DIY buying guide updated
Page 1 of 1
DIY buying guide updated
Lord*Jani Mon Mar 09, 2009 5:21 am
updated price
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Right, inspired by drakanox, I have made a topic for those who want a computer in a budget range. OS included (choose whatever OS you want, 32-bit Vista is only there for the hell of the price). I shall update these when technology and time allows. If people not using USD want me to do some in what currency they use, PM me, and I'll try to put them in. Also, any computer you want to see that's not up, just say so.
Please note: None of these have Shipping & Handling included unless S&H is free
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Custom prebuilt computer websites
Cyber Power PC
Ibuypower
ABS
Voodoo PC
Falcon NW
Overdrive PC
Biohazard computers
Vigor Gaming
______________________________________________________________
I've seen GPU companies offer lifetime warranties. Is this real?
The three main companies which offer lifetime warranties are BFG, XFX, and eVGA. When looking at lifetime warranties, it's important to note whether the company is referring to the actual life of the product, or if they define 'lifetime' as that by which the card remains in the retail segment. If a video card's lifetime warranty expires once the product is discontinued, then this could potentially be a shorter warranty than the 3 years offered by Asus and MSI.
I upgrade often, should I even be concerned with a long warranty?
This is a common argument against absurdly long warranties, and it does hold some merit. The importance that a warranty plays when making a purchasing decision has no right or wrong answer. Some could care less about a warranty altogether, others are willing to spend extra for the peace of mind. A couple of arguments in favor of a lifetime warranty include:
1) A lifetime warranty makes for a good advertising bullet if/when selling your card on EBay or For Sale forums. XFX allows you to transfer a warranty to a second owner, provided you both register online. BFG also allows transferring a warranty (or so I've heard) with no registration required. eVGA's warranty is applicable to the original owner and is non-transferable.
2) If not selling an 'old' card, a user may opt to throw it in a secondary rig or upgrade a family member's PC. In either case, the benefit of an ongoing warranty is obvious.
What's the deal with open-box items?
Open box items are essentially items that have been bought, opened, then returned. Just because it's open box though doesn't mean it's a bad product. Most of the time it was just an ordering mistake or the person couldn't figure out how to use it. You can save a lot of money by buying open-box parts, but make sure you do long burn-in tests. It's like buying a new car at a used car price.
_____________________________________________________________
$1000 computer:
Case-$79.99:
Cooler Master Mystique
Motherboard-$124.99:
ASUS P5Q P45
CPU-$169.99:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Video Card-$159.99:
Sapphire Radeon HD4850
RAM-$90.99:
OCZ Flex XLC DDR2-1200
HDD-$69.99:
500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11
Optical drive- $31.99:
LiteOn DVD+-RW w/ Lightscribe
PSU-99.99:
Silverstone 500w 80+ certified
OS-$179.99:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL:::$1007.91
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$1500 computer
Case-$74.99:
Cooler Master RC-690
Motherboard-$249.99:
Intel BOXDX48BT2
CPU-$329.99:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450
RAM-$169.99:
4GB OCZ Platinum DDR3-1333
HDD-$109.99:
1TB Samsung SpinPoint F1
Optical drive- $31.99:
LiteOn DVD+-RW w/ Lightscribe
PSU-109.99:
610W PC Power & Cooling S610EPS
Video Card-$159.99:
Sapphire Radeon HD4850
Sound card-$89.99:
ASUS Xonar DX
OS-$179.99:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL:::$1506.90
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$2000 computer
Case-$179.99:
Cooler Master Cosmos 1000
Motherboard-$249.99:
Intel BOXDX48BT2
CPU-$329.99:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450
RAM-$189.99:
4GB OCZ Special Ops Urban Elite (LULZ) DDR3-1600
Video Card-$234.99:
Sapphire Radeon HD4870 GDDR5
HDD-$109.99:
1TB Samsung SpinPoint F1
Optical drive- $31.99:
LiteOn DVD+-RW w/ Lightscribe
PSU-109.99:
750w PC Power & Cooling
Sound card-$174.99:
Auzentech Auzen X-Fi Prelude
OS-$179.99:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL:::$1816.90
_____________________________________________________________
AMD computers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$800 computer
Case-$49.99:
Cooler Master Centurion 541
CPU-$169.99:
AMD Phenom X4 9850 BE
Motherboard-$79.99:
GIGABYTE GA-MA79GM-S2H
Video Card-$79.99:
512MB Sapphire Radeon HD4670
RAM-$39.99:
2GB Mushkin DDR2-800
HDD-$69.99:
500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11
Optical drive- $31.99:
LiteOn DVD+-RW w/ Lightscribe
PSU-59.99:
500W Seasonic SS-500ES
