Building AMD system, budget... suggestions?
Here's what I am thinking of getting. First, it all has to be under $450US. This shouldn't be too hard; my radiologist friend (not bragging, but hey!) gave me a GeForce 6800GT video card :D and I already have 3 working monitors O.O, got peripherals (including subwoofer w00t) and I'm not worried about networking right now… Don't have internet where I'm going to use this computer, because parents are psychotic and think I'll be h4xx0rz1ng teh g0v3rnm3n7 or something like that… meh
I basically want to be able to run anything and everything at lightning fast speeds… who doesn't lol
Here's my plan so far:
Has to be an AM2 mobo, I was looking at this: ($80) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128034
AMD Athlon64 X2 6400 (2.6GHz): ($75) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103868
I can get RAM pretty easy, no worries about it, but mobo has to have 4 slots DDRAM. Don't want on-board video; uses up system resources. I have 256MB in the geforce hehe.
HDD: I'm probably just going to use the ones I have right now (total 40GB rofl) until I come across a great deal on newegg or somewhere. No problems there for now
Video Card: GOT IT!
Sound Card: Either included in mobo or I'll use the one I have now. No worries here
Need at least 4 usb ports, preferably room for 6 (although I have a hub if that would be necessary; it's currently taped to my tower!)
I think that's about it. I have a working computer right now, but it's an old athlon 648MHz system and it is crap for video editing… besides, who doesn't need a bruteforcer on standby when you wana browse on your main system haha?
I might not be able to check this post constantly; i'm about to go to bed, but please, please, give me recommendations!
I basically want this system to dual boot WinXP Pro Performance Edition (crack without $hitware w00t) and some form of Linux; maybe Debian-based, as I currently use Xubuntu (due to hardware speed :( ), or maybe Fedora, I hear it's pretty good. I want to use this thing as a power-media production system; audio/video, that kind of thing. My main computer is too clogged with the rest of the family's crap, it runs like a centrino even though it's an athlon rofl. Thanks for suggestions!
I would look at www.tigerdirect.com they have tons of deals all the time.
ThorsDecree wrote: -AMD Athlon64 X2 6400
I can get RAM pretty easy, no worries about it, but mobo has to have 4 slots DDRAM. I also need at least 4 SCSI connections, I won't be using RAID devices due to budget restraints. Don't want on-board video; uses up system resources. I have 256MB in the geforce hehe.
Athlon64 X2's are great processors, so I'd definitely go with that.
For the RAM, make sure the MB you buy supports the RAM (match up the PC numbers… PC4200, for example).
Umm… no offense, but I don't think you have any idea what SCSI really is. You say you don't have the budget for a RAID setup… so, you have to go with SCSI? Dude, SCSI drives are REALLY expensive. I'm thinking you probably meant SATA / SAS drives. Anyways, you can find decent IDE drives for pretty cheap nowadays, so you might want to go for that instead; the performance difference is only related to I/O, and IDE drives have almost caught up to SATA now.
Need at least 4 usb ports, preferably room for 6 (although I have a hub if that would be necessary; it's currently taped to my tower!)
Unless you buy a MB from the Wayback Store, you're getting 4 USB ports. That's standard for all modern boards.
Anyways, good luck. Oh, and be careful about deals from tigerdirect.com: the majority (if not all) of their stuff is refurbished, and the refurbished items don't have a good track record.
lol yes i did mean sata not scsi, dunno what that was about haha. Probably will go with ide, I don't have any real need for superfast I/O. Just needs to store my files! Thanks for the suggestions, guys.
meh… I don't like spending money but its better than the 10 year old mutant dinosaur in my room!
Now the only issue is getting parents to let me have internet… sigh
and yeah, i have had some experiences with ram, i'll be sure to get the right ones :p
I just gave my friend a gig of Corsair xps (or whatever the performance stuff is called) RAM in exchange for a video card worth about 70 bucks… he got a hell of a deal haha, but I couldn't use it as it fits for socket 939 mobos.
Thanks, I'll go check out tiger, and thanks for the warning zephyr; i don't much like refurb, at least not when i'm building almost ground-up, but I'll check it out. Ciao
ThorsDecree wrote: Now the only issue is getting parents to let me have internet… sigh
You could always covertly stick a wireless card in there and use a neighbors, if you're in close proximity to other people.
There's services that offer free dial-up, if you're desperate. If you use the computer for internet purposes mostly in the early morning, while your parents are asleep, you won't have to worry about tying up the phone line.
