Suggestions on a new pc. This is tricky : (

[MadCow809]

right now my sister uses a laptop to surf the net, but its a bit old and sluggish so im going to build a cheap pc for her and using the opportunity to upgrade my pc as well.

So far this is what ive come up with.

• RAM - OCZ ATI CrossFire 2GB (2 x 1GB) $61 (for my pc, 4gb memory in total)
• RAM - A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) $46
• CPU - E2180 2.0GHz (200 x 10) $85
• MOBO - undecided
• HDD - Seagate 500gb SATA 32mb $120 (for my pc, replacing old IDE hdd)
• DVDRW - LiteOn 20X SATA $26
• PSU - APEVIA ATX-CW500W $35
• VGA - Radeon HD 3850 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 $170 (for my pc, replacing the old 7600gs)
• LCD - Hanns·G 19" Widescreen $170
• KEYBOARD - Kensington normal USB $14

what the new pc will consist of :
(ram/dvdrw/psu/lcd can be changed, i just picked the cheapest ones from newegg. so if you can find cheaper ones from newegg then ill take it)

• CPU - E2180
• RAM - A-DATA
• MOBO - undecided
• VGA - 7600GS from my pc
• HDD - old 200gb IDE + old 300gb IDE
• PSU - cheapo 500W
• DVDRW - LiteOn SATA DVDRW
• LCD - 19" Widescreen

MOBO : what i need now is a cheapish board for the E2180, but it must have OC function, it only needs 2 ram slots, 1 pci-e x16 slot, sound onboard. im not asking for much, so i dont need the latest chipset as well, it needs to be cheap but must be able to overclock. something around $60ish region would be good.

RAM - see if you guys can find a better set of 2 x 1gb ddr2 800 ram thats not too bad for a small bit of overclocking. ADATA ones are $45 with $15 rebate. Not the cheapest but its not too pricey either.

LCD - 19" is the smallest ill consider for the new pc, $170 sounds a bit on the expensive side and ill have a look around the local shops to check the prices, but this is the best one i can find on newegg.

DVDRW - All i need is sata interface, dont need anything fancy like lightscribe, the cheaper the better. $26 seems to be the cheapest one, and its the same one im using for my pc, seems pretty good so ill get another one.

CPU - im considering this E2180 because of the x 10 ratio, should be easy to overclock. I will be using the stock fan with stock voltage, so im expecting 2.5ghz or a little bit more.

VGA - HD 3850 256mb seems to be the best bang for the buck card on the market atm, its not cheap ($170) but it should be a pretty descent card for my pc. If there is anything around the region of $150 and performs similarly, i will consider the options. The old 7600gs in my pc will go to the new system.

HDD - 500gb seems to be the best right now, 750gbs are out of my price range. Since i have a full seagate lineup of hdds, i dont see why buying another seagate drive. SATA 500gb 32mb, this one will go to my pc, replacing 2 of my old IDE hdds, which will be used as storage and OS drives on the new system.

PSU - i picked this one up on the newegg specials, $35 bucks for a cheapo 500W psu is a bargain, plus it has $15 rebate. The new system will probably be happy with a normal 350/400W psu, but i cant find one thats descent for under 25 bucks.

there, plenty of room for suggestions. im hoping to buy everything tomorrow if it all turns out well.

im willing to try AMD as well, but it will have to be quite a bit cheaper than the Intel setup.

[cvrefugee]

Since you live in L.A., you should hit up Fry's Electronics. They sometimes have killer CPU/Mobo combos where the motherboard kinda sucks but you can sell it on eBay making the CPU really cheap.

[MadCow809]

Originally Posted by cvrefugee

Since you live in L.A., you should hit up Fry's Electronics. They sometimes have killer CPU/Mobo combos where the motherboard kinda sucks but you can sell it on eBay making the CPU really cheap.

going to Frys later tonight to have a look at monitor prices, i dunno about cpu/mobo combos... everytime i go there they only have crappy ECS mobos on promotion.

[BlitzR]

MotherboardGIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel

And a case COOLER MASTER Elite 340

[MadCow809]

Originally Posted by BlitzR

MotherboardGIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel

thats actually pretty damn good... has everything i need. SATA, gb LAN, DDR2 800 ram, OC function.

How does this compare with this?

[BlitzR]

Its smaller in size (it's a matx board) and on board video.

And a case COOLER MASTER Elite 340

[MadCow809]

naah. dont need a case, got one chilling at home, so i will use that rather. And onboard video doesnt do me any good, im getting a HD3850 to replace my 7600GS, which i can use for the new pc.

dunno.. which one do you rekon will be a better mobo?

GIGABYTE GA-G31M or the Foxconn P965.

theoractically the G31 chipset is better than the 965 chip, but the 965 is more of a board, bigger and more features(better sound). And it has 30 bucks rebate.

But with the G31, its probably easier to overclock with a newer chipset.

[BlitzR]

Apparently the BIOS on the Foxconn isn't really good according to the few that review it on Newegg.
With the Gigabyte, it might be missing a few OC options, it will still overclock but might not be the way you want it.

