The last PC I built was in 2003, so bear with me.
I'm working from scratch except for the videocard which is a Radeon 9700 Pro, so I need and AGP 8x compatible mobo. I would Ideally like to spend up to 400 dollars on the components I need. I am willing to spend up to 500 only if the performance increase is exceptional.
I am in for gaming, but I am not very worried about maximizing performance. WoW and Civ IV should run very well. I don't play much else, but I have decided I want an Athlon rather than a Sempron - otherwise I am willing to sacrifice a lot of shiny for a good price. I also use photoshop with a tablet and need to burn DVDs.
I built two rigs on newegg to my specs, a <400$ and a <500$ rig, both using the same HD/RAM/DVD-RW Drive, one socket 939 one a micro-atx 754.
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ATX Socket 939 vs. Micro ATX Socket 754
939 Case : JUST PC Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 420W Power Supply - $29.99
939 Mobo : Gigabyte GA-K8U-939 Socket 939 ULi M1689 ATX AMD Motherboard - $58.00
939 CPU : AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 - $223.00
939 Total : $311
754 Case : Foxconn 3GTW-01 Black/Silver Steel MicroATX Mini Tower w/ 300W Power Supply - $35.99
754 Mobo : ECS 760GX-M Socket 754 SiS 760 GX Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $49.99
754 CPU : AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 800MHz FSB Socket 754 E6 - $125.00
754 Total : $211
Other Components
Optical Drive : LITE-ON Black ATAPI/E-IDE DVD Burner Model SHW-160P6S - $42.99
HDD : Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 - OEM - $55.50
RAM : CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel - $81.00
Video Card : ATI Radeon 9700 Pro AGP 8x- I own this already
Total: $180
Total rig 754: $391
Total rig 939: $491
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I have an extra 350w power supply of decent quality in case the ones that come in the cases aren't good. (The JUST PC case's PSU I'm especially suspect of). Other than that, I'm a little in the dark.
The Black aesthetic isn't mandatory, it just seemed to happen.
I'm not sure what the performance difference between the Venice and the San Diego is worth; Is it worth an extra 100 dollars? Any other strategies for high performance-for-price improvements on the rig?
Opinions/suggestions greatly appreciated
Links to the wishlists on Newegg:
754 Rig :
http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion...asp?ID=1853160&WishListTitle=Cheap Socket 754
939 Rig :
http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion...w.asp?ID=1853291&WishListTitle=Mid Socket 939
**Edit
Thanks mdd19763 for pointing out I had DDR2 memory.. fixed now (the low cost had tricked me)
I'm working from scratch except for the videocard which is a Radeon 9700 Pro, so I need and AGP 8x compatible mobo. I would Ideally like to spend up to 400 dollars on the components I need. I am willing to spend up to 500 only if the performance increase is exceptional.
I am in for gaming, but I am not very worried about maximizing performance. WoW and Civ IV should run very well. I don't play much else, but I have decided I want an Athlon rather than a Sempron - otherwise I am willing to sacrifice a lot of shiny for a good price. I also use photoshop with a tablet and need to burn DVDs.
I built two rigs on newegg to my specs, a <400$ and a <500$ rig, both using the same HD/RAM/DVD-RW Drive, one socket 939 one a micro-atx 754.
---
ATX Socket 939 vs. Micro ATX Socket 754
939 Case : JUST PC Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 420W Power Supply - $29.99
939 Mobo : Gigabyte GA-K8U-939 Socket 939 ULi M1689 ATX AMD Motherboard - $58.00
939 CPU : AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 - $223.00
939 Total : $311
754 Case : Foxconn 3GTW-01 Black/Silver Steel MicroATX Mini Tower w/ 300W Power Supply - $35.99
754 Mobo : ECS 760GX-M Socket 754 SiS 760 GX Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $49.99
754 CPU : AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 800MHz FSB Socket 754 E6 - $125.00
754 Total : $211
Other Components
Optical Drive : LITE-ON Black ATAPI/E-IDE DVD Burner Model SHW-160P6S - $42.99
HDD : Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 - OEM - $55.50
RAM : CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel - $81.00
Video Card : ATI Radeon 9700 Pro AGP 8x- I own this already
Total: $180
Total rig 754: $391
Total rig 939: $491
---
I have an extra 350w power supply of decent quality in case the ones that come in the cases aren't good. (The JUST PC case's PSU I'm especially suspect of). Other than that, I'm a little in the dark.
The Black aesthetic isn't mandatory, it just seemed to happen.
I'm not sure what the performance difference between the Venice and the San Diego is worth; Is it worth an extra 100 dollars? Any other strategies for high performance-for-price improvements on the rig?
Opinions/suggestions greatly appreciated
Links to the wishlists on Newegg:
754 Rig :
http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion...asp?ID=1853160&WishListTitle=Cheap Socket 754
939 Rig :
http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion...w.asp?ID=1853291&WishListTitle=Mid Socket 939
**Edit
Thanks mdd19763 for pointing out I had DDR2 memory.. fixed now (the low cost had tricked me)