EggXpert

cbradio:

I went with the $500 intel build and assembled it earlier this week. For my first computer build I was so excited when it started up the first time (I thought that I would have missed a connection or something). I also purchased the AC7 cooler and over clocked the cpu from 2.5 to 3.0 without messing with the voltage. It still runs at about 40 degrees after overclocking.

Awesome!  Glad your first build went smoothly.  Always makes the experience better!  I have that E5200 as well and its quite the little trooper.  With my Gigabyte motherboard I was able to push it up to 3.5 with just a tiny bump in the CPU voltage.  Not sure of that ASRock's overclocking abilities, but 3.0 is a nice increase none the less!  Just make sure to give it a couple stress tests and some Prime95 loving to see if it gives you any errors and if everything goes without a hitch, you'll know you're set.

How did you enjoy working with that Gigabyte case?  Have any pictures of the build? 

jsv35:

Awesome!  Glad your first build went smoothly.  Always makes the experience better!  I have that E5200 as well and its quite the little trooper.  With my Gigabyte motherboard I was able to push it up to 3.5 with just a tiny bump in the CPU voltage.  Not sure of that ASRock's overclocking abilities, but 3.0 is a nice increase none the less!  Just make sure to give it a couple stress tests and some Prime95 loving to see if it gives you any errors and if everything goes without a hitch, you'll know you're set.

How did you enjoy working with that Gigabyte case?  Have any pictures of the build? 

The case is great. It's a basic no frills case. Pretty easy to work with; just screw everything in.  I had to take off the cone/tube thing on the side panel that compliments the stock cpu heatsink/fan to fit the AC7. Other than that, there was more than enough room for all the parts. The only thing that doesn't work is the HDD light on the front of the case, but I don't care. The only thing I messed up on is installing the AC7. I followed the instructions and installed it so the air flow was front to back, but the case only has one fan in the back that blows air in. So the airflow is a bit messed up, but the temperatures seem fine. I'll have to get some thermal paste and turn it around.

I don't have any pictures, but I'll take some when I get home tonight.

 

i built the $400 build. super fast awesome easy instant boot up, way faster than my roommates $1000 build from a year and a half ago

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/4267/pa240162kd7.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/></a><br/><a href="http://g.imageshack.us/img171/pa240162kd7.jpg/1/"><img src="http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/pa240162kd7.jpg/1/w320.png" border="0"></a>

Hey... I might as well ask here since you don't respond to my emails very often =D

~I noticed that for my build (if you haven't noticed, i sent you an email...) the fsb speeds were different. Will that be a problem in building?

So, I know how to assemble the comp, but will I have to change any settings before I install and OS? If I start out w/o OC, will just setting it up, booting the OS CD and install, install drivers, etc. be good enough?

 If you are going to respond, you might as well tell me how to OC the E7200, and a good mobo to OC with... I intend to reach 3-3.3 ghz if I do OC, so yeah... =)

O yeah... intended for building during winter vacation... so... yeah...

 

 

cbradio:

The case is great. It's a basic no frills case. Pretty easy to work with; just screw everything in.  I had to take off the cone/tube thing on the side panel that compliments the stock cpu heatsink/fan to fit the AC7. Other than that, there was more than enough room for all the parts. The only thing that doesn't work is the HDD light on the front of the case, but I don't care. The only thing I messed up on is installing the AC7. I followed the instructions and installed it so the air flow was front to back, but the case only has one fan in the back that blows air in. So the airflow is a bit messed up, but the temperatures seem fine. I'll have to get some thermal paste and turn it around.

I don't have any pictures, but I'll take some when I get home tonight.

That's good to hear, and really that is all you can expect from a case when you're paying that little.  As for the fan on the back of the case, just unscrew it and screw it in the other way so that it is exhausting air correctly out the back of the case.  Correct airflow can help you out a good amount on temps, so weird that the case would have it set up like that stock!   

Baconator:

i built the $400 build. super fast awesome easy instant boot up, way faster than my roommates $1000 build from a year and a half ago

Glad to hear it!  You can get surprising performance and quality out of such a budget now, I love it! 

jamorama:

Hey... I might as well ask here since you don't respond to my emails very often =D

~I noticed that for my build (if you haven't noticed, i sent you an email...) the fsb speeds were different. Will that be a problem in building?

