My 310 Dollar Computer?

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11-20-2003, 04:05 PM
healimonster

I am going to move on from my P4 1.5g and build my first PC.

Like most builders I want to do it on the cheap, but I obviously want a better faster PC not just some thing that I built and I will barley be able to notice the performance difference.

I am taking my slave 80 gig 7200rpm HD and will be converting that to the new master drive.

I will also using my new FX 5600 vid card, and for the time being stealing my CD drive as well. So some of the pricey components I will not need to get.

This is what I am thinking of. I would still need to get memory but I don't know exactly what type this board can run right now, so I don't want to try to price it. I figure 50-100 US dollars will take care of the memory, but I will worry about that later.

It's basically a P4 2.6 C, running on a ABIT IS7-E, and a decent looking case.

I plan on over clocking it to about 3.0

Am I forgeting anything?

---

How much would a comparable AMD set up cost?

-----------------------------
Cases (Computer Cases, ATX Form)
Aspire (Turbo Case) X-Dreamer Silver ATX Mid-Tower Case w/ 350W Power Supply, Model ATXB3KL-AL/350W
Specifications:
Form Factor: Standard ATX
Drive Bays: External 4 x 5.25" - 2 x 3.5" Internal 4 x 3.5"
Expansion Slots: 7
USB/IO: 2x USB 2.0 + Audio/Mic
Case Fans: 2 x 80mm (see pics)
Power Supply: 350W
Approx. Dimensions: 7.75" x 18.5" X 16.75" (LxWxH) more info>
N82E16811144031 $46.00
$46.00

Motherboards - Intel
ABIT IS7-E ,Intel 865PE chipset Springdale for Socket 478 P4 ATX motherboard RETAIL
Specifications:
Supported CPU:Intel® Pentium® 4 Socket 478 processors Hyper-Threading Ready
Chipset:865PE / ICH5
FSB:800/533MHz
RAM:4x DDR Single/Dual Channel DDR 400 up to 4GB
IDE:2 x Ultra DMA 33/66/100 Up to 4 Devices
Slots:1x AGP PRO, 5x PCI Slots
Ports:2xPS2, 1xLPT,1xCOM,1xLAN, 4xUSB and Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: 6-Channel AC 97 CODEC on board
Onboard LAN: On board 10/100MB LAN
Onboard SATA: 2 channels Serial ATA 150MB/s more info>
N82E16813127156 $89.99
$89.99

Processors
Intel Pentium 4 / 2.6CGHz 512k socket 478 Hyper Threading Technology 800 MHz FSB - RETAIL
Specifications:
CPU: 2.6GHz
Type: Pentium 4 Northwood
Cache: 512K
BUS: 800 Mhz
Socket: 478
Retail box (with Heatsink and Fan)
3-year MFG. Warranty- more info>
N82E16819116159 $174.00
$174.00

Subtotal » $309.99
11-20-2003, 04:49 PM
SciManAl

umm not much of an Intel pro, but that looks nice,

an AMD system could be very cheap comparatively, a 2.0 gigahertz AMD proccesor is around 80 versus the cpu you are buying, however if you have the money and you are willing to spend it then i would go with a P4 set up... that set up would max out (without oc) at around 3.0 gighertz, so you will have room to expand in the fouture, but as i said that is only if you have the monbey as the P4 set ups are more expensive...

if money is an issue go AMD, as for comperable system specs, an AMD 2500+ barton core can go pretty well OCed (haven't tried your model of pentiums), so you could go cheaper with an AMD or gett more for the same price...

hope it helps :P
11-20-2003, 05:09 PM
healimonster

whats a popular board for the barton 2500+ and abou thow much?

And without OCing what does the barton 2500+ compare to in P4 speeds?
11-20-2003, 05:18 PM
SciManAl

a good AMD board (asus and things of that kind) are usually around $50- $100 so about the same as pentium, it mainly comes down to the proccesor, and if you are going to get an P4 2.6 gigahertz, then the rival would be (without OCing) a XP3200+ ( i think, and that is only to match clock speed) (when an AMD proccesor says 2700+ or whatever it donsen't translate into 2.7 gigahertz or anything...) but umm basicly you need to decide whether you spend more or less if you plan to go cheap AMD IS cheaper, and you still get quite a bit of bang for your buck! but otherwise the proccesors are pretty well matched, both have thier ups and downs...\

For you the difference wil not be felt... (they are that close)
11-20-2003, 05:24 PM
Kunal

Quote:

Originally posted by SciManAl@20 November 2003 - 17:18
when an AMD proccesor says 2700+ or whatever it donsen't translate into 2.7 gigahertz or anything...

clock speed doesnt really matter with amd's these days. a 2500+ (although only at 1.8ghz) benchmarks very similarly to a 2.4ghz, if not a little bit better, so a amd system would be cheaper, without a doubt, but remember amd's run slightly hotter than intels (although not that much so with the new barton cores) so get adaquite cooling!
11-20-2003, 05:52 PM
healimonster

would the barton 2500+ be a noticable jump from my p4 1.5 that I am running now?
11-20-2003, 06:57 PM
Kunal

