I'm so lost...



Even with being here on OCC I still don't have the knowledge to know whats good for components.

I've noticed that P35 boards are "the thing" as it seems like most of you have Intel chips...

I'm just confused and not about anything in particular...
(HEY! imagine yourself in my shoes, a damn single core P4 from 4 years ago would rip my computer a new one)

Some of you may protest but right now I think I'm just gonna buy low to mid grade components but still something that can be upgraded down the road. (I may change my mind later and just save up quite a bit more money)

So the question is what is the absolute best bang for the buck setup right now?
Minus a video card obviously...


I don't care about SLi for now, so single x16 slot boards are fine.
As for memory I don't care because anything will be exponentially faster than PC133, we'll keep it at 2GB.
Dual core is fine although that doesn't leave out the possibility of quad within the next 20 years
I'd prefer something with built in audio for now as I can expand later. (its just one less thing I have to buy first off)

and more importantly overclocking...
...

....

I'm ashamed to say this but I have not really ever heavily overclocked anything, even when I used to OC my athlon back in the day I never pushed it all that hard.

So essentially I'd like a board that overclocks fairly nice (n00b friendly) but I don't want 173,295 options that will just give me an anuerism...

What do you all think?


As for budget I really couldn't tell you...

erm...

$500
Even that is stretching it, that doesn't include a fully functioning monitor either.
My older one is dsub and is a piece of junk, I'll just use the adapter and use the older one until I decide to get a new one.


yea yea I know you guys are sitting there wondering why in the hell I would cheap out and throw a nice video card in an el cheapo rig...
I'd like to get something up and running withing a month or so of getting that video card and I DO NOT have the money to just throw at an Uber PC, well I don't even really have the money to do this but I can make it work...

I desperately need a new computer anyways...


Also what are you thoughts on a matx board?

Would it just be a waste?

dfi bloodiron or lan party and a e8400!!!

bloodiron
lanparty
e8400

That leaves you with 200 for ram and other things.

What exactly are you looking to upgrade anyways?

Yea I've been looking at those DFI boards lately, they seem pretty good for the price.
However I'd probably get a lower CPU for now even if that thing is a beast, I kind of want to go as cheap as possible under $500...

Well what components are you looking to upgrade? You mentioned you needed a new monitor?

Everything I suppose...

E8200 instead?

Also, the Blood Iron is quite an enthusiast board ... Do you think you'll really want to get a HUGE overclock, or just a good one?

RAM is dirt cheap - difficult to go wrong.

With $500, I reckon you could squeeze a monitor in too ...

If you do not want 173,295 options that will just give me an anuerism dont get the DFI board...

I like all the "Features" in the DFI BIOS

Yea well he said he did not want all those options...

Sadly, I'm not sure someone from 3 generations prior of processing will feel the same way Is Andrew's machine a Celeron 733 or something? I forget! I'm just suggesting that as a first-time overclocker, the Blood Iron is a bit much.

I think it is an old AMD like 1Ghz or 1.2Ghz...

Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L - $90 (someone expressed concerns about the EP versions in another thread, not sure if there is anything to that?)
E7200 - $132
RAM: There are lots of options and it's pretty cheap ~ $50
8800GT - Free
WD 320GB - $70 (single platter.. quiet)
Corsair VX450 - $70 ($60 w/ rebate) or
Antec EA 430W - $60 ($30 w/ rebate).

That's the important stuff covered for around $400
I suppose you could go cheaper / smaller on the HDD if you wanted to.
Your current case would probably be fine I'm guessing?

I got the DFI Blood Iron and it is a little hefty on the options, but i did find its not to bad to get going, I easily got my E4500 up over 3GHz(still have room to go too). And its a nice stable board.

Looks like a good setup, thanks!
I could use it as a last resort but I really don't have the room for it where I'm living now...


