Build-A-System

[Twilight]

Sidewinder, if you don't already, you, and everyone else on the thread might consider checking
http://www.pricewatch.com

It beats newegg on some things, loses to it on others, but certainly worth a look.

It compares a whole bunch of the online sellers for computer parts, and updates daily with the lowest prices it can find out of the scores of companies it checks.

For example, an XP 2400 complete system including everything except the monitor, but including the OS, for $300. Obviously not top of the line, and the HD is a bit small, but still.

Or a Samsung 120GB 7200RPM HD for $93.

These both include shipping. Great if you're looking to save some cash (I'm looking at spending $400 on a system for HL2 in a couple of months, since I'm a poor student. No $4000 for me! ) or get a good price comparison on the going rate for something.

Sorry, not trying to hijack the thread, but figured anyone reading this thread might want to know.

Twilight

 

[SidewinderX]

pricewatch is one of the many tools I use to get my prices. There are also a few site I know that pricewatch doesn't catolouge. but no more sharing secrets

 

[Twilight]

Fair enough...

Twilight

 

[Iced_Eagle]

hmmm im not looking for a whole comp but i'm hoping you can find this 256mb ATI Radeon 9800 PRO... but for some reason I think this site added some more memory to the card...

The Radeon 9800 Series expands what is visually possible on the PC. Now with devastating speed of 256MB and ultra hi-tech DDR II technology.

i thought it hadd DDR I tech.. not II... hey but if you know the DDR II is better look for it... the link to the site where that is from is here thanks

Edit: yes the ATI retail version only has DDR... this is straight from ati.com

RADEON™ 9800 Series of visual processors is the most visually advanced 3D performer on the planet, delivering an immersive, cinematic experience for the most demanding next-generation games with up to 256MB of DDR memory and a 256-bit memory interface.

well if someone knows if the DDR II will give me better performance please let me know and also Sidewinder if you could find the best prices for DDR and DDR II versions that would be excellent

Edit2: god i love smilies

 

[SidewinderX]

DDR II was featured in the first batch of GeForce FX cards. Right know it's under-utilised in the current crop of games, however, it wil proberly become important in the future

Currently the DDR II is cheaper than the DDR, must be a major sale....

DDR-II
RADEON 9800 Pro 256MB DDR DVI TV OUT 8X AGP 9800PRO WITH SOFTWARE
http://www.str8buy.com/atiradsdramp.html
$456

DDR
Sapphire RADEON 9800 PRO ATLANTIS 256MB DDR AGP8X TVO/DVI (OEM)
http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/product.asp?pid=7354&sid=77NFRKGFBW0L9L81GUWLFQEQBVW947TC
$457

 

[Iced_Eagle]

so... im looking in the long run right now cause I don't wanna buy another for years... will DDR II hinder my performance dramatically now?? and also I read at different sites that there will soon be a Radeon 9900... they said the "3 product lineup" began with the 9700 and will end with the 9900 and will take a break... any news on that will be greatly appreciated i heard somewhere saphire was amazing but how??

 

[SidewinderX]

I htink the 3 product line was the 9500/9600, 9700, and the 9800.

DDR-II will not hinder you in any way. It jsut doesn't ahve any noticable impact now.

Shappire cards are well build, and they have pretty good cooling, and plenty of room to overclock.

 

[ankalar]

Haha! Ender didn't save money because of YOU!

 

[SidewinderX]

Originally posted by ankalar
Haha! Ender didn't save money because of YOU!

...?

 

[ankalar]

(Subtract a couple people from your signature, they could have done it themselves with pricewatch.)

 

[SidewinderX]

some popel pmed me and I helped them that way. it should be more like 15.

 

[Scaramanga]

would be cool if you could help me find a 1000$ system with a radeon 9800 pro and that can be shipped to Israel.


no: monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers
512mb of ram is a must.

