2010-10-25, 07:27 PM
Alright, so I stand at a crossroad, continuing from my "Computer Shopping List" thread...
Graphics card will be salvaged from my brother's computer, which is a GeForce 7900 GS, coincidentally the absolute minimum for Civilization V.
There's a salvageable LCD monitor, but I might have to get a new one soon due to how crappy it is.
USB mouse will be salvaged.
[SIZE="4"]Here's the computer package I've assembled from newegg.com:[/SIZE]
Speakers and keyboard were not included.
[SIZE="4"]Here's the computer from cyberpowerpc.com:[/SIZE]
* CASE: Raidmax Typhoon Gaming Mid-Tower Case with See-Thur Side Panel
* COOLING: XtremeGear Ultra Triple Heatpipes Cool Copper Heatsink CPU Cooling Fan
* CPU: AMD Athlon™II X4 635 Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
* HDD: 750GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
* KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
* MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
* MOTHERBOARD: GigaByte GA-870A-UD3 AMD 870/SB850 chipset support DDR3 Ultra Durable™3 Socket AM3 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 Audio, GBLAN, Support 6-core CPU, CPU Auto Unlocker, USB3.0, SATA-III, ON/OFF Charge for IPod, RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1, & 3 PCI
* PSU: 500 Watts - Sigma SP-500AB ESP 80 Plus Power Supply
* SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
* VIDEO: None, or Onboard ATI Radeon 2100 based Integrated Graphics
NOTE: The setup was made from customizing a Mega Special II AMD desktop. Since my relative owns the company, he's willing to sell it for a lower price than the website quotes, which is $507 subtotal.
Costs: $455 + $0 (shipping) - $10? (rebate) = $445
Keyboard IS included.
Speakers not included.
My own thoughts:
The newegg build has pretty much everything that I want for a budget build, including a known reliable PSU, and fairly solid reviews on most everything else. Just about the only thing I'm worried about is not having the thermal paste and SATA cables, and possibly screwing up the actual build process (but I'm a good handyman with my brothers for backup, so this is unlikely).
The cyberpowerpc build is rather limited, in that there was no middle ground for CPU choices (it was either the bad dual-cores or the "overkill" quad-cores), limited selections in general, and I wasn't able to get a good grasp of the overall reliability of the parts. On the other hand, the computer will come pre-assembled (minus the GPU) and I pretty much only have to worry about shipping disasters. Oh, and installing the OS >_>
So I guess you know the big question: WHICH COMPY SHOULD I GET!?!?!?
Quote:How do you intend to use this new part or new computer? What's the heaviest load it's likely to encounter?
Possible heavy load uses:
--Extractions (lololol) or projecteuler.net stuff
--Fraps (testing purposes only, as expectations, but basic full-time use would be nice)
--3D animation and rendering
--Games like Starcraft, Starcraft 2 (norly?), League of Legends, MARDEK 3 (a flash game that really lags on my laptop), Portal 2, etc...
Graphics card will be salvaged from my brother's computer, which is a GeForce 7900 GS, coincidentally the absolute minimum for Civilization V.
There's a salvageable LCD monitor, but I might have to get a new one soon due to how crappy it is.
USB mouse will be salvaged.
[SIZE="4"]Here's the computer package I've assembled from newegg.com:[/SIZE]
Hardware | Model | [CENTERS]Price[/CENTERS] |
|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | ASUS M4A79XTD | $108.99 [NOPARSE][/NOPARSE] |
| Processor | AMD Athlon II X3 445 Rana | $74.99 [NOPARSE][/NOPARSE] |
| RAM | WINTEC AMPX 4GB (2 x 2GB) | $67.99 [NOPARSE][/NOPARSE] |
| Power Supply Unit | SILVERSTONE ST45SF 450W SFX12V | $79.99 [NOPARSE][/NOPARSE] |
| Case | Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case | $49.99 [NOPARSE][/NOPARSE] |
| Hard Disc Drive | Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS | $64.99 [NOPARSE][/NOPARSE] |
| DVD Burner | Lite-On iHAS-324-98 | $21.99 [NOPARSE][/NOPARSE] |
Subtotal | $468.93 [NOPARSE][/NOPARSE] | |
Shipping | $14.97 [NOPARSE][/NOPARSE] | |
Rebates | -$15.00 [NOPARSE][/NOPARSE] | |
Total | $468.90 [NOPARSE][/NOPARSE] |
Speakers and keyboard were not included.
[SIZE="4"]Here's the computer from cyberpowerpc.com:[/SIZE]
* CASE: Raidmax Typhoon Gaming Mid-Tower Case with See-Thur Side Panel
* COOLING: XtremeGear Ultra Triple Heatpipes Cool Copper Heatsink CPU Cooling Fan
* CPU: AMD Athlon™II X4 635 Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
* HDD: 750GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
* KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
* MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
* MOTHERBOARD: GigaByte GA-870A-UD3 AMD 870/SB850 chipset support DDR3 Ultra Durable™3 Socket AM3 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 Audio, GBLAN, Support 6-core CPU, CPU Auto Unlocker, USB3.0, SATA-III, ON/OFF Charge for IPod, RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1, & 3 PCI
* PSU: 500 Watts - Sigma SP-500AB ESP 80 Plus Power Supply
* SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
* VIDEO: None, or Onboard ATI Radeon 2100 based Integrated Graphics
NOTE: The setup was made from customizing a Mega Special II AMD desktop. Since my relative owns the company, he's willing to sell it for a lower price than the website quotes, which is $507 subtotal.
Costs: $455 + $0 (shipping) - $10? (rebate) = $445
Keyboard IS included.
Speakers not included.
My own thoughts:
The newegg build has pretty much everything that I want for a budget build, including a known reliable PSU, and fairly solid reviews on most everything else. Just about the only thing I'm worried about is not having the thermal paste and SATA cables, and possibly screwing up the actual build process (but I'm a good handyman with my brothers for backup, so this is unlikely).
The cyberpowerpc build is rather limited, in that there was no middle ground for CPU choices (it was either the bad dual-cores or the "overkill" quad-cores), limited selections in general, and I wasn't able to get a good grasp of the overall reliability of the parts. On the other hand, the computer will come pre-assembled (minus the GPU) and I pretty much only have to worry about shipping disasters. Oh, and installing the OS >_>
So I guess you know the big question: WHICH COMPY SHOULD I GET!?!?!?