Old computer crapped out , need to build a new one

[dennisrathi]

Alright so right now I have a pretty old system
amd xp 2500
asus nforce 2 mobo
512 mb ram
radeon 9600xt video card
160 gb hard drive

Recently it shorted out when the power went out (yeah i need a surge protecter) and it is really messed up.
I have about 500 bucks to build a new computer with and was hoping if people could suggest good budget parts that will blow my system away? I use it for basic internet tasks, some intense photoshop stuff and just CS:S and warcraft 3. One of the main problems of my old system was its lack to output decent video for my 21" monitor with a 160 x1105n (or whatever that resolution similar to that is).

Parts list would be greatly appreciated. I've read like the last 20 posts in this section but there are so many different parts and I've been out of it for so long, I have no clue. \]
Thanks,
Dennis

 

[Gundam1s]

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.asp?ID=7192408

Just so happens that I have a Budget system saved in newegg. lol

You can use this list as a guide to building your rig, customize as you see fit.

 

[dennisrathi]

Link didnt work.

 

[Gundam1s]

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=7192408
Opps lol

Heres a powersupply that I'd recommend
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104954

 

[lunyone]

Here you go! It's has $50 in MIR's so price shipped is ~$550 - MIR = ~$500

Qty. Product Description
1 COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: CAC-T05-UW
Item #: N82E16811119068
Mail-in Rebate
$49.99 - $10 MIR = $39.99

1 GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3 AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: GA-M61P-S3
Item #: N82E16813128034
$79.99 -$5.00 Instant $74.99

1 HIS Hightech H195PRQT256DVN-R-V2 Radeon X1950PRO 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Model #: H195PRQT256DVN-R-V2
Item #: N82E16814161088
Mail-in Rebate $40.00
$169.99 - $40 MIR = $129.99

1 Antec Basiq BP500U ATX12V Version 2.01 500W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: BP500U
Item #: N82E16817371004
$69.99 -$10.00 Instant $59.99

1 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ Brisbane 2.1GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADO4000DDBOX - Retail
Model #: ADO4000DDBOX
Item #: N82E16819103774
$65.99

1 G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
Model #: F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ
Item #: N82E16820231098
$119.99 -$40.00 Instant $79.99

1 LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner included extra White bezel, with 12X DVD-RAM Write Black IDE Model DH-20A3P-08 - Retail
$29.99
Subtotal: $530.93
Shipping: $16.03
Total: $546.96!!!!! - $50 MIR's = $496.96!!!!

Forgot to ask if you will need an OS for this system? The video card is the cheapest I could find in that category for the maximum performance you can get right now in that price range. Last week there was a Sapphire x1950pro for $136 shipped w/no MIR, but it's currently out of stock

My 2cp's

 

[dennisrathi]

How much better are these systems than what i currently have? Noticeable difference in CS:S and photoshop? Processing multiple tasks? having photoshop and illustrator open and working at the same time?

 

[lunyone]

Will BLOW away your current rig!!! No doubt about it! Just having 2gigs of Ram and the GPU power will make ALOT of difference for gaming, compared to what you have now. Do you have your own OS for the build? If not, than we'll need to adjust for it.

 

[dennisrathi]

Yeah I dual boot linux and xp.

 

[Gundam1s]

Hey dennisrathi,
If you drop the OS and hard drive from my build and switch lunyone's motherboard into the build you might be able to get a X1950XT with this PSU. Reuse your hard drive if possible.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16817128005

X1950XT:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814241063

 

[lunyone]

Those ^^ would work too, if you like. Video card would be better, but he should have 2 gig's of DDR2 right now, since it's really cheap right now. If he dropped down to 1 gig of DDR2 (which I wouldn't recommend) he would save about $40 from my build. And then added your x1950xt to it, that would add about $25 to my total build, giving a grand total of about $525. Not too shabby

 

[dennisrathi]

Hmm thanks guys. I'm going to shop around and i might wait till black friday since I do have an ibook that will hold out till then.

