$500-650 to spend on a PC

[mrwinky]

I'm in the process of selling one of my laptops off, with that I'll have around $500-650 to spend on a desktop ($500-600 cash, and $150 in FS giftcards) I was snopping around FS looking or a PC... I see I can get a X4 AMD Hp system for 500-600. I was wondering is this best or should I go through NCix to get one?

I'll be using it as a Tversity server, making avi's, watch the odd movie on it.

Any builds you can suggest?

I do know with the HP or Dell I get Vista (yuk... Can I downgrade?)

Anyways let me know what you think.

I do want about 4gig ram, and a dedicated Vid card, I would like to run duel displays, currently have a samsung 21.6 sitting here.


Thanks Winky

[ash88]

I just ordered a system from NCIX and price-matched almost all the components and they accepted all my price matches. I didn't order a video card as the MB has an integrated one and I'm waiting for a sale on a good one. But I did get AMD Phenom X4 9950, ASUS M3A78-T, OCZ Gold XTC 4GB, Hitachi 1TB, Compucase 6C28B ATX + Coolermaster Extreme Power Plus 500W, Samsung SH-S223F/BEBN 22X DVD+/-R. And used the $10 Free shipping / Gift Card for my next purchase.

[mrwinky]

How much did you pay for it?

I'm just not sure if I want the hassle of building my own again ( use to be my job lol)


Winky

[RCGA]

I was under the impression that building a computer was relatively easy, plus you noted that you've built systems in the past.

I'd look at building a PII X3

[mrwinky]

It is easy... I just hate having to tweak the drivers and crap after the build :)

I'm just not sure of building my own which processor to go with... Last system I build was an x2 :) which cpu is the best bang for the buck.

[mrwinky]

How would this compare to the the following FS system as an example


AMD athlon X2 7750 Black Edition $97.02

ASUS M3A78-EM AMD 780G mATX AM2+ PCI-E16 PCI-E1 2PCI SATA HDMI Video Sound GBLAN 1394 Motherboard $116.62


Coolermaster Extreme Power Plus 500W ATX 12V V2.3 Silent Power Supply 20/24PIN 120MM Fan $64.99

Compucase 6C28B ATX Case Black 4X5.25 2X3.5 4X.3.5INT W/ Front USB & Audio No PS $44.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA2 3.5IN 8.5MS 7200RPM 16MB Hard Drive OEM *3YR MFR Warranty* $69.98


OCZ Gold XTC PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 CL5-5-5-18 DDR2 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit $54.99

Samsung SH-S223F/BEBN 22X Speedplus DVD+-RW SATA DVD Writer OEM $ 22.99

$470 + tax (im sure it would be a little cheaper if I price match, I need to look back to see which site people use to do that with)


Futureshop system

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10119576&catid=24137&logon=&langid=EN

$450

Highlights

Amd x3 8450
4 gig ram
640 gig hdd
Vista


Harddrive space is not a concern for me, since i have a 2 TB on a nas atm.



Winky

[ben_liu]

^ I'd take away the computer case and psu and add the Antec Sonata III.

Add all items to NCIX cart, and click the price match button at the bottom.

Go to www.*********** and type in each component and the first is usually the lowest price out there. Copy price and copy link for reference!

Good luck!

[evanx]

The FS system is competitive.

[mrwinky]

thats what i thought, I'm just wondering if the CPU and software (vista) on the FS system out weight the ncix build?


Winky

[mrwinky]

Another Question is it possible to run duel displays off of the built in video card? or will i require another video card?


Winky

[mr_raider]

The 7750 is faster than most Phenom I x3 CPUs, due to it's higher clock speed, in all but the most heavily multithreaded apps.

[terrybear]

you want a phenom II X3 720 that can be unlocked to a quad with the right motherboard.

[mr_raider]

you want a phenom II X3 720 that can be unlocked to a quad with the right motherboard.

And the right stepping. Not all of them can be unlocked.

[evanx]

And the right stepping. Not all of them can be unlocked.

This is correct. We're also not sure if the 4th core works normally, best to stress test it when unlocked.

[flyz]

The fourth core is a ymmv thing. If you're lucky it's just a disabled core to meet demand, if not, it's an actual defective core. Totally worth a gamble tho :)

[sheepdogexpress]

I have seen systems where the thing needed to be underclocked to 1ghz for the system to work because the 4th core was so bad.

For most people 2 cores is enough, especially someone looking in this price range.

[infamouskid]

i think that canadacomputers PC was a good deal. it had the monitor too and a bluray drive.

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=021525&cid=170.45



Promotional Cash Price: $419.99

Processor AMD Phenom Triple-Core X3 8450 2.1Ghz
Memory 4GB (2GBx2) Memory
Hard Drive 640GB HDD 7200rpm
Graphics nVidia GeForce 8200 with HDMI
Optical Drive Blu-Ray Combo Drive
Feature USB Keyboard & Mouse / USB Keyboard
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Others eSATA, IEEE1394


personally i have a phenom2 and corei7 system. both are good but for your budget and needs i think this system is enough for your need. and with the moeny saved you can buy a new monitor which would be a lil ove ryour budget... your getting a loaded machine with all the goodies.

[ash88]

How much did you pay for it?

I'm just not sure if I want the hassle of building my own again ( use to be my job lol)


Winky

$661.48... I added the insurance tho ($10 I think). You can get them to build it for $50 I think.