I'm thinking of building my own computer and...

darthdavid · Post by **darthdavid** » 2004-02-14 07:44pm

was wondering how this setup would work out

Shuttle XPC Barebone System for Socket A at 200/266MHz FSB AMD CPU, Model SK41G $169.99
AMD Duron 1.6GHz Socket A Processor $43.00
Crucial 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-2100 4T - OEM $35.00

the bare bone system mentioned above
I'll be scavenging a hd and optical drive from my current personal box and may provide my own video card as an alternative to the integrated one provided. I have a spare mouse and will be getting a cheap arsed keyboard from wally world or something. What other stuff would i be needing and is there anything important i should know ( i know i need some thermal grease so don't tell me that)?

muse · Post by **muse** » 2004-02-14 10:15pm

What would this computer be used for? As a basic internet browsing and wordprocessing/office apps platform it's adequate, but if you need it for gaming, rendering, or other high-end stuff it's not up to snuff.

darthdavid · Post by **darthdavid** » 2004-02-14 11:04pm

Re thinking and looking at some more stuff here's the new plan

Code: Select all

Connect3D Radeon 9200se Video Card / 128MB DDR / AGP / TV Out $49.99 Tiger Direct
AMD Duron 1.6GHz Socket A Processor - OEM  43.00$ Newegg
Crucial 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-2100 4T - OEM 35.00$ Newegg
Soyo Dragon Plus Barebone with Onboard Audio, Smart Card Reader and 300W AMD Compatible Power Supply 109.99$ Tiger Direct
Hitachi 80GB / 7200 / 2MB / 8.8 / ATA-100 EIDE Hard Drive 66.99$  Tiger Direct
Speeze - Socket A Cooling Fan up to XP 2800+ 14.99$ Tiger Direct
Belkin F8E206-BLK Black Classic Keyboard 4.99$ Tiger Direct
System Fan From Current Computer
Current computer's Monitor
mouse from current computer
Total Price 289.95$ + any taxes i may incur

Seggybop · Post by **Seggybop** » 2004-02-15 12:35am

It would probably be better if you got an Athlon XP CPU with a thoroughbred-b core instead of the weak Duron. Maybe $10 more. Then you can overclock it to at least 2ghz.

Vertigo1 · Post by **Vertigo1** » 2004-02-15 02:41am

David, you didn't answer Muse. What is this thing going to be used for? Gaming, websurfing, server, what? If its anything other than websurfing, that thing is going to be seriously underpowered with that 9200 and the Duron. The RAM will really hold you back too. Don't go for less than PC2700.

300W AMD Compatible Power Supply 109.99$ Tiger Direct

Holy shit batman! Talk about overcharging! this is a MUCH better deal. (Fortron 350W)

Hitachi 80GB / 7200 / 2MB / 8.8 / ATA-100 EIDE Hard Drive 66.99$ Tiger Direct

You can get much better for about the same price dude. I don't know how much longer this'll be valid, but OfficeMax has a WD 160GB drive (7200RPM, 8MB cache) for $89.99 after rebates. Even though its a WD (not a brand I'm fond of), thats still a hell of a deal. I paid $10 more for my Maxtor 160 gigger (same specs as the WD model).

Speeze - Socket A Cooling Fan up to XP 2800+ 14.99$ Tiger Direct

You won't need a third-party heatsink. The monster you get with the retail processors (only ~$4 more than OEM @ newegg) is MORE than sufficient to keep the processor cool. Before I re-installed my watercooling rig, the stock AMD heatsink kept my XP2800 down to 38C idle, and 43C full load.

Here's an idea. How bout you tell us what your budget is, and we'll hook you up with the goods.

darthdavid · Post by **darthdavid** » 2004-02-15 03:05am

To answer the question of what it's being used for it's not gaming that's for sure. Mostly just low intensity stuff like web browsing. Oh and i figured out that for 1 dollar more than the current setup i can get this bad boy instead. The budjet is about 300 dollars or so. It just has to run suse linux personal 9.0 reasonably well and i'll be happy with it. Sorry for any incoherancy and disorder. it's past 2am.

darthdavid · Post by **darthdavid** » 2004-02-15 03:12am

Oh and just so ya know, 109$ isn't just a powersupply, it's an entire bare bones system with socket a mobo, case, card reader, usb ports and powersupply.

Vertigo1 · Post by **Vertigo1** » 2004-02-15 03:13am

Just to give you an idea as to what I'd pick:

AMD XP 2600 (Barton) - $109
Asus A7N8X-E - $113.99
256MB Corsair PC2700 DDR - $49
Gainward nVidia GFFX 5600XT 128MB AGP 8x - $104
Forton 350W ATX Power supply - $42

Total: $417.99 w/free shipping via FedEx SuperSaver (3-business day)

Thats a big ass jump, and its under $500.

EDIT: Well shit! You caught me in the middle of searching out kickass parts.