What about this Newegg setup:
WD Caviar 80GB <-$39.99
Corsair 450W <-$70
G.Skill 2GB kit DDR2 800 <-$44.99
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L <$89.99
C2D E4600 <-$119.99
$364.95 total

I'm stumped about a case though, I know I can't really go SFF but I'd like to keep it tame compared to my previous case.
Anyone have any experience with these cases?
COOLER MASTER Centurion 532
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5
COOLER MASTER Mystique
NZXT Alpha
Thermaltake M9
Thermaltake matrix
Thermaltake VI5000BNS
Thermaltake SopranoRS
GIGABYTE Triton
Tuniq 3
NZXT DUET <-I'm quite liking this case...

Long lists ftl...

Reccomend me a case that is under $99...

I have built LOTS of systems with the Cooler Master Cent5 and I think it's a fantastic case for the price.

I'm probably a little biased, but I rather like my Antec Solo

That's probably a little more than you were thinking of spending though.

I think cases are one area that really do come down to personal preference more than anything, both aesthetically and functionally.

Yea...

Pre-XP Athlon 1.3...

It does look like quite a nice case...
I was looking at those too...
Agreed
I'm not into flashy neon "gamer" cases however I think lighting on a PC can look quite good.
As for windows it doesn't really matter to me, I prefer it to be in a sturdy case because it seems to me that some of those crappy 0.33mm cass that have windows would be extremely flimsy...

I would spend an extra $5 and get double the disk space

WD 160GB

Sounds good, thanks

The only time i will spend more then $100 on a case is if im going Full tower, and thats when i will spend about $200+ for a Lian-li or a Silverstone case.
Rosewill has some pretty underrated cases, these are some of my favorite cases from them
R230 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811147075
R5601 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811147038

If you dont like those cases, i suggest going with Cooler Master, I do fancy the Centurion line:
CM Centurion 5 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811119068

Higher end Centurion case (Strongly recommend as well)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811119152

As for the mobo, a P35 based board would be your best bet;
I dont really like the EP series mobos from Gigabyte, heard they are pretty tricky to OC, with the whole energy saving deal
Heres is the P35 DS3L its a great Overclocker but its open box, if you dont trust open box you could proably find them with some other retailer
P35 DS3L - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...82E16813128059R

Heres a great board on sale from Asus (strongly recommend)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131275

As for the CPU i would go either wit the E2180 or the E7200, both are very overclocking friendly.
the ram you chose is good i have them and they do what there suppose to do.
For the Heatsink i recommend the Xigmatek HDT-1283
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835233003

PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139003

Just to comment on the EP series MBs. I have read just dont install the power saving feature and you will be ok. I mean why would you even install it if you want to overclock?

I thought it was like that out of the box, isnt it? or can you disable it through the BIOS

For the most part I'm going to second this list, though I would grab one of the low end gigabyte boards personally and put the savigns towards an E8400, then you dont really NEED to OC it And that cooler is king of the budget coolers if you ask me. Ive used 4 of their coolers now and all have impressed, at stock even the 92MM version would do but heck if you're a silence nut the 120mm without a fan has been cooling my E6400 OCed PASSIVELY where the stock cooler was hiting 65C @ 40C...in one of my Antec 900s (great case btw and has a nice MIR if you like, though the fans are rather bright...swapped for some Yate Loons in one of mine and that makes for a very sexy case. Just built a friend's rig using an Antec 300 and it's almost as good as a 900, though lacks the frills like a window/200mm fan. But then again I think it looks better with the simple design. I used the 650w version of that Corsair PSU for the friend's build and was VERY pleased with the design of that series, VERY similar to my Silverstone OP650 So needless to say i think it'll be a good one.

Back to the board, i also used one of the EP sereis boards for his PC and it seems to be fine without the software installed but it hasnt been REALLY tested either.

Ok so if your head hasnt exploded yet I think you'll be able to piece some good stuff together with this info.

From what I understand by reading about it, it is software so just dont install it. On a side note I have 2 of those cheap GA-P35-S3G with Quads running at 3.4Ghz 24/7 crunching. The vdroop or drop is bad but I still got 3.4 with chips that are not good overclockers. My good chips will run 3.6Ghz even on my old 965P boards 24/7 crunching with 1.45 vcore.

