My budget computer COMPLETE!!

by **chris86wm** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 3:44 pm

As kind of a side project for fun, I have been building a budget computer.
I've been building on it for 8 months piece by piece trying to keep the cost as cheap as possible while still having a decent machine.

I just finished it today. Here are the specs and prices

Ultra Blue Midtower Case Free after rebate

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ $30 (ebay)

PNY 512mb pc3200 ram I made $10 after rebate and coupons from Staples

Maxtor 250g hard drive I made $5 after rebate and coupons from Office Depot

EVGA nvidia Geforce 6200 $20

ECS RX480-A socket 939 motherboard Free after rebate and coupon

Powmax 480w power supply Free after rebate

Keyboard, case fans, and mouse all free thanks to google checkout

(I kinda cheated here)
Dvd drive and Cd burner
Free from crap I had laying around

Total cost = about $40 :lol:

(had to buy some $5 thermal paste for the cpu)

I am looking for a 512 or 1g stick of ram to bump the ram up a bit, but I think its just fine for now.

I found nearly all of these deals posted over at www.slickdeals.net
You guys should check it out next time you want to build/upgrade.

by **jmammo** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:17 pm

Here is my pc:
AMD Athlon 64 3200+
2.0 GB Ultra Ram PC 3200
2xBFG Tech 7600 256mb Video Card, it came overclocked already, it also has a lifetime warranty, so if I jack it up I get a new card of the value I payed for it
250 GB Hard drive, I dont know who made it
I also have a 320 GB External Segate hard drive, I just got today in the mail
DVD/ CD burner and drive
I also don't know the exact name of my mobo but it is made by ASUS

Here are some pictures from a while ago (Before I had 2gb of ram and before I bought the second video card, sorry they are so big):

by **chris86wm** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:20 pm

jmammo wrote:Here are some pictures from a while ago (Before I had 2gb of ram and before I bought the second video card, sorry they are so big)

Just by looking at the pics, I believe I have the same motherboard as you in my main desktop........ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe?

given any thought on overclocking that 3200+?
If thats the board I think it is, its great for overclocking. I run a 3500+ overclocked to 2.6ghz (could go higher, dont need to) in mine and it runs very cool with just a couple of fans and the stock heatsink.

by **jmammo** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:21 pm

Yup, I think thats what it is. I dont know off the top of my head I would have to look.

by **jmammo** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:27 pm

chris86wm wrote:
jmammo wrote:Here are some pictures from a while ago (Before I had 2gb of ram and before I bought the second video card, sorry they are so big)

Just by looking at the pics, I believe I have the same motherboard as you in my main desktop........ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe?

given any thought on overclocking that 3200+?
If thats the board I think it is, its great for overclocking. I run a 3500+ overclocked to 2.6ghz (could go higher, dont need to) in mine and it runs very cool with just a couple of fans and the stock heatsink.

I have given it some thought but no I havent yet. I always freak out when went to overclock my video card more. I keep thinking I am going to fuck it up even thought I know I wont.
What program/'s do/did you use? How long did it take?

by **chris86wm** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:53 pm

jmammo wrote:
chris86wm wrote:I have given it some thought but no I havent yet. I always freak out when went to overclock my video card more. I keep thinking I am going to fuck it up even thought I know I wont.
What program/'s do/did you use? How long did it take?

I followed this guide when doing mine
http://www.overclock.net/amd-cpus/129199-official-amd-cpu-stable-overclock-overclock.html

There is a chart listed in that link that will give you the different stabilities when overclocking your chip.
http://www.overclock.net/attachments/amd-cpus/34463-official-amd-cpu-stable-overclock-overclock-amd-oc-database-1.jpg?d=1162803855

Looking at the chart:
I would suggest picking out "OCNS5" for you stability. This pretty much assures you that there should be no stability problems when overclocking using those settings.

You can just use the overclocking settings in your motherboard's BIOS to overclock that 3200+ (assuming we have the same board)

When done, be sure to monitor your cpu temperature to make sure you are not running too hot. The whole process takes less than 30 minutes and its a nice little boost to the system

also, here are some links to some helpful programs
http://www.overclock.net/faqs/31208-opi ... hould.html

by **Jones** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 8:18 pm

That makes me sad that you bought a 3200+ for 30 bucks on Ebay and I paid $282 for one(socket 754) a little after they came out a few years back. Talk about depreciation... Shit!

by **Terrence** » Tue May 01, 2007 8:53 am

Hah.. I thought it was a good deal when the Athlon XP 3200+ dropped from $250 to $232. Just last year I was stoked to buy a 250GB HD for $90.

So how long before you receive all of those mail in rebates?

by **chris86wm** » Tue May 01, 2007 9:20 am

Terrence wrote:So how long before you receive all of those mail in rebates?

Just got the last one in 2 weeks ago for the hard drive. Funny thing was it was supposed to be a $50 rebate, but they sent me a $60 check. Ended up making money on the deal!

by **Terrence** » Tue May 01, 2007 1:54 pm

I gotta hand it to you, you're one hell of a bargain hunter. Did you buy each piece as you found the sales?

by **SkaBob** » Tue May 01, 2007 2:25 pm

heh as a total computer geek this thread is hilarious. mega props for those deals, man! that's insane!

just to add to the e-peen stack, here's my current game rig:

Case: coolermaster centurion
CPU: Core2Duo (conroe) E6600
RAM: 1Gig DDR2 667
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
Video: eVGA GeForce 7600GT
HD: A bunch of really big seagates
PSU: Enermax Liberty 500w
HSF: Thermaltake SonicTower with 110CFM 120mm fan
Monitor: Viewsonic VX922
dvd burner, dell usb keyboard, logitech trackman marble+

by **chris86wm** » Tue May 01, 2007 2:50 pm

Terrence wrote:I gotta hand it to you, you're one hell of a bargain hunter. Did you buy each piece as you found the sales?

one piece at a time staring from the motherboard up. It took a while, but if you're patient, you can find nearly every component for free or next to nothing.

I am assembling the rest of it tonight

by **Terrence** » Tue May 01, 2007 7:50 pm

I'm not very patient, but I can see your method as a good way I could upgrade my rig without the sticker shock. I know I'm going to play some of the new game titles scheduled for fall '07, but my current rig will be holding me back.

Asus A7N8X E Deluxe
1024MB Crucial PC3200
(2) WD 120GB 8MB Cache
(1) Maxtor 250 GB (Backup dump)
ATi Radeon x800xt
Chaintech Av710 soundcard (has a fancy Wolfson DAC for 2 channel audio)
Plextor PX708a DVD burner

by **sleepy** » Wed May 02, 2007 10:30 am

Congrats on the bargains!

My only worry when building a custom PC on the cheap like that is the warranty/return policy for some of that stuff. Granted, since the total cost was only $40, it isn't as big of a deal, but it is pretty common to have at least one component that needs to be RMA'd when building a PC.

Hopefully you won't have that problem, but did the stuff you bought come w/ any kind of warranty?

sleepy

by **zealot** » Wed May 02, 2007 10:37 am

really nice job man! way to budget

for xmas i got a 3.4 dual core pentium (64 bits)

i threw in an audiophile 2496 and a shitty video card and im rarin' to go.

My budget computer COMPLETE!!

My budget computer COMPLETE!!

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