System Builds

Re: Sticky Idea - Challenge to all Builders

root — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 13:37:53 GMT

You know what? Just post up builds. *laughs*

We will vote on the top 5 or so when we get a lot of them. Let's aim for Friday, then we will close the submissions. Those three categories I said are just a cookie cutter.

Thursday, everyone double check their build's pricing and make sure it's still the same.

Keep them coming!

Re: Sticky Idea - Challenge to all Builders

8800ultraa — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:47:47 GMT

hello

why not making 600$ for Intel build and one for AMD Build 600$
and one for 1200$ Intel Build and one for AMD Build . 1200$.

Re: Sticky Idea - Challenge to all Builders

dangman4ever — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:37:51 GMT

All right then. You've convinced me. I may be a newcomer here to this forum but I'll give this a Go.

Anyway I'll chip in with my own build:

$1000 Gaming Rig:

Core 2 Duo E6750 CPU - $200

The E6750 is one of the best Intel CPUs out there in terms of price and performance. For $200, you get a fast CPU that also overclocks very nicely should you ever want a bit of extra speed or geek cred.

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R Intel P35 Motherboard - $130

The DS3R is an updated version of Gigabyte's GA-P965-DS3, a very excellent motherboard. It has plenty of expansions options with its 8 SATA ports, 3 PCI slots and 3 x1 PCI-E slots. In addition to pretty decent stock performance, the motherboard also overclocks very well.

G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 RAM - $80

Actually, any set of DDR2 800 RAM is all you really need for any Intel CPU or overclocking. Despite what you may have heard, high performance RAM is not worth the extra money. So the cheapest DDR2 800 RAM you can find is all you need for decent performance. You really really won't notice any FPS increases with lower latency RAM. Well with the naked eye anyway.

I recommended the GNBQ set above because I've used that particular set myself in a few builds and have recommended them on another forum. Have yet to read of any problems with this particular G.Skill RAM from anyone I've recommended it to.

Corsair HX520 520W PSU - $105

This Corsair PSU is actually made by Seasonic, makers of some of the world's best and quiet power supplies. It has received excellent reviews. It's one of the more recommended power supplies on a few hardware enthusiast forums. It has 40A on the +12V Rail so it will provide plenty of power for possibly most future video card upgrades. It's also modular, meaning you can detach any cable that you're not using so you can keep the PC relatively clean.

EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB PCI-E Video Card - $372

For gaming, the 8800GTS 640MB is a nice balance between the 8800GTS 320MB and 8800GTX. It can handle most games out there right now at 1600 x 1200 at max settings.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $80

The Seagate 7200.10 320GB hard drive is a pretty fast hard drive. The transfer rate for this drive is about 65 MB/s. And 320GB is a good size hard drive for anyone with a large music and video collection.

Samsung SH-203B 20X DVD±R SATA DVD Burner - $31

Faster 20x DVD burner. Also, it's connects via SATA, helping make the system clean of bulky IDE connectors that could restrict air flow in a PC case. No real performance boost over IDE connectors but, like I said, does keep your system clean.

Total for everything: $998 Plus tax and shipping

Re: Sticky Idea - Challenge to all Builders

Aedion — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:16:15 GMT

well heres a build for the 1k range

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail 49.99

MSI P35 Neo2-FR LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail 119.99

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail 289.99

ENERMAX Liberty ELT500AWT ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail 109.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6750 - Retail 199.99

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail 79.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM x2 135.98

LG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model GSA-H54NK - OEM 27.99

total: $1,013.91

Re: Sticky Idea - Challenge to all Builders

root — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 06:49:51 GMT

Lets see here...

1) We will be making the lists, at first, on what we've seen the most requests on. Later, we might be able to expand into more, or if we see more requests on a certain type of build then we can add it. For manageability standpoint, we will only start off with 3 types of builds.

2) That's why we will be updating this monthly

3) We will be leaving the cases out, and only giving recommendations.

4) Prices change not as drastically as you might think, and not as quickly. Monthly should be sufficient. If not, we can find an average change in price and factor that into the builds.

