Cheapest Computer for my brother 400ish

[effel]

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=9297671

There's no headroom for any more money, as it would seem. Is there a way to get a better build for less money? I could imagine rearranging some things to add a few bucks and pack on some performance. I point mainly to the 9600GT, but with the MIR, $70 for that card is a damn near steal when he's going to be playing games at no greater than 1440x900...hell, he won't even be playing very demanding games.

What are your thoughts on this build? I threw this together in a hurry, but at 417 after tax and shipping, it seems really good. Count the MIR on the graphics card and its barely under 400.

 

[Inferno1217]

Update RAIDMAX Tornado ATX-238WU Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #:ATX-238WU
Item #:N82E16811156223
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail-in Rebate

$44.99 -$5.00 Instant $39.99

Update Foxconn M61PMV AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #:M61PMV
Item #:N82E16813186155
Return Policy:Limited 30-Day Return Policy
In Stock
$43.99 $43.99

Update Galaxy 96GFF6HUUEXV GeForce 9600 GT OC 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Model #:96GFF6HUUEXV
Item #:N82E16814162007
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail-in Rebate

$109.99 -$15.00 Instant $94.99

Update Rosewill RP550 550W ATX V1.3/ EPS12V Power Supply - Retail
Model #:RP550
Item #:N82E16817182010
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$64.99 -$10.00 Instant $54.99

Update AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO5000DOBOX - Retail
Model #:ADO5000DOBOX
Item #:N82E16819103211
Return Policyrocessors (CPUs) Return Policy
In Stock
$52.99 $52.99

Update GeIL Black Dragon 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model GB24GB6400C5DC - Retail
Model #:GB24GB6400C5DC
Item #:N82E16820144073
Return Policy:Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy
In Stock
$34.99 $34.99

Update Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500AAJS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #:WD2500AAJS
Item #:N82E16822136113
Return Policy:Limited 30-Day Return Policy
In Stock
$49.99 $49.99

Update LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model iHAS120-04 - OEM
Model #:iHAS120-04
Item #:N82E16827106263
Return Policy:Limited 30-Day Return Policy
In Stock
$20.99 $20.99
Subtotal: $392.92

 

[ahslan]

the key to saving dinero is using combo deals and promo codes offered on newegg....check which one are available when ordering parts (i ended up changing parts last minute before i ordered some parts because I found out about a combo deal with another component that was simply too tempting to resist)

 

[eroc]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227269

4Gigs of mem under $20 after rebate.

maybe you can get this vid card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131129

if you oc it a little it's on par with a 4850 for about $90

 

[brendano257]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227269

4Gigs of mem under $20 after rebate.

maybe you can get this vid card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131129

if you oc it a little it's on par with a 4850 for about $90

That same 4GB kit is available on TigerDirect for 9.99 after rebates if interested.

Gigabye HD4670 card for $55 after rebates, this will play less demanding games at the resolution no problem.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125244

 

[eroc]

^ good heads up; great alternative the 4670 doesn't even need a 6 pin connector!

 

[wardy22]

do you already have an os? that could add $100 to your build and put it over budget

 

[wardy22]

and maybe go with this power supply

PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS500 500W ATX12V / EPS12V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703015

pc power and cooling is (from my reasearch) a much better brand than rosewill and its $5 less after MIR

 

[megamanx00]

I think you should stick with the Antec NSK4480 as it's 380W PSU should be fine to run the system on your wish list. You can get some much better RAM that comes out to only $5 more, with the mail in rebate of course.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731

Make sure you check the combo deals since that Antec case has a combo deal with the Athlon 5400 BE for an extra $25 savings.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.150087

You can easily overclock that 5400 to get more performance out of it and you shouldn't have a hard time hitting 3.2 GHz with just the stock cooler.

 

[jyjjy]

Just a few weeks ago I built a gaming system on a similar budget. Here it is slightly modified because of changes in prices;

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache - $83
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072

Open Box BIOSTAR TForce TP43D2A7 P43 Motherboard - $59 after shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138122R

POWERCOLOR AX4830 512MD3-H Radeon HD 4830 - $110 - 25 = $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131129

SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB - $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152052

OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 - $48 - 30 rebate = $18
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227269

HEC 6C28BSX585 Black/Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower 585W PSU - $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121036

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA - $21
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106263

Total $436 - 55 rebates = $381

Worlds better than wishlist. Twice the ram, much much larger hard drive, much better video card and CPU. Both the HD430 and the e5200 should overclock very well. I got the same CPU/MB and OCed it up to 3.5 ghz easily on stock cooling. Rapes that AMD chip and I'm usually an AMD fan. If you are sketched out about the open box motherboard don't be. From everything I've read they are reliable from newegg and mine worked beautifully. I was actually expecting it to come OEM but it came with everything, box/manual/software/cables, even an extra SATA cable compared to retail. Your results may vary of course but I wouldn't worry about it really.
If you want to save some money I found a new 9600 GSO for $60 shipped on ebay. EVGA, dual slot cooler. It overclocks no problem from 550/1350/800 stock core/shader/memory to 700/1725/1000 which should make it on par with a 9800 GT.

