Low End Gaming Computer Build

[Fibbles]

A good friend of mine desperately needs a new computer, but is having some financial issues and can't buy anything for the time being (new job transition and a move). I've decided to surprise him with a small 'upgrade' to his old rig that I sold him 2 years ago ^_^ .

The old rig is an Asus A7N8X-X (Nforce 2, no dual channel RAM), an AMD XP2500, 64mb GeForce 4 Ti4200, 1 WD 80gb IDE HDD, 1 DVDROM, 1 32x CDRW, 256mb Samsung DDR2700, SB Live 5.1 stuffed into a black Chieftech Dragon.

Since he is more of a casual gamer (loves CoD & AoM), he doesn't need bleeding edge hardware. My budget is about $500, and I want it to last a good while before needing a major overhaul.

My plan is to upgrade the board, CPU, GPU & HSF, memory and throw in a DVDRW cause they're cheap.

So... Here's one proposed setup:

Chaintech Nforce 4 Mobo (basic Nforce).....$87.99
AMD64 3000 socket 939.....$146
NEC 16x DVDRW (of course only +/-R is 16x...).....$51.99
MSI GeForce 6600GT.....$184
2 sticks 256mb 2-3-3-5 Memory.....$68.91

Total.....$538.89 I have a Thermalright XP-90 already, so I won't need to buy him one.

1 alternative is to choose the eVGA 256mb 6600 for $45 less and under my budget. If he's not going to game his heart out, I don't think the 6600GT is needed as much as I'm thinking...

I want you to comment, I also want suggestions or improvements. PCI-E and AMD is a must, no Intel or AGP or ATI :unsure:

[Da_Rude_Baboon]

if you can stretch the budget go for the GT. It will last a bit longer.

[fillip]

I would've said more Ram is needed tbh, that'll keep him going longer especially when the system starts to get bogged down with prog's and other crud.
The 6600GT is a nice idea but if he isn't out for anything new-ish game wise may aswell drop to a 6600 - I believe the MSI version of which OC's like a biatch!

[furious trout]

You could always drop the GT and grab some more ram with the difference...

[Fibbles]

Well... 2 sticks of 256mb is somewhat limiting, so I've decided to switch it for a single 512mb stick of Mushkin DDR400 for $51. He can always buy another stick himself later on down the road.

Next I dropped the GT down to a 256mb 6600 from MSI for $150.

This now totals for $487, which is $13 under budget and not a bad system to boot. Hrmm, since I don't mind spending $500, I'm going to switch the mobo for the Ultra version instead, which is only $11 more.

The new total is $497 minus 1 penny.

[OT] I got a thousand posts! :h34r:

[Vis]

Not bad at all. He'll see a nice difference with CoD.

[fivecheebs]

Low end!! :eek:

Doesnt look low end to me TBH, more midrange. If it were me i'd keep the mobo and CPU, get a 6600GT AGP card and 1 gig of low latency pc3200 and get the 2500+ running at 3200+ speeds if it can. Thats just the meiser in me though i guess! Its also true that i dont really play any bleeding edge games though so ignoring me might be a good idea!

[furious trout]

Low end!! :eek:

Just what I was thinking - i was also thinking i wish i had friends like you Fibbles :p

[fivecheebs]

haha!

[Vis]

The graphics card is definitely the area in which he'll see the biggest difference. I just did an upgrade on the same budget but went with a Gigabyte GA-7N400 S-L and a Barton 3200+ (Yes I'm one of those 64 bit skeptics) with a GB of Corsair Value select. At the moment I'm wavering between a 6600GT and a vanilla 6800 to complete the upgrade. The only downside I can see is that it isn't future proof and the next upgrade is going to have to be a complete system build. But hey...now I come to think of it that isn't really a down side :cool:

[fillip]

Hell man go for the 6800 and try and unlock those extra pipes and vertex shader, I am as soon as I can afford one.

[Leeum]

Tbh, keep him going with that 32bit setup, Socket A has quite a bit of life left in it B) Ditch the A7N8X-X for an Abit NF7-S V2 and get him a 6600GT on AGP :D

[Fibbles]

Tbh, keep him going with that 32bit setup, Socket A has quite a bit of life left in it B) Ditch the A7N8X-X for an Abit NF7-S V2 and get him a 6600GT on AGP :D
Why would I want to get him another Nforce 2? There's not much of a diffy between dual channel and single. Besides, the stuff is already on the way.

I think giving him one foot in the door to a newer setup will be better in the long run, he could have another few sticks of memory and a higher end AMD64 added when prices hit rock bottom (probably when he's ready to upgrade again). With an Nforce 4 he won't have to upgrade the board anytime soon to take advantage of newer features (PCI-E mostly), should he want them. He's not much of an upgrader anyhow, simply because he can't! The only things that I would trust him to are installing memory, HDD's, optical's and a video/sound/whatever card. He can't even put a heatsink on! The last time he tried, he ground up the core on the 1.3GHz T Bird I gave him, and after that he managed to bend a few pins so bad that they fell off of the P4 he bought.