I know there will be some resistence, but if we can get this off the ground and come out with a trial run, then we can see how well it works with the community. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. At least we tried |o.O|

Re: Sticky Idea - Challenge to all Builders

dangman4ever — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 06:30:29 GMT

Good idea but there are a few problems:

1) Every person's needs are different. There are hardware enthusiasts out there that aren't even gamers so a $100 to $500 video card is pretty much a waste to them. Some people need a rig for just photoshop so they need plenty of hard drive space while others need a rig for CAD and other 3D rendering apps which requires more beefier CPUs. So these build lists won't be for everyone.

Also, not everyone needs a complete PC for $700. Some people just need a new motherboard, RAM, and CPU for $700. Or some just need a new power supply, video card and case for $500. See the problem?

2) Price and stock fluctuations. Prices and stock do change. One week a set of RAM is at $85, the next $75, and after that $90. Also, what if one of the recommended parts end up being out of stock for an entire month? Also, every week or so there'll usually be a great deal on a certain part thats better or faster than a recommended part. So people could potentially miss out on some great deals on parts if they follow a build list to the tee.

3) There's also the matter of cases. IMO, cases are a purely personal choice item. People have different tastes and needs. Some people find the P180 a very bland case and wouldn't want to touch one while others, like me, love the P180 for it's simplicity and sound dampening properties. As for needs, some people just want a very cheap but decent case while others want a case with a ton of hard drive bays or with fantastic air cooling.

4) The matter of updating. A build made less than two weeks ago could be outdated/outpaced by the time a person buys parts from the recommended list.

So basically, I think it's better to just tailor make a PC build list for each person since they'll get a PC that's up to date, with good deals, and specifically for what they want to use it for.

But if you guys still want to do this, more power to you.

Re: Sticky Idea - Challenge to all Builders

sparker366 — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 03:27:23 GMT

joshuaboston:
An overclocking system!!!!

CPU ... Q6600 $280 must be a G0 chip

MOBO... ABit Pro P35 $190

MEMO... PC8500 $135

GPU... 8800 GTS 320meg $250

Harddrive... 3 x 400 gigs, two on Raid 0

DVD.... $31

Heatsink... $45 Ninja Synthe Rev B

PSU.... $110 Corsair HX 620

ARTIC SILVER 5....$7

I also left out the case... total cost is $1,258.00

Raid 0 is faster then a raptor, added one additional drive for backing up stuff, total drive space will be around 1.2 Terrabytes, it may seem like a lot, but if you download a lot or backup your movies, make your own movies... you will definately appreciate the drive space.

I chose the Q6600 and heatsink, cause this CPU can be overclocked past 3.6 GHz, at these speeds it is faster then a E6850. Also having a quad core will future proof your system a little bit more.

Chose the Abit Pro P35, one of the best overclocking mobos around, lots of features and I personally don't believe in SLI or Xfire (waste of money), I would much rather upgrade the video card in a year or so.

Video card... if you get a LCD at 24" or bigger you will need a better video card. I choose the 320meg for two reasons. 1. It is all you really need 2. In a year sell it on Ebay for like $125 and buy new tecnology.

Choose the Corsair HX 620 cause it is one of the very best, modular, effient and I know I will never get more then one GPU.

I choose DDR2 PC8500 due to its performance and price. Bottom line, if you want a better video card... factor it in. But besides that, this truelly is a killer system.

I quoted prices which can be found, maybe not all at the egg.

If this is not all from the EGG then it doesn't qualify. So revise it and build it all from the EGG

You need to include links like the way I do in my post and the way wasper did in his post.

Re: Sticky Idea - Challenge to all Builders

root — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 03:23:24 GMT

Shameless bump

@Admins, could we get a dedicated "work place" towards this project?

I think we'd need a sub form for each category, as well as a general area (which I'm guessing would be the main subform... the three branching from it) for voting and general discussion. Those three sub forms, for now, are the three that I had stated earlier.

@community at large: For all you sig builders, can you guys make one for this project? "Vote 4 Me" campaign is a great example at how sig's can advertise different events very effectively. We'd need something small and catchy... I'm not a creative guy so run with it.

