Building a Cheap Mid-grade PC...

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customisbetter

CAGiversary!
Im new here so hi everybody!
i have an old compaq sr1800nx that my mom bought back in 04?? anyway, i have been looking at building myself a decent machine to play Half-Life2.2, COD4, maybe ill borrow somebody's version of crysis (on low settings of course) at decent frame rates. now i don't need a freon cooled 150 fps crysis machine. i just want to play games at decent or high setting at about 35fps to 60. above that i don't care and see it as wasted power since i can't tell the difference.
***edit*** im running 1280x1024

so i have this stuff to work with....

a compaq sr1800nx case (who here doesnt like a sleeper?)

an E4400 (got it on the cheap and it doesn't work on the mobo i have now)

!!! no bitching at this one please!!!
xfx fatal1ty 8500 gt.
-----------------------------------------------------
now other than the fps stuff, id like sata II, dual channel memory, and an nvidia chipset (nTune is the coolest program iv ever used)

im looking at an EVGA e-7050 for a board
http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3353973&CatId=2014

and some cheap 2gig ddr2 pc 5300 for 35 bucks on ebay

maybe a cheap SATA II disk.

Can this get me the performance i want? It just has to be cheap.
one more question... Power supply, what wattage will this setup require, cuz im pretty sure 300 wont cut it.

thanks in advance, this is pretty specific but ill take any suggestions or criticisms except on the gpu. (its all could afford with 100 dollars in best buy coupons)
 
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Well, I know you don't want to hear it, but that card is a dog. The 8500 and 8400 series chips were worse that 7-series cards. Sell the thing for a few bucks, and get an 8600 GT with DDR3 memory for less that $75 off newegg.

As far as PSUs, for the mid-grade stuff you'll use, 400 watts will be sufficient.
 
cheapest possible. im buying stuff one at a time. ill have the ram by next week. but im still wondering if there is any perfomance lags in the motherboard cpu combo.
im a noob but i think there is plateau of performance gain after 2-2.2 Ghz. idk, maybe im wrong. i might sell the gpu but i did use all of my birthday money for it and my padres will kill me. i bought it cuz i needed vga but then i got a lcd so i use the dvi.
Also, wont the 8500 be better with dx10 games. i heard somewhere that there is a significant performance margin, i think 20 percent.
 
Typically cases like the one you are using might not always conform to the typical ATX form factor mobo. You might want to check out where the screws are located along with the I/O panel.

Same goes for the power supply, chances are it is low wattage and might not be able to handle the stuff you throw at it so an upgrade will be in order. Again chances are a new one may not fit.

These are just some experiences I've come across when building computer for/with friends. It is really frustrating when you get all the parts and are ready to build then things don't fit or you don't have enough power.
 
OK i didnt realize how cheap 8600s were.
How about a EVGA 8600 GTS? its 256meg were as mine is 512. that won't make that much of a negative difference though because its ddr3 right?

***edit*** how do i connect this to my power supply?
 
[quote name='customisbetter']thanks in advance, this is pretty specific but ill take any suggestions or criticisms except on the gpu. (its all could afford with 100 dollars in best buy coupons)[/QUOTE]
I'm going with some of the other posts. If you're excluding the GPU there's no point in giving you advice. You're not going to get acceptable performance with an 8500. Look at the comparison on Tom's Hardware. It's outperformed by a 6600GT! Seriously! The 8500 is chugging along getting just barely 30fps running Prey at 1024x768 with no AA. And you want to run Crysis at 1280x1024? You're fooling yourself and no advice we can give you about any other component is going to matter.

Running an LCD at that resolution the absolute minimum card you need is an 8600GT. Luckily it's a great card and budget priced. It's only about $25 more but performance destroys the 8500GT in every way.

As a side note, you can get the same board (which is a solid board reliability wise, but very low end for its features) at NewEgg for about $5 less.
 
[quote name='customisbetter']OK i didnt realize how cheap 8600s were.
How about a EVGA 8600 GTS? its 256meg were as mine is 512. that won't make that much of a negative difference though because its ddr3 right?

***edit*** how do i connect this to my power supply?
[/QUOTE]
You can't go wrong with EVGA, they make the best cards on the market in my opinion (and the Step Up program doesn't hurt either).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130084

It comes with an adapter for your power supply. Make sure each end goes to a different rail.
 
[quote name='customisbetter']alright I just bought the 8600 gts. now what about the rest?[/QUOTE]
For RAM, get this today. It's the last day of the sale and you can't beat 2x1gig of DDR2 800 for $35 shipped.
 
thanks for the sale damian. but as i said i have no cash on me and i just put that 8500 up for sale. also whats the point of 800s if the only board i can afford doesnt support them?
...and the cake IS a lie.
 
[quote name='customisbetter']thanks for the sale damian. but as i said i have no cash on me and i just put that 8500 up for sale. also whats the point of 800s if the only board i can afford doesnt support them?
...and the cake IS a lie.[/QUOTE]
The only point of the 800 was that it was a great price so you might as well get better than you need if it costs the same or less. If you're going cheap you'll need to get an eye out for sales. Watch the AnandTech hot deals forum for deals on PC related stuff.
 
Well, I know you don't want to hear it, but that card is a dog. The 8500 and 8400 series chips were worse that 7-series cards. Sell the thing for a few bucks, and get an 8600 GT with DDR3 memory for less that $75 off newegg.

