[C]heap OC machine

D

deathBOB

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Sep 27, 2003
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I need a new computer bad. I have a great case, drives, sound card, accessories, etc. I need a new processor, ram, graphics card, and psu. I think I want an Intel chip because of the awesome OC power and I really want an 8800GTS 320mb because I am tired of f@#$ing around with midrange crap. The system needs to last only a few years (2?) until I graduate and get a real job. Total budget is $600 but I am sure something will put me over (tax, shipping, thermal paste, something).

Graphics: 8800GTS 320mb cheapest possible, they seem to run about $300.

Processor: I'm thinking about an E2180. Everything I have read says it overclocks just great.

Mobo: I don't need SLI, I don't need RAID, I don't think I need the latest chipset, I just need cheap. I'm really confused here as to what to get. The Nvidia 650i ultra seems pretty cool because you can overclock the CPU independently of the RAM. Anyone have experience with them? I could also get an older Intel chipset.

Anything that could get the processor to 3ghz would be great.

RAM: There are so many sale/rebate offers, I think I will just look out for a good deal. I don't see myself spending more than $70. What brands should I look for?

PSU: Same deal, I'll try to get something on sale.

Help would be appreciated, especially in picking a mobo.
 
RAM: Any reliable brand DDR2-800 (maybe even 667 if you're intent on the E2000/4000 series) will do. Just browse the [H]ot Deals forum really, you can grab any of those and generally be fine. Crucial, OCZ, Corsair, GSkill, whatever works. If you're going to wait for rebates anyway and really want to save cash, that $15/GB HP RAM deal is ridiculously cheap for what the sticks are capable of.

Mobo: If you don't need Firewire either, IP35-E at Mwave for $71 after rebate is your best bet. Both cheap and effective.

PSU: XClio Goodpower 500W for $50 given your budget.

CPU: Whatever you want from here depending on whether the $300 accounts for being able to wait for rebates to return or not. Might want to consider an aftermarket HSF too depending on how much you plan on overclocking, though I don't really know what to say here given your budget, sorry.
 
Howbout an HD 2900Pro OC'd to XT speeds?

$265 - Sapphire 100212SR Radeon HD 2900PRO 512MB HDCP
$89 - ABIT IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ($20 MIR)
$85 - Intel Dual-Core E2160 Allendale 1.8GHz 1MB L2 Cache
$63 - A-DATA 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-667 ADQPE1A16K
$50 - XClio Goodpower 500W ATX 500W
==========
$552 + tax and shipping - $20MIR

Of course, if you want to OC past 3.0Ghz, you'll need a cooler and some thermal paste:
$30 - Cooler Master RR-CCH-L9U1-GP 92mm Hyper TX2 ($20MIR)
$6 - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound 3.5g
 
I forgot to mention, I already have an XP-90, I just need to order a 775 compatible back plate.

Gimme the scoop on 2900pro versus 8800GTS, I hadn't even considered it.
 
deathBOB said:
Gimme the scoop on 2900pro versus 8800GTS, I hadn't even considered it.
Click to expand...

Danny's got some nice links... let me go steal them for you. :p

Danny Bui said:
Just realized you have a 20" monitor. If you want to save $100, drop down to the 8800GTS 320MB. You may have to turn down a few settings but the 320MB should be enough for your needs. Or you can go with the HD 2900 Pro. Early reviews of the card says that it performs about the same as an 8800GTS 320MB and can OC to HD 2900XT speeds. And it's only $270:

Sapphire 100212SR Radeon HD 2900 Pro 512MB PCI-E Video Card - $270
eVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB PCI-E Video Card - $290

Early review of the 2900 Pro and Overclocking the 2900 Pro:
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1189/1/page_1_introduction/index.html
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2462022#post2462022
Click to expand...

Oh, I'm also thinking the E2160 and E2180 both have the same potential OC, as do the E4300 and E4400 (~3.4Ghz), as well as the E6750 and E6850 (~4.0Ghz).
 
Hmmm... What about compared to this 8800GTS deal. The Pro looks fast but I wonder about the power/heat. Has it been a problem for anyone? On the plus side, I know a few people who have had bad driver problems with their 8800s in Vista (what I have), how are ATI's Vista drivers?

You guys are really helpful thanks!
 
deathBOB said:
Hmmm... What about compared to this 8800GTS deal. The Pro looks fast but I wonder about the power/heat. Has it been a problem for anyone?
Click to expand...

I wonder about that, too... I dont think it has been a problem for anyone since these cards just came out, lol. The GTS deal from Microcenter isn't bad at all.... I'd probably go for that if I still gamed as much as I used to, lol, especially since the evga models on the egg don't have any rebates.

I thought they fixed the vista driver issues with NVIDIA cards? I'm guessing driver support for the new ATI cards will be buggy at first, as always.
 
Well according to the review link above, the HD 2900 Pro's temps are roughly the same as the 8800GTS 320MB. Here's another review of the 2900 Pro in Polish but you can tell what they're getting at:
http://pclab.pl/art28806-3.html

That 8800GTS deal is a pretty good deal. If you're not into overclocking, I'd recommend going with the GTS. However if you want to overclock then I recommend the 2900 Pro. It's been shown that it can be OC'd to XT speeds and it's also been suggested that the HD 2900 Pro can be flashed to the HD 2900 XT. $260 for a card that can be OC'd to XT speeds isn't half bad.
 