Re: Sticky Idea - Challenge to all Builders

Wasper — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 19:40:29 GMT

root:

To start out with, I think we should just do 3 builds as a test run. Gaming Rig (no budget), 1k system, and budget (500$). What do you guys think?

Give a Go / No vote here. If No, state why. If we have majority, as of Saturday, lets do it. I'm tired of talking about this :-)

Needed in a submission:

Specify what this is for

Mobo/memory/processor/PSU/hard drive(s)/video card(s)

Prices

Optional:

Optical/Raid Controller/After stock coolers (and thermal paste)/fan controllers

Assumptions:

Money for a case, try and keep some left over.

Keep in mind that we exclude shipping from these builds as well as any rebates.

We also want to give the most bang for their buck... don't go over kill just for going over kill.

EDITED

Hi,

I will take on the $500 build, seeing how I love to work with the tight budgets.. its more fun in my opinion. I receantly put this $500 budget gamers build together in another thread this past week... I checked and the prices are still the same. This person requested an AMD/ATI machine, but I went with AMD/Nvidia and put in an optional ATI card at the end for him if he chose to do so, but I still stick by the Nvidia option, seeing how its cheaper and better performing in this instance. This build has no rebates, so what you see is the bottom line price.

Wasper:

Hi,

I got one for you.

First the case. This case from Rosewill is built solid, has a nice clean look to it and you get a nice case for the price, it is 100% screw-less, has a quick release opening side panel, a nice and quiet 120mm fan and even has sliding rails for the 5.25" bays. Here is the Product page for this case... http://www.rosewill.com/Product/product.aspx?productId=525

Rosewill R6AR6-BK 0.8mm SECC 120mm Fan ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail   $39.99

Next up the power supply. This Xclio StablePower 460w unit is a very solid unit for the price range it is in and will fit your budget very nicely. This unit puts out clean and stable power while having a efficency rateing of 80%+, which is hard to find for this price. Here is a review of the Xcio StablePower 460w ... http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/xclio_460watt_power_supply/index.php

XCLIO STABLEPOWER 460W ATX V2.2 460W Power Supply - Retail   $49.99

Next youll need a nice motherboard to base this system around. Now, in your price range we cant go and buy a top-of-the-line SLI motherboard with all the bells and whistles... So, we will have to just make sure you have the basics for a modern-day computer. You'll want atleast 1 PCI-E slot for a graphics card, 4 memory dimm slots for future memory upgrades, 8-channel onboard sound so all your music and games sound great, atleast 3 to 4 sata 3gb/s ports, a good amount of USB 2.0 ports, and 10/100/1000 lan so all of your network/internet speeds are nice and fast. This Biostar has all that, and comes at a price thats perfect for your budget. Here is the product page for that board... http://www.biostar-usa.com/mbdetails.asp?model=TForce%20TF520-A2

BIOSTAR TFORCE TF520-A2 AM2 NVIDIA nForce 520 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail  $59.99

Now you need a CPU for this PC. You requested a AMD, and that is perfect for this priced budget build. I went with an Athlon 64x2 4200+ 2.2GHz processor. This CPU has enough crunching power to make short work of anything you can throw at it. Now, we know there are plenty more faster processors on the market, but the 4200+ will be able to handle any application/game out now with no problems. For this price you cannot get a better CPU peroid. Here is a nice article on overclocking a 4200+ in caseyour interested... http://www.legitreviews.com/article/373/1/

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+(65W) Windsor 2.2GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADO4200CUBOX - Retail   $74.99

Next the Graphics Card... Now, I know you asked for ATI, but for your price range a Nvidia might be better. The reason I say this is that Nvidia's require less power then ATI's do, so if we went for a ATI then we would have to up the power supply to 500w+ with 30a+, and that will cost alot more money. So, for you I went with a Nvidia 7900GS... the 7900GS is a very respectable gaming card that only reqiures about 350w - 400w of power, hence we can save money on the supply to buy the better card. This 7900GS will handle most games out right now on high settings with no problems. Here are some reviews for this card... http://www.hardwareforums.com/content-view/pny-verto-7900gs-1-15455/   and http://www.rage3d.com/reviews/video/pny7900gs/ and here aswell http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/09/14/the_geforce_7900gs_is_nvidias_new_mid-range/

