Tom's Hardware > Forum > Homebuilt Systems > General Homebuilt > Best AM2 system under $700
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Mattellite   08-03-2006 at 07:16:09 AM

For your typical light to medium duty user, here is an excellent configuration for a good system today with a strong upgrade path. The ideal user for this system wants to upgrade outdated hardware but is not necessarily interested in going as high end as SLI or Crossfire.

I consider this build my stepping stone pc to the killer rig I plan to have in a year or two. I plan to order it tomorrow night. Enjoy and critique.

Motherboard:
ASUS M2N-E Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131022

CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Orleans 2000MHz HT 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103633

RAM:
Patriot 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit System Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220095

Video Card:
XFX PVT42EUDE3 6800 XTreme 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814150130

Power Supply:
Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-430 ATX12V 430W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817103928

Hard Drive:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148144

Optical Drive:
SAMSUNG Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache ATA/ATAPI DVD Burner With LightScribe
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827151118

Case:
Choose an ATX case that you like. You have about 50 bucks left.

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Norien   08-03-2006 at 05:19:45 PM
- 0 +

I must say, your specs are close to mine

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/har [...] 94144.html

Now that I think about it, I could go with a lower priced power suppy by FSP for about $50

Reply to Norien
tekzor   08-03-2006 at 05:47:39 PM
- 0 +

heres what I would do

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 814102496R

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813138029

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103735

great choice o the ram btw.
I got that set for DDR400 and it runs 220 HTT oc. GL!
If you dont want vid card then use the mobos built in one.
If you dont want x2 then get 3800+ single, I used it till i switched to x2. It was great but no encoding video and warcraft 3 at samew time lol.

Reply to tekzor
Mattellite   08-03-2006 at 08:48:43 PM
- 0 +

I'll stick with the M2N-E and the single-core CPU for the base of my budget layout, but the X800 seems to be more popular than the video card I chose.

To me, for the amount of gaming that would be done by the person I'm gearing this configuration toward, I don't know that it matters much.

I like the setup because although I don't game much now, I'd like to have the option open for if that must-have game comes out and I feel the urge to upgrade again.

I would also submit that this would be an excellent choice for the system's memory:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820220095
Same speed, but lower latency than the Corsair. According to Patriot, it is compatible with the M2N-E, although it is not listed in the board's manual.

Reply to Mattellite
tekzor   08-03-2006 at 09:09:19 PM
- 0 +

Quote :

I'll stick with the M2N-E and the single-core CPU for the base of my budget layout, but the X800 seems to be more popular than the video card I chose.

To me, for the amount of gaming that would be done by the person I'm gearing this configuration toward, I don't know that it matters much.

I like the setup because although I don't game much now, I'd like to have the option open for if that must-have game comes out and I feel the urge to upgrade again.

I would also submit that this would be an excellent choice for the system's memory:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820220095
Same speed, but lower latency than the Corsair. According to Patriot, it is compatible with the M2N-E, although it is not listed in the board's manual.




great choice of ram. Corsair is heavily over rated imo. I use patriot ddr400 at 2-3-2-5 timings. runs great. The mother board I gave u is cheaper and has little difference that u'll notice from the later. That gives you enough cash to go for a better CPU like the x2. having the X2 will keep you off upgrading for 2 years at least and you can still up the gfx card later.

Reply to tekzor
Mattellite   08-03-2006 at 10:13:26 PM
- 0 +

I agree that the x2 would be a better long-term solution, and so probably a better recommendation for most people.

I am recommending the 3500+ at the $90.80 price on Newegg for two reasons:

1. Good performance for the price allowing me to stay under the $700 budget I set up.
2. My personal plan is actually to upgrade my CPU in the next two years.

Reply to Mattellite
shadowduck   08-04-2006 at 02:53:23 AM
- 0 +

Quote :

I agree that the x2 would be a better long-term solution, and so probably a better recommendation for most people.

I am recommending the 3500+ at the $90.80 price on Newegg for two reasons:

1. Good performance for the price allowing me to stay under the $700 budget I set up.
2. My personal plan is actually to upgrade my CPU in the next two years.



Good choice on CPU and motherboard. Horrible choice on the RAM. AM2+ DDR2-667 is awful. You need to get DDR2-800 CAS4 for AM2 to make any sense or work better than S939. If you only upgrade every 2 years- going 939 might not be a bad deal for you.

Reply to shadowduck
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