Opinions on building a value machine

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

A buddy of mine wants me to help him assemble a new machine for him. He has
a limited budget ($500.00 US), doesn't need a CD ROM or monitor.
Below is my selection of some decent (cheap) components that I have
selected.

POWMAX CP769PL-2 Beige Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case w/ 400 watt PS
$34.50

Leadtek Geforce 6600 128MB DDR PCI-Express x16 Video Card
$109.00

Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
$68.00

CHAINTECH VNF4/Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard
Model #: VNF4/Ultra
$99.00

Rosewill 512MB DDR400(PC3200) System Memory
$47.00


AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Winchester Socket 939 Processor
$165.00

Total inc'l shipping: $517.48 Just over his budget.

I got a POWMAX case for my family computer & was quite surprised about how
much I like it. I could go for another brand of hard drive & get 160 gig
for not alot more money.

Other than that... opinions?

I am posting this in several newsgroups in the hopes for getting alot of
responses fast as he needs to order these parts ASAP, before his wife
changes her mind!

 

[Philo]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

"Bruin" <bruinwarBLAH@BLAHexcite.com> wrote in message
news:SaKdnRYH9Mg0Q7HfRVn-vg@comcast.com...
>A buddy of mine wants me to help him assemble a new machine for him. He
>has a limited budget ($500.00 US), doesn't need a CD ROM or monitor.
> Below is my selection of some decent (cheap) components that I have
> selected.
>
> POWMAX CP769PL-2 Beige Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case w/ 400 watt PS
> $34.50
>
> Leadtek Geforce 6600 128MB DDR PCI-Express x16 Video Card
> $109.00
>
> Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
> $68.00
>
> CHAINTECH VNF4/Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard
> Model #: VNF4/Ultra
> $99.00
>
> Rosewill 512MB DDR400(PC3200) System Memory
> $47.00
>
>
> AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Winchester Socket 939 Processor
> $165.00
>
> Total inc'l shipping: $517.48 Just over his budget.
>
> I got a POWMAX case for my family computer & was quite surprised about
> how much I like it. I could go for another brand of hard drive & get
> 160 gig for not alot more money.
>
> Other than that... opinions?


I think you could save some money by getting a 32bit mobo/cpu combo.
Until 64bit OS's and apps are common...there's probably not much
you'd gain with 64bit at this time

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 17:55:58 -0600, "philo" <philo@privacy.net> wrote:

>
>"Bruin" <bruinwarBLAH@BLAHexcite.com> wrote in message
>news:SaKdnRYH9Mg0Q7HfRVn-vg@comcast.com...
>>A buddy of mine wants me to help him assemble a new machine for him. He
>>has a limited budget ($500.00 US), doesn't need a CD ROM or monitor.
>> Below is my selection of some decent (cheap) components that I have
>> selected.
>>
>> POWMAX CP769PL-2 Beige Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case w/ 400 watt PS
>> $34.50
>>
>> Leadtek Geforce 6600 128MB DDR PCI-Express x16 Video Card
>> $109.00
>>
>> Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
>> $68.00
>>
>> CHAINTECH VNF4/Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard
>> Model #: VNF4/Ultra
>> $99.00
>>
>> Rosewill 512MB DDR400(PC3200) System Memory
>> $47.00
>>
>>
>> AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Winchester Socket 939 Processor
>> $165.00
>>
>> Total inc'l shipping: $517.48 Just over his budget.
>>
>> I got a POWMAX case for my family computer & was quite surprised about
>> how much I like it. I could go for another brand of hard drive & get
>> 160 gig for not alot more money.
>>
>> Other than that... opinions?
>
>
>I think you could save some money by getting a 32bit mobo/cpu combo.
>Until 64bit OS's and apps are common...there's probably not much
>you'd gain with 64bit at this time
>

"I think you could save some money by getting a 32bit mobo/cpu combo.
>Until 64bit OS's and apps are common...there's probably not much
>you'd gain with 64bit at this time "

Except better performance....
I would recommend doing 2 sticks of memory instead of one to take
advantage of the dual channel on that board.. One problem with that
case is the power supply. It probably is not good enough to reliably
power that motherboard,cpu and video.

