Computer is T3h Fux0r3d Again! Wanna Help me Build another?

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

Today I tried to play Quake, and the old 'crash/freeze-on-loading-Quake' problem came back. So, I'm interested in replacing this computer and giving it to my non-Quake-playing boyfriend. As for me, I would like to have the best comp $600 can buy.

Specifications
----------------
Processor: Must be 2GHz or greater, can be any brand

GFX Card: Must be a Geforce4 or better (no MX either)

RAM: at least 512 any type

OS: not an issue/none required

HDD: must have combined total of 80GB (I'm looking for a two-drive setup)

Power Supply: 400W or greater (room for expansion)

Net Connection: not required/not an issue (I can get an Ethernet device for $10!)

Cost: Must be $600 or lower, $100 overbudget acceptable.

Assembly Required: Any (means if a barebones/bucket-o'-spare-parts is the way to go, so be it: I can build the ship myself )

Performance: As long as it runs Quake 3 at 1200x800x32 at 300fps, it's good.

Reliability: Must be able to run Q3 at the stated rez/fps for as long as I need...



Let's see what you guyz can cook up.

[Straha]

Don't say that on yuor computer, then it will stop working for you all together. Trust me I should know.

[EmperorMing]

HD, prcessor, mobo and vidcard will eat up most of that budget. i would plan on going over that 6 clams you want to spend.

Vidcard, I would see a 4200 as your best bet. Someone else should be able to provide input if you want a Radeon.

Heck, go check out newegg.com might have what you want at your price.

[Shinova]

Net Connection: not required/not an issue (I can get an Ethernet device for $10!)

I would like to add that many motherboards come with built-in ethernet devices.

[EmperorMing]

Oh, for the hard drive I would recommend a single 80 gb drive. It should be cheaper than two 40 gb drives.

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

Would this work? (poached from www.cheapcomputer.com)

AMD Custom Computer System
- CPU Processor Athlon XP 2400+ (2.0GHz, 256KB, 266MHz)
- Case Black Case/Package Upgrade
- Motherboard Standard Motherboard
- Memory 256mb PC133 SDRAM
- Hard Drive 1 40gig Hard Drive
- Hard Drive 2 120gig 7200rpm 8mb Cache Hard Drive
- Floppy Drive 1.44 Floppy Drive
- Cdrom 48X CDROM Drive
- CD Burner 40x12x40x CDRW Drive
- DVD Burner No Dvd Burner
- Video Card GeForce 4 MX440 128mb W TVout
- Sound Card Standard Integrated Sound
- Speakers 180w Standard Speakers
- Keyboard Logitech Enhanced Keyboard
- Mouse Standard Optical Mouse
- Modem No Modem
- Monitor No Monitor
- Operating System No Operating System
- Extra Software 1 No Extra Software
- Extra Software 2 No Extra Software
- Warranty 1 Year Express Parts Warranty
Sub-Total: $721.60

Maybe I should ante up from $600 to $700...

[RedWizard]

GFX Card: Must be a Geforce4 or better (no MX either)

Would this work?

- Video Card GeForce 4 MX440 128mb W TVout

Did you change you mind or just not see the MX there?

IMO, the computer listed is not very good.

- It doesn't say what motherboard it has. If they won't identify the motherboard, it must suck.
- Integrated Sound? Again, if they won't identify the motherboard, it must suck.
- 256 MB of PC133? Not good. Any new computer should have at least 512 MB of DDR.
- GeForce 4 MX.


Newegg would probably be a better place to get your parts.

Just avoid the Shitblaster live/audigy.

[Faram]

Got a Dell throgh my work

Problem free computing for a long time now.

I used to buy all sorts of computer parts and mach them togheter but for reability hassle free usage my current comp beats them all.

[Shogoki]

Let's see, im trying to keep within your limits, but with some good components. I'm sure it can get cheaper if you are not too picky.