Do they have any valid reason not letting you have it besides the, haxxoring, business?
Or you could just talk to your parents, Hell they are YOUR parents, ask em to trust you than you wont abuse it, and for Christs sake don't. Whats the point like?
As for your system, thats hardly a 'Budget' Pc where i come from, id pretty much kill for that kind of spec ^^
I wouldnt listen to anyone who says, youll need a Geforce 8800 SLi, X-fi soundcard, Killer N1 Gaming NIC, and a quad core. partly cause thats way too much to spend on one PC, and partly because people who say this bullshit are normally the ones still running Pentium 3's with 128Mb of RAM
Anyways, good luck. Oh, and be careful about deals from tigerdirect.com: the majority (if not all) of their stuff is refurbished, and the refurbished items don't have a good track record.
They do have refurb items but its not most of their stock. I shop there all the time and I have had no problems. It will say its refurbished if it in fact refurbished. Just make sure you look around.
about parents: don't you think I've tried every possible thing?!? They don't trust me for squat
Wireless: nearest wireless is 2 houses down, my next door neighbor gets it off them but can only get it at the very edge of his house
Free dial-up? Most of what my immediate need for internet is downloading packages/libraries for Linux, so that would be a no-go
I have considered going into the attic and trying to install a wireless router there, if I can find the phone line… but if i screw something up there'd be hell to pay when they found out.
Basically, the reason (they give me, anyway) for not letting me have internet is that I'll get raped by some fat hairy gay guy I meet online… Honestly! come on! They are soo paranoid about everything… I might get a cheap wireless card anyway though :p
and abou the budget: I got $2k sitting around with nothing to do with it, I don't often spend money anyway, and I would like this thing to actually be good for years to come :D
Thanks for advice, I'll go shopping this weekend… oh and is this [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066 ]ram[/url] good? I know nothing about timings… and before I research (the reviews were good) I just wondered on this one.
PureEvil wrote: I wouldnt listen to anyone who says, youll need a Geforce 8800 SLi, X-fi soundcard, Killer N1 Gaming NIC, and a quad core. partly cause thats way too much to spend on one PC, and partly because people who say this bullshit are normally the ones still running Pentium 3's with 128Mb of RAM
Except for those of us that actually have the pleasure of using quad cores.
ThorsDecree wrote: Wireless: nearest wireless is 2 houses down, my next door neighbor gets it off them but can only get it at the very edge of his house
Get a cantenna.
Free dial-up? Most of what my immediate need for internet is downloading packages/libraries for Linux, so that would be a no-go
Don't see why… after all, you're running the downloads on off-hours.
I have considered going into the attic and trying to install a wireless router there, if I can find the phone line… but if i screw something up there'd be hell to pay when they found out.
A wireless router… on a phone line? :whoa: Not going there. Dude, don't you have a phone jack where the computer is? Use free dial-up.
and abou the budget: I got $2k sitting around with nothing to do with it, I don't often spend money anyway, and I would like this thing to actually be good for years to come :D
Spend $400 and give the rest to me.
Thanks for advice, I'll go shopping this weekend… oh and is this [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066 ]ram[/url] good? I know nothing about timings… and before I research (the reviews were good) I just wondered on this one.
Be careful about buying an off-brand. Other than that, though, DDR2 rocks. Good luck.
kk i guess you have a point… dl from 1am to 5 am is not a problem hehe, although they'd freak out if they heard dial-up signals on the phone line O.o
and we use DSL, can you still get dial-up through the phone line too?
haha and no the rest of the money will be accumilating as I get another job this summer… too busy with school… then to college if scholarships dont pay for full!
thx for the advice!
One last thing: All this should fit pretty comfortably in my current case, right? It's an old AMD system, cases are pretty generic right? I will probably just spray-paint the current case and use it for this haha; its an off-white that reminds me of puke!
Here's my wishlist now:
Gigabyte AM2 with onboard GeForce 6100 ($75)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600 2.8GHz ($140)
All in all it will be $380. I'll reuse the rest from my current computers, and I have the GeForce 6800GT vid card my friend gave me. Any suggestions for change? Thanks!
ThorsDecree wrote: and we use DSL, can you still get dial-up through the phone line too?
Hell, you already have DSL… convince your parents that they need a SOHO router, for whatever reason (internet security, IPv6 compliance… make something up), or just buy your own. Run CAT5 and call it a day.
One last thing: All this should fit pretty comfortably in my current case, right? It's an old AMD system, cases are pretty generic right? I will probably just spray-paint the current case and use it for this haha; its an off-white that reminds me of puke!