If you want to spend less the Gigabyte, if you want a fuller board then get the Foxconn.

[MadCow809]

that G31 does really tick all the right boxes, thought about it last night, now ive just placed the order.

thanks for your help.

what about vga card around the region of 150 to 170 that performs well.

[FATMOUSE]

Originally Posted by MadCow809

PSU - i picked this one up on the newegg specials, $35 bucks for a cheapo 500W psu

FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL

I'm not even kidding. From experience, MadCow, believe me, really, that this is one thing you do NOT want to skimp on.

Get a good quality PSU, if NOTHING else.

[MadCow809]

well most of the stuff arrived today... and the new pc pwns.

i managed to overclock the E2160 (200 x 9 - 1.8Ghz) on the GIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L LGA 775 Intel G31 that BlitR recommended (thanks mate, works brilliantly) @ 300 x 9 - 2.7Ghz.

thats on stock fan, stock voltage, Corsair DDR2 800 Ram, 350W PSU that came with my mate's crappy case.

ive ordered some thermal paste, better fan and psu. tomorrow when it arrives i shall be pushing 400!!!

what a cpu. making the E6xxx series and even my E4xxx series looks pointless.



oh yeah.. 24sec super pi 1mb time. not bad for a $80 cpu


now i just need to get a gfx card for myself so i can dump the old 7600gs to my sister's pc. any good card that you want to recomend for around $200??

what do you guys think about this one? clickey

[BlitzR]

It's a good card, but the problem with the 3870 is the 8800GT. The 8800GT is quicker but then 3870 is cheaper, but not by much.

[MadCow809]

yeah i know the 8800GT would be quicker, but its more expensive with the 512mb version. But in return i will get a faster card with better drivers support.

i dunno.. but both the HD3850 (512) and the HD3870(512) are very tempting buys.

[BlitzR]

Well it seems newegg is having a 2 day sale on some of the 8800GT's, lowers the price difference alittle. Standard clock cards are $10 more then the 3780 you showed but most are sold out, so most of the choices are $20-$30 more.

[MadCow809]

got my fans and the 500w psu i ordered from newegg this morning. installed both a 80mm and 120mm fan, so now i have 2 fans running on the side of the case, sucking cold air in the case to cool down the mobo and the components.

Problem is... even after i changed the stock E2160 cpu fan to an intel E4300 factory fan, it still hits 60c when running Orthos.

300x9=2.7ghz @ stock voltage, 60c max load with E4300 factory fan.

I installed the psu but cant tell any difference, the new psu made no difference to the system but kind of made me feel safer cos i was running a cheap 350w psu that comes with my mate's shitty case. im sure it will benefit the system in the long run.

now im just down to a good cpu fan and a vga card then im all set.

For the cpu fan, i got quite a few in mind here, can you help me to pick the best one?

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - $20

COOLER MASTER RR-CCH-L9U1-GP 92mm Hyper TX2 CPU Cooler - $22

ZEROtherm CF900 92mm CPU Cooler - $27.99
($17.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate)

ASUS V-Nardo 80mm 2 Ball Unique Fan Duct for VRM Care - $25

Rosewill RCX-Z775-LX 92mm Ball CPU Cooler - $17

also an alternative route is for me give my cpu fan to my sister, which will be plenty for that E2160, and then get a watercooling system for my pc.

is that idea feasiable? or should i wake up and stick with aircooling?

[lamboman]

No joke, you really should have waited before buying, and got more responses. There are quite a few things you should and might have to change.

Anyway, the graphics card, try the 3850, is cheap, and fast. The 8800GT is a bit overkill, as is the 3870.

[MadCow809]

Originally Posted by lamboman

Anyway, the graphics card, try the 3850, is cheap, and fast. The 8800GT is a bit overkill, as is the 3870.

ordered the gecube 3850 512mb for $180.

There are quite a few things you should and might have to change.

so what do i have to change??

cheap psu - checked, its only purpose is to power the pc, and it works like it should.



ram - corsair, enuf said. a little bit on the hot side, but works well with the system.

cpu - works better than i expected, bang for the buck, puts my E4300 to shame in terms of price/performance.

fan - cheapo E4300 stock factory fan on a E2160 cpu, i dont expect magic, but it works for now.

mobo - more than enough features for my sister, so nothing to complain about. a good quality product.

vga - 7600gs, old card but its beats onboard vga.

[cvrefugee]

*waits for MadCow's PSU to die, killing his motherboard in the process*

[MadCow809]

Originally Posted by cvrefugee

*waits for MadCow's PSU to die, killing his motherboard in the process*

dunno, never really had a problem with psu before, i know using a cheap psy can be a potential threat to your pc, but although the brand Apevia isnt the best, its far from shit. Quite a bit of ppl have bought this psu on newegg, so it should be fine.

but the worst case scenario is, psu blows up, takes the gigabyte mobo with it. Then it'll be my perfect excuse for buying an X38 board