My Riding on a $1200 budget...

[Fuxy_Muxy]

hey guys..im planning on possibly building a computer...i would most likely buy the parts off newegg but was just wondering how good of a system would i get with $1200...? i need a monitor...(19in...lcd or if i have to, CRT) and looking at AMD and nVidia...im not really sure how high-end i can get...but does anyone know a good setup that i could build?

[megawhompertoo]

Re: My Riding on a $1200 budget...

hey guys..im planning on possibly building a computer...i would most likely buy the parts off newegg but was just wondering how good of a system would i get with $1200...? i need a monitor...(19in...lcd or if i have to, CRT) and looking at AMD and nVidia...im not really sure how high-end i can get...but does anyone know a good setup that i could build?

building from scratch, or can you salvage a case or optical drives?

[Fuxy_Muxy]

Re: My Riding on a $1200 budget...

well i dont think my parents/sisters will be very happy if i steal the case thats on this computer because we would use it as a family computer...


well my specs on this computer are

3300 AMD 64... (i dont know why 3300)
512 memory (upgraded to 1GB)
160 GB 7200rpm
6600 GT **AGP 8x**
17 in LCD 16ms

i dunno if i should upgrade this system or get a whole new one...cuz this one is getting pretty old and was pretty crappy when i first bought it...

im thinking a whole new setup would be better...just cuz computer due tend to get old after a while and start to slow down..:cry:


:EDIT:

i could use a 512 stick outta here though...my family is clueless and wouldnt notice..but this RAM if really bad and useless though...

wat should i do with my 6600 GT AGP? cuz i kinda wana PCI-e...6600 GT seems a lil outdated now...and if i get a new setup...(with a new video card) the mobo and cpu will be fine in the future..but i could just get a new card after the one i buy gets outdated, rather then having my mobo and cpu outdated on this comp and having to upgrade everything..

[i made you]

Re: Im Riding on a $1200 budget...

hey guys..im planning on possibly building a computer...i would most likely buy the parts off newegg but was just wondering how good of a system would i get with $1200...? i need a monitor...(19in...lcd or if i have to, CRT) and looking at AMD and nVidia...im not really sure how high-end i can get...but does anyone know a good setup that i could build?

You can get high end, dual core AMD and 7900/X1900 with CRT.

[LoD]

Re: My Riding on a $1200 budget...

$1200 will get you fairly high end, not extreme high end though....

A64 3200+ - $150
DFI NF4 Ultra-D- $120
Radeon x1800XT - $300
2GB Ram - $150
19" Viewsonic vx922 (i think that is the model number) - $300
Case of your choice - $75+
PSU of your choice - $100
250GB+ SATA HDD - $100
DVD-R/W - $40


This puts you around $1300+ You can probably cut costs with the monitor, and the case/PSU. This is probably a good starting point, and there are savings to be made dropping down to a cheaper mobo, ram and hard drive and case/psu.

[Eden]

Re: My Riding on a $1200 budget...

If you have the room get a CRT not only will it save you at least $200 but the colour quality is generaly better and theres no need to worry about gohsting etc.

[megawhompertoo]

Re: My Riding on a $1200 budget...

$1200 will get you fairly high end, not extreme high end though....

A64 3200+ - $150
DFI NF4 Ultra-D- $120
Radeon x1800XT - $300
2GB Ram - $150
19" Viewsonic vx922 (i think that is the model number) - $300
Case of your choice - $75+
PSU of your choice - $100
250GB+ SATA HDD - $100
DVD-R/W - $40


This puts you around $1300+ You can probably cut costs with the monitor, and the case/PSU. This is probably a good starting point, and there are savings to be made dropping down to a cheaper mobo, ram and hard drive and case/psu.

forgot soundcard. i reccommend creative's ebay store (refurb w/warranty) Audigy 2zs. ~$50-60

also, if it were me, i'd rather go with a cheaper x800xt or x800xl instead of the x1800xt. Won't do shader model 3, and the memory is 500mhz slower, but it does have 16 pixel pipelines, a 256bit interface, and cuts the price almost in half--or more depending on the model--so he can afford the soundcard!.

[knghtwhosaysni]

Re: My Riding on a $1200 budget...

$1200 will get you fairly high end, not extreme high end though....

A64 3200+ - $150
DFI NF4 Ultra-D- $120
Radeon x1800XT - $300
2GB Ram - $150
19" Viewsonic vx922 (i think that is the model number) - $300
Case of your choice - $75+
PSU of your choice - $100
250GB+ SATA HDD - $100
DVD-R/W - $40


This puts you around $1300+ You can probably cut costs with the monitor, and the case/PSU. This is probably a good starting point, and there are savings to be made dropping down to a cheaper mobo, ram and hard drive and case/psu.

