The $800 Machine need suggestions!!

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pixel

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Plan to build a $800 machine soon need some suggestions and if I could improve?

Don't care for AM2, or Conroe.. so please to post about it


Case: Antec Lifestyle SONATA II
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129155
Processor: AMD Athlon X2 4200+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103547
Motherboard: MSI K8N Neo4-F Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130491
Video Card: eVGa Geforce 7600GT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130283
Harddrive: Western Digital Caviar SE 80GB SATA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822135106
CD-Rom/Cd-Rw/DVD-Rw: Lite-ON
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106256


Not sure about the video card yet, maybe ATI X1700 when it comes out and if it is better.
I need suggestion for ram, I have Kingston 512Mb RAM PC-3200 400mhz, but will proably get another 1gig, Do I really need dual channel ram? I'm not sure which one to get


This all adds up to $840 on zipzoomfly.com, just used newegg easier to find and stuff. Ordering from zipzoomfly.com because charges no tax and free shipping. If someone could tell me some good options for motherboard for another $10-15, and which ram to get? And for the motherboard I was looking into this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131530
instead of mine.

Do I really need to buy a different PSU other than the one that comes with the case? I really can't spend more money, hopefully the one that comes with the case will be good

Thank You
 
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pixel

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Thanks for the reply, yeah x1700 isn't out yet, but i was thinking of waiting for it, I will re-phrase what I wrote in my first post
 
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pixel

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OCZ Value Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) total cost after rebate = $71.31

Having two sticks of RAM is better than having just one, otherwise you will be limiting the PC to half of it's potential bandwidth. The S939 uses a dual channel memory controller.

Keep the PSU in the Antec, it will be fine. The MSI mobo is good too.

To the best of my knowledge I don't think the X1700 GPU exists.
Click to expand...

I have a kingston 400 512MB PC-3200 value ram
can I put the 2 ram together on the motherboard? it won't have any problems?
 
shadowduck

shadowduck

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OCZ Value Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) total cost after rebate = $71.31

Having two sticks of RAM is better than having just one, otherwise you will be limiting the PC to half of it's potential bandwidth. The S939 uses a dual channel memory controller.

Keep the PSU in the Antec, it will be fine. The MSI mobo is good too.

To the best of my knowledge I don't think the X1700 GPU exists.
Click to expand...

I have a kingston 400 512MB PC-3200 value ram
can I put the 2 ram together on the motherboard? it won't have any problems?

Well you can but you will end up in single channel mode which is not what you want. You must install RAM in pairs to use dual channel mode. So do not install both sets of RAM.

As for your CPU- instead of the 4200+ consider the Opteron 165 at about the same price. You right off gain double the L2 cache, and you can easily overclock the 165 to 4200+ levels. (400MHz)
 
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pixel

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Apr 21, 2004
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OCZ Value Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) total cost after rebate = $71.31

Having two sticks of RAM is better than having just one, otherwise you will be limiting the PC to half of it's potential bandwidth. The S939 uses a dual channel memory controller.

Keep the PSU in the Antec, it will be fine. The MSI mobo is good too.

To the best of my knowledge I don't think the X1700 GPU exists.
Click to expand...

I have a kingston 400 512MB PC-3200 value ram
can I put the 2 ram together on the motherboard? it won't have any problems?

Well you can but you will end up in single channel mode which is not what you want. You must install RAM in pairs to use dual channel mode. So do not install both sets of RAM.

As for your CPU- instead of the 4200+ consider the Opteron 165 at about the same price. You right off gain double the L2 cache, and you can easily overclock the 165 to 4200+ levels. (400MHz)

So I will need another pair of ram if i want to go more than 1gb and stay in dual channel? can I get another pair of 512 dual channel or do i have to get another pair of 1gb in order to stay in dual channel?

Which motherboard should I go for if I get Opteron 165, and Can I overclock it more than 4200+?

don't care for sli...
 
jaguarskx

jaguarskx

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So I will need another pair of ram if i want to go more than 1gb and stay in dual channel? can I get another pair of 512 dual channel or do i have to get another pair of 1gb in order to stay in dual channel?

Which motherboard should I go for if I get Opteron 165, and Can I overclock it more than 4200+?

don't care for sli...
Click to expand...

Since you already have Kingston 400 just buy another 512MB stick and use it with the one you have to get 1GB of RAM and have dual channel.