Also, if you didn't price that on Newegg, redo it there. You may can
save some more money

 

[Philo]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

>
> Except better performance....
> I would recommend doing 2 sticks of memory instead of one to take
> advantage of the dual channel on that board.. One problem with that
> case is the power supply. It probably is not good enough to reliably
> power that motherboard,cpu and video.
>
>
check your facts !

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

"Bruin" <bruinwarBLAH@BLAHexcite.com> wrote in message
news:SaKdnRYH9Mg0Q7HfRVn-vg@comcast.com...
>A buddy of mine wants me to help him assemble a new machine for him. He
>has a limited budget ($500.00 US), doesn't need a CD ROM or monitor.
> Below is my selection of some decent (cheap) components that I have
> selected.
>
> POWMAX CP769PL-2 Beige Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case w/ 400 watt PS
>
> Leadtek Geforce 6600 128MB DDR PCI-Express x16 Video Card
>
> Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
>
> CHAINTECH VNF4/Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard
> Model #: VNF4/Ultra
>
> Rosewill 512MB DDR400(PC3200) System Memory
>
>
> AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Winchester Socket 939 Processor
>
> Total inc'l shipping: $517.48 Just over his budget.
>
> I got a POWMAX case for my family computer & was quite surprised about
> how much I like it. I could go for another brand of hard drive & get
> 160 gig for not alot more money.
>
> Other than that... opinions?

You plan on installing your OS how exactly? I don't think they come on
floppies anymore.. or was there a CD-RW Drive in the budget?

Curious.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

"Morituri-|-Max" <newage@sendarico.net> wrote in message
news:S_aXd.51232$Qz1.4336@fe2.texas.rr.com...
>
> "Bruin" <bruinwarBLAH@BLAHexcite.com> wrote in message
> news:SaKdnRYH9Mg0Q7HfRVn-vg@comcast.com...
>>A buddy of mine wants me to help him assemble a new machine for him. He
>>has a limited budget ($500.00 US), doesn't need a CD ROM or monitor.
>> Below is my selection of some decent (cheap) components that I have
>> selected.
>>
>> POWMAX CP769PL-2 Beige Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case w/ 400 watt PS
>>
>> Leadtek Geforce 6600 128MB DDR PCI-Express x16 Video Card
>>
>> Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
>>
>> CHAINTECH VNF4/Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard
>> Model #: VNF4/Ultra
>>
>> Rosewill 512MB DDR400(PC3200) System Memory
>>
>>
>> AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Winchester Socket 939 Processor
>>
>> Total inc'l shipping: $517.48 Just over his budget.
>>
>> I got a POWMAX case for my family computer & was quite surprised about
>> how much I like it. I could go for another brand of hard drive & get
>> 160 gig for not alot more money.
>>
>> Other than that... opinions?
>
> You plan on installing your OS how exactly? I don't think they come on
> floppies anymore.. or was there a CD-RW Drive in the budget?
>
> Curious.
>

"doesn't need a CD ROM" - presumably he already has one?

--
Derek

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 17:55:58 -0600, "philo" <philo@privacy.net> wrote:
>snippy
>> Other than that... opinions?
>
>
>I think you could save some money by getting a 32bit mobo/cpu combo.
>Until 64bit OS's and apps are common...there's probably not much
>you'd gain with 64bit at this time

Look at the benchmarks
http://www20.tomshardware.com/cpu/20040318/

Athlon 64 - best bang for your buck.

regards

Dud
--

Top 10 reasons to procrastinate: 1.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 18:08:00 -0500, "Bruin" <bruinwarBLAH@BLAHexcite.com>
wrote:

>A buddy of mine wants me to help him assemble a new machine for him. He has
>a limited budget ($500.00 US), doesn't need a CD ROM or monitor.
>Below is my selection of some decent (cheap) components that I have
>selected.
>snip
>
>Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
>$68.00
>snop
Consider a SATA drive. ($3.00 more for a Seagate 80gb SATA & you may need
to install a floppy drive to load drivers.) Why? Upcoming (March 2005)
issue of PCWorld Magazine benchmarks drives. Seagate 7,200 rpm beat WD
Raptor 10,000 in performance. Bottom line - SATA beat PATA in most
benchmarks.
(I'll post a jpeg of the chart somewhere if you wish)
>
regards