 

[$h@rp$hOOter]

hey, i want to upgrade my comp. i was wondering if u could find me a good proccesor that is compatble with my comp and a good mobo that supports rambus memory, i alredy have a good vidio card (radeon 9800 pro)
my comp model is is VAIO Digital Studio PCV-RX470DS/PCV-RX480DS. i hope u can find me a good proccesor and maybe a good mobo.
i am willing to spend about 400$

tnxs

p.s i want to make sure the parts are compatble with a 2 years old comp

 

[SidewinderX]

$h@rp$hOOter: you first

Intel Pentium 4 2.6GHz 400MHz FSB
http://store.yahoo.com/upsource/277470.html
$208

I'm not sure if you cna upgrade you're motherboard n that computer....boxed comps don't do well with upgrades like that...

however, since you have a 9800PRO already, and $200 extra....
i'd suggest getting the max memeory you'r mobo can handle, which is 512MB

Scaramanga, it might take me awhile, but i'll find someone that sjips to israel

 

[SidewinderX]

Scaramanga, I found a place. However, its much harder Here I go.

ECS K7S5A-Pro AMD DDR MB with Athlon XP 2400+ (1.93Ghz) 266FSB CPU & Fan
SKU: K7S5A-Pro@2400+
http://www.partspc.com/store/product2673.html
$119.47

Sapphire Radeon 9800Pro 128DDR/CRT/DVI/TV Bulk
http://www.ussa.com/ussaonline/product.asp?dept_id=15001&pf_id=100-106-1003455
$334

2x 256MB PC2100 DDR 266MHz Certified ECC & SPD Memory
http://www.partspc.com/store/product1032.html
104.36 (2x$52.18)

InWin J523P MID TOWER BLACK PS/300W P4 ATX
http://www.partspc.com/store/product361.html
$86.84

HardDrive - IBM / HITACHI 60GB 7200RPM EIDE UDMA ATA100
http://www.partspc.com/store/product601.html
$98.25

Creative Labs Sound Blaster LIVE Sound Card
http://www.partspc.com/store/product174.html
$44.18

Mitsumi 1.44 3.5" Floppy Disk Drive
http://www.partspc.com/store/product539.html
19.95

Asus CD-RW DRIVE 52x24x52 5224A
http://www.partspc.com/store/product62.html
60.70


Total: $867.75

You have soem extra money for shipping, which will be more expensive and a DVD-ROM or soemthing if you want.

 

[$h@rp$hOOter]

Tnxs SidewinderX143, i will get that proccesor maybe in 2-3 days.

i have a question about my comp.
CAn u tell me what MoBO i have? the name of it coze i wasnt been able to find it anywhere, tnxs.(btw i looked anywhere possible)


p.s i alredy have 512 mb ram

 

[SidewinderX]

I spent a while lookign for your mobo, but had to settle with the information that it was a pentium 4 compatibale, and had a 400MHz FSB. sorry.

 

[DeXtRoMeThOrFaN]

Originally posted by SidewinderX143


2x 256MB PC2100 DDR 266MHz Certified ECC & SPD Memory
http://www.partspc.com/store/product1032.html
104.36 (2x$52.18)

That ram sucks.

 

[ankalar]

Yea, Sidewinder, are you just giving them random cheap things off of pricewatch?

 

[SidewinderX]

No actually, I was trying to a) find a site that shipped internation w/ decent prices, b) meet a $1000 computer limit with international shipping. I'll have you know that i didn't vist pricewatch at all during the compilation of that computer.
As you see i came in at $867, and international shipping, even though everthing except one peice is from the same site, will be very. very expensive.

 

[Iced_Eagle]

ok going back to my stuff bout the card... now im looking in the long run here cause that was the point of me getting this... the sapphre is a DDR and costs a buck more... big deal but the other is DDR II..... now i did have some troubles with overclocking in the past due to I forgot the totally safe OC numbers i could go up too... so the question is.... (remember long run like ~4 years) which one?? How long till games take advantage of DDR II??? which one... ahh im soo confused

 

[KiNG]

http://secure.newegg.com/app/WishList.asp?position=current&submit=view

ok i dont know if that link works but i want:
ASUS a7n8x-deluxe or Abit nf7-s delta (whichever one has 400mhz support and good for overclocking, or if u know of another board...)
althon xp 2500 or 2800 (which ever one has better bang for buck)
corsiar xms 512mb (only one stick ill get another one when i have money)
80 gigs atleast (and atleast 7200 rpm 8mb cache)
antec case with antec true power 430W
9800 pro 128mb (perferably sapphire)
cd-rw/dvd drive 48x24x48x16(the combo, or tell me why they arnt as good or known issues)
normal cd 52x
and a good heatsink and fan (i heard the thermalright slk900-u was best for amd....)

with everything on my wishlist it comes to $1003.95 USD im just seeing how much u can take off that from legit good rep sites...

and i live in so cal... btw good job on helping people out its nice to see it .