As for the Opteron 165 while it may have 2MB of L2 Cache it is only clocked at 1.8GHz while the X2 4200+ is clocked at 2.2GHz. To me having a faster core is more important than having more cache. Just look at benchmarks between the X2 4200+ vs. the X2 4400+ vs. the X2 4600+.

CPU Interactive Chart

The X2 4200+ and X2 4400+ are both running at 2.2GHz, but the 4400+ has 1MB more cache so it is no surprise that it performs a little better. But then take a look at the X2 4600+; it is running at 2.4GHz and has 1MB. Notice that being 200MHz faster makes a big difference even against the X2 4400+.

People are saying that the Opteron 165 is easy to overclock. That may be true, but by default the Opteron 165 is 400MHz slower than the X2 4200+ and X2 4400+. So if you want it to run at the same speed you will need to overclock it by 400MHz just to match speeds. If you wanted your CPU to run at 2.6GHz you will need to overclock the Opteron 165 by 800MHz and the X2 4200+, and x2 4400+ by only 400MHz. If you want your CPU to be running at 2.8GHz, then you need to overclock the Opteron 165 by 1GHz (pretty high), and the 4200+/4400+ by only 600MHz.

If you really want to OC for games just remember speed is more important than cache. Keep the X2 4200+.
 
Chil

Chil

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Opteron 165 runs at 2.6 and 2.8 much more stable on average than the X2 4200 and 4400, since it's designed to take more abuse, for lack of a better word. If you are really worried about price, then go for an X2 3800. Most every X2 has the same OC ceiling. You could start out faster at stock with the 4200, but if you are OCing to 2.6, then the 3800 could also reach that speed at a lower price.
 
jaguarskx

jaguarskx

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Wow, thanks for the reply

So confused now which processor to get...
Click to expand...

People are saying the Opteron is a better overclocker because AMD handpicks these CPUs from the rest of the Athlon 64 X2. They do extra tests on them to see if they are qualified for servers rather than a typical PC. Because these chips go through an extra layer of validation they are also more expensive.

Because of this many people think they are higher quality CPUs and they are willing to pay extra just because they think it will overclock better. They are probably better quality CPU, but to get to a hypethetical 2.8GHz do you think it is easier for the Opteron 165 to be overclocked by 1GHz, or for a 4200+/4400+ to be overclocked by 600MHz?

Note: I am not saying that those CPU can reach 2.8GHz. I'm using that speed to show how much those CPU need to be overclocked for dramatical reasons.

Do yourself a favor and just by the X2 4200+. It may not be the powerhouse overclocker the Opteron 165 may be, but then again it doesn't have to be.
 
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pixel

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Wow, thanks for the reply

So confused now which processor to get...
Click to expand...

People are saying the Opteron is a better overclocker because AMD handpicks these CPUs from the rest of the Athlon 64 X2. They do extra tests on them to see if they are qualified for servers rather than a typical PC. Because these chips go through an extra layer of validation they are also more expensive.

Because of this many people think they are higher quality CPUs and they are willing to pay extra just because they think it will overclock better. They are probably better quality CPU, but to get to a hypethetical 2.8GHz do you think it is easier for the Opteron 165 to be overclocked by 1GHz, or for a 4200+/4400+ to be overclocked by 600MHz?

Note: I am not saying that those CPU can reach 2.8GHz. I'm using that speed to show how much those CPU need to be overclocked for dramatical reasons.

Do yourself a favor and just by the X2 4200+. It may not be the powerhouse overclocker the Opteron 165 may be, but then again it doesn't have to be.


Ok, 4200 X2 is what I will buy, how much do your think can I overclock it to with 1gb ram?
2.4ghz - 2.5?
 
shadowduck

shadowduck

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Wow, thanks for the reply

So confused now which processor to get...
Click to expand...

People are saying the Opteron is a better overclocker because AMD handpicks these CPUs from the rest of the Athlon 64 X2. They do extra tests on them to see if they are qualified for servers rather than a typical PC. Because these chips go through an extra layer of validation they are also more expensive.

Because of this many people think they are higher quality CPUs and they are willing to pay extra just because they think it will overclock better. They are probably better quality CPU, but to get to a hypethetical 2.8GHz do you think it is easier for the Opteron 165 to be overclocked by 1GHz, or for a 4200+/4400+ to be overclocked by 600MHz?

Note: I am not saying that those CPU can reach 2.8GHz. I'm using that speed to show how much those CPU need to be overclocked for dramatical reasons.

Do yourself a favor and just by the X2 4200+. It may not be the powerhouse overclocker the Opteron 165 may be, but then again it doesn't have to be.