Dud
--

Top 10 reasons to procrastinate: 1.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

>>I think you could save some money by getting a 32bit mobo/cpu combo.
>>Until 64bit OS's and apps are common...there's probably not much
>>you'd gain with 64bit at this time
>
>
> Look at the benchmarks
> http://www20.tomshardware.com/cpu/20040318/
>
> Athlon 64 - best bang for your buck.

This was questioned as a budget machine. I can get a whole system that
can do 90% of what I need for less than the cost of the FX-53 alone.

If fact I'd say an Athlon XP 2200 or a Celeron 2.4 GHz, both of which
can be had new for about $90, would both be "good enough" for a budget
machine.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 14:57:48 -0500, o-chan <poda@REMOVEmac.com> wrote:

>>>I think you could save some money by getting a 32bit mobo/cpu combo.
>>>Until 64bit OS's and apps are common...there's probably not much
>>>you'd gain with 64bit at this time
>>
>>
>> Look at the benchmarks
>> http://www20.tomshardware.com/cpu/20040318/
>>
>> Athlon 64 - best bang for your buck.
>
>This was questioned as a budget machine. I can get a whole system that
>can do 90% of what I need for less than the cost of the FX-53 alone.
>
>If fact I'd say an Athlon XP 2200 or a Celeron 2.4 GHz, both of which
>can be had new for about $90, would both be "good enough" for a budget
>machine.

Maybe. You stated:
>>>Until 64bit OS's and apps are common...there's probably not much
>>>you'd gain with 64bit at this time

I wanted to show proof that this is a myth.

regards

Dud

--

Top 10 reasons to procrastinate: 1.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

"Duddits" <Duddits@Dreamcatcher.com> wrote in message
news:60qr21dppc464696v45dt0p5ilrdj3i60i@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 18:08:00 -0500, "Bruin" <bruinwarBLAH@BLAHexcite.com>
> wrote:
>
>>A buddy of mine wants me to help him assemble a new machine for him. He
>>has
>>a limited budget ($500.00 US), doesn't need a CD ROM or monitor.
>>Below is my selection of some decent (cheap) components that I have
>>selected.
>>snip
>>
>>Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
>>$68.00
>>snop
> Consider a SATA drive. ($3.00 more for a Seagate 80gb SATA & you may need
> to install a floppy drive to load drivers.) Why? Upcoming (March 2005)
> issue of PCWorld Magazine benchmarks drives. Seagate 7,200 rpm beat WD
> Raptor 10,000 in performance. Bottom line - SATA beat PATA in most
> benchmarks.
> (I'll post a jpeg of the chart somewhere if you wish)
>>
> regards
>
> Dud
> --
>
> Top 10 reasons to procrastinate: 1.

Yep that drive is a SATA drive. I agree.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Tue, 8 Mar 2005 02:55:25 -0600, "philo" <philo@privacy.net> wrote:

>
>
>>
>> Except better performance....
>> I would recommend doing 2 sticks of memory instead of one to take
>> advantage of the dual channel on that board.. One problem with that
>> case is the power supply. It probably is not good enough to reliably
>> power that motherboard,cpu and video.
>>
>>
>check your facts !
>

Facts checked. I think you better check yours before spouting off.
1) Better performance from an Athlon 64 than Athlon XP and better than
most P4's. Numerous reviews. Google for it. I am not doing it for you.
2) Memory on Mobo: From manufacturer:
" * Four 184-pin DDR DIMMs up to 4GB
* Supports Dual Channel DDR266/333/400 memory"
Dual channel offers better performance than single channel on socket
939's. One of the big reasons why performance is much better than
Socket 754. once again, google for it if you need it in writing
3). PSU: Requires a 24 pin ATX Power connector & 4 pin ATX 12V Power
connector. Case comes with a 20pin ATX power supply. May or may not
work with board. Questionable power ratings on PSU and dependent on
whats shipped with case.
4) Better memory architecture. Athlon64/FX/Opteron have memory
controllers on die, instead of having a FSB. One more reason why they
have been outperforming Intel over the last year.
5) 64bit IS the wave of the future. Doesn't matter that it isn't here
fully at this moment for Windows users. It has been for Linux/FreeBSD
for at least a year and we have been using it.

