Cori's cheapo gaming desktop....hopefully

[coriolis]

Moved this to a new thread from Chaz's thread


With a few games coming out soon, I don't know if my V6 can handle it, and my V6 is mobile enough to warrant me not to sell it and get a smaller notebook. The IPS screen I really don't want to let go

I'm looking at either a prebuilt Acer desktop or Dell desktop with an open PCI-x16 slot. I'm currently doing some research on its PSU's to see if they're proprietary or ATX so I can swap it out with something nicer. Before you say 'ohs nos', my budget is very low, about $800 CDN. I'm still not sold on getting a desktop(haven't owned one in years), but I'll see how Hellgate London works on my V6 first

Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 2GB DDR2 Memory, 320GB HDD, Super-Multi DVD-Writer, GLAN, Card Reader, 56K Modem, Keyboard & Optical Mouse, Windows Vista Home Premium - $445 after taxes

Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E4400 (2.00GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic Edition,English
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz - 2DIMMs
250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
$455 after taxes

I can add a 8800GTS for around $250-$280, a decent PSU for $80-110 as well.

[Jason]

e4400- $150

Patriot 2GB's DDR2-800 - $75 AR

Gigabyte DS3L - $104

250GB WD SATA2 - $70

Antec Earthwatts 430W $46

Coolermaster Elite Case $47

DVD Burner - $38

8800GTS - $310

Prices are from NCIX.com. Comes out to a little over 800CND.

[coriolis]

Originally Posted by Jason

e4400- $150

Patriot 2GB's DDR2-800 - $75 AR

Gigabyte DS3L - $104

250GB WD SATA2 - $70

Antec Earthwatts 430W $46

Coolermaster Elite Case $47

DVD Burner - $38

8800GTS - $310

Prices are from NCIX.com. Comes out to a little over 800CND.

So far, I've got a few things down,

Western Digital SE16 320GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB 8.9MS Hard Drive OEM 3 Year MFR Warranty 77.99

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Atx LGA775 P35 1333FSB 1PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 Sound Gblan Motherboard $94.36

Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.00GHZ 800FSB 2MB Retail $135.20

I'm still looking for parts, but I won't buy it just yet. I'm trying to see what I can take apart from an old desktop I have. I'm not afraid of buying used, so I'm constantly checking used parts on various BST sites.

I'm not gonna hijack Chaz's thread, so I'll move this to a new thread.

[coriolis]

Antec Earthwatts 430W Power Supply ATX12V V2.0 20/24PIN Active PFC 80PLUS 80MM Fan $54.98 + $25 MiR

Coolermaster CM 690 Mid Tower Black ATX Case 5X5.25 5X3.5INT No PS Front USB Sound Firewire & eSATA - $69.99

OCZ Platinum XTC REV.2 PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL4-4-4-15 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit - $94.99 + $40 MiR

$78 + $95 + $135 + $55 + $70 + $95 = $528 + taxes = 564.96

Right now I can't justify getting the 8800GTS for $280+......aye....

[Charles P. Jefferies]

Could you provide a link for that power supply? Make sure it has enough amps going on the 12V rails to handle the 8800GTS.

About wanting to go with a pre-built system and then get aftermarket parts - bad idea in my opinion. The motherboards in those machines have laptop-like BIOSes, which means no overclocking and (very) limited control over your system.

To save more money you could go with an even cheaper Intel Dual-Core CPU and overclock the crap out of it.

Edit: as a general rule of thumb try to avoid 80mm fans. 120mm fans are generally much quieter.

[Jason]

That PSU has two 18amp rails. So its enough for an 8800GTS and an OC on the CPU. Buying the CPU retail I belive means it only has a 1 year warranty and no HSF.

[jihoon]

Originally Posted by Jason

....Buying the CPU retail I belive means it only has a 1 year warranty and no HSF.

I think you mean OEM.
Anyways.. for the $10 or so you save on a OEM, you can get a better hsf..
I think OC'ing the cpu usually... voids the warranty, no?

[Jason]

Yea lol I did mean OEM I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I just assumed it was OEM because it was priced lower. The only way overclocking voids your warranty is if somehow intel can prove it.

[coriolis]

Updated with links

How's this for a heatsink?

[ViciousXUSMC]

Be on the look out for a ATI 2900pro for ~250$ since your on the market for a new machine.

The lowdown: Its a limited time only card that pretty much is a slightly underclocke 2900xt, my guess is its all the cards that could not pass a test at the full XT speeds so they are now trying to clear out backstock. If you have done the research you know a 2900xt owns the 320mb 8800gts, most of the time owns the 640mb 8800gts and sometimes comes close to the 8800gtx.

so at 250$ its a crazy bargan. So far the only place I have found to sell them is newegg for 280$ but a few other places should have them soon and sell it for the 250$ mark. I would get one myself if I had the money or the need for one.

edit: fixed my typo I always type gtx when I mean to type gts, anybody that knows the cards would have known what I meant tho since I put the amount of ram on the card and the GTX does not come with 320/640mb of memory.