New Computers?

[carmen510]

Anyone recommend a computer or computer components (Like motherboards, graphics cards, etc.) for a guy on a budget?

 

[Mulholland]

Now is a very good time to get a very fast and cheap computer. AMD dual cores are at their lowest Prices ever. Think X2 5200. You can also get a DX 10 compatible card for a nice price too, Like the Geforce 8600. That said DX 9 is still useful and the 7000 series of cards are a very good price. 2 gigs of good DDR2 ram is now also only 100 dollars.
I bought a very capable computer a year ago the processor, 400 bones, Graphics card $350, and RAM $300. Today the prices are 60$, 100$, 100$ respectively for the same gear. Damn!

 

[carmen510]

I prefer Intel, better raw power and/or quality.

 

[Mulholland]

Yes but if you're going for a budget build AMD beats Intel on a price/performance ratio. But then again there is not a huge difference.

 

[GVBN]

CPU: Core 2 Duo E4300 is the cheapest C2 processor

Motherboard: Core 2's overclocking capabilities depend on your motherboard, so get a decent one (Asus P5N) if you're going to overclock it. Otherwise get anything that has all the features you want

If you have older computer parts or want to upgrade later then consider ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA. It's has both AGP and PCI-E slots for a graphics card. It also supports both DDR and DDR2 RAM

GPU: Depends on your budget. Geforce 7300GT, Geforce 7600GT, Radeon X1950Pro

 

[felagund]

This example system (the article is a couple of months old) costs around $500, and is reasonable performance... http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/05/08/system_builder_marathon/

 

[WildWeazel]

If you're not in a big hurry to get your new system built, subscribe to newegg.com newsletters. Every week there are lots of great deals for newsletter subscribers. For example I got 2Gb of Crucial DDR2-800 RAM for $60 after rebate.

 

[carmen510]

Well, I got my new computer. Here are the specs.

Intel Dual-Core Processor 2.13 Ghz
NVIDIA 8800 GTS Graphics Card
Earthworks Power Engine (Nice and quiet)
Logitech mouse and keyboard
Corsair Memory 2 GB
New Case

Thats about it. Cost about $2000, but I can finally play Company of Heroes!

Only problem I have is that I can't change volume unless I use the stupid volume on the taskbar. I want an external one!

 

[Mulholland]

Not exactly a computer for a guy on a budget. C'mon if you wanted a 2000 dollar computer you could have done better.

 

[WildWeazel]

My thoughts exactly. That setup is (a) not a budget computer, but (b) worth only a fraction of $2000

 

[Mulholland]

@ Carmen. Your setup is very powerful. But, just to put your purchase into perspective, It is marginally more powerful than mine for current games. What I paid 2000 dollars for a year ago and though would be "future proof" is now valued at about 700 dollars. That hurts.

 

[carmen510]

I said about.

I think my dad paid 1,900 for it. (In Yen. )