Building a new PC on the cheap

[Shawn96VR-4]

One of the 3Si'ers works for AMD so I have a good source when it comes to AMD technology. I am very limited when it comes to hardware so I wanted to start doing some research and upgrade my PC and actually do it myself. I did the current setup myself with some help but needed a lot of it. I am anal and need to know every little detail and with hardware, it doesn't appear to be cut n dry.

Here's my current setup and my work setup.

Belarc Advisor Current Profile

Here's what I have at work that is IMHO, very fast:

Belarc Advisor Current Profile

My buddy says: "The Athlon X2 5200+ is roughly equivalent to a Core 2 Duo E6400, which is on average is about 50-70% faster than you work computer, and utterly destroys your current home computer"

I also need to get a 500GB external HD for more backups. I am basically looking for a AMD setup with 4GB of ram. Unfortunately, my current dual monitor VC is AGP (supports DVI too and it's brand new) so I will have to replace more than I want to. I could just sell my current PC as is and get a few bucks for it.

Here's my potential setup that I am considering but it's a bit too pricey for what I want so spend right now for a backup server.

Athlon 64 X2 5200+ and 2GB DDR2 RAM - $178.98
Newegg.com - Buy Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

Note: this is a combo deal, you save $15 versus buying them seperately. Choose the option from the list.


GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3 AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 ATX AMD Motherboard - $74.99
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3 AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail


Coolermaster Centurion ATX Case - $49.99 ($39.99 after MIR)
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail


Thermaltake 500W ATX Power Supply - $79.99 ($49.99 after MIR)
Newegg.com - Thermaltake W0093RU ATX 12V 2.0 Version 500W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CUL, TUV, FCC, and CB - Retail


Sapphire X1950 Pro PCI Express Video Card - $152.99
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100196L Radeon X1950PRO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

[mikecentola]

Go with intel... much better than the athlon's

and I would get an nvidia video card instead of ATi

[Shawn96VR-4]

AMD's benchmarks are impressive and a fraction of the cost.

[mikecentola]

imo they don't compare to the core 2 duos, and definitely not the quadros. Unless you look into the amd quad-cores.

You should just get a mac.

[Shawn96VR-4]

Originally Posted by mikecentola

imo they don't compare to the core 2 duos, and definitely not the quadros. Unless you look into the amd quad-cores.

You should just get a mac.

You sure about that? Fudzilla - K10 at 2.5 GHz beats QX6800 in multimedia

Anyhow, there's a better chance of me modding a Honda hatch than me getting a mac.

[waltbabyluv]

i want a mac, too much $$$ tohugh, i want one with final cut real bad

[mikecentola]

Originally Posted by waltbabyluv

i want a mac, too much $$$ tohugh, i want one with final cut real bad

yeah, final cut studio alone costs $1200. It's pretty good though.

[xceebeex]

Go with the 5600+, the 5200+ has an odd multiplier so the memory does not run at a full 800MHz. Not only that, but I believe that the 5600+ has a much lower power consumption.

[JiM P 2001]

24" iMac FTW

[Shawn96VR-4]

Originally Posted by xceebeex

Go with the 5600+, the 5200+ has an odd multiplier so the memory does not run at a full 800MHz. Not only that, but I believe that the 5600+ has a much lower power consumption.

Thanks for the tip. The 5600+ is only a few bucks more. I'm trying to find a good deal on this setup.