Tricky Budget Build Needs Help

[machi9]

I know all of you gurus could build a lovely 3.0 ghz Duo with $700. But can any of you build a nice system when the money is really tight, say half that, $350. And can any of you build an nice overclocker for that amount?

I was thinking of a basic opteron with a mirco board and tower to save money. A gig of cheap kingston, and a hardrive all listed below, but i need your guy's help on this one.

Ive been out of the building biz too long to know enough about whats out there now. Ive heard the opteron can reach 3.0 but on a micro board? and can value ram let it clock that high? I know slow ram will hold the cpu back when your raising the FSB, but couldn't you just underclock the ram to compensate? Should i not even be thinking about DDR1 is DDR2 that much better?

The budget is flexible, but obviously some sacrifices will have to be made(before you recommend a $99 PSU). I'm open to all ideas and thank you very much for your input!

cpu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103600
mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813188007
case/psu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811108024
ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141307
hard drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144417

 

[akhilles]

Shopping Cart
Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price
1
COOLMAX CV-580 White 0.6mm Steel Chassis / ABS Panel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811212026
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$9.99
1
PC CHIPS A33G V1.0 Socket AM2 SiS 761 GX Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813185083
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy


$46.99
1
JetWay X16PR-ED-128L Radeon X1600PRO 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814153030
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy


$69.99
1
FSP Group (Fortron Source) ATX400-PA, version 2.0, SATA, 400W Power Supply - OEM
Item #: N82E16817104952
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$36.99
1
WINTEC AMPO 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 3AMD2533-1G1K-R - Retail
Item #: N82E16820161669
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy


$74.99
1
AMD Sempron 64 2800+ Manila 1.6GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model SDA2800CNBOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819104301
Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy


$49.00
1
Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822135106
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
ASUS Beige E-IDE/ATAPI CD-ROM Drive Model CD-S520/A5 - Retail
Item #: N82E16827134013
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$5.00 Combo

$55.98
$50.98

Grand Total:* $338.93

* Total does not include shipping or taxes, please input your zip code to calculate your order total.

It's for reference only. I'm sure you don't like this setup.

You're right about underclocking slow ram to get a higher fsb.

 

[etomasula]

Wow thats a tight budget. You could probably get a nice a single core for that, but conroes cost that much just for the proc. Get yourself an athalon, and some regular ddr. DDR2 is overrated. Even though it has higher clock frequencies, the latentcy is much higher and the memory controller will be the bottleneck in the long run. Only with the much higher frequencies will you begin to see a real difference.

Trying to help. . .

AMD Athalon 939 ~ 50$
MB (your choice 70$)
SATA drive 60$
1GB DRR (60 to 80$)

Try to find a barbones they are the best deal. If you can rustle up the cash check out the one below.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=2901385&sku=S458-1240%20C

 

[Dekard]

I picked up a core 2 duo, e6600 for $275 about 4 months ago... get one for that price, or a e6300 for a lot less. Pair it with a decent motherboad and one gig of ram. Your under $350 and you've got a solid dual core machine... It will absolutely smoke an overclocked athlon box as well.

 

[matrixinc]

But can any of you build a nice system when the money is really tight, say half that, $350.

With a budget as tight as this one you need to save everywhere you can.

There is a an option for a free case and a free PSU.

Case is $40 free with rebate. Usually takes 6 weeks to arrive. You will have to buy fans though.
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5124886?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

500W PSU is $40 free with rebate. Usually takes 6 weeks to arrive.
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4587977?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

 

[Dekard]

an e6300 is running $187 right now.. e4300 for $175... at those prices you can still afford a gig of ddr2 ($75), a case with power supply ($10), a hard drive ($40) and a motherboard ($42). Thats a grand total of $342 before shipping... I'm sure with more than 5 minutes on Newegg I could do better...

So, ya... core 2 duo for less than $350 is not only possible, but reasonable.

 

[etomasula]

I picked up a core 2 duo, e6600 for $275 about 4 months ago... get one for that price, or a e6300 for a lot less. Pair it with a decent motherboad and one gig of ram. Your under $350 and you've got a solid dual core machine... It will absolutely smoke an overclocked athlon box as well.

