h4vvok
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- Jul 1, 2004
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Well I build systems as a side hobby for friends and relatives and decided to help out some of the folks that are thinking of upgrading or buying a new computer in preparation for HL2. I created a low budget version to meet the minimum requirements for HL2, and a Medium budget version that meets the recommended requirements for HL2.....also I went wild on the last system with the best stuff (in my opinion) on the market to run HL2.
Note: I actually bought the parts and made each system, and plan on testing each when HL2 is out.
Without further ado here are the setups:
(these are prices without a monitor, keyboard, or mouse, or shipping charges)
Low Budget System for Minimum HL2 Specs:
Xoxide Diablo Case w/ 400w PSU- $64.98 Available at Xoxide.com
MSI K7N2 Delta-L Motherboard- $63.00 Available at Newegg.com
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor- $80 at Newegg.com
Mushkin Basic Green 512MB PC-3200 DDR-Ram- $68.30 Also at Newegg.com
Lite-On Black 52X32X52 CD-RW Drive- $25 at...Newegg.com
Western Digital Special Edition 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD800JB-$61.95 at Newegg.com
Info-Tek GECUBE ATI RADEON 9200SE Video Card, 128MB DDR, 64-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP- $45 at Newegg.com
Onboard Sound
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition- $104
Total Cost: $512.23
Medium Budget for Recommended HL2 Specs:
CHAINTECH "9CJS ZENITH" Motherboard- $169 at Newegg.com
Intel Pentium 4/ 2.53 GHz 533MHz FSB, 512K L2 Cache Processor- $142 at Newegg.com
2x Mushkin Basic Green 512MB PC-3200 DDR-Ram- $126.60 At Newegg.com
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition- $104
Antec Sonata Case- $120
Western Digital Special Edition 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD800JB-$61.95 at Newegg.com
Lite-On Black 52X32X52 CD-RW Drive- $25 at...Newegg.com
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 PCI Sound Card- $72 at Newegg.com
Total Cost: $820.55
Insane Budget (My actual setup):
CHAINTECH "9CJS ZENITH" Motherboard- $169
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum Pro PCI Sound Card- $206
Intel Pentium 4/ 3.2E GHz 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, Hyper Threading Technology- $246.50
Thermaltake AquariusII Liquid Cooling System- $100
4x Mushkin Basic Green 512MB PC-3200 DDR-Ram- $253.20
2x Western Digital 740GD Raptor in RAID 0- $430
Radeon X800 XT Platinum Ed.- $500
Cooler Master Wavemaster Case- $190
14" LCD + Custom Cherry Wood Housing- $200+
Sony Double Layer DVD Recorder- $172
Total Cost: $2466+
I hope this is helpful to folks, and if you need any advice on hardware I've tested quite a bit of products. Post or PM me with any questions.
Note: I actually bought the parts and made each system, and plan on testing each when HL2 is out.
Without further ado here are the setups:
(these are prices without a monitor, keyboard, or mouse, or shipping charges)
Low Budget System for Minimum HL2 Specs:
Xoxide Diablo Case w/ 400w PSU- $64.98 Available at Xoxide.com
MSI K7N2 Delta-L Motherboard- $63.00 Available at Newegg.com
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor- $80 at Newegg.com
Mushkin Basic Green 512MB PC-3200 DDR-Ram- $68.30 Also at Newegg.com
Lite-On Black 52X32X52 CD-RW Drive- $25 at...Newegg.com
Western Digital Special Edition 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD800JB-$61.95 at Newegg.com
Info-Tek GECUBE ATI RADEON 9200SE Video Card, 128MB DDR, 64-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP- $45 at Newegg.com
Onboard Sound
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition- $104
Total Cost: $512.23
Medium Budget for Recommended HL2 Specs:
CHAINTECH "9CJS ZENITH" Motherboard- $169 at Newegg.com
Intel Pentium 4/ 2.53 GHz 533MHz FSB, 512K L2 Cache Processor- $142 at Newegg.com
2x Mushkin Basic Green 512MB PC-3200 DDR-Ram- $126.60 At Newegg.com
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition- $104
Antec Sonata Case- $120
Western Digital Special Edition 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD800JB-$61.95 at Newegg.com
Lite-On Black 52X32X52 CD-RW Drive- $25 at...Newegg.com
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 PCI Sound Card- $72 at Newegg.com
Total Cost: $820.55
Insane Budget (My actual setup):
CHAINTECH "9CJS ZENITH" Motherboard- $169
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum Pro PCI Sound Card- $206
Intel Pentium 4/ 3.2E GHz 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, Hyper Threading Technology- $246.50
Thermaltake AquariusII Liquid Cooling System- $100
4x Mushkin Basic Green 512MB PC-3200 DDR-Ram- $253.20
2x Western Digital 740GD Raptor in RAID 0- $430
Radeon X800 XT Platinum Ed.- $500
Cooler Master Wavemaster Case- $190
14" LCD + Custom Cherry Wood Housing- $200+
Sony Double Layer DVD Recorder- $172
Total Cost: $2466+
I hope this is helpful to folks, and if you need any advice on hardware I've tested quite a bit of products. Post or PM me with any questions.