I'll sort something out for ya tomorrow. Could you do me a favor and post what your current specs are?

darthdavid · Post by **darthdavid** » 2004-02-15 03:32am

Here's my inventory of parts, most are crappy so i'd prefer not to use them but if i have to to come in under the limit i will. I'm aiming for about a 300 dollar setup but could probably make it up to about 400 if it was a good deal. I can't really use my current case because it's rather shitty and uses some odd mounting rails which i don't have the parts to mount anything in. I can't use my current mobo because it's an ancient pos. I do have a working system fan and a 20 gigabyte harddrive. I also have 2 cd-rom drives and a semi-working cd-rw drive. I have a mouse and a keyboard shouldn't be a problem. I'm just looking for something cheap and moderately good so i can run linux, do some homework and browse the web. I might dual boot with windows 95 so i can run some of my old games that won't work on xp but probably won't. I'm tending to lean towards going with an amd processor because they generally give more bang for the buck (espically at low end) and don't need anything too fast. About 1.6 gigahertz will do. Well seeing as this is getting kinda rambly i geuss i'm just gonna go to sleep and try and work this out in the morning. Night peeps.

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2004-02-15 03:51am

I honestly mean no offense, but that setup you're proposing is crap. I know you're going to say that it's not for gaming, but you can belive me when I see you'll be very disappointed if you get that video card, that proc, and that ram.

How about theseinstead? All items at Newegg (don't buy from Tiger Direct, or at least check them out at resellerratings first. I've heard they're a bunch of fly by night swindlers)

Proc: Barton "2500+": 83
Case: Raidmax (includes power supply, don't know the case, it's just the cheapest one I saw that included PS): 22
Shuttle nForce2 Ultra motherboard: 62
Crucial 2700 ram: 38
Geforce3 Ti200 or Geforce 4 Ti4200: Can be found on eBay for around $50-70. Unfortunately, newegg doesn't seem to carry any budget cards worth wiping your ass with.

Total: $275. The portion of the stuff you proposed came out to $238, but you'll be getting a great budget machine instead of a piece of donkey shit for those $37. When you factor in the added time before you'll have to upgrade, it will actually save hundreds.

With this setup, you won't be sighing deeply with impatience because it's taking forever to load a Word document, etc., and if you wanted to play some old, or even not so old games on it once it a while, it will handle everything you're likely to throw at it.

In case you need convincing on the video card, let me try and explain myu position: That 9200se's performance is probably equivalent to about a GeForce 2 (no, I'm not kidding), except that it really isn't, because that card will run old games made in its time beautifully, while that 9200 will generate glitches and artifacts not only in new or old games but in applications as well, and will flat out refuse to run 3d apps or games a good portion of the time. Your mileage may vary, but that's been my experience with these "budget cards". It's always better to go with an old high end card for the same money than a new budget card. Getting that 9200 would be like getting a 2004 Metro instead of a 95 Lexus for the same money. Sure, the Metro's newer, but which is the better car?

Vertigo1 · Post by **Vertigo1** » 2004-02-16 05:25pm

David, how much are you willing to spend on a new case? I'm gonna go to a computer show this month so I might be able to pick something up for you that looks nice. (most of them are the kind with the window in the side with the LED fans, and range around $50 - $70. They're all mid-towers.) Do you have anything you'd like to trade?

darthdavid · Post by **darthdavid** » 2004-02-16 08:39pm

Tried to pm you this but it said that you didn't exist.
I have a 20 gigabyte hd, a legitimate copy of windoze 95, an old metal case (perfect for case modding) the powersupply doesn't work though (but it does have some working stuff that i'd throw in) (It consists of a metal frame (steel i think) and a metal shell, it has working leds and a plastic faceplate) an old printing calculator, a working 1995 ibm think pad with all componets (except floppy) (the battery dosen't work well though) and an ati rage 128 pro with 16 mb of ram for an agp slot (it's compact form factor). I'd through in a good deal of that stuff but not all (shipping would get too expensive then). Of course if nothing sounds particularly interesting (which i doubt it does) then i'm just fine with the 22 dolar case from newegg pointed out in the thread with spawned this. Also should you find somehthing you wan't to trade for, how would we go about executing said trade?

Ps. I have other stuff so if you wan't something particular ask and i'll see if i have it or can get it from my friends old parts bin.

Vertigo1 · Post by **Vertigo1** » 2004-02-17 10:30pm

You've got PM.

darthdavid · Post by **darthdavid** » 2004-02-17 11:49pm

So do you now.

Vertigo1 · Post by **Vertigo1** » 2004-02-19 02:08am

David, the problem with those $22 cases is that half the time they either don't include a power supply, or they slap the cheapest one possible in there. Please, don't make the same mistake as this idiot that fried 3 $10 power supplies, and wonder why the hell they keep blowing up in his p4 box.... As far as decent low-end video cards, the computer show I'm going to has tons of them along with the higher-end cards. It'll be on the 28th of this month if you're willing to wait that long. Almost all of these cards will be nVidia products. There are some ATi cards mixed in here and there, but they're mostly the newer ones. (9600 - 9800XT)