So, I know how to assemble the comp, but will I have to change any settings before I install and OS? If I start out w/o OC, will just setting it up, booting the OS CD and install, install drivers, etc. be good enough?

 If you are going to respond, you might as well tell me how to OC the E7200, and a good mobo to OC with... I intend to reach 3-3.3 ghz if I do OC, so yeah... =)

O yeah... intended for building during winter vacation... so... yeah...

Yeah, you'll probably get a quicker response from posting any questions on the forum here.  Its also good to get ideas from many people so that you have less of a chance of something being missed or skipped over.

As long as your CPU is supported on the motherboard, you will have nothing to worry about.  You can find a list of compatible CPUs on most motherboard manufacturer websites.  Generally, as long as the CPU is modern and is the same socket, as long as the rated FSB is less than or equal to the maximum supported FSB on the motherboard you should be set.  To be safe though, you will want to check the supported CPU list on each motherboard site.

Honestly, if you're only building in Dec I wouldn't worry about parts right now because things change very quickly.  If I were you, I'd start reading up on overclocking, read manuals of popular overclocking motherboards to get an understanding of the BIOS.  You might also want to read motherboard reviews to get a greater understanding of those as well.

As you know... I'm still in high school... so the fact that I have to study + my parents still haven't fully agreed, I cannot find the motivation to read about OC and mobo stuff...

 

O yeah, I honestly am not interest in OC until prob a few weeks after I have completely assembled my comp... But since you have the same processor... may I ask you what settings you changed and how much to get to 3.2 (or however much u said) ghz? Could a OC of about 0.7 ghz or so be done without changing the voltage much?

 

 

It depends entirely on the individual hardware you get that will determine the results you get from your overclock, so you can't be disapointed if one person gets a higher overclock than you even though you have the same model parts, etc.  On that note, I was able to just bump the CPU voltage .125V to achieve a 280MHz FSB and x15 multiplier.  I was able to get 266MHz FSB on stock voltage which would put it at 3.33GHz.  Honestly, you will get results faster and understand it more if you just sit down with the motherboard manual and BIOS in front of you and play around with it for a while after reading some brief overclocking guides.

lol... hey, i just noticed something...

 The 9800gtx seems to be discontinued... since it hasn't been in stock for a few weeks... and... the current 9800gtx(s) are priced pretty high... 

$1300 AMD motherboard link misdirected

I'm thinking of doing the $700 build come January. Does Newegg typically have after christmas deals? I'm hoping prices on all things might drop to where I can build it for about $600.

 Currently my computer sucks, I traded in my Xbox360 for it, but I got a decent 19 inch monitor as well.

Let me tell you my specs and you tell me how many times faster the 7x will be please?

Try not to laugh, lol...

 

Intel Pentium 4 - 2.4ghz

1 GB RAM (not even sure what kind)

Geforce FX 5200 vid card (this is where your probably laughing)

I bought a 22x liteon DVD burner and an Antec 380W power supply (because the one I got when I got the computer made a loud chirping sound that drove me nuts).

 So you think maybe 5 times faster with the $700 build? I could barely play world of warcraft on this machine, and in Elder Scrolls Oblivion, it took me 30 seconds just to exit the game.. lol

With a 19" monitor... you would be able to play warcraft with the 500 dollar build...

Also... I have integrated graphics on 2 of my comps... i would be glad to have that compared to integrated... AND they both are 1.8 ghz single cores... yeah... i needa get a new comp...

bevelboy:

 So you think maybe 5 times faster with the $700 build? I could barely play world of warcraft on this machine, and in Elder Scrolls Oblivion, it took me 30 seconds just to exit the game.. lol

The graphics card itself is far more powerful than the card you're using currently.  Playing at the native resolution of your 19" monitor, you should be able to play the vast majority of games out currently at close the highest settings, especially if you decide to play around with some mild overclocking.

Hey so question: I was looking at a build similar to your $700 build and I was considering swapping the Phenom for a Athlon x2 6000 + 3.1Ghz processor and taking the extra funds to either the PSU or the getting DDR 1066 ram instead. Your thoughts?

