267). The XFX is $5 more. I tend to buy XFX over EVGA usually.
- For a motherboard you could go with the MSI K8N since it is a good motherboard
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130491), but really any
939 pin set motherboard with a PCI-E slot is good.
- For a hard drive, CompUSA and Circuit City always has great deals on them (usually
Western Digital or Seagate EIDE Hard Drives). Dont waste your money of raptor drives
since they arent for a budget system. They always have them on sale for $40 (from
anywhere for a 100-160 GB). So look out for those (usually have them every week on
sale).
I have a question to ask now? I noticed you didnt need a PSU. What kind do you have? If it is a generic one I would recommend on getting a decent one (for this system you dont need a huge amount of wattage). So the total is $574. If you wait a month or 2 this system will prob. drop a lil so you wont have to spend that much (but it might not drop that much). Also, please also note that besides the new AMD sockets coming out, by the end of the year AMD will unleash a quadruple core CPU (which will be sick) for desktops, so if your friend can wait it out (which is a while lol), you could prob. get a dual core for cheaper. Good luck.

 

[trog100]

well now.. that makes the whole thing a lot easier..

there is only one other question does he want one that will overclock or just run as it comes.. this dont count the grfx overclocking cos thats taken for granted.. it just applies to mobo..cpu and memory...

games wise especially amd 64 bit system wise the the grfx card is the god nothing else matters..

cheapo mobo.. cheapo cpu.. cheapo memory.. cheapo everything.. expensive grfx card..

not super expensive grfx card just the right one.. i recon one of these..

PowerColor ATI Radeon X800 GTO16 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-055-PC)
Merging the blistering frame-rates of the enthusiast realm with the frugality of the mainstream is where the perfect blend of Hybrid lies, the next generation PowerColor RADEON X800 GTO16! Built upon industry acclaimed tech and tweaked to perfection is the moniker of any PowerColor product and the X800 GTO16 does not disappoint with it is 16 Pixel Pipelines and 256MB of onboard GDDR3 memory while utilizing a 256-bit memory interface. The only limit to the power you wield is your imagination and the hardware in your PC! Push your PC’s performance threshold and realize the true potential of PCI-Express and the PowerColor RADEON X800 GTO16!

- 400MHz GPU Clock Speed (Highly overclockable)
- 256MB 980MHz GDDR3 memory accelerates the latest cutting edge 3D applications (Highly overclockable)
- 256-bit quad-channel GDDR3 memory interface
- Sixteen pixel pipelines
- Six programmable vertex shader pipelines

###

tweaked to (atitool) 540 core and 600 memory it will give u over 6000 in 3dmark2005 even teamed up with the cheapest amd 64 set up u can put together..

trog

ps... interestingly that advert only two days ago contained the wording.. this product users the 480 core the same as used in the radion X850 XT PE.. to covers their back they seem to have removed that wording.. i think they do use the 480 core thow.. just that some of them might not have made the speed grade needed for a real xt pe 480.. which would have incuded a core that had a safety margin over and above the actual 540 xt pe core clock speeds..

 

[bruins004]

Thats not a bad choice either I must say. The only reason I didn't suggest that GPU was bc it was only about 30 dollars more for the 6800GS which is right now the best bang for the buck in the mid price range. Plus it didnt sound like he wanted to OC it which means that this card would last longer. But as I hear the GTOs are nice for OC. Also, if you want a low range GPU then I suggest either a 6600 LE or a x1300/x1300 pro? I dont know which one is better but they are both under $100. Trogg would you happen to know (not well versed in the low end GPUs only the high end).

 

[zOaib]