My Specs
MSI k8t Master2-far Motherboard
Dual Opteron 244 processors
2x80 Gig WD SATA Harddrives
1x300 Gig Maxtor IDE Drive
1 Liteon Dual Layer DVD-/+R/RW Drive
1 Liteon DVD/CDRW 52x Combo drive
2gigs PC2700 Infineon Reg ECC (4x512)
1 Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum
1 XFX Geforce 6600GT AGP Video
4x80mm NEON Blue Antec case fans
Windows XP Professional SP2, Windows XP x86-64 RC2, and Fedora C3 64
500watt ULTRA modular power supply.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 09:57:32 -0800, Michael Thomas
<mtNOSPAMMING@armory.com> wrote:


>>USB devices won't work, at least with XP, I tried. I keep an old solid
>>floppy drive packed away that I can take out when needed.
>
>I use my USB floppy on a IBM T41 running XP all the time. It's a BIOS
>requirement not an OS requirement. Since the OP is buying new
>hardware, a USB floppy will work fine - even during boot.

No, it cannot be assumed that "buying new hardware"= "will
work fine". For quite a while boards claimed to support
this but when it comes time to actually being able to do it,
well...

It is a bios function, BUT when you need to install that
driver for the HDD controller during WinXP install, you
don't get to choose where it is, so if the bios doesn't
assign letter "A" to the USB drive then you're probably SOL
trying to use it.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

"kony" <spam@spam.com> wrote in message
news:146v219bqm0un95g7ihq90rvh69v4bvodc@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 09:57:32 -0800, Michael Thomas
> <mtNOSPAMMING@armory.com> wrote:
>
>
>>>USB devices won't work, at least with XP, I tried. I keep an old solid
>>>floppy drive packed away that I can take out when needed.
>>
>>I use my USB floppy on a IBM T41 running XP all the time. It's a BIOS
>>requirement not an OS requirement. Since the OP is buying new
>>hardware, a USB floppy will work fine - even during boot.
>
> No, it cannot be assumed that "buying new hardware"= "will
> work fine". For quite a while boards claimed to support
> this but when it comes time to actually being able to do it,
> well...
>
> It is a bios function, BUT when you need to install that
> driver for the HDD controller during WinXP install, you
> don't get to choose where it is, so if the bios doesn't
> assign letter "A" to the USB drive then you're probably SOL
> trying to use it.

Zactly.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 00:46:29 GMT, kony <spam@spam.com> wrote:

>On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 09:57:32 -0800, Michael Thomas
><mtNOSPAMMING@armory.com> wrote:
>
>
>>>USB devices won't work, at least with XP, I tried. I keep an old solid
>>>floppy drive packed away that I can take out when needed.
>>
>>I use my USB floppy on a IBM T41 running XP all the time. It's a BIOS
>>requirement not an OS requirement. Since the OP is buying new
>>hardware, a USB floppy will work fine - even during boot.
>
>No, it cannot be assumed that "buying new hardware"= "will
>work fine". For quite a while boards claimed to support
>this but when it comes time to actually being able to do it,
>well...
>

You're right. I should have said "should" instead of "will." It's
never failed me though, unless I've plugged it into a USB2.0 only port
instead of a 2.0/1.1. Of course, I haven't tried it on every x86
motherboard available.

>It is a bios function, BUT when you need to install that
>driver for the HDD controller during WinXP install, you
>don't get to choose where it is, so if the bios doesn't
>assign letter "A" to the USB drive then you're probably SOL
>trying to use it.

Correct, except you're not "probably SOL trying to use it", you're
definately SOL. The only way it will work at boot is if the BIOS can
assign either A or B drive to it, and only A to install windows
drivers, HAL's, etc., at install time (a windows requirement,
unfortunately).

MT