 

[lunyone]

Hmm thanks guys. I'm going to shop around and i might wait till black friday since I do have an ibook that will hold out till then.

Well you can do that, it's your $. Good luck with your build, when you decide to do it.

 

[dennisrathi]

Would I beable to build a better performing computer for the same amount of money with an intel chip? I've been reading and I guess Intel is on top right now?

 

[pous]

You could do a pretty nice intel set up for around 500-600.
Look up these parts on Newegg.com:

Case - CoolerMaster Centurion 534 ($50)
Mobo - Gigabyte P35 DS3L ($100)
CPU - E4400 ($126)
PSU - Corsair 520HX or Antec NeoHE 550 ($100ish)
RAM - 2x1GB G.Skill DDR2 800 PC2 6400 ($85)
GPU - Radeon x1950Pro or 8600gts ($150ish)
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200RPM SATA ($75 or so)

Something along those lines would be pretty awesome for you, it's around 6-700 and the 4400 is oc'able. Also that board supports quad core's if you're interested in upgrading in the future.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to build.

 

[lunyone]

You could do a pretty nice intel set up for around 500-600.
Look up these parts on Newegg.com:

Case - CoolerMaster Centurion 534 ($50)
Mobo - Gigabyte P35 DS3L ($100)
CPU - E4400 ($126)
PSU - Corsair 520HX or Antec NeoHE 550 ($100ish)
RAM - 2x1GB G.Skill DDR2 800 PC2 6400 ($85)
GPU - Radeon x1950Pro or 8600gts ($150ish)
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200RPM SATA ($75 or so)

Something along those lines would be pretty awesome for you, it's around 6-700 and the 4400 is oc'able. Also that board supports quad core's if you're interested in upgrading in the future.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to build.

Well that is $100-$200 over his stated budget. I would've recommended similar build, but the OP said that he had $500 to spend, so if he's streaching his budget from the original amout, he would be better off with what you posted. Mine build posted earlier saves about $125 on PSU/CPU/mobo. Yes the Intel system would have more potential than the AMD one, but doesn't fit the original budget.

My 2cp's

 

[pous]

True about that, sorry. I get carried away sometimes.
For what I listed you could save $50 and go with an E2140 and have some great OC'ability still.
You could also save $35 by getting an 8600GT for 115... or save 60 and get a 7600 gt and then later on you could get a nice 8 series card when you've got more money.

Seems like either way the intel set-up will be a bit over budget, but if there's any way you could swing it now, you'd have better upgradeability later...

Good luck with what you decide, sorry for going over budget ^_^

Edit:
Another thought I had is on the PSU... you can get a nice FSP psu for around 50-70 dollars and save some money there as well.

Depending on your hard drive requirements you could save some money by getting a smaller HDD up front, but it's not really worth the 20 you'd save to lose 1/2 or more of your total space.

I'm kind of grasping at straws here, just trying to help though.

 

[lunyone]

If he was to use an intel CPU than this is what I'd recommend:
CPU $76
Intel Dual-Core E2140 Allendale 1.6GHz 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819116037

Mobo $106
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128059

Memory $80 - $15 MIR = $65
A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820211066

PSU $60 shipped! Hard to beat for value and quality
Antec Basiq BP500U ATX12V Version 2.01 500W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CB, CE, CSA, TUV, FCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817371004

Video Card $143 shipped, About as good as you can get for this price.
SAPPHIRE 100176L Radeon X1950PRO 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102061

Case $50 Shipped!! Can't get too much better in this price range.
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UB Black /Blue Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811119047

Than use the 160gig HD and the DVD/CD drive that he currently has (for now) and he has a Intel system for $507.55 Shipped - $15 MIR for DDR2 and you have $492.55!!! Hard to beat at that price (unless you get older mobo or different GPU).