New PC

T-b0n3

My mate asked me to build him PC. Its mainly for gaming. They also have a 2.4 Dell for office use etc.
The buget he gave me was 800euro. He doesnt need moniter / keyboard / mouse etc.
He wants comp asap , but no panic.
He doent want dvd burner , just a dvd drive with cd-rw.
If I was building a comp right now id get a64 with new boards , but his buget and him not know much about comps makes me think amd 2500-mobile be a better choice?

My thoughts ;

cpu = amd2500-mobile

ram = 512 3200

gfx = 9800pro / 9600xt ( noticing the 100euro difference. big preformance diff? )

hdd = 120samsung

cd-rom = some dvd reader and cd rw? COL_LOKI suggested ; Combo LiteOn SOHC-
5232K Retail € 57,49 in he write up , i guess that do the job.

mobo = some nforce board i guess? any suggestions

case/psu = any ideas on case/psu , he said not barebones.

Also best cpu cooler/ heatsink? any thing else you can think of.
thanks in advance for any help/support given.

Cheers Adam

BloodBath

Hello try www.jescomputer.de for building a top cheap pc.

Jescomputer prices.

CPU AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Tray € 188,64

Not sure what the best mobo's for these are at the mo but prices range from 100-150euro. Apparantly the new ones are out in a month allowing you to lock the pci/agp for a better overclock. Does the abit max-3 not let you do this?

HDD SATA 120GB Samsung SP1213C 8MB € 93,74

128MB Sapphire 9800SE All-In-Wonder bulk € 173,90

GEH Midi Chenbro Gaming Bomb Silver € 49,00

Netzteil be quiet! 400W Black 2 Lüfter € 62,98

Kühler S478/S754 ZALMAN CNPS 7000-CU € 38,99

shop4memory.co.uk - 512Mb DDR PC-3500 Enhanced Latency - OCZ € 139.67

And that dvd/cdrw combo € 57,49


Less than 100 euro over budget but a great system for less than 900 euro. Will be great for overclocking too with the faster memory and good cooling. You might get a better case if someone suggests one. Just put that in because it's a good looking cheap case.

The 2500 mobile is not a bad idea as they are cheap and overclock to 3500xp levels the xp is not a great performer. A 3200xp only perfrom at about the level of a 2.8 pentium 4. So you could say that mobile overclocked to 3500 barton levels would only perform on the level of a 3.0 pentium. And for gaming the a64 3000 + is a lot better than the pentium 3.0.

BloodBath

T-b0n3

kk mate cheers for that. Ill speak to him but i dbout he will want the a64's.Remember he aint big into comp tech etc. he aint even heard of a64 . Arent the 9800SE quite poor?

Adam

BloodBath

I just edited that last post, read the end of it again.

Well he may not know much but if he wants a great system for gaming then get the a64. Or you could get a 2.8 pentium. Also a great overclocker and great performer.

Just really advise against the athlon xp.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1834

BloodBath

T-b0n3

If he could spend a little more he could build a a64 box i guess.
Would it be best to wait for the new boards tho? And when they supposed to me out?

So far;

HDD > HDD IDE 160GB Samsung 7200U SP1604N - 88

CPU > CPU AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Tray - 188

GFX > 128MB Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro Lite-RTL - 209

CD-ROM > Combo LiteOn SOHC-5232K Retail - 57,49

from jes-computers.

Adam

BloodBath

Sorry I didn't look at that grapics card properly. It's not the pro version. I was thinking it was a little cheap for a AIW. Ya so a few more quid for the pro version.

If this guy is not going to be overclocking you could get the boxed processor with the heatsink and drop the zalman. You wouldn't have to wait for the new mobos either or get the pc 3500 ram saving about 50-70 quid.

Would be a waste though. For less than an extra 70 euro he could be getting 15-20% performance increase from his rig.

The new boards are out in less than a month.

Where did you see a 160gig samsung for 88 euro?

BloodBath

T-b0n3

hmm only noticed that hdd only has 2mb cache, but 8mb one for 95 , http://www.jes-computer.de/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=145_49&products_id=14300 .

