- Sep 3, 2007
- 13
- 0
- 18,510
My friend has presented me with a pretty interesting challenge. His desktop recently died and he decided to buy some new parts. He's recycling some of the parts from his old computer to try to cut costs.
Re-using:
19" CRT Monitor (hoping to fit an LCD into the 600 budget, will explain later)
Hard Drives
Optical Drives
Zalman CPU Cooler
What we need are as follows:
CPU
Mobo
Ram
GPU
PWS
Case
He added an interesting stipulation that he wanted to keep it to around 500 w/o a monitor and up to 600 (inc shipping/tax/etc) with a monitor. Since he has a monitor already, getting a new LCD isn't really high on the priority list. Like myself, he isn't a benchmark oriented person, so this has helped with cutting costs, but I'm still having trouble fitting everything in for either the 500 or 600 bracket. No mater what I have done, I have found it impossible to keep it under 600 (especially with the addition of an LCD which are like $150 minimum). This is the list that I have come up with so far, feel free to tear it to shreds if there are better options/selections available as we're trying to be as cost effective as possible.
Another note I think I should add is that he probably won't be gaming at resolutions above 1600 (max) and will probably stay with 1280x1024 or wide screen equivalent. OCing is a possibility.
The parts below are for the 600 budget:
CPU - Intel Pentium E2160 Allendale 1.8GHz 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116036
$73.99
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059
$89.99
Memory - GeIL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144062
$59.99 w/ $10 MIR (not really counting on this!)
LCD - Hanns·G HW-173DBB Black 17" 8ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 500:1 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254018
$149.99
GPU - EVGA 512-P3-N862-AR Superclocked GeForce 9600GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130328
$179.99
I originally recommended the 3850, but I am not so sure that saving $20 here would be worth the performance difference. The other option here could be to grab a lower end card like the 8600GT for around $100 and upgrade at a later period in time when prices drop a little further.
At this point, the total is already 553.95 with a case + pws left. Please help!
Re-using:
19" CRT Monitor (hoping to fit an LCD into the 600 budget, will explain later)
Hard Drives
Optical Drives
Zalman CPU Cooler
What we need are as follows:
CPU
Mobo
Ram
GPU
PWS
Case
He added an interesting stipulation that he wanted to keep it to around 500 w/o a monitor and up to 600 (inc shipping/tax/etc) with a monitor. Since he has a monitor already, getting a new LCD isn't really high on the priority list. Like myself, he isn't a benchmark oriented person, so this has helped with cutting costs, but I'm still having trouble fitting everything in for either the 500 or 600 bracket. No mater what I have done, I have found it impossible to keep it under 600 (especially with the addition of an LCD which are like $150 minimum). This is the list that I have come up with so far, feel free to tear it to shreds if there are better options/selections available as we're trying to be as cost effective as possible.
Another note I think I should add is that he probably won't be gaming at resolutions above 1600 (max) and will probably stay with 1280x1024 or wide screen equivalent. OCing is a possibility.
The parts below are for the 600 budget:
CPU - Intel Pentium E2160 Allendale 1.8GHz 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116036
$73.99
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059
$89.99
Memory - GeIL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144062
$59.99 w/ $10 MIR (not really counting on this!)
LCD - Hanns·G HW-173DBB Black 17" 8ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 500:1 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254018
$149.99
GPU - EVGA 512-P3-N862-AR Superclocked GeForce 9600GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130328
$179.99
I originally recommended the 3850, but I am not so sure that saving $20 here would be worth the performance difference. The other option here could be to grab a lower end card like the 8600GT for around $100 and upgrade at a later period in time when prices drop a little further.
At this point, the total is already 553.95 with a case + pws left. Please help!
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