OK, so my dream machine is still out of price reach However, I pulled the trigger today and bought some parts because I am literally ready to take this computer and throw it out the window...I've had it with this thing.
I ended up getting a rather economical system for just under $400. It'll be light years still ahead of what I have, and should run me fine for a while until I DO seriously upgrade
The Case ($40-$40 Rebate = FREE)
Thanks to Fatwallet, a nice black Ultra Wizard Mid-Tower case from Outpost..free after rebate. Solid build, and has enough to work with.
The Mobo/Processor/Heatsink ($52.99 + $44.99 + $100 = $197.9
I'm taking a bit of a chance as it's Open Box from Newegg, but I've always had success on refurbished/open box purchases anywhere...
ASUS P5NSLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI Intel Edition ATX Intel Motherboard - OEM
-Has good SLI-capability (8x, 8x on dual, 16x single), 16GB RAM support (god if I ever go there..) on a DDR2 667 (a bit low, but for the cost of this..), and enough inputs to satisfy.
Thermaltake CL-P0114 120mm CPU Cooler - Retail
-Since Intel's heat sinks are pretty noisy and the like, this guy does the trick nicely...especially since I'm going to overclock the processor
Intel Pentium D 805 Dual Core 2.66GHz 533MHz 2x1MB
-I must have bought the last one at Outpost, because I can't find the page there...?? Well, Dual Core capability at an easy budget price...and there are reports that this baby has been OC'd to 4.1GHz w/o generating a furnace
2GB PC2-5300 667 DDR2 PC2 5400 240PIN 2 X 1 GB G GO RAM ($108 shipped)
-I really couldn't push on the superior brandnames, so I Fleabayed this one...but the pictures show Samsung chips on it, so could just be a "knockoff"...I've ran cheap SDRAM forever and never had a problem...and the performances right now I don't think would be a HUGE difference to me...it'll be a good start.
VIDEO CARD ($109.99-$20 Rebate = $89.99)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130073
EVGA 256-P2-N550 -T2 GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
-Perfect for the price...another Fatwallet find. Now I can get rid of AGP
Add of course all the old stuff I'll be ripping out of the ancient system..hard drives, burners, cards, etc. Probably will toss in soon some IDE to SATA converters as well for them...usually run $8-10 ea. on Ebay.
Total price: $397.59 after rebates
Now I just have to hope it all comes in one piece and there's no major problems putting it all together
Yes, I could have *maybe* waited a bit more, but screw it...every few months something new is coming out anyway.
I ended up getting a rather economical system for just under $400. It'll be light years still ahead of what I have, and should run me fine for a while until I DO seriously upgrade
The Case ($40-$40 Rebate = FREE)
Thanks to Fatwallet, a nice black Ultra Wizard Mid-Tower case from Outpost..free after rebate. Solid build, and has enough to work with.
The Mobo/Processor/Heatsink ($52.99 + $44.99 + $100 = $197.9
I'm taking a bit of a chance as it's Open Box from Newegg, but I've always had success on refurbished/open box purchases anywhere...
ASUS P5NSLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI Intel Edition ATX Intel Motherboard - OEM
-Has good SLI-capability (8x, 8x on dual, 16x single), 16GB RAM support (god if I ever go there..) on a DDR2 667 (a bit low, but for the cost of this..), and enough inputs to satisfy.
Thermaltake CL-P0114 120mm CPU Cooler - Retail
-Since Intel's heat sinks are pretty noisy and the like, this guy does the trick nicely...especially since I'm going to overclock the processor
Intel Pentium D 805 Dual Core 2.66GHz 533MHz 2x1MB
-I must have bought the last one at Outpost, because I can't find the page there...?? Well, Dual Core capability at an easy budget price...and there are reports that this baby has been OC'd to 4.1GHz w/o generating a furnace
2GB PC2-5300 667 DDR2 PC2 5400 240PIN 2 X 1 GB G GO RAM ($108 shipped)
-I really couldn't push on the superior brandnames, so I Fleabayed this one...but the pictures show Samsung chips on it, so could just be a "knockoff"...I've ran cheap SDRAM forever and never had a problem...and the performances right now I don't think would be a HUGE difference to me...it'll be a good start.
VIDEO CARD ($109.99-$20 Rebate = $89.99)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130073
EVGA 256-P2-N550 -T2 GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
-Perfect for the price...another Fatwallet find. Now I can get rid of AGP
Add of course all the old stuff I'll be ripping out of the ancient system..hard drives, burners, cards, etc. Probably will toss in soon some IDE to SATA converters as well for them...usually run $8-10 ea. on Ebay.
Total price: $397.59 after rebates
Now I just have to hope it all comes in one piece and there's no major problems putting it all together
Yes, I could have *maybe* waited a bit more, but screw it...every few months something new is coming out anyway.
Comment