Ok, 4200 X2 is what I will buy, how much do your think can I overclock it to with 1gb ram?
2.4ghz - 2.5?

Maybe, but why spend more to overclock less?
 
M

mdd1963

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I have the same MSI NF4 MB, and it does just fine (utterly stable through hours of gaming a day for weeks on end) at stock clocks, but if looking to OC to more than about 215-220 MHz FSB, I'd look at an Asus or DFI board, or any other NF4 board, as my particular K8N Neo-4F by MSI refuses to run at much above 215 MHZ FSB, regardless of mem ratios, latest MB BIOS, cpu core voltage bumps, NF4 voltage, lowered HTT multiplier, or lower cpu multiplier...
 
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940Socket2me

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i went w/ this from new egg

ASPIRE X-QPACK-NW-BK/420 Black Aluminum 1.0 w/ ABS plastic front panel MicroATX Desktop Computer Case ATX 420W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16811144162

ASUS P5ND2-SLI Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 4 SLI Intel Edition ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131578

eVGA 256-P2-N553-AX Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130283

Intel Pentium D 805 Smithfield 533MHz FSB LGA 775 Dual Core,EM64T Processor Model BX80551PE2666FN - Retail
Item #: N82E16819116001

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Unbuffered System Memory Model VS1GB667D2 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820146580

Airnet AWD154 PCI Wireless card - Retail
Item #: N82E16833338010

Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822144160 -

LITE-ON Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE 16X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM
Item #: N82E16827106014
 
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pixel

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Maybe, but why spend more to overclock less?
Click to expand...


What do you mean?

Antec Lifestyle SONATA II



Horrible case

freakin horrible


go with coolermaster or something else


-to OEM IMO
Click to expand...
Can you tell me why it is a horrible case?
Its has really good reviews on newegg... most of the bad reviews are DOA PSU or just some defective models.
 
delanooch

delanooch

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i went w/ this from new egg

ASPIRE X-QPACK-NW-BK/420 Black Aluminum 1.0 w/ ABS plastic front panel MicroATX Desktop Computer Case ATX 420W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16811144162

ASUS P5ND2-SLI Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 4 SLI Intel Edition ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131578

eVGA 256-P2-N553-AX Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130283

Intel Pentium D 805 Smithfield 533MHz FSB LGA 775 Dual Core,EM64T Processor Model BX80551PE2666FN - Retail
Item #: N82E16819116001

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Unbuffered System Memory Model VS1GB667D2 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820146580

Airnet AWD154 PCI Wireless card - Retail
Item #: N82E16833338010

Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822144160 -

LITE-ON Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE 16X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM
Item #: N82E16827106014
Click to expand...

Question: how did you get the ATX Mobo to fit inside the M-Atx case? LOL
 
delanooch

delanooch

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The Antec Sonata II is a great case, I had the version 1 which I used all the way up until I built my latest rig.

I did replace the PSU afer about 6 months due to power requirements for my system, I gave the Antec to a friend of mine and he is still using it to this day.

Also, It is a very quiet case, the rubber mounts/grommets for the fans 120mm and the HHD screws have rubber shock absorbers on them , also the dust filter in the front panel keeps the inside or the case cleaner.

The version 2 is just a better revision of something that was already great.

My only complaint about the case are the blue leds on the front you have to hook up to a molex power dongle, THEY A FREAKING BRIGHT! So I just left it unplugged.
 
P

pixel

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The Antec Sonata II is a great case, I had the version 1 which I used all the way up until I built my latest rig.

I did replace the PSU afer about 6 months due to power requirements for my system, I gave the Antec to a friend of mine and he is still using it to this day.

Also, It is a very quiet case, the rubber mounts/grommets for the fans 120mm and the HHD screws have rubber shock absorbers on them , also the dust filter in the front panel keeps the inside or the case cleaner.

The version 2 is just a better revision of something that was already great.

My only complaint about the case are the blue leds on the front you have to hook up to a molex power dongle, THEY A FREAKING BRIGHT! So I just left it unplugged.
Click to expand...


Alright, thanks.


Can I do better with the motherboard in some more money or is that good?



EDIT: Is this a better option?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123258
 
R

rickpcnerd

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This is what im Builting my own. might be interested.

This is an Gaming, Entertainment, Multimedia PC.

