A challenge for a new system, from Maximum PC

[strredwolf]

Okay, another geekout moment here.  Maximum PC has a PC Hardware guide out now.  Hidden on page 50, we have a budget guide -- set below $2000.  They reached $1255.

Of course, I don't need a gaming system.  Lets try cheaper.  Refrence prices from NewEgg, shipping in parenthesis, comments in italics.

CPU:  Athlon 64 3000+, a Socket 939 processor, with fan, $149 (+ $0 shipping). Might as well go 64 bits
Mobo:  MSI K8N Neo4 (no need for SLI).  $55.58 (+$1) refurbished, $82.99 (+$2.50) new and on sale. A difference of about $28 combined.
Vid Card: ASUS EN6200TC128/TD/16M NVidia Geforce 6200TC.  $50 (+$2.50) Do I really need SLI?  I'm not using the rig to play games!
Case: Antec Solution SLK3800B.  $105 (+$18.99) For $4 more I could of gotten the Performance TX640B
Optical Drive: Plextor IDE DVD Burner PX-740A/SW. $90 (+$4) Funny, it burns dual-layer DVD's at 8x, compared to the PX-716A's 6x.
OS:  Gentoo Linux (FREE) No duh.
HD:  Maxtor DiamondMax 10 Ultra ATA133, 160 Gig.  $77 (+$2.99) Do I really need 300 Gigs of HD space?  I just need to get FLCL off my HD, and I've reclaimed half the space!
RAM: 2 x Cosair ValueSelect 1 GB DDR 400 - $89.75 (+$3.83) each. About $20 cheaper than what MaxPC said they were, but then at the end, I get 4 half-gig sticks.

So, rounding up to the dollar, that's $697.  I've now just saved almost half of what MaxPC did -- and by using NewEgg!  Anyone can try for cheaper?

Comments

[xaviusarchangel.livejournal.com]

AMD processor and nVidia video...

*SMISH!*

[strredwolf.livejournal.com]

I'll be able to upgrade to a dual core eazily. The Opterion series is dual-core and fits the 939 socket.

[kazriko.livejournal.com]

I could easily trim a few bucks off yours. NEC dvd burner, dual layer, should be about $49. Volari V3 video card, $30. I'm sure you could trim a bit off the case. aha. JUST PC JPC07P4 Beige Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply - Retail $19.

I never buy a whole system at once though. I normally swap out a few pieces at a time.

[strredwolf.livejournal.com]

I could see the NEC DVD burner, but I'm not sure about ATI's offerings, so I'm sticking with NVidia. The new mobo has PCI Express slots only, no AGP. Also, the case has an Antec power supply, which gentle_wolfox says is one of the best out there (the other being from PC Power and Cooling).

[kazriko.livejournal.com]

The Volari card is not an ATI card. It is an XGI card.

You didn't give any criterion on the power supply needing to be the "best" out there, I thought this was a budget system that wasn't going to be used for games. ;) Most systems, especially ones that do not have Pentium 4 Netburst chips in them, do not use even half the wattage available from their power supply. At the college they had P3 systems with 350 watt power supplies. According to my power meter (which compensates for power factors) they were only using 130 watts at maximum load.

[strredwolf.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if XGI has Xorg drivers. NVidia has, and I'm a bit weary of ATI.

The power supply... well, I got burned by one, and hopefully a Shuttle AN35N mobo I have isn't fried because of it. If I have the cash, I'm getting good hardware instead of cheap cheezy hardware.

[nohra.livejournal.com]

sei wut now.

My new (and presently unworking) desktop cost about $2000. It was built for gaming though. But, yeah. For a budget machine, you've got a pretty nice setup there. I'd think about upgrading to a 3500+, and I'd go with a motherboard that supports DDR2 and PCI-E, if you intend to upgrade (I'm feeling lazy and don't really want to look up that board). Also... I'd go with at least 64 MB of VRAM, and more if you ever intend to do 3D rendering (which I doubt, but none the less :D). Of course, if you're not going to do anything that involves a GUI, it'd be pointless to drop in a big card. So, yeah, two cents.