This is from www.mwave.com

All components picked by me, no preconfigurated stuff.

BA14349 ANTEC SX1040BII FILE SERVER TOWER W/SL400 400W (PENTIUM 4 READY) ATX POWER SUPPLY Detail Specs $95.00

AA15192 MAXTOR 40.0GB DX6E040L0 EIDE ULTRA-ATA 133 8.5MS 7200RPM 2MB BUFFER (Bare drive) Detail Spec $65.00 $130.00 (2 HD, as you asked for)

BA08577 KINGSTON KVR333X64C25/512 512MB PC2700 333MHZ CL2.5 DDR DIMM Detail Specs $62.64

BA19074 EPOX EP-8RDA+ NVIDIA nFORCE2 CHIPSET ULTRA ATA133 ATX FORM FACTOR 1xAGP(8X)/6xPCI/3xDDR W/LAN, 1394, USB 2.0 & AUDIO Detail Specs (CPU TYPE:AMD DURON, ATHLON) $95.23 $95.23

BA03458 AMD ATHLON XP 2100+ 1.73GHZ (AXDA2100BOX) RETAIL BOXED W/COOLING FAN (3 YEARS WARRANTY) $79.50 $79.50

AA18330 ATI RADEON 9000 128MB AGP 2X/4X DDR W/TV-OUT (OEM - POWERED BY ATI) Detail Specs $75.00 $75.00

AA00695 SONY 1.44MB FLOPPY DRIVE (Bare Drive) Detail Specs $9.90 $9.90

1666650 PLEXTOR 20X/10X/40X + 12X-DVD EIDE INTERNAL CDRW/DVD-ROM COMBO DRIVE W/SW (Black) Detail Specs $130.67 $130.67

Total: $677.94 plus shipping

Assembly required.

The Mobo has sound and network integrated, to keep the price low.

I trust this site, i've order from them 5 times, no problems so far, i built my current computer from parts i got from them, 1 year already and it still is good as new.

[Shogoki]

Let me know if you don't like something, we can come up with a replacement.

[phongn]

A second viewpoint, from Newegg:

$042 Enlight EN-7101AX Chassis, but only 300W PSU
$065 Lite-On 48x24x48x16 CD-RW/DVD-ROM
$007 Samsung 1.44MB 3.5" FDD
$138 (2X) Western Digital 40GB 7200RPM 8MB HD
$051 Corsair 512MB PC2700 DDR SDRAM
$089 Epox EP-8RDA+ Motherboard
$150 AMD Athlon XP 2600+ (2.08GHz @ 333MHz FSB) Retail
$122 MSI GeForce4 Ti 4200 128MB+TV Out Retail

$664 Total + S&H

The CDRW/DVD-ROM isn't as good as the Plextor in any way, shape or form, but it is cheaper. The 300W PSU will give some room to grow on this machine and will handle this load. The motherboard, of course, has built-in [good] sound and [okay] ethernet. The processor is about 300MHz faster than the other one, but also nearly twice as much.

I typically prefer WD drives over Maxtor, but I'm a distinct minority in chosing that. That GeForce4 probably will beat an R9000, but the Radeon is a lot cheaper.

Dropping down to a cheapr R9000 128MB and an Athlon XP 2100 (1.73GHz) cuts the price to $547.50

[Crayz9000]

Epox motherboards are almost always rated pretty highly, anyway...

[phongn]

I find them average, really.

Tyan, Intel and Supermicro tend to be at the head of the pack. Nothing comes close to them.

Asus used to be all-around excellent, but their nForce solutions have been finicky. Abit was burned by bad capacitors, but otherwise are above average. MSI is a bit above average, IMHO.

[Coaan]

256mb in memory is the bare minimum these days....I'd recomend double that to anyone who wants to do anything in the near future regarding games...