Just used another one of your builds for a friend.  Did the 1000 dollar AMD build w/ single graphics card.  Best part was that with everything INCLUDING vista, it came out to a little less than 900 dollars.  Plays farcry 2 on max without a hitch.  Switched the case for the antec 900(it was on sale at the time)

Thanks again!  Everything perfect out of the box and great performance.  I definitely recommend.

Correction. . . INCLUDING vista, minus the case.  Didn't realize i got the case on a separate order, but EITHER WAY, less than 100 including vista.

WaBang:

Hey so question: I was looking at a build similar to your $700 build and I was considering swapping the Phenom for a Athlon x2 6000 + 3.1Ghz processor and taking the extra funds to either the PSU or the getting DDR 1066 ram instead. Your thoughts?

Athlon X2 memory controllers use up to DDR2 800MHz, Phenom based CPUs, on the other hand, use up to DDR2 1066MHz.  So I wouldn't recommend spending the extra money on the faster memory.  Instead, consider getting a case that is more to your liking, better graphics card, Crossfire or SLI motherboard for future possibilities, or the PSU like you said.

Yogiwins:

Just used another one of your builds for a friend.  Did the 1000 dollar AMD build w/ single graphics card.  Best part was that with everything INCLUDING vista, it came out to a little less than 900 dollars.  Plays farcry 2 on max without a hitch.  Switched the case for the antec 900(it was on sale at the time)

Thanks again!  Everything perfect out of the box and great performance.  I definitely recommend.

Awesome!  I'm glad the AMD systems are still getting love out there.  The Antec 900 is a great case and I saw it on sale for something like $100 with free shipping a while back, was so very tempting.  How do you like it compared to your Coolermaster?  Do you think its worth the extra dough?  How was cable management in the 900 compared to the 690?

Yeah that's the deal I got, 99.99 free shipping, what a steal. 

As far as looks are concerned, Antec FTW.  The side window is awesome, the two front LED fans look sweet, and the case design is just so slick. . . reminds me of a futuristic ammo case or something.

However, I think the cooling on the 690 is just wicked.  I loaded all of the fan mounts with 120 mm fans, and it's more cooling than I could possibly need.  After hours of hard gaming, i feel a little heat coming out of the exhaust fans, but not much.  After gaming in the 900, i can feel massive heat shooting out the top, that may just be because of the graphics card, but it seems to hold heat in a little more.  Not only that, but I had to remove the middle fan mount in the 900 to fit the graphics card, which wasn't hard but kind of a pain.  The 690 had plenty of space.  As far as price goes, I am happier with the value of my 690.

As far as cable management goes I liked the 690 better, seemed like there was more space between the motherboard tray and the side panel and a better layout, but I wouldn't say there was too much of a noticeable difference.

I did find this however, and I'm thinking about getting it to give the 690 a bit more style.  It looks like it would fit. . . any ideas?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999177

Correction, I have the 590, not 690 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119152

Everything I said applies to 590 not 690.  No experience with 690.

I used the 900 for a friends build as well, but we weren't as lucky to catch a deal like that at the time of the build :(

Yeah, your case looked loaded with fans, lol.  

I kind of think as the Coolermaster 590 as going up against the Antec 300 while the CM-690 is pretty comparable to the Antec 900.  I'm glad you enjoy your CM case though, personally I think they make great cases and they are very nicely priced.  Antec makes fantastic cases as well, but they are usually out of my budget.

That side panel would be pretty sweet, however I'm not sure about it being able to fit on the 590.  I'd give a holler to Coolermaster's Customer Service or something.  It'd be great if you could use it on both cases!

With the 1300$ intel Build I can't seem to get any video with the

VisionTek Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 CrossFire Supported Video Card

 

Is there something I did wrong here or is it a problem with the motherboard?

Alright, how bout this for the $700 intel build...

I would like to play some games at high/max settings, especially Oblivion and my wife would like to be able to do some DVD editing, photoshopping at comfortable speeds.

What if I put in the Q6600 Intel core 2 Quad in that rig instead of double core you recommend?