Edit: Here is a picture of the ES software in an OCC review http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/gi..._x38_dq6/21.htm

Yea, I'm not looking for anything spectacular...
Those look pretty good however it is just a matter of preference.
There is just so many damn board to choose from, it crapping ridiculous...
The Gigabyte one you linked looks pretty good as well as the Asus, my current board is an Asus A7V133.
(as in it allows chips with a fsb of 100/133, now they are clocked over 10x as high)
It does seem like a nice low budget cooler...
Don't forget that I'm coming from a 1.3Ghz Athlon here, pretty much ANY new cpu will be incredibly faster.
I like the looks of the 300...

So what do you guys think of matx boards?
I really want to keep this machine as small as possible as I don't have much room here.

Would it even be viable to fit an 8800GT on a matx board in a SFF case?


Like I said previously I don't plan on doing any huge overclocks for now so that won't be an issue, but would it be worth putting an 8800GT into an matx board?

Depends on the board. Once you factor in a mATX board that is good enough to OC with, it may well end up being just as costly as a regular ATX board.

I know the 8800GT will fit, but would it even be worth putting it in an matx board?
Even a really good one?

Like I saud I don't really care about OCing much right now...

An mATX board would be just fine.
Going small obviously limits you on space for cooling options and expansion slots, but if you are running without OCing it shouldn't hurt you much.

Aye plenty of cheap mATX boards about. I looked at some a short while back, but I wasn't yet convinced by the HDMI output at 1080p

I'm almost as excited as you for your upgrade - it's about time!

I just finished installing a GA-G31-S2L board, was pretty easy and had enough settings to probably give you alittle room on an OC. One thing though, is that once that Video card is on there, you'll probably only have 1 PCI slot left for expansion.

Comp setup was... E4400 / 9600GT / GA-G31-S2L (gigabyte board) / 2GB of ram.

Thats good, that is pretty much what I thought, I just wasn't sure...
<----N00b
Thats good, I'm not quite worried about HD quite yet coming from xga res. to 1080P
Yer damn right!

The only thing I can think I would need to have that was PCI would be a Wifi card and I really wouldn't need one because I'm about 10ft away from the router.

Oh yea and possibly a sound card a bit later on, so yea I'll just direct plug into the router to free up that slot...

So whatcha think about this setup?

WD Caviar 80GB <-$39.99
C2D E4600 <-$119.99
MSI P6NGM-L <-$49.99
OCZ Gold Series 2GB Kit DDR2 667 <-$39.99
Antec earthwatts 430W <-$59.99
Total $327.34 inc. shipping



Now for a case:
Bgears b-Envi <-$89.99
Thermaltake VF1000BWS <-$129.99
AeroCool M40-BK <-$79.99
Antec NSK1380 <-$84.99
Lian-Li PC-V300 <-$109.99
Lian Li PC-V350B <-$117.99 I've always wanted a Lian-Li case...
Thermaltake LanBox <-$114.99
Apevia X-QPACK2 Portable 3 Window <-$91.99
Apevia X-QPack <-$76.99
Cooler Master CM Media 280 HTPC <-$129.99

Anyone see anything outstanding in that list?

Durr...

I keep forgetting to allow for optical media drives...


So whats hot in that department?
No bluray yet...

Anything spectacular come out in the last few hundred years that I should get?
I'm talking like CD/RW DVD/RW technology...
or
I've always liked LiteON drives, should I just get a pair of el cheapo CD/DVD-RW drives?


AND

What about shuttle barebones?
That is the size case I'm looking for so do they offer anything that I couldn't just build myself cheaper?


ANDer

This case is badass
I likey!

what about the OS, thats going to be about 100 bucks unless you plan on going linux
oh and just wondering what are your specs ATM?