Adam

BloodBath

aaaaaaaaaaahhh ide. I have the habbit of going to sata. I didn't realise they were that much cheaper though. So ya saved a few bob there for a larger size.

So it still works out at less than 900 euro for that setup. You could easily stick to his budget but that is a top system for a little extra and it will last him a lot longer.


BloodBath

T-b0n3

Any other opinions?

All appreciated.
Cheers.

Adam

aaf

What about saving a little cash on the Graphics Card and go for something like a 9600XT - I have one and it does the job. No problems whatsoever with it. You could knock €50 off your total! You could also pick up some Mushkin RAM on JES for about €110 - granted it's basic 3200 RAM but Mushkin are a good name so why not? That's another €30 saved:cool:

BloodBath

True but if he wants any sort of future proofing he might as well splash out a little extra. With the next gen games on the horizon like HL2 and Doom3 he will need a good rig to get full detail and a decent resolution in them.

Even games like battlefield vieatnam and far cry need a good system for these.

His budget was 800. Going 100 euro over his budget is not going to kill him. Heck I went over 500 quid over my budget when I bought my new rig.


BloodBath

Dempsey

Id recommend a P4 2.8c and a IC7-G

T-b0n3

My mate said he was gonna go for a64 , is it worth waiting for new nforce boards?
He wont be interested in overcloking , he aint even heard of a a64 before , other than what ive told him recently.
What ram I need for it? Stock hearsink/fan best? or is there a quieter one to be got etc.?
Worth getting artic-cooling VGA silencer for 9800pro?

Any thoughts on cases?

He said his budget is flexable , 800 - 1000ish.

Cheers Adam

Mutant_Fruit

You can pick up a great DVD burner from jes-computer.de for a mere 82euro! (the NEC 2500A) While he may not really want it now, it could always be usefull in future, so if you have 30 quid spare at the end of your shopping spree, upgrade from a DVDRom/CD burner drive to a DVD Burner. It'll be well worth the extra.

BloodBath

Although it's a waste if he's not going to be overclocking then you can ditch the pc3500 and get pc3200. Go for something with great timings. You will save a few quid here.

You don't really need the zalman then either. You could just get the boxed a64 3000 which comes with one which will do the job fine. Save a few more quid here.

If he's not overclocking you won't need to wait for the new boards.

Cases are kinda a personal option. Get him to pick one out himself. If he's not overclocking the cooling performance of the cases isn't really important.

Don't skimp on the psu whatever you do though. Make sure to get a high quality high voltage one even if it means spending more. Good makes are thermaltake and Antec.


You could use this extra money to build a virtually silent system if thats what he wants. Get a case with a fan controller like the thermaltake series or just buy one yourself so you can turn the case fans down. There are zalman products for pasive graphics card cooling and very quiet psu cooling. I don't know the exact models but i'm sure someone here does. Your looking at spending near enough to a 100 to make it silent.


BloodBath

T-b0n3

What I got so far;

MB ATX S754 Abit KV8-MAX3 @ 149 http://www.jes-computer.de/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=141_129&products_id=15312
best mobo for a64 ?

HDD > HDD IDE 160GB Samsung 7200U SP1604N - 88
CPU > CPU AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Tray - 188
GFX > 128MB Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro Lite-RTL - 209
CD-ROM > Combo LiteOn SOHC-5232K Retail - 57,49

Tray means OEM? So would I be better of paying the extra 30 or just getting another cooler?

And 3200 ram be fine for this system?
Again not interested in overcloking.

Cheers Adam

BloodBath

I don't know much about amd boards but you might not need that max-3. The extras it has are probably loads of sata ports and other stuff you don't need.

Have a look on google for an a64 mobo roundup to see whats good.

Tray is just the processor with no extras. Get the boxed one which comes with the stock heatsink which is fine if your not overclocking.

3200 RAM is perfect but don't go for cheap stuff. Corshair, ocz, mushkin and GEIL are all good brands. Look for something with low timings.

