$800 Computer?

RWBRWB Icrontian
edited September 2006 in Hardware
I am curious about building a whole new system, case and all, except monitor and speakers for $800 give or take $50 or so depending on why... AMD or Intel, doesn't matter. I am not up to speed on these Core2's or anything and wanna get the best bang for my buck. Gaming of course ;)

TIA

Comments

  • Radio91PRadio91P Layton, UT New
    edited September 2006
    Go with the AMD's line of 939's. They are dirt cheap now. You can pick up some great chips for under 350. I think the FX-57 is only 350. It was 800 awhile ago. Great gaming chip, only single core though.
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited September 2006
    I thought you were all about laptops now?
  • JSKILLJSKILL
    edited September 2006
    If you dont need a monitor it shouldnt be too hard. Late summer i bought my new shuttle and it consisted of 3800 X2 AM2 (which prices have lowered A TON, so you could go higher) 1 gig of ddr, evga 7900 pci express, 250 seagate sata, and a micro atx mobo. Then i added a 19 in lcd and it was around 1250.00 If you minus the monitor around 1000....you should be able to get it around 800 now. Have you ever built a computer before? If so what components are you questioning information about?
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    TheSmJ wrote:
    I thought you were all about laptops now?

    I am... but this is actually for my cousin. I figure on a Dual Core AMD, but I am curious about Intel's possibilities as well... if you can go cheaper and get more, then why not? ;) But I don't know much about Intel's offerings either, I hear mixed reports on them, but as I understand it they overclock well... but my cousin isn't too keen on it even after I explained it to him. He's fairly knowledgable, and is working on CCNA, but when it comes to building he tends to ask me:banghead:
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    The c2's cook, but htey are still very pricey.
    Any games in particular? The video card will be the single most expensive part, so it needs to be right.

    How about this:
    NF4 939 mobo (lots of choices) $70
    AMD 3800+ (single core for gaming) $110
    2GB (2x1GB) DDR400 memory $200
    160GB Seagate HDD 7200.9 $60
    DVD +/- burner $40
    Case and PSU $70
    NV 7950GT video card $300

    total $850

    You could go to the 7900GT and save $50, you could drop back to 1GB of ram and save $100.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    To put it simply, there's nothing bad or even questionable about Intel's new chips. They are hands down, without reservation or "But..." statements, the best chips on planet earth right now.

    If you can get them for your budget, I suggest that you do.
  • JSKILLJSKILL
    edited September 2006
    Personally I wouldnt just go for a low end processor and a super video card.....without cpu power video power is worthless too. I would look into the new intels and see.....but i would go with a 7900 and a better processor if I were you. Also i still dont see the need for 2 gig of ram. Granted its nice, but not when building a budget com....1 gig should be sufficient in my opinion
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    Nothing against Core2, it rocks, but the price.....
    If you go that way you will want a 965 or 975 chipset on the mobo for future use and accessories.
    A popular mobo, the P5B is $140. A CPU (E6400 at 2.13GHz) is $225. That is a big chunk of your budget.

    About memory, 1GB vs 2GB, that is why I made the comment about saving the money by cutting back. Remember though, Vista is coming.
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