An operating system will push up the price about $100.

And I should let you know that new stuff is just around the corner (kinda) with AM2 coming out in June and Conroe in July

[Fuxy_Muxy]

Re: My Riding on a $1200 budget...

ok well..ill think about it...uhm the vx922 is real nice..i think i wanna get dat one.. i also think i should save the extra $100 on video card for a 7600 GT... i've heard it can overclocked real nicely...

[megawhompertoo]

Re: My Riding on a $1200 budget...

my money is on this card:

edit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102505

the 7600gt has faster memory and a faster core, but the x850xt has a 256 bit interface (v. the 128 bit interface of the 7600gt) and the x850xt has more pixel pipelines, thus it's capable of pushing more data (depending on where your bottlenecks lie), even though it may not be running as fast.

i'll have to look around and see if anyone has done side-by-side benchmarks.

[Diabl0]

Re: My Riding on a $1200 budget...

this is what I got with 850 dollars
amd3700+
1 gig of dual memory
6800gs
case
powersupply
(no monitor) already had an old one, (what i recommend if you can is get a really good computer and see if you can get the good monitor later and then just get some decent cheap one for now, My opinoin but what ever works foryou)
80gig seagate hd
1 asus quiet track disk drive

For 1200 you could get much more

Either same as me but better video card and 2 gigs of ram

or a better video card and a monitor

Or better processor and better vid card
the possibilites are endless, but you can really get alot with 1200 if you think right.

[Fuxy_Muxy]

Re: My Riding on a $1200 budget...

this is what I got with 850 dollars
amd3700+
1 gig of dual memory
6800gs
case
powersupply
(no monitor) already had an old one, (what i recommend if you can is get a really good computer and see if you can get the good monitor later and then just get some decent cheap one for now, My opinoin but what ever works foryou)
80gig seagate hd
1 asus quiet track disk drive

For 1200 you could get much more

Either same as me but better video card and 2 gigs of ram

or a better video card and a monitor

Or better processor and better vid card
the possibilites are endless, but you can really get alot with 1200 if you think right.

thats a good idea...i think ill get pretty much that same setup... (maybe with a cheaper CPU) and a better video card...i also think i should get a cheap monitor.. cuz i cant run a computer without a monitor...i guess i can live with 1 GB and upgrade with a 2x 1GB kit or just another 1GB stick later..


also...at this site...
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1043214

they talk about the differences between 7600GT and the X800Xl or w.e.

i think they voted for 7600 gt more because it has a newer core and has more features...
but the x800xl coulod be a lil faster cuz of the 256 bit...


i think my vote goes towards the 7600GT... since im kinda a newb...it would be very hard for me to switch to ATI...NVidia seems just so much more easy in a way... i feel that nVidia has treated me very well... (i have a 6600GT)...


also, a guy in those other forums said he was gonna upgrade from a 6600GT to a 7600GT ...

[megawhompertoo]

Re: My Riding on a $1200 budget...

they talk about the differences between 7600GT and the X800Xl or w.e.

i think they voted for 7600 gt more because it has a newer core and has more features...
but the x800xl coulod be a lil faster cuz of the 256 bit...

yup. i saw that site. that's why i sheepishly (and kinda sneakily) pulled my reccommendation for the refurb x800xl for $129 and changed it to the retail x850xt.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2006/03/21/bfg_7600_gt_oc_ati_x1800gto/7.html

here's a review, including side by side performance in bf2 of the 7600gt oc and an x850xt.

good luck with your purchase. don't think you'd go wrong either way!

[LoD]

Re: My Riding on a $1200 budget...

forgot soundcard. i reccommend creative's ebay store (refurb w/warranty) Audigy 2zs. ~$50-60

also, if it were me, i'd rather go with a cheaper x800xt or x800xl instead of the x1800xt. Won't do shader model 3, and the memory is 500mhz slower, but it does have 16 pixel pipelines, a 256bit interface, and cuts the price almost in half--or more depending on the model--so he can afford the soundcard!.

$50-$60 sound card on a tight budget makes no sense. A sound card is something to add later on, not at the initial build time. I'm more a fan personally of getting the best core components possible for the initial build, then expanding off that later once one gets more money.

I personally feel the OP should get the best video card he can afford (or stretch to afford) and everything else must complement that video card in a supporting role.

[i made you]

Re: My Riding on a $1200 budget...

Do not upgrade to a single core cpu when DC games are just around the corner. Conroe and AM2 are both looked at wrong. Conroe performs similar to A64, things like SuperPi that take advantage of cache don't mean crap in real world applications. AM2 is just a bridge to a new platform, nothing will happen for a while.

I recommend a 3800 X2 and a 7600 GT.