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Better GPU, especially with the 38xx's coming out next couple of weeks! you could even save more with e2180, which is a nice budget CPU and can be OC'd to 3 gig easily, even on stock HSF! That would save you another $70 towards a better GPU or maybe even upgrade the mobo to a Gigabyte DS3R, which supports RAID and has more SATA ports. That mobo would cost you another $30 or so and can OC just fine. The next upgrade (since you'd have $40 more to spend) would be to get the 800mHz DDR2 RAM. This would allow you to OC more later and allows you to upgrade other parts next time.
 

For one upgrade, you can drop a quad core Penryn in there next year some time. For the extra $115 you could do an 8800gt vid card.
 
get a better GPU & PSU.... I can't stress getting a better PSU enough 450W is nice but it just doesn't cut it IMO. get a bigger psu and you will enjoy a cooler, more stalbe voltages, and loger life with a bigger PSU and maybe go with ddr2 800 and try and find a SATA DVD drive...

just my $0.02

as for upgrades that system listed above will let you upgrade to a quad core next year... throw in another hard drive later and make a RAID 0... you could also buy a better case down the line... not that this is a bad one but there are some many better/cooler ones out there... also 2GB of RAM is good to start so again in a few months down the road you could buy 2 more GB for a total of 4GB (we wont get into the 3.3GB limit with x86 systems right now)...

you know what give me a min or 2 and I will post what I would buy :)
 
SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S183L - OEM
Item #: N82E16827151141 - $29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151141

RAIDMAX Astro ATC-268WS Silver 0.7mm Japanese SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811156019 - $29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156019

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822148262 - $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262

ASUS M2N-E AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131022 $114.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131022

SAPPHIRE 100201SR Radeon HD 2900XT 512MB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire
Item #: N82E16814102095 - $279.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102095

OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817341002 - $139.99 + $30.00 Mail-in Rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002

OCZ S.O.E 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit OCZ2SOE8002GK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820227120 - $68.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227120

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ Brisbane 2.1GHz Socket AM2 65W Processor Model ADO4000DDBOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103774 - $65.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103774

subtotal: $799.92
after MIR: $769.92

poop well I went a little over your budget but not by too much (after your MIR it is almost within the budget.... 😛)

this will give you a rock sloid system that can play any game out there today with great FPS
you will be able to drop a phenom in once they are released... plus you get this wicked VGA card
the case is alright but like i said before upgrade it later and get a nice big case like the antec 900 or the Tt armor (I love thermaltake. I have their damier Xaser V cases and love it, in fact I just bought the Tt armor 30min ago 😛)

I might fart around and see what kind of intel system I can get... just to be fair... but if i were building a system... this is what I would get :)

now that I think of it... I know you said you want to give your daughter your old rig but this might help too.....

since you already have a HDD/cd or dvd drive/case you can put off buying those items for now and just use your current HDD/cd or dvd drive/case which can save you 130$ making the order total come down to

$669.92...

this can give you time to save up some more $$$ and buy a great case and drives in a month or 2
 
thanks hellspawn, i like the AMD's too that looks tight. why are AMD's procs and mobos so much cheaper overall. i like both builds, how do i choose. thanks alot guys. should i upgrade the GPU in the system i am giving to my daughter, or is the 9600 SE gonna be good for her? she loves Halo btw. 6yrs old.
 
lol glad to help... the main reason that AMD's systems are so cheap is because of the memory controller being built right into the CPU which makes the mobo have less components/complex. the CPUs are cheap because your not paying for the Intel brand name....

and I wouldn't worry about the GPU for your daughter... that will be a great starter system for her :)... Halo should run fine for her (especially since she's unaware about FPS and all that stuff right now)
wait until she is ~10-13 before you get her a real expensive gaming rig..
she will be able to apprecieate it more then.


and who doesn't love Halo?!? lol

as for what system to choose pick the one you think you will be happy with, there are cons and pros for both type of systems... it's up to you

it's all personal preference :)

(I myself am an AMD whore 😛)
 


My advice, if it's not too late, would be to save some money in the meantime... try to shoot for $500. There are many build suggestions on these forums that you could make for $500 and have a system that would demolish your current one. You would still be able to use your old monitor and keyboard and mouse, pretty much just upgrading the case and all the stuff inside.

I know your exact dilemma. I was *lucky* enough to buy my last computer 1 month before PCI-E came out, and was stuck with AGP for my video. After the good cards came out, you had to pay a premium for a similar AGP card (versus PCI-E). Then, when thinking about upgrading my RAM, DDR400 ram costs a TON more than cheap DDR2 RAM now. I sucked it up, waited for the right time, and FINALLY upgraded my box (well, I also squeezed in a new LCD and other stuff so the old computer is the wifes e-mail computer now) and it's NICE. However, I couldn't resist and with my new build, I spent WAY over $500, although I showed some restraint on several parts.

Long story short. Save up $500 and don't bother with doing band-aid upgrades on your old computer. You have to pay much more for old style parts to put into it that's really not worth adding. Biggest example is the RAM where you can get really cheap 2GB of DDR2 RAM (for a newer MB than what you currently have) for about $45 on newegg, whereas getting 2GB of the old DDR400 RAM is ALWAYS over $100 (cheapest I found was $109).
 
