building a computer for a friend

lukesparksoff · September 29th, 2005, 08:10 PM

THis guy is really cheap and he wants a gaming computer,this is what I came up with. He is going to have a stroke when he see the price

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/...aming+computer

Linkworld 3210-04-C2628 Black/Silver Metal ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $19.99
ABIT KN8 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4-4X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $83.00
Apollo GeForce PC6600GT Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $139.00
FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX400-PN ATX12V 400W Power Supply - Retail$39.99
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 E6 Processor $146.00
Patriot 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory
$126.95
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST380817AS 80GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM $64.75
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A - Retail $43.99

Subtotal: $663.67

any ideas to make this computer better or cheaper without hindering performance
I'm already $100 over budget,I'll talk him into it

SoloCamo · September 29th, 2005, 08:16 PM

well for starters, why such expensive ram, you could get 2x 512 sticks of good ram for cheaper.

otherwise it's pretty good, not sure about the case, have to check it out.

washe · September 29th, 2005, 08:18 PM

Yep you could get one off the value corsair or crucial chips and save some bucks... I dont think he will be overclocking... and if he does then he needs to spend a little more on other parts.

lukesparksoff · September 29th, 2005, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by washe

Yep you could get one off the value corsair or crucial chips and save some bucks... I dont think he will be overclocking... and if he does then he needs to spend a little more on other parts.

I know ,I was so disappointed in the performance of the corsair value select RAM ,that I didn't want to put it in someone else computer,To think about it I have a 1G in the drawer collecting dust ,Charge him $50 for it

lukesparksoff · September 29th, 2005, 08:31 PM

that Patriot is running 2-3-2-5 timing

SoloCamo · September 29th, 2005, 08:33 PM

for a budget comp it would be better to put that money elsewhere, valueselect's 2.5-3-3-8 won't kill his performance.

lukesparksoff · September 29th, 2005, 08:35 PM

Linkworld 3210-04-C2628 Black/Silver Metal ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $19.99
ABIT KN8 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4-4X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $83.00
Apollo GeForce PC6600GT Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $139.00
FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX400-PN ATX12V 400W Power Supply - Retail$39.99
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 E6 Processor $146.00
corsair value select 1GB (2x512)184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory
$50
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST380817AS 80GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM $64.75
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A - Retail $43.99

Subtotal: $586.72

SoloCamo · September 29th, 2005, 08:36 PM

saved him almost $100 with just that. I know I would be much happier saving that much versus unoticeable performance differences. (unless you talk benchmarking numbers, the latencies aren't going to give you a visual difference when they are that close)

Tazzin · September 29th, 2005, 08:38 PM

I would have to agree with the other here... I would get 2 sticks of 512 MB Dual Channel DDR 3200 RAM. In case one stick is bad.. or goes bad the pc will still work with 512. Overall a nice system. Not thrilled with the Case or the PS.

Personally I look for Deals.. or rebates on things from multiple sites / retail and order / buy what I want from them to keep the overall cost down.

I had to add this too.. nice board!.. love the fact that its got Gb Lan.. and 6 Channel sound / ports on the back of the board.

SoloCamo · September 29th, 2005, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tazzin

I would have to agree with the other here... I would get 2 sticks of 512 MB Dual Channel DDR 3200 RAM. In case one stick is bad.. or goes bad the pc will still work with 512. Overall a nice system. Not thrilled with the Case or the PS.

Personally I look for Deals.. or rebates on things from multiple sites / retail and order / buy what I want from them to keep the overall cost down.

by PS, i'm assuming you mean PSU. That fortron is the best psu for under 45 dollars, and it's more than good enough for this system. I will be picking one up for myself soon.