Old rig specs in profile...
(I've not deemed them worthy of my signature for over a year)
I'm currently on a Hateway 400VTX laptop; 2Ghz Celeron, 512 MB ram, 4mb of that goes to the Intel Graphics chip, 15" monitor yadda yadda

As for an OS I have two discs of XP home that will be used TO DEATH until I deem something else worthy of my time...

New build:

Thermaltake LANBOX Lite
MSI P6NGM-L
C2D E4600
OCZ Gold Series 2GB
SILVERSTONE ST400
Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB
Philips 20X Super AllWrite (x2)
~$432.92

~$600 with a monitor...

What size CPU cooler can fit in that case?

For about $4 more you could get the E7200 which could benefit you since 45nm cpu's stay cooler then the 65nm's.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115052

EDIT: Forgot you would probably need a BIOS update if you bought that mobo.

as for the cooler...this is cute
LOL but serious it's a great cooler and it should fit in that case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835185046

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835118034 this fits also

Micro-ATX really cripples your Oc...

Thanks

I may be buying a CPU from an OCC member assuming he still has it, that was just a placemark so you guys wouldn't say "HEY! What about a CPU?"...

Yeah but I want/need a SFF case and I can take all of my hardware and throw it into an ATX board down the line if I find the performance unsatisfactory.

Which I find doubtful due to my current and previous setup...

Here is my computer area:

heh...i have the same printer
but not that dusty

Its not even hooked up to my computer, its kind of just there...

i have sqeezed a machine, see my sig in a coolermaster case of 50 euri, a small one and if your able o work with less space its an good setup.
oh i always go biggest bang for my buck

I've got some news, its both good and bad...


2 weeks ago my fathers computer was screwed up by a lightning storm (bad for him) , if the insurance company doesn't take the computer he said I can have the left over parts. (good fr me)
(Lightning + pine tree + close telephone pole + telephone line + DSL modem + ethernet card + motherboard = fried motherboard)
Better news, he said I could have his 19" ACER monitor when he gets his new computer...


A computer tech down there said the motherboard was fried, I'll see what I can do maybe the guy was a n00b and had no idea what he was doing?

Noob question on my behalf now, would it be foolish to try and use that hardware not knowing whether it could be damaged?
(could it damage new hardware if it is malfunctioning?)


If any of the parts are good this could allow me to have a computer built within a month now due to not needing to buy some things...

It's hard to say for sure, depends on how big of a surge got into the machine. It usually doesn't get past the psu and mobo though, unless it gets in through a phone line or lan line and can damage those things as well.

If the guy tested the power supply and that was bad, then tried a new psu and it still wouldn't start I would say his assumption is correct that the mobo is fried. But I bet most of that other stuff actually survived. Optical drives, floppy et cetera. I'd do a decent thorough test of the HDD if the tech didn't put it in a test machine and run some diagnostics but that should be ok too I would think.

A drunk driver took down a telephone pole in front of a house I was renting, sent a 220 surge through the entire house. Burned out about 20,000 of stuff between me and my roomate. But even that didn't do anything more than burn out the psu in my tower I had at the time. Every scenario is different though so without a bit of testing there is no way to know for sure.

The surge came in though the Ethernet cable from the modem so I'm willing to bet that the motherboard is indeed fried.

I just hope I can get some parts from it that are still good...
2GB (1GB x 2; unknown speed) memory
250GB harddrive
CPU I believe it may be an e7200 however I'm not sure.
(my father said it was 2.53Ghz and it said "duo" in dells lackluster receipt description)

3.53Ghz is alot quicker than core2's, it could be a P4 though, i think the fastest ones reached 3.8ghz

Ooops I meant 2.53 not 3.53...


<- N00b!

Bad news...


The processor in my fathers old computer was only a Pentium 4...

But I'm still gonna use it and his memory until I buy a new C2D and better memory.

It is still like a 200% performance increase over this laptop and about a 500% increase over my socket A rig...




Oh well, looks like I have to buy a monitor as well because he took his old one to work for his office computer.


meh...


I'm almost there...

You should claim it on your homeowners insurance. That's what its there for. And buy a UPS with it while you are at it.