Find me a PC from Circuit city for that price with those hardware specs. I don't think you'll see one. You may see an X2 3800+ in systems as low as $400, but I doubt it'll be complemented with a 7600GT, or a quality power supply.
I don't think pre-built system come with a video card at all. yeah actually you seem to be right, adding in the cost of a power supply and a 7600 Gt it seems to be about the same.
OK, so we unanimously agree that you should build your own system. Although if you can go with the Core 2 Duo, it is MUCH better. For more comparisons search up "toms hardware CPU charts" in Google.
For $600? Show me how, Abuzar. The 3800+ is still a reasonable CPU, and I think the gain of a Core 2 Duo would only be seen with an E6400 or above, which pushes the cost up considerably. Since this is a low budget build, we won't be looking at overclocking much, so I'm sticking with the X2.
He could reuse his old HDD and other drives. E6400-200 Dollars Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3-67 Dollars 7600 GT- 107 Dollars Dvd Writer- Reused Dvd rom drive- Reused HDD- Reused Ultra Grid Case + Ultra XVX modular 700 Watt Power supply- 150 dollars Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC2-8000(I guess that would make it around 1000 MHz)- 35 Dollars Shipping- 50 Yeah the mobo is refurbished, but so what? They are still under warranty so you can get them replaced. I may have missed something, so please point it out. Positive criticism never hurt!
Refurbished mobos aren't usually that great, that's an extra $50, and how much memory did you use? I can't believe any 1GB of PC8000 is only $35. Is it all coming from the same place? I also avoid Ultra PSUs, I know they're better than most, but I'm not all that confident in their reliability. I wouldn't put one in my system, put it that way.
Yeah but you can get it replaced by gigabyte if it has problems so no need to get a new one. for that particular power supply I have only read good reviews. Have you had a problem with a Ultra Power supply? EDIT: Oh and I got the memory from tiger direct, but it doesn't seems to be on sale anymore. Anyway the point was if he can afford it the E6400 would be a better choice.
Yeah but why take the risk in the first place? As for the Ultra PSU, I have read a couple of negative reviews, that's what makes me wary.
This comes from Silentpcreview about a 500W X-Finity That's one example, I'm sure I saw another too, I'll have a look. Oh yeah, this was about a 600W X-Pro "Odd Whistling The power supply emitted an odd whistling sound as the fan speed began to increase. It was not coil or capacitor ringing, which could be heard from very close proximity but low enough to be considered benign. This other noise was most audible directly in line with the exhaust vent. For many users, the whistling is at a low enough level that it's not enough to eliminate the X-Pro from contention, but those with very sensitive hearing and extended high frequency perception may find it unacceptable. Surprisingly, when the load was brought up beyond 300W, the whistling stopped altogether. This was repeatable and consistent, and shows itself in the SPL drop of 2 dBA from 250W to 300W load. To be on the safe side, the second sample was brought into play, and the sequence of load tests were repeated. On the second sample, the whistling noise was absent! We suspect the whistling is probably an anomaly. We can only conjecture about the cause: * The fan in the first sample may be subtly damaged so that its bearings or fins cause a harmonic noise at certain speeds. * Wiring and other mechanical impedances arranged uniquely in the first sample may give rise to the whistly sound when the air velocity through a certain gap reaches a certain speed. * Electronic components such as coils and capacitors may be interacting to cause electromechanical vibration at specific loads."
Well ok some might have had problems, but here are reviews for the EXACT power supply: Here Here It doesn't seem to be all that bad. Of course you probably know more than me about the more technical aspects so have a look and tell me what you think.
The inside of the PSU does look very good, the two 80mm fans mean it'll be loud, but bearable. As for whether they cool it enough, that I'm not sure about, it's one of the things Ultra have messed up before. It's kind of good there's no room for a 120mm fan because of the electronics, that shows there's quality gear in there, but it's kinda bad for the cooling perspective.
most important thing is mobo, thats all i gotta say. newest style mobo that can support the newest cheap ram and a fairly good cpu. dont get too into your computer either. my system is liquid cooled, not Oc'ed 512mb pcie 2gb ram 2.5ghz cpu 2 hds 500gb each dvd+-rw its a general system and it works very nice, either i get on the right ping ahead of everyone everytime i game or it really is step up from their comps.
Liquid cool a 2.5Ghz Processor? I'm going to guess that's a 2.53Ghz P4, which'll be a Northwood, and therefore shouldn't need watercooling, but oh well! What 512MB Graphics card do you use?