Here's my wishlist now:
Gigabyte AM2 with onboard GeForce 6100 ($75)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600 2.8GHz ($140)
Well, for starters, cases are not really "pretty generic". Most often, you will find cases that hold ATX, mini-ATX, and micro-ATX boards. So, as long as your current board supports ATX boards (which you put on your "wish list"), the list looks pretty solid. 4GBs of RAM is not really necessary, though… 2GBs and a good SATA or SAS hard drive would probably serve you better.
1GB of that ram is for my parents' computer lol, kind of a christmas present… it has 1G now. And SOHO? I'll research that…
And would it even be possible to hook up another modem? I thought there could only be one per datastream…? What's so special about a SOHO router? And forgive me for any ignorance, I'm really a networking newbie… for now :angry:
And I think they'd notice if I ran a cable from the living room to my room…
ThorsDecree wrote: And SOHO? I'll research that…
And would it even be possible to hook up another modem? I thought there could only be one per datastream…? What's so special about a SOHO router? And forgive me for any ignorance, I'm really a networking newbie… for now :angry:
Yes, please research that. SOHO is a term for non-business-grade networking equipment. That is, it's the stuff you can run down to your local retail store and buy. What's "special" about it is that SOHO routers come with a built-in switch (usually a 4-port), which lets you split a single line to multiple computers.
And I think they'd notice if I ran a cable from the living room to my room…
That's why you do it covertly. If it was me, I'd do this:
- Buy a blank wall outlet (i.e., no sockets), a really small flat-head screwdriver, and a long enough phone cable to reach from the living room to your room (through the wall).
- Find a phone outlet in the living room that's behind furniture or something (where it would be hardly noticeable.
- Unscrew the phone outlet and push it inside the wall (break the top and bottom off, if needed).
- Feed your phone line from your room to the living room, through the wall. You're aiming for the outlet.
- Plug in the phone line to the phone outlet you pushed inside the wall and put the blank wall outlet where the original phone outlet was, screwing it back into place.
- Figure out how to obscure the phone cable as much as possible in your room.
That is a good covert way to do it, but you probably won't go to all that trouble, anyways.
richohealey wrote: Dude, get intel.
I hate intel and microsoft, but really the core2due chips fucking own AMD, so why sell yourself short?
Dude, I hate to say this, but you're wrong. I've compared both and the AMD Athlon 64 X2's kill the Core 2 Duo's in performance. Of course, I had an AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000 competing against a Core 2 Duo 2.8Ghz, but the AMD also beat my Pentium D 3.4Ghz. The thing that hurts most Pentium D's and Core 2 Duo's is the fact that their front side bus maxes out at 1Ghz in most cases; alternatively, the Athlon 64 X2's maxes out at 2Ghz FSB (and, yes, I'm referring to the mainboard… Intel boards tend to have around 533-1000 Mhz FSB).
I can't run any phone lines from the modem without being noticed; the nearest phone outlet is in the dining room! We actually have a cable running from that room, taped to the floor, and through to the computer… which is not near any furniture to hide any cables. The covert wiring is impossible. I think I'll just go with the dial-up for now; I'm going to have to see if the modem in computer #3 works, because the one in my current dinosaur does not or is nonexistant; i havnet noticed whether I have one or not, but it definately does not show up in hardware manager.
I think once I have a box that pwns theirs maybe they'll see that yes, I actually do need internet, and maybe I can play the 'hurt trust' card well enough to get it, too. sigh Or I can just disable their computer long enough to let them use mine to "download a patch" haha. Thank God for autorun.bat rofl!
And I am definately going AMD; no way I'd go Intel, as long as AMD is still alive. Maybe I'd pick Intel over PPC haha, but no, AMD is my choice.
And I found a case with good reviews; LED's too haha, only $50 or so; The total bill is $430, this thing is going to be on fire!
Thanks for everything, everyone. I'm really excited about actually having something faster than a few hundred MHz rofl.
AMD's also tend to be alot better at overclocking from what i understand too, if thats your cup of tea like. I also prefer amd, i also prefer ATI graphics and cant wait for the fusion CPU/GPU from them, might buy a new board just for it!!!
although im under the impression your not going to see much diffrence between the two, unless your looking at random numbers in 3DMark or whatever.
Its a shame, from what ive been reading your getting a nice PC, but that graphics board will hold it back, consider getting an 8600. you can pick em up for 60 quid.