Hey Trog,
I agree with you completely.
However, I do have a decent idea.
I think you should wait to build this system for at least a month.
Let the new AMD M2 CPUs come out and the new GeForce 7900 come out.
This should make prices drop of the current AMD socket 939 processors and some of the GeForce GPUs.
Hence, 500 dollars might be able to go a lil further.
But if you want to build it right now I would go with a slightly difference setup than graves gave you.
Here is what I think (I know I did post this before, but prices have changed as they do everyday):
- I would go with at least a Athlon64 3200+ (Venice Core) for $169
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535). THis CPU can
be overclocked rather nicely too.
- Memory I would go with Corsair or OCZ. I found this Corsair XMS 1 GB which isnt priced
that bad (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145450).
- GPU I would go with nothing less than a 6800GS to tell you the truth. The reason with
that is bc if your friend wants this to last then you are going to at least need this. I also
wouldn't tell you to go higher since your GPU will be bounded by your CPU and RAM. Here
are two of them the XFX (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E
16814150118) and the Evga (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E
16814130267). The XFX is $5 more. I tend to buy XFX over EVGA usually.
- For a motherboard you could go with the MSI K8N since it is a good motherboard
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130491), but really any
939 pin set motherboard with a PCI-E slot is good.
- For a hard drive, CompUSA and Circuit City always has great deals on them (usually
Western Digital or Seagate EIDE Hard Drives). Dont waste your money of raptor drives
since they arent for a budget system. They always have them on sale for $40 (from
anywhere for a 100-160 GB). So look out for those (usually have them every week on
sale).
I have a question to ask now? I noticed you didnt need a PSU. What kind do you have? If it is a generic one I would recommend on getting a decent one (for this system you dont need a huge amount of wattage). So the total is $574. If you wait a month or 2 this system will prob. drop a lil so you wont have to spend that much (but it might not drop that much). Also, please also note that besides the new AMD sockets coming out, by the end of the year AMD will unleash a quadruple core CPU (which will be sick) for desktops, so if your friend can wait it out (which is a while lol), you could prob. get a dual core for cheaper. Good luck.

i think ill advise him about your setup u just posted and , lets see if he si patient enough , for the PSU i gave him my alienware 480w , which is a pretty good PSU so i think he will be using that !

 

[trog100]

the bottom line here is it only complicates things to try and be too specific.. prices change thing come and go.. and except the odd really must have.. everything else is much of a muchness.

i say amd cos amd is the best.. i say anything except the grfx cards dosnt matter that much..

could be a 754 socket could 939.. could be any make of mobo.. could be any lower end amd 64 could be any higher end sempron.. it really dosnt matter.. it will all do the job required of it.. the priority is it must be cheap.. mostly argueing which is the best of the cheap is a waste of time.. everyone will come up with their own oppinion..

i picked that grfx card cos it is special.. it isnt a low end card its a card that only a year ago would have cost as much as the total budget for the $500 PC.. its really an X850 XT PE board being sold off as a cheaper low range card with a single slot cooler on it.. another one would be the saphire gto2 but that would require a bios flash to get the full 16 pipes working..

the other option would be the 6800gs.. a little bit more expensive and it dosnt go as well..

anything less and u are on the edge of good gaming..

1 gig of oem type pc3200 memory.. nanya stuff is okay.. most of the oem boxes on the planet have nanya memory.. oem cos its cheaper and saves more for the grfx card..

abit ax8 via chipst board.. cheap (but not the cheapest) cos its via and clocks and performs as well as the best.. runs cooler than the nforce boards as well and dosnt need a fan on the chipset.. i have one myself..

cpu.. i would say the 64 3700 san diego core but it will go over budget so anything that fits the price and costs less.. i also have one of these..

the parts i quote are the basics for a top end machine but might not quite fit in budget.. the cpu will hit 2.9 gig faster than the stock FX57.. the abit ax8 board will take it there.. so will the nanya oem memory..

the card i mention will hit 6500 in 2005.. mine goes over 7000.. but 6500 is pretty much guaranteed

the basics for a cheap high performance rig.. but they might go over budget.. i aint familair with US prices for the said parts..

what gets spent on the other bits and bobs is how cheap they are.. 80 gig HD.. cheapo burner.. cheapo case.. u have the power supply it seems..

the AX8 board is worth buying cos it will let u get the most out of whatever cpu u stick in it.. but if it goes over budget find cheaper one..

i know the things i mention will go very well and cant be beat bang for buck.. just not sure if they fit in the overly tight budget..

as for overclocking.. well u dont have to.. but if few tweaks in windows gets your performance up by hundreds of dollars its hard to be against it.. he he

u could even beg borrow or steal a few bits to go with the bits u have to buy..

trog

 

[zOaib]

the bottom line here is it only complicates things to try and be too specific.. prices change thing come and go.. and except the odd really must have.. everything else is much of a muchness.

i say amd cos amd is the best.. i say anything except the grfx cards dosnt matter that much..

could be a 754 socket could 939.. could be any make of mobo.. could be any lower end amd 64 could be any higher end sempron.. it really dosnt matter.. it will all do the job required of it.. the priority is it must be cheap.. mostly argueing which is the best of the cheap is a waste of time.. everyone will come up with their own oppinion..

i picked that grfx card cos it is special.. it isnt a low end card its a card that only a year ago would have cost as much as the total budget for the $500 PC.. its really an X850 XT PE board being sold off as a cheaper low range card with a single slot cooler on it.. another one would be the saphire gto2 but that would require a bios flash to get the full 16 pipes working..

the other option would be the 6800gs.. a little bit more expensive and it dosnt go as well..

anything less and u are on the edge of good gaming..

