Yeah! Computer died and i'm poor!

Colemerson

So my computer died this morning when i tried to change the texture settings in portal. Looks like its just the video card as the monitor just turned off. Tried another monitor and no go.

Computer is ancient, I haven't spent a dime on it since I bought it in 2002 or 2003. Got some old parts from my brother to bump it up a bit. Was at Amd 3.2, geforce 6600 and 1.5 gigs of ram =\

Just replacing the video card is pretty much impossible as i would need AGP and they pretty much don't exist anymore.

Priced out the following rig and I wanted to get some opinions on it since I've kinda been out of the loop in regards to hardware for a long time.

Budget $500

Hard drive - Seagate 500gigs 16mb cache $60
Motherboard - Asus M3A76 DDR2 1006/8w AM2+ $75
Processor - AMD Phenom II x2 550 Dual 3.1 Ghz $115
Ram/memory - DDR2 Corsair 4gb XMSL $85
Powersupply - Antec true power 650W $120
Case - Antec nine hundred ultimate gamer #120
Video card - Brother is giving me his 8800 GT

Also keeping one of my hard drives from old comp as the other has been slowly failing for awhile, freezing and then spinning up. ugghhhh...

Was gonna order today but I heard rumor i might be able to get hardware discount through work. Since I'm gonna wait a couple days thought I would get some more opinions on it.

Asthane

No offense, but there's something wrong when the case is tied for most expensive item on the list ¬_¬ I would try to find a cheaper case (as long as it's got a nice large space for the video card) and maybe try to see if you can fit a quadcore in your budget, but that's me. Actually, I'd have suggested a better video card first, but that's hard when it's not part of the budget at all.

EmAr

I think you can get away with a less expensive(maybe around 60-70$) power supply. I agree with Asthane about the case too.

EarthQuake

absolutely, get a cheaper case! sort on newegg by FREE SHIPPING on cases as it will cost $40+ to ship your case, look in the $50-80 range there are very good cases out there if you dont want 12,000 led fans or water cooling or whatever else the cool kids have these days. You can also get away with a cheaper PSU, you can get a good, name brand PSU, for like $75

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007

500w 80+ psu, will run your system more than well.

Also, search for free shipping on PSU's(like above), cause that will be another $20 or $30

I've got this case, and it is wondeful! its a huge bargain at $70 and again with free shipping.

So, going with what i have here for you, or something similar, with free shipping, you'll save (your case+psu+shipping will run you near $300, gah!) about $150! get a better cpu, or find a hooker and some blow, anything but overpay on parts that dont equate to any better performace(fany useless cases, or overpowered PSUs)

CPU should always always ALWAY be the most expensive part in a new build.(with the exception of a shit-ton of ram, but in that case you're talking multiple parts )

Colemerson

Thanks for the replies. Yeah there was cheaper cases I was just worried about overheating, as the case I currently have only has 1 fan and I can't have the cover on cause it overheats. So I was overdoing it with the fans. Will defiantly look at some others. Worse comes to worse I could maybe buy some fans for the one I have.

I did look into quad core but I don't know if its worth the money I have at the moment for any of the extra benefit I'll get out of it. I'll look at it again after I go over everything stated here and redo the shopping list.

Also I may hold out a bit longer and go the shipping route like EQ stated. Most of the stuff was from memory express which is similar to newegg and ncix. They just have a local branch here in Edmonton where I could pick things up right away.

Again thanks for input and I'll defiantly take some more time to look everything over.

mdeforge

You could even use a 80+ certified 350W PSU if you can find enough connectors in one for your use.

oobersli

screw the computer.. get a 500 dollar hooker.

if you can find 100 more bucks, just get a 9800, they're cheap.

Colemerson

Ok so after some more snooping and thinking I got something thats still within my range, although slightly more expensive. I cut back on some things and uped a few others that I will be able to keep when i get a bit more cash to upgrade a bit more.

Case - Antec 300 Versatile Mini Tower - $70
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX20934%28ME%29.aspx
Says its mini but I checked out the measurements and I think its only 1 inch smaller, still larger than what i got here.

Motherboard - Asus M3A76-CM w/ Dual DDR2 1066 - $75
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX24288%28ME%29.aspx

Hard drive - Seagate500 16mb cache - $60
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX23454%28ME%29.aspx
Plus I'm keeping one from current rig, Its only 120gigs but still more room than I'll probably fill.

Processor - AMD Penom II X4 945 Quad-Core 3.0Ghz w/ 8mb Cache - $200
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX25434%28ME%29.aspx

Memory - DDR2 Corsair 4GB XMS2 - 8500C7 - $85
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX23171%28ME%29.aspx

Power Supply - Antec Earthwatts 500W - $90
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX18432%28ME%29.aspx

Video card - Geforce 8800 GT - $Free!!

Ok that should be it all. I cut back on somethings, the power supply and the case, And bumped up to a Quad core. Reason behind all this is. Getting quad core now will save me upgrading to it later on. I didn't buy a graphics card cause its free and its easily upgradeable. Ram I wanted 8gigs but I'm staying at 4 to save some money.

The graphics card and ram might not make much sense considering they are lacking a bit compared to quad core. But the idea is when i do upgrade them I'm not gonna lose any money by doing so. GFX card is free and the ram I'll just be adding to. Where as the processor I would be completely replacing it losing out on the money I spent on it.

Thanks alot for the help so far and hopefully you'll give me some more feedback before I end up buying anything

$500 hooker is tempting though.

shadows

Did you check http://www.directcanada.com ? Its a sister company/site of NCIX , they usually have the lowest prices around and free ground shipping.

Vailias

If you are concerned about overheating, I'll suggest adding in a Scythe cooler that fits your mobo. I have http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185074 on mine and it keeps the CPU within about 10 degrees of ambient during normal usage, and still keeps it acceptably cool under full load, aside from days where ambient is near or over 100 F (38C).

also check newegg.ca for cases. Without powersupply cases you should be able to get for under 30$ Just seems nuts to put 70 into just the enclosure LINK

I have this case but the model that came with a power supply. Its treated me well and has enough internal room to accommodate the CPU cooler mentioned above though I did have to remove the side air duct.

I've since added in a 120mm fan to the front of the harddrive bays for additional disk cooling. I don't need it now, but when I was in the desert this summer it was very important (no ac)

salman_fas

I bought this case about 3 years ago, it comes with power supply... I did get mail in rebate too.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156062

sir-knight

salvage what you can out of your old computer... chances are the case will be fine if you're short on money, transfer everything into your old case and reuse it. If you have a drill you can probably drill some vent holes in the side panel where they are needed over the pci cards.

That's anywhere from 70-120 bucks saved right there.