BloodBath

T-b0n3

Would a new cpu cooler be quiter?

Any one any ideas on mobo?

http://www.jes-computer.de/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=142_129&products_id=15265
seems to do the job and is cheaper than the rest , any opinions?

Cheers Adam

T-b0n3

My mate has picked out a LanBoy/MT 350W 4x5.25" 2x3.5" ATX

http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=CAS00087&productID=

any one know if the PSU included are any good?

Also any one suggest me some ram , again not interested in overclocking.\

Cheers Adam

Mutant_Fruit

In the words of komplett, if you want good ram, get something named after pirates. i.e. corasir ram. 512mb of DDR3200 would be plenty for ya, and would cost no more than 110euro i think.

Its an antec power supply (i presume, as the case is made by antec) so you can definately rely on it to be good. But if you plan to upgrade it in the future, you should get a 450 at least. The new Nvidia graphics cards require a good power supply, with the cards themselves needing 150 watts (more than my current power supply can do!!).

Col_Loki

You can pick up a great DVD burner from jes-computer.de for a mere 82euro! (the NEC 2500A)

For an extra €25 get a DVD burner , as Mutant_Fruit pointed out to me earlier the NEC is a good drive and its very fast for burning!!

I don't know much about amd boards but you might not need that max-3.

Yea would agree with bloodbath on that one, the expensive motherboard isint nessary. One way to bring down costs.

any one know if the PSU included are any good?

Its the smartpower range which isint bad (antec are always good). The Truepower range tend to be better quality and quieter...... still its not a bad PSU (and lights up blue)

Also any one suggest me some ram , again not interested in overclocking.\

BloodBath already answered that one for you ..... "Corshair, ocz, mushkin and GEIL are all good brands. Look for something with low timings." . The lower the timings the better.......... any of the ones mentioned are excellent. Mushkin Level 1 or level2 are great IMO.

Would a new cpu cooler be quiter?

The Zalman7000 alcu, would be alot quieter. If you compare the price of the OEM and Box version this almost makes up for the price of the Zalman so it would be silly not to get it. (only difference between tray and Box is the cooler and silly packing).

aaf

Originally posted by T-b0n3
Would a new cpu cooler be quiter?

Any one any ideas on mobo?

http://www.jes-computer.de/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=142_129&products_id=15265
seems to do the job and is cheaper than the rest , any opinions?

Cheers Adam

The two MSI motherboards on the JES website are popular and I have the ASUS K8V Deluxe and have had no problems with it so far. Try to find some reviews on these motherboards:

http://www.tomshardware.com/
ASUS K8V Deluxe Review
http://www.hardocp.com/reviews.html?cat=Mg==

T-b0n3

Sorry again , just want to be sure everything is okay, I really appriciate this all , cheers.

From Jes-Comupter ;
HDD > HDD IDE 120GB Samsung SP1213N 8MB - 88,89
http://www.jes-computer.de/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=149_49&products_id=15286

CPU > CPU AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Tray - 188,64
http://www.jes-computer.de/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=143_46&products_id=15246

CUP Cooler > Kühler S478/S754 ZALMAN CNPS-7000-AlCu - 27,66
http://www.jes-computer.de/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=163_99&products_id=13543

GFX > 128MB Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro Lite-RTL - 209
http://www.jes-computer.de/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=153_105&products_id=14064

MOBO > MB ATX S754 MSI MS-6702 K8T Neo-FSR - 100,99
http://www.jes-computer.de/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=15584

MEM > DDR PC400 512MB Mushkin Basic Green - 108
http://www.jes-computer.de/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=143_94&products_id=14555

CD-ROM > Combo LiteOn SOHC-5232K Retail - 57,49
http://www.jes-computer.de/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=15427

Ealara;
CASE > Details of LanBoy/MT 350W 4x5.25" 2x3.5" ATX - 106.27
http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=CAS00087&productID=

Total - 888 + DEL

That seem okay?
Nothing major wrong or something that could be improved on?

Cheers Again
Adam