 

[ankalar]

Don't get the SLK-900 if you're not overclocking, the retail heatsink is just fine. If you "just heard" that the SLK-900 is good, then I'm guessing you're not going to be doing any hardcore overclocking, so the Vantec Aeroflow HSF would be great for you. In addition, you should probably get 2 sticks of 256MB RAM since that way you can run in Dual Channel mode, which will increase performance by a good bit. I'd recommend the NF7-S by the way.

 

[KiNG]

i havent "just heard" of it im just stating that its the best for amd overclocking. i want to start overclocking but right now my system that i have right now isnt an overclocker (p3 550 geforce 2 gts 32mg)
Edit: does the nf7-s have nearly everything that the a7n8x-deluxe has and does it support 400mhz?

 

[SidewinderX]

The price you got was the best I could find.

 

[jasonh1234]

This is a cool thread.
I don't want a complete system but can someone tell me where I can get the cheapest ATI 9800 128 MB and 256
I'm in Vancouver BC Canada and very poor at the moment.

Oh and one of these too
http://www.panoramtech.com/products/desktop.html

 

[Iced_Eagle]

jason: just to let you know the new ATI is coming out in september so if you want top-of-the line you should wait... and what card you have now cause most likely you should stay with your current one and wait till next year with super-next-gen cards... some new pci-express tech coming out

edit: go to page 6 for 9800 pro prices.. they are the ones he gave me for DDR-II and DDR memory

 

[crabcakes66]

Originally posted by ankalar
Yet not as great as any nForce-2 out there?

Ive seen more than 1 hardware review site say differntly.

 

[SidewinderX]

ATI PowerColor Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB DDR 8XAGP Retail Box
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=190635
$334

They ship to Canada as well.

ATI (Gigabyte) 9800 PRO 256 MB AGP 8X / 4X
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=190755
$452

Ships to canada.

 

[Ahnteis]

Howdy folks - Just had to chip in 2 bits here of advertising for newegg.com.

They absolutely rock!

They have great deals on all kinds of stuff very frequently.

They have special super-cheap shipping deals on a large majority of their hardware.

They have an EXCELLENT customer service center (at least on the 2 occasions I've had to call them).

They ship stuff FAST. I get stuff in 2-3 days from them. I live in UT for reference, and use the cheapest (default) shipping.

I can *sometimes* find *slightly* cheaper prices elsewhere, but knowing their great support and near cheapest prices as well as fast shipping usually means I'll buy from them anyway.

However, if you're thinking of buying from somewhere else, might I suggest checking www.resellerratings.com before you buy to make sure you won't get ripped off?

 

[SidewinderX]

I check everyhting I reccomend through resellerratings.

 

[alocormin]

What's the best you can find for this?

Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.80GHz w/800MHz front side bus/ 512K L2 Cache MP288H

Memory: 512MB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz (2x256M) 512M4

Video Card: New 128MB DDR ATI RADEON™ 9800 Graphics Card with TV-Out and DVI 128AT98

Hard Drives: New 200GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive 200P

CD or DVD Drive: 16 Max DVD-ROM Drive 16DV995

Sound Card: Sound Blaster Audigy 2™ sound card with DVD Audio SBA2X

 

[alocormin]

actually, to be more particular, can you get that much lower than 2000?

Thanks for this invaluable service.

-Aloc

 

[SidewinderX]

I'll assume you want a whole system ,so i'll include case, psu, mobo, etc.