Is that type of change necessarily going to make photoshopping/video editing and gaming that much better? or is it not worth the extra 60 bucks?

If it is worth it, then I have a couple follow up questions.

Would I need a higher watt PSU?

what Operating System is recommended? Vista because the processor is 64 bit?

Thanks, I'm a newb and this really helps.. I'm hoping to see some significant price drops in everything after the 1st of the year so maybe this will end up falling down to about $700 again in january.

bevelboy:

Alright, how bout this for the $700 intel build...

I would like to play some games at high/max settings, especially Oblivion and my wife would like to be able to do some DVD editing, photoshopping at comfortable speeds.

What if I put in the Q6600 Intel core 2 Quad in that rig instead of double core you recommend?

Is that type of change necessarily going to make photoshopping/video editing and gaming that much better? or is it not worth the extra 60 bucks?

If it is worth it, then I have a couple follow up questions.

Would I need a higher watt PSU?

what Operating System is recommended? Vista because the processor is 64 bit?

Thanks, I'm a newb and this really helps.. I'm hoping to see some significant price drops in everything after the 1st of the year so maybe this will end up falling down to about $700 again in january.

You could swap out the E7300 for a Q6600, no problem.  I think that you should consider getting the E8400 if you're looking for a bit more performance.  It has the extra L2 cache that would help out in DVD/Photoshop creation and the clock speed to make up for the lack of 4 cores.  Its just that, unless you plan on overclocking the Q6600, 2.4GHz is on the slower side of Core 2 CPUs.  This might restrict your GPU a little bit, but I think you would notice a difference in games between the two.  For Photoshop or DVD creation, the Q6600 would be a great CPU, but I really doubt that you would be disappointed in the performance of the E8400, even though it has half the cores.  The clock speed will make up for a bit of it, not to mention some of the improvements in CPU architecture going from the 65nm CPUs (Q6600 et la) to the 45nm ones (E8400 et la). 

In the end,  the E8400 will be better for games and other mostly single threaded programs, but it also is no slacker in 2+ threaded programs.  It will use less energy and run cooler.  The Q6600 might give you some benefits in DVD creation, but I can't see it being that much.  Either way, both are great CPUs and I'm sure you'd be happy with either!

 

Maxx:

With the 1300$ intel Build I can't seem to get any video with the

VisionTek Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 CrossFire Supported Video Card

Is there something I did wrong here or is it a problem with the motherboard?

I haven't heard of any imcompatibilities there.  It could a multitude of things.  I'd recommend starting a thread in the A+ Hardware Support section as you should get a lot of help in there and many different ideas.  Also try searching for threads that have already been posted that have similar issues as yours.  Even though the parts may not be the exact same, the problems and ways to fix them can often be the same.

So crazy that just a little over a year ago, this is what you could barely afford with $1000:

$1000 Budget Gamer

For $1000, you can get a very nice computer.. at this point you are able to pick nicer hardware thruout the whole PC... Hence for this build I am switching over to Intel.

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX ATX12V V2.2 550W Power Supply - Retail

ABIT IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6750 - Retail

EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Transcend AxeRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TX800QLJ-2GK - Retail

Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500AAJS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S OEM BK - OEM

System Total = $1,001.92 ( $981.92 after rebates)

 Compared to my most recent update of the $1000 Gamer:

~$1000 Budget ( Intel ) ( SLI / Crossfire )

SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Model

COOLER MASTER RC-690 ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

WD Caviar SE16 640GB Hard Drive

CORSAIR 750TX 750W Power Supply

G.SKILL 2 x 2GB DDR2 1066 Dual Channel Desktop Memory

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

For Crossfire-X capability:

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Motherboard

2 X VisionTek Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 Video Card

Was just looking back and found it pretty interesting :)  Double the graphics horse power, twice the memory, more than double the storage, etc.

jsv35,

You really need to get that WINTEC memory out of the <$400 system. There is a set of Kingston Value RAM with the same CAS 5 Latency for $2.00 less. No, they don't have heat spreaders, but not to many people are going to be over clocking a $400.00 machine. At least not many I know of. After all this is a starter machine for people that aren't going to do a lot of gaming.