Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

I need a custom mid-range PC. I DO NOT want to invest in appearance,
bragging rights, or the latest and greatest technology. Please recommend
BRANDS/MODELS for reliable bargain components available at Newegg.com or
other good online dealers. The system needs the following:

-low-noise case and an Athlon64-compatible PSU
-Athlon64 3x00 CPU (not significantly slower than the next expensive 3x00)
-CPU fan significantly better than the stock
-motherboard (preferably Asus) w/ integrated ethernet + decent sound
-512 MB PC3200 RAM
-8x NVIDIA video card capable of playing modern games like Doom 3 at
medium or higher quality and preferably Linux-compatible

*Also, can anyone recommend any online dealers that always ship quality
barebones?

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Wed, 04 May 2005 18:45:15 -0500, Jonathan Appleseed <apple@mud.net>
wrote:

>I need a custom mid-range PC. I DO NOT want to invest in appearance,
>bragging rights, or the latest and greatest technology. Please recommend
>BRANDS/MODELS for reliable bargain components available at Newegg.com or
>other good online dealers. The system needs the following:
>
>-low-noise case and an Athlon64-compatible PSU
>-Athlon64 3x00 CPU (not significantly slower than the next expensive 3x00)
>-CPU fan significantly better than the stock
>-motherboard (preferably Asus) w/ integrated ethernet + decent sound
>-512 MB PC3200 RAM
>-8x NVIDIA video card capable of playing modern games like Doom 3 at
>medium or higher quality and preferably Linux-compatible
>
>*Also, can anyone recommend any online dealers that always ship quality
>barebones?

This will meet your requirements:

Budget Athlon 64 system +

Case and PSU
Antec SLK3700-BQE
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 140&depa=0
$80.49

Extra Fan
Panaflo L1A 120mm
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/directron/120l1a.html
$14.99

Motherboard
MSI "K8N Neo2 Platinum" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 468&depa=1
$134.00

CPU
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1.8GHz, 512KB L2 Cache 939-Pin 64-bit Processor - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 499&depa=0
$149.00

CPU Cooler
Thermaltake SILENT BOOST For AMD Opteron and Athlon 64 (All Copper
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 036&depa=1
$31.99

RAM
Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 512MBx2 DDR PC-3200 - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 440&depa=1
$83.00

Hard Drive
Seagate 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model ST380013AS, OEM
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProd [...] 019&depa=1
$66.00

DVD Burner
NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, Black w/ Software, Model ND-3520A
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 038&depa=1
$56.99

Floppy Drive
Mitsumi Black 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 101&depa=1
$10.50

GPU
Sapphire Radeon 9600XT
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Mer [...] ode=190872
$96.00

OS
Microsoft Windows XP HOME Edition With Service Pack 2 -OEM
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 151&depa=0
$91.95

Ubuntu Linux 64bit
http://www.ubuntulinux.org/
Free download or shipment


Total - $814.91

Upgrade CPU
AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64 3500+, 90nm, 2.2 GHz, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 494&depa=0
+ $110.00




Total - $924.91

regards

Dud

--
Wisdom is made of two parts: 1) having a lot to say and 2) not
saying it.

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

Duddits wrote:
> On Wed, 04 May 2005 18:45:15 -0500, Jonathan Appleseed <apple@mud.net>
> wrote:
>
>
>>I need a custom mid-range PC. I DO NOT want to invest in appearance,
>>bragging rights, or the latest and greatest technology. Please recommend
>>BRANDS/MODELS for reliable bargain components available at Newegg.com or
>>other good online dealers. The system needs the following:
>>
>>-low-noise case and an Athlon64-compatible PSU
>>-Athlon64 3x00 CPU (not significantly slower than the next expensive 3x00)
>>-CPU fan significantly better than the stock
>>-motherboard (preferably Asus) w/ integrated ethernet + decent sound
>>-512 MB PC3200 RAM
>>-8x NVIDIA video card capable of playing modern games like Doom 3 at
>>medium or higher quality and preferably Linux-compatible
>>
>>*Also, can anyone recommend any online dealers that always ship quality
>>barebones?
>
>
> This will meet your requirements:
>
> Budget Athlon 64 system +
>
> Case and PSU
> Antec SLK3700-BQE
> http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 140&depa=0
> $80.49
>
> Extra Fan
> Panaflo L1A 120mm
> http://shop.store.yahoo.com/directron/120l1a.html
> $14.99
>
> Motherboard
> MSI "K8N Neo2 Platinum" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard
> http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 468&depa=1
> $134.00
>
> CPU
> AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1.8GHz, 512KB L2 Cache 939-Pin 64-bit Processor - OEM
> http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 499&depa=0
> $149.00
>
> CPU Cooler
> Thermaltake SILENT BOOST For AMD Opteron and Athlon 64 (All Copper
> http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 036&depa=1
> $31.99
>
> RAM
> Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 512MBx2 DDR PC-3200 - OEM
> http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 440&depa=1
> $83.00
>
> Hard Drive
> Seagate 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model ST380013AS, OEM
> http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProd [...] 019&depa=1
> $66.00
>
> DVD Burner
> NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, Black w/ Software, Model ND-3520A
> http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 038&depa=1
> $56.99
>
> Floppy Drive
> Mitsumi Black 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive
> http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 101&depa=1
> $10.50
>
> GPU
> Sapphire Radeon 9600XT
> http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Mer [...] ode=190872
> $96.00
>
> OS
> Microsoft Windows XP HOME Edition With Service Pack 2 -OEM
> http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 151&depa=0
> $91.95
>
> Ubuntu Linux 64bit
> http://www.ubuntulinux.org/
> Free download or shipment
>
>
> Total - $814.91
>
> Upgrade CPU
> AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64 3500+, 90nm, 2.2 GHz, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit
> http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 494&depa=0
> + $110.00
>
>
>
>
> Total - $924.91
>
> regards
>
> Dud
>