Well, we know that the 2900 Pro is a 2900 XT underclocked. But, that deal looks good, so I would get the 8800GTS. They both overclock marvelously, with the GTS reaching 700mhz core (from my experience) and the 2900 Pro reaching the clock speeds of an overclocked 2900XT (same card). I am buying a new rig myself next week, and will be using the E2180, and a P35 board. Why, you may ask? Because, as well as being really cheap and overclocking really well, they also have similar performance to the rest of the Core 2 range for most things, as the extra cache is simply not required. Basically, it isn't any slower than its bigger brothers. I also thought that I would suggest, if you are not planning on spending much an X1950 Pro will be perfect for you. It is fast enough to play current games at medium settings at 1600x1200, and in the future would do that at low. Then upgrade later when you graduate.
 
Keep in mind that the vidcard is the fastest depreciating component in a gaming PC. With that said, spending less and upgrading more frequently has served better than upgrading less often and spending more. I just wanted to throw that out there.
 
True point. Personally, I would say that you should buy the 2900 now, I don't really think that it is a very expensive card. Also, the X1950 Pro is a good choice, as I said earlier.
 
My friend just rebuilt his rig using a E2160, Gigabyte P35-DS3R, 2GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800, and a 7950GT and has been extremely happy with the performance when he OC the E2160 to 3.0GHz on stock cooling. A big upgrade from his old Socket A XP-M 2400 for all of $400 after rebates.
 
Try to get a decent PSU and pass on that Xclio stuff. Antec has the Trio 650W at a very good price for its noise and performance.
 
kiajoon said:
Try to get a decent PSU and pass on that Xclio stuff.
Click to expand...

Why? is the XClio Goodpower not decent enough? Its built by CWT, has around 28A on the +12V rail, and has good enough cooling that there arent hundreds of returns. It may not be 80+ effecient and have modular cabling, but its still a good enough PSU for $50. IMO, XClio PSUs are far from trash. The Goodpower is good for budget builds. The Stablepower line is usually made by Enhance, another good quality PSU manufacturer. What makes you think XClio isn't good?
 
Danny Bui said:
Well according to the review link above, the HD 2900 Pro's temps are roughly the same as the 8800GTS 320MB. Here's another review of the 2900 Pro in Polish but you can tell what they're getting at:
http://pclab.pl/art28806-3.html

That 8800GTS deal is a pretty good deal. If you're not into overclocking, I'd recommend going with the GTS. However if you want to overclock then I recommend the 2900 Pro. It's been shown that it can be OC'd to XT speeds and it's also been suggested that the HD 2900 Pro can be flashed to the HD 2900 XT. $260 for a card that can be OC'd to XT speeds isn't half bad.
Click to expand...

enginurd said:
Howbout an HD 2900Pro OC'd to XT speeds?

$265 - Sapphire 100212SR Radeon HD 2900PRO 512MB HDCP
$89 - ABIT IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ($20 MIR)
$85 - Intel Dual-Core E2160 Allendale 1.8GHz 1MB L2 Cache
$63 - A-DATA 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-667 ADQPE1A16K
$50 - XClio Goodpower 500W ATX 500W
==========
$552 + tax and shipping - $20MIR

Of course, if you want to OC past 3.0Ghz, you'll need a cooler and some thermal paste:
$30 - Cooler Master RR-CCH-L9U1-GP 92mm Hyper TX2 ($20MIR)
$6 - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound 3.5g
Click to expand...
IMO there should only be two posts to every thread started here and that's the two from these guys. They both know what the hell they are talking about and how to build a computer around your budget/ needs. There should be a customer service satisfaction rating assigned to everyones name I'm sure you'd both have very high ratings.
 
That's a very clever way to start a flame war, they should pay you for that. Surely, that means that you shouldn't post either, rather than coming in and telling everyone else they suck. Plus, we don't all have the time to go on Newegg and search for parts.

Anyway, the XClio is a good quality power supply, and it would be plenty for your needs. Though they might not be the best quality on Earth, they are not bad at all. I don't know where kiajoon is getting his information from.
 
That's meant to be a compliment to those guys and not meant to put anyone else down. No flame intended I'll still stick w/ my previous statement tho!
 
It's all good. :) Thanks for the compliment, shmitty.

But I disagree. Other people should chime in with their opinions, arguments or statements. It's not like I or even enginurd :)eek:) know everything about or are fully up to date on the world of PC hardware. There are plenty of people here on [H]ardforum who knows just as much or more about PCs then enginurd or I. We just happen to be very very prolific posters:D

Anyway to get back on topic, the E2169/2180 are a good choice since it's been proven that the extra cache don't help that much to warrant the extra cash.
 
See, he saved me some typing again! :p This is one reason we need others to post, lol.

Really tho, I learn a lot from other people's posts, so there needs to be more than just mine and Danny's opinions. ;) Its good to have a wide range of opinion.
 
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