Yah thats great but if you are spending 275$ for a processor that leaves 75$ for everything else. The e6300 is still about 190$. Even with that you gotta skimp on everything else. Forget overclocking with a crappy mb and cheap ram. Get real dude there is now way your getting a conroe system for 350$. nuff said

 

[Dekard]

I picked up a core 2 duo, e6600 for $275 about 4 months ago... get one for that price, or a e6300 for a lot less. Pair it with a decent motherboad and one gig of ram. Your under $350 and you've got a solid dual core machine... It will absolutely smoke an overclocked athlon box as well.

Yah thats great but if you are spending 275$ for a processor that leaves 75$ for everything else. The e6300 is still about 190$. Even with that you gotta skimp on everything else. Forget overclocking with a crappy mb and cheap ram. Get real dude there is now way your getting a conroe system for 350$. nuff saidplease read my last post.. I gave detailed pricing information on this... its entirely possible...

 

[rockyjohn]

You call that system reasonable?
$20 case and PSU?
No optical drive
No case fans

I think you have shown that it is possible but NOT reasonable.

 

[Dekard]

the OP asked... I provided the information requested... He didn't spec any optical drives in his request... Again, this was a 5 minute build off newegg... With more time it could certainly be optimized...

 

[skyguy]

We ALL know you can't overclock a $50 motherboard for a C2D. End of story. Otherwise, most of us would already own that mobo. :roll:

1) The OP needs to provide more info on what components EXACTLY he needs included in the $350
2) A C2D system (ie-PSU, mobo, RAM, etc) is not possible for $350. No responsible person here would recommend a $10 PSU. You can get a CPU/mobo/RAM for $350, but not a system. So clarification is required there.
3) A single core AMD on a 939 mobo with DDR....you can build a system for $350. It won't be pretty, but it'll do.

Otherwise just order the cheapest Dell you can find. Seriously.

 

[yquo]

Processor
90 usd AMD Athlon64 3500+ or
99 usd AMD Athlon64 3800+

Motherboard
58 usd ECS ATI Xpress 1100

Memory 80 usd 1 Gb DDR2 667

The hard drive is good otherwise pick a Seagate 250 Gb 7200.10
Hard Drive 80 usd Seagate 250 Gb 16 Mb SataII

Case pick an Antec with psu

60 usd Antec Solution with PSU

Total = 368 usd + s&h Sorry my best, change the memory to 512 instead of 1 Gb if you want 49 usd 512 Mb DDR2 667

 

[machi9]

yay, lots of good feedback

ok, if slow ram can be underclockd to allow running up the FSB then my question becomes why are people shelling out big bucks for high end ram? My understanding was that fast ram only improved system performance a small amount, 1-2%, so from a price/performace standpoint it dosn't seem worth it.

well its starting to look like any decent amd cpu/mobo will cost at least $150 , and if the E4300 drops in price, like i heard it might, then it looks like an extra $100 to jump to the duo side, in which case i suppose its worth it?

still looking for any bargains that anyone knows about, any cheap stuff you happen to know of that has ok quality.

thanks to all repliers

 

[cattbert]

Ooops, I did not see the earlier poster pointing out the free case and PSU at Fry's so I am editing this post. I would just add that I have used the case in a budget build (as a gift for my sister) and was very happy with it ... no sharp edges, both sides come off for easy installation of the drives, has front USB and Firewire.

As to the free Ultra PSU, that is what I have in this system and am happy with it. Ultra products come with a lifetime warranty if you register the product.

I have also submitted 5 rebates to Ultra, two of those cases, two of the 500w PSU's and a 400w PSU (all free after rebate) and have received all of the rebates (after the requisite 6 weeks).

Finally, I used one of Newegg's cheap combo's for the computer I put together for my sister (Biostar MB & Sempron 2800 for $79). It was my first experience with the Sempron and I was impressed. Obviously, it is not going to do well at any heavy duty tasks or allow for lots of multi-tasking, but when I was surfing the net or doing other general tasks it was more than adequate.