As far as PSUs, for the mid-grade stuff you'll use, 400 watts will be sufficient.
 
cheapest possible. im buying stuff one at a time. ill have the ram by next week. but im still wondering if there is any perfomance lags in the motherboard cpu combo.
im a noob but i think there is plateau of performance gain after 2-2.2 Ghz. idk, maybe im wrong. i might sell the gpu but i did use all of my birthday money for it and my padres will kill me. i bought it cuz i needed vga but then i got a lcd so i use the dvi.
Also, wont the 8500 be better with dx10 games. i heard somewhere that there is a significant performance margin, i think 20 percent.
 
Typically cases like the one you are using might not always conform to the typical ATX form factor mobo. You might want to check out where the screws are located along with the I/O panel.

Same goes for the power supply, chances are it is low wattage and might not be able to handle the stuff you throw at it so an upgrade will be in order. Again chances are a new one may not fit.

These are just some experiences I've come across when building computer for/with friends. It is really frustrating when you get all the parts and are ready to build then things don't fit or you don't have enough power.
 
OK i didnt realize how cheap 8600s were.
How about a EVGA 8600 GTS? its 256meg were as mine is 512. that won't make that much of a negative difference though because its ddr3 right?

***edit*** how do i connect this to my power supply?
 
[quote name='customisbetter']thanks in advance, this is pretty specific but ill take any suggestions or criticisms except on the gpu. (its all could afford with 100 dollars in best buy coupons)[/QUOTE]
I'm going with some of the other posts. If you're excluding the GPU there's no point in giving you advice. You're not going to get acceptable performance with an 8500. Look at the comparison on Tom's Hardware. It's outperformed by a 6600GT! Seriously! The 8500 is chugging along getting just barely 30fps running Prey at 1024x768 with no AA. And you want to run Crysis at 1280x1024? You're fooling yourself and no advice we can give you about any other component is going to matter.

Running an LCD at that resolution the absolute minimum card you need is an 8600GT. Luckily it's a great card and budget priced. It's only about $25 more but performance destroys the 8500GT in every way.

As a side note, you can get the same board (which is a solid board reliability wise, but very low end for its features) at NewEgg for about $5 less.
 
[quote name='customisbetter']OK i didnt realize how cheap 8600s were.
How about a EVGA 8600 GTS? its 256meg were as mine is 512. that won't make that much of a negative difference though because its ddr3 right?

***edit*** how do i connect this to my power supply?
[/QUOTE]
You can't go wrong with EVGA, they make the best cards on the market in my opinion (and the Step Up program doesn't hurt either).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130084

It comes with an adapter for your power supply. Make sure each end goes to a different rail.
 
[quote name='customisbetter']alright I just bought the 8600 gts. now what about the rest?[/QUOTE]
For RAM, get this today. It's the last day of the sale and you can't beat 2x1gig of DDR2 800 for $35 shipped.
 
thanks for the sale damian. but as i said i have no cash on me and i just put that 8500 up for sale. also whats the point of 800s if the only board i can afford doesnt support them?
...and the cake IS a lie.
 
[quote name='customisbetter']thanks for the sale damian. but as i said i have no cash on me and i just put that 8500 up for sale. also whats the point of 800s if the only board i can afford doesnt support them?
...and the cake IS a lie.[/QUOTE]
The only point of the 800 was that it was a great price so you might as well get better than you need if it costs the same or less. If you're going cheap you'll need to get an eye out for sales. Watch the AnandTech hot deals forum for deals on PC related stuff.
 
 
First thing first, stop linking us to CompUSA website. I'm not against them, but the links don't work for me. Second, Newegg will have more selection (maybe not prices), so that means we can recommend you or critique your choices based on a bigger selection, THEN you can go off finding the best prices for the same or similar products.

Use www.newegg.com and show us which motherboard/RAM/HDD you had selected.
 
Better brand PSU, Cheaper too because it comes with a rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341012

Not sure about Mobo, but I have used Gigabyte stuff before and really liked it.
This one might work too, just a few bucks more, and it has an Nvidia chipset, and dual channel ram (I think) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128088

Make sure you look at the combo deals on Newegg that are associated with the items your looking at. They can save you a lot of money.
 
will that board work with my cpu? the bus speed on the board is 1333 where my cpu bus is 800.
and on the question of my case size, the power supply says atx 300 so i assume its the correct dimensions.
thanks
 
so will the setup im looking at get me the performance i want? its gonna be about 350 bucks thats less than i bought the computer for (barely).
 
so will the setup im looking at get me the performance i want? its gonna be about 350 bucks thats less than i bought the computer for (barely).
 
alright, add this to the list of stuff...

cheap sata2 7200 samsung 250gb sp2504c for $35

mobo---ecs 946gct-m $28
dual channel 667, 1066 fsb i think its a pretty good deal.

now all i need is a power supply. this turning out a lot cheaper than i expected.
63 today, + 80 for cpu + 40 for ram + 85 GPU + wireless pci card 12=
280 so far, not bad.
any more comments or criticisms are welcome.
 
iv got it all together and it took a lot of tweaking and tedious work but its running sweet now.
3dmark06--5947
pcmark05--5333
lost coast video test all maxed--103.5 fps
crysis 1280x1024, medium--30 fps
8600gts, 675/1008 stock--720/1120 stable(needs better thermal compound and a new power supply to power it)
i have to unplug my dvd drive to get a clock setting that high before it hangs and crashes so i should prbably invest in one of those.:roll:

thats all that i have tested so far. this is good right?
any comment will be appreciated.
 
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