Intel Pentium 4 / 2.8CGHz 512k socket 478 Hyper Threading Technology 800 MHz FSB - RETAIL
http://www.nutrend.com/app/search.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=343&manufactory=1157
$266

512MB (2x256)Dual Channel DDR400 PC3200 256MB
http://www.enetshoponline.com/duchddpc25.html
$96 (2x$48)

ATI RADEON 9800 128MB TV DVI 2H AGP VIDEO CARD
http://www.pcrapids.com/home.asp?pw=y&pwl=search/productdesc.asp?lsskuid=VidATI128M01978
$280

HD 200GB Western Digital WD2000BB 72R 2MB OEM
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=22-144-146&refer=pricewatch
$178

Aopen Internal EIDE 16X DVD ROM / 40X Max CD-ROM Drive Beige RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=property&DEPA=1
$28

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum (Model SB0240P) - RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...=57&manufactory=1137&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1
$167

The total of the thigns you listed is $1015

Now I will also add the other things you need for a complete computer.

REAL CASE (BLACK) 3G READY Tooless ATX Mid Tower Case with 400watt Power Supply MODEL RW-1000BG - RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=property&DEPA=1
$45

Asus P4P800 Deluxe i865PE P4 (800FSB) Skt478 DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio, LAN, RAID/Serial ATA Retail
http://www.googlegear.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=240307
$136.99


Well I htink That's everthing. All the componets plud the case and MoBo come to $1196.99

 

[n3t]

Does your services also includes customers from POLAND ?

I have choosen all the components at god prices,but I`ve got some questions left:


1) nvidia vs ATI (yes, I have seen other threads about that, so don`t bother answearing)
2) nforce2 vs KT400A
?




N3T

 

[SidewinderX]

I know some retailers that ship international. If you would like me to give you prices, i'll need mor einformation. (ie how much money ur willing to spend, or what processor you have, or what generation of cards, or whatever)

My personal feelings on the 2 issues you have mentioned
ATi vs. nVidia. : ATi has cetainly turned things around with thier 9x00 series of cards. However, nVidia has, historically, has better support and much. much better driver support. I'm not sure if this is a fluke for ATi, or a sign of things to come. My perosnal favorite card on the market right now is the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra for top line, and the ATi 9500 PRO from mid-line.


nForce 2 vs Kt400:
I do not know as muc about MoBos as I know about other things, but the nForce2 has great onboard audio, so if you're not interested in spending big bucks on a SB Audigy II, the nForce2 is great. However, it's not as good as the other chipsets for overclocking.

 

[ankalar]

The nForce-2 is better. I'd go with ATi but it's personal preference as of now.

Originally posted by SidewinderX143
the nForce2 is great. However, it's not as good as the other chipsets for overclocking.

That's why real overclockers use nForce-2's?

 

[FictiousWill]

First off I want to thank you in advance for offering this service for the less hardware-aware. It is extremely frustrating to me not knowing about the inner physical workings of a computer, especially after programming for many many years. You are very kind to share your knowlege!

I have looked over your previous helpee's and have found sone great deals, you found some really good buys that I had not found. I thought that I should give you what I'm shooting for, just on the off chance you may find something that suited my price range exactly:

I would like as fast a system as possible that will last a few years. I need a new cpu and cpu fan, motherboard, and lots of ram (preferably over a gig, but I would want the mobo to support at least 2). That's it for me, I'm going to reuse all the rest of my hardware because its not too shabby age-wise. I also like pci slots.

What is the best set of the above components available for $500.00 USD?

Thank you again for your offer of help!
Will

 

[SidewinderX]

Intel Pentium 4 / 2.8CGHz 512k socket 478 Hyper Threading Technology 800 MHz FSB - RETAIL
http://www.nutrend.com/app/search.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=343&manufactory=1157
$266

Asus Motherboard for Intel Processors Model P4S800 Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...s=&minprice=&maxprice=86&description= &page=2
$83.99


1GB (2x512MB) PC3200 DDR RAM
http://www.buyaib.com/aib51pc400mh.html
$148 (2x$74)


Just bareley made $500, but i did

 

[FictiousWill]

Thank you, Sidewinder, you have easily saved me at least $100 on the set of parts I had previously put together!