Challenge to all!!

[bikerboy]

ok well for x-mas ii get a lot of money in tips like 1000 and ive decided to spend about 750 for 2 or more budget pcs. my challenge is to see who can make the best and cheapest pc for folding. i dont need a monitor keyboard or mouse just a mobo, cpu, case, and memory. i think onboard video would be cheaper but just a thought. thanks in advanced.

bikerboy

[Sledgehammer70]

Did you want it $750 for 2 or 1 system price out for $750?

- NEC Black IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner - $39.99
- XION Ultimate Engineering XON-002 Black/Silver SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450 Watt (P4 & AMD Ready) Power Supply - $59.99
- Western Digital Caviar SE WD1200JS 120GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $73.51
- GIGABYTE GA-K8N51PVMT-9 Socket 939 NVIDIA GeForce 6150 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $82.00
- ASPIRE CF4S-UBL 80mm Case Cooling Fan $1.99
- CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model VS1GB400C3 $81.00
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX $322.00

$735.15 includes Tax and Shipping

You might be able to skimp on a few items like the DVD Burner for a cheap CD ROM, and a single core proc and boost Ram quality, but this way you get all the new tech. the new Nvidia 6150 Onboard graphic's which supports 3.0 Pixel Shader and clocks at 475Mhz, the CPU is a Dual core giving you 2 instances of Folding running on this bad boy. Without a graphics card the standard 450W PSU from Xion works perfectly in this setup, even if down the road you decide to throw a Graphics card in you still can get a 6800 series card no problem with that PSU.

I will keep punching numbers to see what else I can get going for you :)

[bikerboy]

thanks for the info. i was looking to get 2 or more systems for this. they will just be folding so they dont really need all the fancy stuff in them. just a simple graphics card and such. but the faster they folder the better!

bikerboy

[Sledgehammer70]

Well techinally this would fold as 2 systems being a dual core, but let me see what i can manage for 375 each

[bikerboy]

ok thanx for the hard work!

bikerboy

[zakalwe]

$735.15 includes Tax and Shipping


Dammit, I should start ordering computers/parts from the USA!
Here the same stuff costs nearly twice as much...so I could just order 2 from the US for the same price and reserve the second one just for folding:)

[ryko]

how about this...prices include shipping. higher end system listed first.

amd a64 3200+ - retail = $166
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535

ecs s939 ati xpress 200 matx = $69
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135191

corsair 1gb ddr400, cl 2.5 = $77
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440

wd 80gb, 8mb sata150 = $56
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822135106

coolermaster matx case w/ 380w, 24pin psu = $74
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119089

total = $442 x 2 = $884

could substitute a full size tower for cheaper, but with a semi-questionable psu like this...

rosewill atx case w/ 350w, 20pin psu = $38
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811147013

total would be $406 x 2 = $812

-------------------------------

last option would be to go for a mobo/cpu combo like this one...

pcchips sis760gx s754 matx w/ amd sempron 2800+ = $109
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813185062
(notice newegg cpu listing is incorrect)

corsair 1gb ddr400, cl 2.5 = $77
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440

wd 80gb, 8mb sata150 = $56
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822135106

rosewill atx case w/ 350w psu = $38
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811147013

total = $280 x 3 = $840!!!

could even drop down to 512mb each pc and a 40gb hdds to save a few more bucks...

[sfleuriet]

In my opinion, you'd be better off with OCZ ValueRAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227039) no matter what system you choose.

[Leonardo]

You don't need 1GB for Folding. But for 'value' RAM, you can scarcely do better than OCZ Value.

[res0r9lm]

Actually the cheapest way to go would be go for diskless computers by using linux you could netboot from the server. you can pretty much put together a fast diskless client for under $200. I have used biostar m7vig pro motherboards in the past for this purpose for a little over $150 using xp 1800+'s and 256 mb ram. One other benifit is you save money on your power bill

[Donut]

You could also look into older, used rigs. XP machines are good points producers, HT p4's are even a little better. (2 clients). Dual processor rigs, anything somebody else has laying around gathering dust.

What I would look for a fast reliable proc. (XP, P4 or better) at least 256mb. ram, onboard graphics or cheap vid cards, and some cheap HD's (if you don't want to go diskless) 6gb and up.

Old retired machines are still a good source of some parts.

[profdlp]

See this post. (http://www.short-media.com/forum/showpost.php?p=321537&postcount=12) (Under $200 per system.)

Reading through the rest of the thread will give you even more good ideas. :thumbsup:

[bikerboy]

thanks guys ill prolly be gettin 2 more machines up and running after xmas for F@H.

bikerboy

[bikerboy]

pcchips sis760gx s754 matx w/ amd sempron 2800+ = $109
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813185062
(notice newegg cpu listing is incorrect)

corsair 1gb ddr400, cl 2.5 = $77
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440

wd 80gb, 8mb sata150 = $56
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822135106

rosewill atx case w/ 350w psu = $38
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811147013

total = $280 x 3 = $840!!!

could even drop down to 512mb each pc and a 40gb hdds to save a few more bucks...

just ordered this basic setup off of newegg with a few adjustments X2
should be up and running before xmas. thanks guys

bikerboy