[New system build] Advice needed for budget challenged system

[chrismoo]

Hi folks,

I am looking for some advice. I want to upgrade my old 939 DIY machine and am on a small $350 budget. I am looking for the best components I can buy now but upgrade when budget permits.

I am looking to use the machine for betas, evaluations e.g. SBS 2008, Windows 2008, Virtual Server and/or Ubuntu with VirtualBox. I also do some gaming so want to be a little versatile and add some fun too so am thinking in time SLI GPUs.

As I say my core budget right now is $350 so I need a good mobo with upgrade path for processors, etc. I have a case but need to upgrade PSU as it is the 20 not 24 pin type. I have to start a 250Gb SATA II drive and a 7100 GeForce GPU, PCIe. I want to start with 4Gb RAM with a view to maybe later expanding to 8Gb to do more virtual PC/server type evals and work.

I would really appreciate any advice on where to go with this considering my challenging budget!

I put this together as a starting point:

ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W ATX Power Supply - Retail
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO5000DOBOX
OCZ Value 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2V8004GK - Retail ■

 

[mihirkula]

^..Drop that build...here's a much faster build for about your budget

CPU: Intel E2160: $70

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L : $80

RAM: 2GB DDR2 800 Crucial Ballastix : $20

GPU: 8600GT 512mb: $90

Hard Drive: Seagate 250GB: $60

PSU: Corsair 450vx : $55

Total: $375. Everything on newegg except for RAM, mobo and PSU on buy.com

PS: SLI GPU setup will increase your budget to $800 or so..cos you'd have to get SLI mobo, bigger PSU and an additional GPU.

 

[chrismoo]

Would you mind explaining how this is quicker? I am more thn a little rusty on the motherboard scene these days! I checked passmark.com for general CPU performance and the 5000+ X2 chip seems to outperform the E2160.

I checked the mobo on NewEgg and they say the GA-EP35-DS3L has replaced the one you mentioned. It is cheaper which seems odd......I noticed the Intel Core2Duos do not support Virtualization like the AMD ones and wonder how much of an impact that would have?

Right now I have a GPU and hard drive so I can remove those from the equation. I went AMD as I thought there was in general more bang for buck so to speak and the ASUS mobo as I could upgrade to some serious processors in time when budget allows. SLI was a nice thought and the ASUS board offered it - I would not install super GPU's as my gaming is not that serious so it was a bonus on the ASUS board.

Thanks for taking the time to offer some advice!!

Chris

 

[chrismoo]

How about this - all on NewEgg:

Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W ATX Power Supply - Retail 40.99 with $10 mail in rebate
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996557 - Retail 83.99 with $10 mail in rebate
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $89.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 Allendale 2.4GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E4600 - Retail $119.99

All with shipping $345.45

 

[modode]

How about this - all on NewEgg:

Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W ATX Power Supply - Retail 40.99 with $10 mail in rebate
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996557 - Retail 83.99 with $10 mail in rebate
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $89.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 Allendale 2.4GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E4600 - Retail $119.99

All with shipping $345.45

I second this build, except I'd replace the CPU above with this one (assuming you can afford to be 15-20 bucks over budget):
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz 3MB L2 Cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115052

 

[mihirkula]

Would you mind explaining how this is quicker? I am more thn a little rusty on the motherboard scene these days! I checked passmark.com for general CPU performance and the 5000+ X2 chip seems to outperform the E2160.

I checked the mobo on NewEgg and they say the GA-EP35-DS3L has replaced the one you mentioned. It is cheaper which seems odd......I noticed the Intel Core2Duos do not support Virtualization like the AMD ones and wonder how much of an impact that would have?

Right now I have a GPU and hard drive so I can remove those from the equation. I went AMD as I thought there was in general more bang for buck so to speak and the ASUS mobo as I could upgrade to some serious processors in time when budget allows. SLI was a nice thought and the ASUS board offered it - I would not install super GPU's as my gaming is not that serious so it was a bonus on the ASUS board.

Thanks for taking the time to offer some advice!!

Chris

I was under the impression that you do need a GPU and HD..so i included them in your rig and since they all had to fit in that budget i recommended the E2160. Yes that Athlon 5000 does outperfom the E2160...but only at stock speed...if you overclock it, it blows away the Athlon. So yeah it would still have been a better choice. Anyhow since you aren't getting GPU and mobo, you get an extra $100.....get the E8400 for $180. Its the most popular gaming cpu in the world and blows every other CPU to bits. For 10 bucks more you get the Q6600 for $10 more but it performs more or less the same as E8400.... while its slower than E8400 at games, it is better for heavy duty vid editing.

 

[mihirkula]

How about this - all on NewEgg:

Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W ATX Power Supply - Retail 40.99 with $10 mail in rebate
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996557 - Retail 83.99 with $10 mail in rebate
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $89.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 Allendale 2.4GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E4600 - Retail $119.99

All with shipping $345.45

Stick with the Corsair PSU mentioned earlier and not the Thermaltake one...because Thermaltake is a Tier 3 brand, and Corsair is Tier 2 which is obv better than Tier 3.

http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon

In case you have Vista only then go with 4GB...else stick with the $20 2GB Crucial mentioned earlier.

Good choice for mobo.

CPU is nowhere close to E8400.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/intel-wolfdale_7.html#sect0

and

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2duo-e7200_6.html#sect0

 

[chrismoo]

Thanks folks, the links and advice are fantastic. I think I am going to have to go over budget The 8000 Series Duos look good so might settle on that. I wanted the virtualization too as I want to run SBS 2008 and other beta programs under Virtual Server and also some Ubuntu so this looks good.

Thanks so much for all the advice,

Chris

 

[mihirkula]

A'ight... happy building. Cheers.

 

[chrismoo]

Gonna go with the E8400, Gigabyte board, Corsair PSU and 4Gb Mushkin.

Ends up $95 over budget but its something I can keep and upgrade further for the next few years.

Thanks again!

 

[mihirkula]

since you don't use Vista you don't need 4GB RAM mate... that Crucial Ballistix 2GB DDR2 for just $20 is an amazing deal. Saves lot of $$.

anyways its your call.

 

[chrismoo]

No will be Vista, Ubuntu and or Windows Server 2008/SBS 2008 running so the 4Gb will be very handy although I did think about 2Gb for now but thought ah get more now as the budget is blown