To get this stuff to him and built, I'm having another friend in the area (sort of) drive over to do it for him, I lost a hard drive for this.

[Darv]

Wow, if thats low end I'm not sure I want to know what mine is.

Xp2400+, 512MB ram and an ATI 9000 :unsure:

[Vis]

It always amazes me how people manage to bend pins on CPUs. I've been building computers since I started chopping apart my Amiga 500 and I've never once damaged a pin. I find the whole thing incomprehensible... I mean HOW do you do it? Come to think of it I've never crushed a core yet either but with the socket A cooler retention system I can see how thats done and I always get at least a little nervous :lol:

You're right about the dual channel not making much difference but tbh for what he runs, neither will going 64 bit. Should be nice and future proof though. With 64 bit and PCI-E that board should have a couple of decent upgrades left in it.

[fillip]

Tbh, keep him going with that 32bit setup, Socket A has quite a bit of life left in it B) Ditch the A7N8X-X for an Abit NF7-S V2 and get him a 6600GT on AGP :D
I agree with Fibb's, don't see the point in that whatsoever.
64bit processors DO perform better than 32 bit irrespective of some of the concerns people have and whats more as software companies start to venture into 64 bit applications 32 bit becomes even more obselete.
For a budget system you want as much 'future proofing' as possible and 32 bit certainly doesn't give him that.

[Fibbles]

It always amazes me how people manage to bend pins on CPUs. I've been building computers since I started chopping apart my Amiga 500 and I've never once damaged a pin. I find the whole thing incomprehensible... I mean HOW do you do it? Come to think of it I've never crushed a core yet either but with the socket A cooler retention system I can see how thats done and I always get at least a little nervous :lol:

You're right about the dual channel not making much difference but tbh for what he runs, neither will going 64 bit. Should be nice and future proof though. With 64 bit and PCI-E that board should have a couple of decent upgrades left in it.
Dont ask me how he does it, he just does and does it well :wacko: :h34r:

There's no way to future proof his computer to a degree I'd feel comfortable with, cause I don't want him to maul it himself should he decide to 'upgrade' alone. It's not so much that the new CPU is 64 bit, it's that it's unpossible (hehe) to buy a faster AMD (past the XP range) w/out going 64 bit. Most benchmarks I've seen put the AMD 64's in the top end of things, competing and beating Intel's latest and greatest while offering no reason to go with the XP line.

I agree with Fibb's, don't see the point in that whatsoever.
64bit processors DO perform better than 32 bit irrespective of some of the concerns people have and whats more as software companies start to venture into 64 bit applications 32 bit becomes even more obselete.
For a budget system you want as much 'future proofing' as possible and 32 bit certainly doesn't give him that.
That's exactly what I'm thinking. Since PCI Express is going to be the next interface for a few years to come, that's one less hurdle. Same with the 939's, SATA, etc.

Even though he doesn't game much now, he'll get a bit more into it later. He and I founded our gaming clan, it's not like he wasn't into them heavily at one point B) , he just needs his life to improve a bit more before the free time comes back.

[Vis]

Sounds to me like he could use a few hands-on tutorials with you looking over his shoulder. Just tell him whatever I've started telling people when I help them out:

"You do everything I tell you and you dont do anything UNLESS I tell you to or this lesson is over"

You'd be amazed how often I hear things like "When you said click OK I thought you meant click on the checkbox and THEN click OK"

End users... sheesh :rant:

[zer0]

that is a damn good system for the price (the same system from gateway or dell is around $1200 (mines about $1600 but i built it with only $700)

[Marquee]

I my self dont know the US price for the part I will list be Iam sure it is under $500 US since it only reachs about $750 CND.


AMD 64 3200
DFI LanParty NF4-U
OCZ premiear 1GB Dual
MSI 6600GT OR ASUS 6600 256MB

That is a nice system even with out the 6600GT. This will give you a nice overclock in the long run when it get old.

If you need any help with getting these parts please PM as I build computers out of my basment. I MIGHT be able to get these parts cheaper then other place since I buy in bulk.

[Fibbles]

I my self dont know the US price for the part I will list be Iam sure it is under $500 US since it only reachs about $750 CND.


AMD 64 3200
DFI LanParty NF4-U
OCZ premiear 1GB Dual
MSI 6600GT OR ASUS 6600 256MB

That is a nice system even with out the 6600GT. This will give you a nice overclock in the long run when it get old.

If you need any help with getting these parts please PM as I build computers out of my basment. I MIGHT be able to get these parts cheaper then other place since I buy in bulk.
Thanks for the offer and system suggestion, but I've already bought the stuff and had it shipped to him. He's waiting for the other guy to drive down to build it. Newegg's prices are pretty good for end users, but their delivery option with Fed Ex saver is too good, stuff usually arrives in 2 days all around the US, with shipping prices ranging form 99 cents to under $5.