1 gig of oem type pc3200 memory.. nanya stuff is okay.. most of the oem boxes on the planet have nanya memory.. oem cos its cheaper and saves more for the grfx card..

abit ax8 via chipst board.. cheap (but not the cheapest) cos its via and clocks and performs as well as the best.. runs cooler than the nforce boards as well and dosnt need a fan on the chipset.. i have one myself..

cpu.. i would say the 64 3700 san diego core but it will go over budget so anything that fits the price and costs less.. i also have one of these..

the parts i quote are the basics for a top end machine but might not quite fit in budget.. the cpu will hit 2.9 gig faster than the stock FX57.. the abit ax8 board will take it there.. so will the nanya oem memory..

the card i mention will hit 6500 in 2005.. mine goes over 7000.. but 6500 is pretty much guaranteed

the basics for a cheap high performance rig.. but they might go over budget.. i aint familair with US prices for the said parts..

what gets spent on the other bits and bobs is how cheap they are.. 80 gig HD.. cheapo burner.. cheapo case.. u have the power supply it seems..

the AX8 board is worth buying cos it will let u get the most out of whatever cpu u stick in it.. but if it goes over budget find cheaper one..

i know the things i mention will go very well and cant be beat bang for buck.. just not sure if they fit in the overly tight budget..

as for overclocking.. well u dont have to.. but if few tweaks in windows gets your performance up by hundreds of dollars its hard to be against it.. he he

u could even beg borrow or steal a few bits to go with the bits u have to buy..

trog

good points trog , i would settle for anythign less than a 3700 san diego myself , i am gonna let me know all these possibilities , i am sure he saved some money from his recent pay checks , its good i ahve been delayign him and he still has the 500 to start with , thx for the tips guys !

 

[zOaib]

well he got this from newegg.com

ASRock K8NF4G-SATA2 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157084

AMD Athlon 64 3400+ 800MHz FSB Socket 754 Processor - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103488

CORSAIR XMS 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145450

SAPPHIRE Radeon X800GTO2 100130VIVO Video Card - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102645

now all he needs is a heatsink+fan for his cpu , any suggestions , shouldnt be more than 30 bucks TOPS thx !

please do let me know what u guys think about the above configuration !

 

[bruins004]

The only thing I would change is the GPU. I would go with a 6800GS since you can get one for $170 easily and save some more money for your coolers

 

[zOaib]

The only thing I would change is the GPU. I would go with a 6800GS since you can get one for $170 easily and save some more money for your coolers

well i am guilty of pushing him towards ati + gto2 has 16pipes VS 6800gs 8 pipes ............. i guess ill have to sponsor him 10 - 15 bucks more to get his cooler then .

so what cooler do u guys suggest if u may give me like 3 choice

with price and performance ratio ............ cheaper the better ! =)

i dont think he will be overclocking that cpu right away !

 

[trog100]

the memory wrong.. it isnt enough.. and its needlessly expensive on a bang for buck basis.. two gig sticks of oem nanya memory for pretty near the same money would serve him better..

the 3700 san deigo is over budget i assume.. ???? shame cos it would be much better choice..

if money is tight leave the cooler till later..

trog

 

[zOaib]

the memory wrong.. it isnt enough.. and its needlessly expensive on a bang for buck basis.. two gig sticks of oem nanya memory for pretty near the same money would serve him better..

the 3700 san deigo is over budget i assume.. ???? shame cos it would be much better choice..

if money is tight leave the cooler till later..

trog

well he is tight on the buck right now , but since he is goignt o be only using this for gaming , he can survive with just 1 gig for now ................ i actually told him to get a one gig stick , so that way he can buy another one and add it .......... oh well

well he needs a cooler , cause he bought a oem cpu !