Asus A8N-SLI Mainboar
AMD Athlon 64 4200
Corsair 1024 GB PC3200 DDR DIMM
Seagate Barracuda ST3160023AS 160GB Hard Drive
Creative XFI Music sound card
ATI All-In-Wonder 2006 Edition Radeon X1300 256mb
Power Supply-ThermalTake 430W
DVD-Rom-NEC ND-3550A Dual Layer DVD±RW Writer
Cooler Master CAC-T05UW Centurion 5 Black/Silver Mid Tower


Motherboard;Asus A8N-SLI Mainboard $115.83
http://www.ajump.com/ajump/product.asp?pf%5Fid=0640159&dept%5Fid=5103

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual Core Processor $354.95
http://www.futurepowerpc.com/scripts/details.asp?PRDCODE=CPAM-R644200B...mp;REFI

Memory:Corsair 1GB PC3200 DDR DIMM Memory $99.59
http://www1.bottomdollar.com/p__Corsair_1GB_PC3200_DDR_DIMM_Memory,__9...41/sear

Hard Seagate Barracuda ST3160023AS 160GB Hard Drive $75.26
http://www.buydeal.com/MfrListingDescription.jsp?ListId=FR5386

Video Card:ATI All-In-Wonder 2006 Edition Radeon X1300 Video Card $171.99
http://www.futurepowerpc.com/scripts/details.asp?PRDCODE=VCAT-10071460...mp;REFI


Sound Card:Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic $110.95
http://www2.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?utm_id=17&ref=pricegrabbe...mp;sku=

Power Supply-ThermalTake Thermatalke TR2 W0070RUC 430W Power Supply $37.88
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=370565&amp...filiate

DVD-Rom-NEC ND-3550A Dual Layer DVD±RW Writer - Black $43.34
http://www1.bottomdollar.com/p__NEC_ND_3550A_Dual_Layer_DVD_RW_Writer_...ck,__13


Case:Cooler Master CAC-T05UW Centurion 5 Black/Silver Mid Tower $62.79
http://www.shopperexpo.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=CAC-T05-UW&a...click=7

Tototal with tax. even with sound card
$961.62

this system migh cost up to $1800 on a computer store
 
delanooch

delanooch

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Mar 15, 2006
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This is what im Builting my own. might be interested.

This is an Gaming, Entertainment, Multimedia PC.

Asus A8N-SLI Mainboar
AMD Athlon 64 4200
Corsair 1024 GB PC3200 DDR DIMM
Seagate Barracuda ST3160023AS 160GB Hard Drive
Creative XFI Music sound card
ATI All-In-Wonder 2006 Edition Radeon X1300 256mb
Power Supply-ThermalTake 430W
DVD-Rom-NEC ND-3550A Dual Layer DVD±RW Writer
Cooler Master CAC-T05UW Centurion 5 Black/Silver Mid Tower


Motherboard;Asus A8N-SLI Mainboard $115.83
http://www.ajump.com/ajump/product.asp?pf%5Fid=0640159&dept%5Fid=5103

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual Core Processor $354.95
http://www.futurepowerpc.com/scripts/details.asp?PRDCODE=CPAM-R644200B...mp;REFI

Memory:Corsair 1GB PC3200 DDR DIMM Memory $99.59
http://www1.bottomdollar.com/p__Corsair_1GB_PC3200_DDR_DIMM_Memory,__9...41/sear

Hard Seagate Barracuda ST3160023AS 160GB Hard Drive $75.26
http://www.buydeal.com/MfrListingDescription.jsp?ListId=FR5386

Video Card:ATI All-In-Wonder 2006 Edition Radeon X1300 Video Card $171.99
http://www.futurepowerpc.com/scripts/details.asp?PRDCODE=VCAT-10071460...mp;REFI


Sound Card:Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic $110.95
http://www2.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?utm_id=17&ref=pricegrabbe...mp;sku=

Power Supply-ThermalTake Thermatalke TR2 W0070RUC 430W Power Supply $37.88
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=370565&amp...filiate

DVD-Rom-NEC ND-3550A Dual Layer DVD±RW Writer - Black $43.34
http://www1.bottomdollar.com/p__NEC_ND_3550A_Dual_Layer_DVD_RW_Writer_...ck,__13


Case:Cooler Master CAC-T05UW Centurion 5 Black/Silver Mid Tower $62.79
http://www.shopperexpo.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=CAC-T05-UW&a...click=7

Tototal with tax. even with sound card
$961.62

this system migh cost up to $1800 on a computer store
Click to expand...

Might want to add in another $150 dollars for shipping from all those different stores. Try to get them all from the same store then see the difference you might pay less actually.

Seems silly to do so many different transactions.
 
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