Other'n that, looks like a kickass system you've got in the works there

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

A second viewpoint, from Newegg:

$042 Enlight EN-7101AX Chassis, but only 300W PSU
$065 Lite-On 48x24x48x16 CD-RW/DVD-ROM
$007 Samsung 1.44MB 3.5" FDD
$138 (2X) Western Digital 40GB 7200RPM 8MB HD
$051 Corsair 512MB PC2700 DDR SDRAM
$089 Epox EP-8RDA+ Motherboard
$150 AMD Athlon XP 2600+ (2.08GHz @ 333MHz FSB) Retail
$122 MSI GeForce4 Ti 4200 128MB+TV Out Retail

$664 Total + S&H

The CDRW/DVD-ROM isn't as good as the Plextor in any way, shape or form, but it is cheaper. The 300W PSU will give some room to grow on this machine and will handle this load. The motherboard, of course, has built-in [good] sound and [okay] ethernet. The processor is about 300MHz faster than the other one, but also nearly twice as much.

I typically prefer WD drives over Maxtor, but I'm a distinct minority in chosing that. That GeForce4 probably will beat an R9000, but the Radeon is a lot cheaper.

Dropping down to a cheapr R9000 128MB and an Athlon XP 2100 (1.73GHz) cuts the price to $547.50

I think this one's the best. Remember, I'll probly add other components nearly immediately anyway

[phongn]

To cut down on cost even more, get a single 80GB HD and back up regularly (like you should be doing!)

[Sea Skimmer]

256mb in memory is the bare minimum these days....I'd recomend double that to anyone who wants to do anything in the near future regarding games...

Other'n that, looks like a kickass system you've got in the works there

You'd certainly want more then 256. Though ram is cheep and simple as shit to put in so more can always be added later when budget allows.

[phongn]

Since both of us suggested nForce 2 boards, you can get some performance benefit by using two sticks of RAM for dual-channel bandwidth. It won't be spectacular since the Athlon doesn't support it, but it'll be nice. 1GB of RAM (or hell, even a pair of 256MB sticks) is good.

[Coaan]

256mb in memory is the bare minimum these days....I'd recomend double that to anyone who wants to do anything in the near future regarding games...

Other'n that, looks like a kickass system you've got in the works there

You'd certainly want more then 256. Though ram is cheep and simple as shit to put in so more can always be added later when budget allows.

You'd be surprised...there's so much that can go wrong with ram if you put it in the slightest way wrong...or don't match it up perfectly to what your board takes...at the very worse...it can fry your computer to the point where it'll never run again

[phongn]

You'd certainly want more then 256. Though ram is cheep and simple as shit to put in so more can always be added later when budget allows.

Sea Skimmer! It's spelled "cheap," not "cheep!"

[Crayz9000]

Sea Skimmer! It's spelled "cheap," not "cheep!"

According to Calvin (of Calvin & Hobbes fame) it is speeled "cheep"

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

Thanks guys! You've helped a lot!

ROTFLMAO@Sea Skimmer, CrayZ9000, and Phong! That was funny!

[MKSheppard]

Oh, for the hard drive I would recommend a single 80 gb drive. It should be cheaper than two 40 gb drives.

WRONG WRONG!

Always have two hard drives incase the OS goes splat on you - C drive
holds games and the OS, D drive holds your important stuff...so in case
of a O$ fuck up, or upgrade, you can easily transfer your stuff / save it.

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

Oh, for the hard drive I would recommend a single 80 gb drive. It should be cheaper than two 40 gb drives.

WRONG WRONG!

Always have two hard drives incase the OS goes splat on you - C drive
holds games and the OS, D drive holds your important stuff...so in case
of a O$ fuck up, or upgrade, you can easily transfer your stuff / save it.

You mean 'Small fast HDD has OS, Big medium-speed HDD holds EVERYTHING ELSE'?

That's what I have except it's 'Small SLOW drive holds OS..."

[phongn]

Some people go the high speed OS/application drive and slow but large data drive route.