PNY VCG7900SXPB GeForce 7900GS 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail   $119.99

Next up the memory.. I found that most budget based motherboards do best with memory that has a voltage rateing of 1.8v, so I found this set of Transend 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 800 memory and thought they looked perfect for you and your budget. This set has a 1.8v rating but comes with timings of 4-4-4-12, which is very fast for 1.8v. They also sport some heatspeaders aswell to help keep them cool as your using your PC. For the price I dont think you can go wrong with this set.

Transcend AxeRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TX800QLJ-2GK - Retail   $74.99

Next up the Hard Drive and DVD burner.. youll want atleast a 160GB HDD and a nice burner to meet all your needs, these will meet your needs nicely..

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM   $49.99

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S OEM BK - OEM   $32.99

Total System Build = $502.92

There you have it a nice, solid build for $500. I know you requested an ATI card, but the only card you can buy from ATI ,and keep it within your price range, would be a X1650Pro, but a 7900GS would destroy it. You copuld always put a X1950GT, but you would have to up your budget to about $520. Heres an example....

If you wanted the best performance from an ATI set-up, youll need this...

Youll have to bump the power supply up some to handle the more power hungry ATI card, the Xclio StablePower 500w should do. Here is a review of the 500w version... http://www.bigbruin.com/2007/xclio500_1

XCLIO STABLEPOWER 500W ATX 500W Power Supply - Retail   $69.99

And for the ATI card, I would not go less then a X1950GT... the X1950GT is pretty powerfull. Here are some reviews on this card... http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTI4NCwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==   and http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/X1950_GT   and here aswell http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=1&id=2179

SAPPHIRE 100199L Radeon X1950GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail   $114.99

System Total with changes to make it ATI = $517.92

But with that said, here is a over-all benchmark between the X1950GT and the 7900GS.... (The cards selected will be marked in blue)

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=712&model2=726&chart=318

The 7900GS will require less power to run, it will also run alot cooler then the X1950GT... X1950's run pretty hot. And on top of that, it will perform slightly better and overclock alot further then the X1950 could ever go. I think with all that, the build up top with the 7900GS would be the way to go.

I hope this helps you in your quest for a $500 build!

Wasper

I think thats a solid build for the money... I added a Case to this build, but if someone dont like it they can use the $40 budgeted towards a case and purchase a different one.

Wasper

Re: Sticky Idea - Challenge to all Builders

joshuaboston — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:52:29 GMT

An overclocking system!!!!

CPU ... Q6600 $280 must be a G0 chip

MOBO... ABit Pro P35 $190

MEMO... PC8500 $135

GPU... 8800 GTS 320meg $250

Harddrive... 3 x 400 gigs, two on Raid 0

DVD.... $31

Heatsink... $45 Ninja Synthe Rev B

PSU.... $110 Corsair HX 620

ARTIC SILVER 5....$7

I also left out the case... total cost is $1,258.00

Raid 0 is faster then a raptor, added one additional drive for backing up stuff, total drive space will be around 1.2 Terrabytes, it may seem like a lot, but if you download a lot or backup your movies, make your own movies... you will definately appreciate the drive space.

I chose the Q6600 and heatsink, cause this CPU can be overclocked past 3.6 GHz, at these speeds it is faster then a E6850. Also having a quad core will future proof your system a little bit more.

Chose the Abit Pro P35, one of the best overclocking mobos around, lots of features and I personally don't believe in SLI or Xfire (waste of money), I would much rather upgrade the video card in a year or so.

Video card... if you get a LCD at 24" or bigger you will need a better video card. I choose the 320meg for two reasons. 1. It is all you really need 2. In a year sell it on Ebay for like $125 and buy new tecnology.

Choose the Corsair HX 620 cause it is one of the very best, modular, effient and I know I will never get more then one GPU.