Quote:

Originally posted by healimonster@20 November 2003 - 17:52
would the barton 2500+ be a noticable jump from my p4 1.5 that I am running now?

saying its about a 1ghz increase i would say there would be a difference, but i think only while doing high proformance tasks, such as video encoding and gaming, but this also has a direct impact on what graphics card and ram you have. you wouldnt be able to see a difference while surfing the net, lets say
11-20-2003, 08:18 PM
Smurfette

AFAIC there is no advantage in buying an Intel CPU over an AMD one. In fact, you're gonna spend more for the same performance.
Ive never owned an Intel CPU but haven't had any problems with my Cyrix or AMD chips and haven't met anyone who has. I've been called to loads of problems with shit mobos so there's the lesson.

Get an nForce2 or 3 board (with SATA for the future), a nice fast AMD CPU, and spend a little more on the memory.
11-20-2003, 09:12 PM
Kunal

Quote:

Originally posted by Smurfette@20 November 2003 - 20:18
nForce3 board

there for amd 64, arent they?
11-20-2003, 09:18 PM
_John_Lennon_

Quote:

Originally posted by Kunal@20 November 2003 - 13:57

saying its about a 1ghz increase i would say there would be a difference,

Its only about 333Mhz increase, heh, seeing as how it Runs at 1833Mhz.

At the the thread author, a few questions.

Where is your ram? Last time I checked, its the most important part in overclocking P4's, seeing as how the multipliers are locked.

So here is what your looking at,

225 for for that low end motherboard and 2.6 P4. You will have to get really good ram, I dont know what you should buy for overclocking, but I think its like the 3700 Ram atleast. Maybe you can get away with 3200 ram, anyway. All that, and you should be able to overclock, unless that Motherboard doesnt let you at all, im not really up on how flexible the chipsets are, all I know, is thats Intel controls them, because they are intel chip sets.

With AMD, you could go,

90 Bucks for an AMD 2500+, and about 90 or so for en excellant Motherboard, and as low as 60 that I know of for popular ones. I know alot of people like the 120 dollar ABit and ASUS ones, but I only paid 89 for my Epox 8RDA+, and it has comparable features.

So you looking at about 180 if you wish for the AMD solution, which can overclock on lower speed ram than is needed to properly overclock a p4.

If ya have any other questions, just ask,
11-20-2003, 09:22 PM
Kunal

Quote:

Originally posted by _John_Lennon_@20 November 2003 - 21:18
Its only about 333Mhz increase, heh, seeing as how it Runs at 1833Mhz.

i was talking about a noticable increase, as the clock speed doesnt really matter on a amd, does it?
11-20-2003, 09:52 PM
Smurfette

Quote:

Originally posted by Kunal+20 November 2003 - 21:12--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Kunal @ 20 November 2003 - 21:12)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin-Smurfette@20 November 2003 - 20:18
nForce3 board

they're for amd 64, arent they?[/b][/quote]
:)
TBH I haven't even looked at the nf3, I just saw a splash on a manufacturer's site!
11-20-2003, 10:05 PM
boyzeee

Quote:

Originally posted by Smurfette+20 November 2003 - 21:52--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Smurfette @ 20 November 2003 - 21:52)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>

Quote:

Originally posted by Kunal@20 November 2003 - 21:12
<!--QuoteBegin-Smurfette

Quote:

@20 November 2003 - 20:18
nForce3 board

they're for amd 64, arent they?

:)
TBH I haven't even looked at the nf3, I just saw a splash on a manufacturer's site! [/b][/quote]
:D LOL, I do that.............ooh its new, asus, i'm not sure what it is but i want it!!. :D to the post... i think someone mentioned epox boards, V good spec under rated boards, ive had a couple in the past, one was the 8kha+ and it was the nuts!, i using an asus a7a266e with an amd xp2400 and 1gb 2700 ddr ram and its plenty fast for me, all cost under £120 new from ebay ;)
11-20-2003, 10:43 PM
clocker

If you are planning on clocking your system, plan on spending some money and ALOT of time getting your cooling set up.
Either you spend the time, or you just buy some rounded cables for your drives.
Right now, for an AMD chip, I'm partial to the stock "microfin" AMD cooler with a 80mm fan/adaptor. Figure $20 for the heatsink, $10 for a nice quiet fan and another $5-6 for the adaptor.
Two round cables (HDD, and optical drives) another, say, $30.
Any more fans, add $10 apiece.
Hope you don't need any fan adaptors.

I can easily see you having to spend an extra $75-100 over and above the costs that you detailed.

And that is assuming that you've kept Abu at bay and he hasn't pimped it out with lights...or plasma balls...or Van der Graaf generators...or, you get the idea.