DAM! In the time it took to write 1 reply, this thread went from 1 page to 4... lol...

Well, hope things go well with your new build!

(Intel fan-boy here)
 


this has been a 4 page thread for a while now lol.... 😴
 

I noticed...But you have to agree that the 8800GT is better than the 2900XT right? If anything I disagree with is that 2900XT vidcard. It takes huge amounts of power and can't match the 8800GT

HemiR1, it is your decision but facts are facts. The 2900XT can't out perform the 8800GT and both being around the same price, the 8800GT is obviously a better buy. However if you need to build now, getting your hands on the 8800GT will be difficult.

First off, I take it that you don't know how or don't want to overclock? If so, AMD would be a better choice. If you do want to, Intel would be your choice.

Do you want a quiet pc? If yes, be prepared to shell out ~$45 for aftermarket cpu coolers that are better and quieter. This is generally required for overclocking too. The hardest of the hardcore cpu heatsink is the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme. This will keep your cpu cold - at a hefty price.

If you are no going to overclock, stick to cheap 2gig 800Mhz ram, they are dirt cheap these days. If you are however, the ones that Hellspawn suggested are nice. I would prefer Patriot Ram tho...

If you find a 8800GT, GET IT. There is no choice here. 😛

If you are going for a quietness, a midtower of any sort should be fine. If you want to overclock, you might want to find a case that can hold more fans. 3 120mm fans at the least.

A nice decent 550w PSU is all you really need. Instead of the 700w, the OCZ GameXStream 600w is sufficient. Costs $99 with rebates.

As for motherboards, I'm not to familiar with AMD's mobos. I have an Intel after all. So I'll just say the one Hellspawn suggested is just fine. However if you are going with Intel's cpus, I will suggest the GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059 priced at $89.99 free shipping

DVD burners...meh pick one they don't really matter much.

What everyone forgets to add to their list is the OS. I'm sure you are going to run Windows, so unless you already have a copy of Windows XP, you are gonna hafta shell out an additional $90 for the damn software.

Remember newegg.com is your friend when it comes to computer parts. You also might want to check out clubit.com, zipzoomfly.com, mvwave.com, tigerdirect.com, and sidewindercomputers.com (for fans and heatsink 😀 ).
 


Just made a new build and ordered from NCIX.com and DirectCanada.com. Did some cross referencing with Newegg prices and I think I got a really good deal! Seems strange that only computer prices in Canada have fallen in line with American pricing. Can't wait till things like gas and cars are on par too!
 


which is why I said the 2900XT (mind you the performance is comparible between the 2)

and yeah if you can get it go with the 8800GT (big if though)



lol what?

and I'll say this again becuase of how much it hate them NEVER EVER BUY FROM TIGER DIRECT

check a few posts back on why that is....

dartmantran

I agree with you that NCIX does have some great deals (and I love their price match program) and I order from them quite frequently (I actually just order a Tt Armor from them tonight) another site I found to have AWESOME prices and dirt cheap prices is
www.canadacomputers.com
My only quam with them is the selection... it's mostly hit and miss if they carry the parts you want... but I have found them to be a great resource... especially for the 6.99$ shipping
 


why would he get an AMD processor?
 

Why get the 2900xt? it dont recommend it. Wait for the 3870.
 
speaking of OS i already have XP on my system. i have no discs to reload it to the new system though. i don't want to buy it again if i don't have to, is vista enough of a step up to go ahead and get it? how do i get XP on this new rig? i would like to learn how to overclock too and plan on it being implemented on my new system.
 
yes windows vista home premium it's ok dude and if you want to overclock you should look at the forums of overclocking, there's a guide in which you can learn and also you have to buy windows xp if you want it or just do a ghost image or download an ilicit copy(pirate copy)
 
Seriosuly and agp system by the end of 2007?

You could make great use of your hard earned money

Get a cheap 60$ Am2 Mobo biostar has this 7025 7050chipset
get a cheap 70$ X2 4000 cpu or a 5000
get a 8800GT (not gts not gtx) it shoud lbe around 220$
get cheap value ddr2 667 ram 2 gigs for 50$

what does this get you? a very cheap system that plays every game in existance (yes crysis too) on med to high settings just forget about AA and your all fired up
 

I'm betting that you have a pre-built computer? If you don't have any discs to load your OS than you'll probably need to buy an OS. If you don't have any reason to get Vista, than get xp pro. I'm not switching to Vista just yet and probably won't for a while.
 
yes my current one is prebuilt. that is the reason i'm building my own this time around, too much crap on a best buy comp. is xp pro the 64 bit version? what are the advantages of this over plain xp? (xp pro that is)

 


If you wanna try to reuse your old XP, look around the case for a Product Key for your XP. I know notebooks will usually put them on the bottom, but I don't know about tower cases. Even though you don't have the discs, they should have given you a product key just in case you crashed / virus / or for whatever reason you had to re-install windows you need a product key.

If you find a product key, then you're in luck. Find another set of discs with the exact same windows that you have now (from a friend, online, whatever) and use that to install it. When it gets to the point where it asks for your product key, input the key you've been given.

If you can't find a product key, then you're outta luck and will hafta buy another copy of windows, whether it be XP or Vista.

Product keys should be 5 sets of 5 numbers/letters such as:

X32FA-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX (where the X's are random #'s and letters)
 
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