I choose DDR2 PC8500 due to its performance and price. Bottom line, if you want a better video card... factor it in. But besides that, this truelly is a killer system.

I quoted prices which can be found, maybe not all at the egg.

Re: Sticky Idea - Challenge to all Builders

sparker366 — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 04:34:31 GMT

Ok I built a $1450-$1550 depending on what case will be used. The base price is $1364.93

Mobo: EVGA 122-CK-NF68-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail 199.99

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6750 - Retail 199.99

Video Card: EVGA 640-P2-N827-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail 439.99

Mem: CORSAIR XMS2 DOMINATOR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4D - Retail 154.00

PSU: SILVERSTONE OP750 ATX12V / EPS12V 750W Power Supply - Retail 169.99

HD 1 OS: Western Digital Caviar RE WD1600YS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM 59.99

HD2 Storage: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM 109.99

Optical: LG Electronics Black LG Super Multi 18x SATA DVD Burner GSA-H62NK, 10x DVD+/-R DL, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+RW, 12x DVD-RAM - OEM 30.99

Total for this without case would be $1364.93. There are rebates associated with this build but I didn't include them in the final price.

I allowed upwards of 200$ for a case.

I built this machine as a medium level gaming rig. I put an sli board in here cause I would think most medium to hard core gamers would want a second card at some point.

There is also a secondary use for this machine and that would be a video encoding rig. Its got enough cpu power to do decent encoding/editing. I didn't put a quad in here cause I wanted to make sure that it handled games well.

I put 2 hds in the system as I am a big proponent of keeping the data on a separate hd so it will be safe if the main drive crashes. I know I could have used a smaller os drive but I like to have lots of room.

Re: Sticky Idea - Challenge to all Builders

root — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 02:58:25 GMT

BFG comment

Had in mind... a few months from now :-)

Right now, from a parts perspective, I'm more interested in cases/keyboards/mice/monitors and specific products, not brands.

Thanks though! I'd love to have a poll on brands when we get a wider pool of people.

Keep them coming |o.O|

Re: Sticky Idea - Challenge to all Builders

Baer — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 02:48:56 GMT

OK, Here are my most trusted over the years

Motherboards, ASUS. The top Asus MOBOs use solid state capacitors and their assembly operations are clean and detailed. (Yes I have been there)

CPU's, right now it is Intel Quad series. I have used many CPU's over the years and my present QX6700 is absolutly my favorite.

Casses, ThermalTake. The new Tt casses are well built with few sharp edges inside. They seem to be striving for improvement with every iteration. There are other good casses however.

Memory, I am presently using Corsair but I also like OCZ and Patriot. All have worked well for me.

Graphics, I have become partial to NVIDIA over the last few years. I have been at their facility and actually interviewed Jen Husng and Chris. Some of thye stuff they are working on is amazing. On the other hand I have interviewed ATi folks and they were um, less than forthcomming and there was lots of ego there. As for brand, I have had excellent resaults with BFG, their service and warrenty is excellent. I know there are other good versions also.

Sound, well it used to be creative but in the last year their driver response to Vista has been less than impressive.

Best hard drives based on my tiny statistical sample is Western Digitan and least reliable is Hitachi. Yes I got stung by a few DethStars.

What is my most hated software QUICKTIME, iTunes will not run without it. It always reinserts itself into the startup group. It is ineficient. I hate it to the point that I will not put iTunes on my main most powerful rig.

Anyway, this is my opinion. I hope I am not a Fanboi for any of these and I am always open to trying new hardware.

root, is this what you had in mind?

Re: Sticky Idea - Challenge to all Builders

root — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 02:16:09 GMT

For now, no. We will make a Parts Section for that. Mice, Keyboards, Monitors, and Cases will be available there. Anyone want to start posting up item's they have used and trust? We can start working on that as well. I'd say we do a vote on the parts as well, each time we do a "refresh".

Re: Sticky Idea - Challenge to all Builders

sparker366 — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 02:08:57 GMT

Case keyboard mouse monitor are they needed in the build?