 

[effel]

A lot of what is being considered here is playing off of the price AFTER the rebate. The problem is coming up with enough to pay for the principle amount, not to mention adding tax, because we live in California, and shipping and handling. I've taken note of some of the options you guys have lain out, but they really don't seem feasible.

If my brother were to get $20 more dollars, he could get another one of the geil sticks, and have 4GB of dual channel in the future, but he probably won't even need it. I've been running 2GB on 32bit XP, and I've never had any complaints. I had 4GB of crucial ballistix for a while, but saw no difference in the kinds of uses I have for a computer than when I only had 2GB. I ended up taking out 2GB, and selling it to a friend of mine for $20.

About the only things listed in this thread that I can see useful, is finding a good deal on a part here or there on ebay. I was a bit confused when I was told to downgrade the video card to a 4670 though...to my knowledge, it falls slightly short of 3850 performance in most scenarios, and iirc the 9600GT is faster than the 3850, by a small margin. My brother already didn't like the idea of having to spend $100 on a graphics card, but the $30 rebate on it sold him to that being a good pick.

I went on newegg again tonight, after reading the thread to check out some of the suggestions the previous posters have made, but I couldn't seem to add things here or there that would reduce the bottom line, and raise performance. Every option I found ended up raising the price, which raises the tax.

Are there any other things you guys can suggest?

 

[jyjjy]

Here's a 9600gt that's $85 before rebate, $65 after and free shipping;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162007

I really do recommend 4 gigs of ram as the minimum for a gaming system these days. If you are more concerned about pre than post rebate cost this will save you $12 dollars from what i recommended earlier;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227334

Here's a different but comparable motherboard for the same price but with free shipping;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130181R

That should bring the total with the other parts I recommended down to $390 before tax...

If that's not good enough here's a 9600 GSO on ebay for $70 which will take off another $15;
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-ECS-NVIDIA-9600-GSO-384mb-Video-Card-Free-Ship_W0QQitemZ180315328187QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCC_Video_TV_Cards?hash=item180315328187&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318

 

[effel]

I'll have to read up more on Galaxy's bios and driver support, that's why I didn't look at that card in the first place.

Honestly, on the ram, I might be able to convince my brother of that OCZ stuff, it isn't that much more expensive, but my problem is, making use of it. When you're on a 32bit OS, which he will be, you won't be able to use all 4GB in the first place. Not to mention the fact that, you'd have to be using lots of memory hogging apps to take up even 3GB. I've monitored my uses of ram, while websurfing, running wlm, aim, and ventrilo, and I hardly use any of the available 2GB of ram. When I game, I turn off the other apps, besides maybe ventrilo, which takes so little on its on--I've never seen a game I'm running take over 1.5GB of ram, and even then, I have another 512MB just sitting there. People are about having extra ram, just because. Whether they use it or not, its cheap enough right? That's the idea. My brother really doesn't have much to spend, but I'll ask him about this.

On the motherboard-that'd require an intel processor, which costs a lot 35 more than the $50 amd one i picked out, plus it's open box, and that's asking for something to go wrong.

I don't think there is much advice than can help in this area, as my brother just has too small of a budget. I'll see about him saving up more money, and trying to get something in the future with a larger budget.

 

[jyjjy]

Working that intel chip in was the whole point of why I was posting. It's TONS better than the amd chip. Better architecture, twice the cache(important for gaming), overclocks easily to be as powerful as a chip that costs twice as much. I always bought AMD before now but at this point they just don't make sense on anything but a ultra-cheap non-gaming build.
And windows memory management and page file system usage is really not as simple as you seem to think it is. Don't go around thinking that over 2 gigs is pointless, especially for gaming. Also you want 2 sticks of RAM to take advantage of dual channel memory which definitely makes a system faster. The cost is so minimal anyway that it's the last place I would think about cutting corners to be honest.
FYI individual video cards manufactures don't make their own drivers usually. Whatever card you get the included driver cd should be ignored entirely and DL the latest drivers directly from Nvidia(or ATI.) A video card's bios is also usually fairly standard and a non-factor.

 

[Newf]

...I don't think there is much advice than can help in this area, as my brother just has too small of a budget. I'll see about him saving up more money, and trying to get something in the future with a larger budget.

There are always suggestions that can help. It just takes time. You may find that tomorrow (or more likely Monday) that more unbelievable deals will spring up. The main problem for a gamer on a budget is always the video card. By Monday I expect some good deals here.
BTW, this case and psu combo is a good deal, even though shipping will be involved:

Antec NSK6580 Black/ Silver ATX Mid Tower+430W $80+ship 12/24/08
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129033

Please avoid Rosewill or Raidmax psus at all (or any) cost.