Thank you for the input, Dud.

Have you built systems with all of the parts that you listed?

I read several reviews about the MSI mobo you that listed. Although many
of them commented on how good it is, some people complained about old
BIOS issues, but they weren't very specific. Do you know if this would
be hassle-free with a general setup?

What nvidia product is equivalent to Radeon 9600XT? I am looking for an
nvidia GPU because I heard that ATIs have bad driver issues and I assume
it would be even more difficult to run in linux.

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Wed, 04 May 2005 23:53:36 -0500, Jonathan Appleseed <apple@mud.net>
wrote:


>What nvidia product is equivalent to Radeon 9600XT? I am looking for an
>nvidia GPU because I heard that ATIs have bad driver issues and I assume
>it would be even more difficult to run in linux.

I think that would be a 6200 or a 6600 (non GT version). They cost about the
same as the Radeon at NewEgg. I have never had a problem with nVidia
drivers.

-- Bob

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Wed, 04 May 2005 23:53:36 -0500, Jonathan Appleseed <apple@mud.net>
wrote:
>snippy
>Thank you for the input, Dud.
>
>Have you built systems with all of the parts that you listed?
I've built on exactly like the above and another with a different case
(Thermaltake Skull) graphics, (Powercolor Radeon 9550 256mb) and RAM (Geil
Golden Dragon 3500 2x256).
>
>I read several reviews about the MSI mobo you that listed. Although many
>of them commented on how good it is, some people complained about old
>BIOS issues, but they weren't very specific. Do you know if this would
>be hassle-free with a general setup?
>
I haven't had any issues with the bios. Both machines are set to
aggressive Ram timings 2 3 3 6 and are completly stable. The one with
PC3500 is running 217x9. I've considered overclocking a bit but have not
felt the need.
>What nvidia product is equivalent to Radeon 9600XT? I am looking for an
>nvidia GPU because I heard that ATIs have bad driver issues and I assume
>it would be even more difficult to run in linux.

Check out this article for comparisons
http://www20.graphics.tomshardware [...] index.html
I run Ubuntu linux without issue.

regards

Dud

--
Wisdom is made of two parts: 1) having a lot to say and 2) not
saying it.

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Wed, 04 May 2005 23:53:36 -0500, Jonathan Appleseed
<apple@mud.net> wrote:


>I read several reviews about the MSI mobo you that listed. Although many
>of them commented on how good it is, some people complained about old
>BIOS issues, but they weren't very specific. Do you know if this would
>be hassle-free with a general setup?

With any popular board there will be a lot of buyers, the
sheer number means a large number reporting "issues". These
are typically a minority and odds are you won't have
problems, BUT it's those rarer things that can cause
problems... that 99.9% of people get something to work is no
consolation to the other 0.1%. The best thing to do is
simply update the bios, at a minimum to a newer version than
the original as the first few bios releases for any given
board will tend to address the most significant issues.

>
>What nvidia product is equivalent to Radeon 9600XT? I am looking for an
>nvidia GPU because I heard that ATIs have bad driver issues and I assume
>it would be even more difficult to run in linux.

Yes nVidia should be better driver-wise. You'll have to
look at some benchmarks for direct comparisons but I believe
the 6600 is in the ballpark.