Impulse Homebrew Purchase, TODAY! [Please help]

[OMGLAZERS]

As a present to myself for getting through my eight final exams without shooting myself or someone else, i've decided to TODAY purchase online all the parts needed for a brand spanking new homebrewed computer. The only caveat to my purchase is that I have to make the entire thing, by tonight, only giving me a few hours to make decisions and purchases. The reason being is that not only will I get too lazy/drunk/tired to do it later, but this just makes it that much more interesting.

I'm planning on upgrading from my current setup, which is as follows:

AMD Athlon XP 2700+
A-Bit NF7-S (Socket A)
1 GB RAM DDR 333 mhz
128 MB Radeon 9800 Pro

is essentially my core computer.

I have a DVD Burner and other drivers, a nice power supply, some hard drives, etc; all of which, I want to carry over. Case possible for upgrade however.

So I'd like everyone to help me out here with what they think would be a great new set-up for under or around $500.

I have been an AMD/ATI kid my entire life, without any good reason honestly to do so. And i'm totally open to change. I could get a Intel/nVidia setup and wouldn't mind, as long as the numbers and budget back it up.

One or two things to mention.. i'd like to upgrade to PCIE and maybe even a PCIE 16's x2 in case I need to re-buff up my video card (think this new kind of upgrade is worth it?) so hopefully the mobo can carry that.

Also, my ATI card is slightly damaged, and ATI told me about the trade up program. It cuts about $50 off on some of their cards; Radeon x1600/1650 512 PCIEs for 150 & 175 (Link: http://shop.ati.com/tradeup.asp) I don't mind spending an extra $50 to get a card above that as long as they blow those cards for the price out of the water.

*Edit*: Also, I've never Overclocked before, but if anyone suggests OC-compatable or good hardware and how to get around to doing it, i'll totally be down for OC as long as $300 doesn't have to go into some crazy liquid nitrogen cooling system.

I'm going to get started, ANYONE who wants to help has my eternal gratitude, and i'll even tattoo your name and or message on my computer once I mod it if you want. I just would like to see what I can get done today.

Alright, thanks to anyone out there who wants to help.

 

[AMDThunder]

Try this:

AMD X2 3800+
ECS AM2 Mobo
COOLER MASTER Centurion Case
Coolmax 500W PSU
Ampo 2X512 667 Memory
eVGA 6600GT vid card


Should put you under budget. Personally, I'd go for the Intel C2D, but it will definitely put you over budget.

 

[sprite]

I second that, not enough money for a C2D build

Try and notch up to a 7900GS Graphics Card. Also go for 1 stick of RAM @ 1GB so it's easier to upgrade in the future.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814186003

^^ Good Deal

 

[OMGLAZERS]

I second that, not enough money for a C2D build

Try and notch up to a 7900GS Graphics Card. Also go for 1 stick of RAM @ 1GB so it's easier to upgrade in the future.

I'm willing to be flexable on my budget because if I can get a C2D without having to drop $1000 i'm down

so C2Ds ARE Acceptable!

 

[GSTe]

Errrr:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150208 $150;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227126 $108;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135022 $75;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115005 $182;

= $515 (after rebates).

My message is 'Vegetable rights and peace'.

But seriously, forget the case for a while so you can get a good CPU and Video card. $150 for 20 pipes and that memory speed is a steal.

 

[Onus]

That GPU link went to the memory. I found this eVGA 6600GT for $99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130064

Subtracting the $28 for the questionable PSU (he says he has one) might mean there's room for this in the budget.

That ECS mobo only supports 1.5Gb/sec SATA, but if older drives are being used, that may not matter. Newer drives can probably work if they are jumpered to the slower speed.

Definitely a step forward.

 

[sprite]

I second that, not enough money for a C2D build

Try and notch up to a 7900GS Graphics Card. Also go for 1 stick of RAM @ 1GB so it's easier to upgrade in the future.

I'm willing to be flexable on my budget because if I can get a C2D without having to drop $1000 i'm down

so C2Ds ARE Acceptable!

Alright then, get that 7900GS, an E6300, Gigabyte S3 Mobo, 1GB of RAM (preferably 2GB if you can afford it) and maybe another PSU.

Not too clued up on US pricing as im from over the pond (UK)

 

[OMGLAZERS]

Errrr:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150208 $150;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227126 $108;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135022 $75;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115005 $182;

= $515 (after rebates).

My message is 'Vegetable rights and peace'.

But seriously, forget the case for a while so you can get a good CPU and Video card. $150 for 20 pipes and that memory speed is a steal.

If I go C2D, is this a good card for the price to speed? I saw like a $220 for 2.2 ghz or something. Also, the video card is a good price but how does it match up to the ATI Radeon x1650? It's double the memory, but does this one have like so much better architechture that it runs better?

 

[angminas]

I dunno, I've never had that PSU, but it's very poorly reviewed. Check out this one for $11 more. I love mine, and 82% of people give it a 5. If you're stepping up to PCI-E, do consider that 7600GT. It'll poop all over a 6600GT. But if you can possibly swing it, the 7900GS is well worth the extra $50, for sure.

The entire X16** series is overpriced. A 7600GT is much faster for the same money. It's completely beyond me how so many X16**s get sold.

 

[lordaardvark2]

ha ha ha YES! :lol:

i love it. i love the whole idea. man, i wish that first of all i was done with all my exams, and second of all, i had the money to pull this off. this is so hilarious, you're building a computer TONIGHT! ah.... so great!

man, i wouldn't mind joining you for a drink or two tonite..... alas, school is still in full swing for me...

[the semi-helpful part of my post: go for the 7___ over the x16__. 7 series cards ROCK for the money]

 

[GSTe]

Personally I think its the best value card around at the moment. Almost as good as my 7800GT which cost me equivalent of $400 back in February. It will absolutely nail the ATI. To give you some idea of the performance, my 7800GT can run most games well at 1280 x 1024 with everything on high, most of the time even with 16x Anisotropic and 4 x Anti-aliasing.

 

[sprite]

Errrr:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150208 $150;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227126 $108;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135022 $75;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115005 $182;

= $515 (after rebates).

My message is 'Vegetable rights and peace'.

But seriously, forget the case for a while so you can get a good CPU and Video card. $150 for 20 pipes and that memory speed is a steal.

If I go C2D, is this a good card for the price to speed? I saw like a $220 for 2.2 ghz or something. Also, the video card is a good price but how does it match up to the ATI Radeon x1650? It's double the memory, but does this one have like so much better architechture that it runs better?

Did you end up buying it all yesterday then ?