OS-$179.99:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL:::$761.91
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$1000 computer
Case-$79.99:
Cooler Master RC-690
Mobo-$128.99:
GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H
CPU-$169.99:
AMD Phenom 9850 BE
Video Card-$164.99:
Sapphire Radeon HD4850
RAM-$39.99:
2GB Mushkin DDR2-800
HDD-$69.99:
500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11
Optical drive- $31.99:
LiteOn DVD+-RW w/ Lightscribe
PSU-109.99:
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610W
OS-$179.99:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL:::$975.91
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$1500 computer
Case-$79.99:
Cooler Master RC-690
Mobo-$188.99:
ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe AMD 790FX
CPU-$169.99:
AMD Phenom 9850 BE
RAM-$114.99:
4GB Mushkin DDR2-1066
HDD-$69.99:
500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11
Optical drive- $31.99:
LiteOn DVD+-RW w/ Lightscribe
PSU-109.99:
610W PC Power & Cooling S610EPS
Video Card-$234.99:
Sapphire Radeon HD4870 GDDR5
Sound card-$174.99:
Auzentech Auzen X-Fi Prelude
OS-$179.99:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL:::1355.90
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$2000 computer
Case-$189.99:
Cooler Master Cosmos 1000
CPU-$184.99:
AMD Phenom 9950 BE
Mobo-$188.99:
ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe
RAM-$112.99:
4GB DDR2-800 OCZ Reaper HPC edition
Video Card-$564.99:
2GB DIAMOND HD4870 X2
HDD-$109.99:
1TB Samsung SpinPoint F1
Optical drive- $31.99:
LiteOn DVD+-RW w/ Lightscribe
PSU-109.99:
750w PC Power & Cooling
Sound card-$174.99:
Auzentech Auzen X-Fi Prelude
OS-$179.99:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL:::$1848.91
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
______________________________________________________________
Home Theater system
Case-$299.99:
SILVERSTONE CW01-B-WDR Black Aluminum ATX Media Center / HTPC Desktop Computer Case
CPU-$59.99:
AMD Athlon X2 4850e
Motherboard-$79.99:
GIGABYTE GA-MA79GM-S2H
RAM-$39.99:
2GB Mushkin DDR2-800
Optical Drive-$31.99:
Lite-On DVD+-R SATA
HDD-$109.99: (recommend for media)
1TB Samsung SpinPoint F1
HDD2-$279.99: (recommend for non-media)
300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor
Video card-$33.99:
ASUS EAH3450 256MB
TV Tuner-$89.99:
Hauppage WinTV-HVR-1800 MCE
PSU-$89.99:
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151056] 500W Seasonic M12IISS-500GM
OS-$179.99:
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116493] Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL:::$1295.89
Other optional stuff:
Zalman CNPS 9500
Artic Cooling 80mm exhaust fan ( I highly recommend this)
External DAC model 1300
Linksys WMP54G wireless G adapter
Auzentech XPlosion 7.1 sound card
FrozenCPU noise dampening material
_________________________________________________________________
Casual Web Surfer
Case-$49.99:
Cooler Master Centurion 5 mid-ATX
Motherboard-$79.99:
GIGABYTE GA-MA79GM-S2H
CPU-$22.99:
AMD Sempron LE-1150 1.9GHz
RAM-$27.49:
2GB Kingston DDR2-800 Value series
Video Card-$0.00 (integrated Radeon)
Sound card-$0.00 (integrated)
HDD-$27.99:
160GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
PSU-$39.99:
430W Antec Earthwatts 80+ certified.
OS (doesn't really matter)-$89.99:
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
TOTAL:::$338.43
_________________________________________________________________
High Capacity Storage
Case-$59.99:
Cooler Master Centurion 590
CPU-$125.99:
1.8GHz AMD Phenom X4 9150E
Motherboard-$89.99:
GIGABYTE GA-MA770-DS3
RAM-$44.99:
2 GB Corsair XMS2 DDR800
Video Card-$0.00 (integrated)
Sound Card-$0.00 (integrated)
HDD-$42.99:
160GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
HDD #2-$109.99: (RAID 1)
1TB Samsung SpinPoint F1
HDD #3-$109.99: (RAID 1)
1TB Samsung SpinPoint F1
OS (doesn't really matter)-$89.99:
Windows XP Home Edition
TOTAL:::$673.92
____________________________________________________________________
Best of the Best
Case-$249.99:
Cooler Master Stacker 830 Evolution
Motherboard-$249.99:
Intel BOXDX48BT2
CPU-$1,439.99:
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770
RAM-$344.99:
4GB OCZ Reaper HPC edition DDR3-1800
Video card #1-$549.99:
Diamond Radeon HD4870 X2
Video card #2-$549.99:
Diamond Radeon HD4870 X2
HDD #1-$279.99:
300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor
---RAID 0 with:----
HDD #2-$279.99:
300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor
HDD #3-$109.99:
1TB Samsung F1
Optical drive-$239.99:
Lite-On Blu-Ray 4x burner
Sound Card-$199.99:
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132005] ASUS Xonar D2X PCI-E x1
OS-$179.99:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL::: $4784.87
Price tags are done in here: http://www.newegg.com/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Right, inspired by drakanox, I have made a topic for those who want a computer in a budget range. OS included (choose whatever OS you want, 32-bit Vista is only there for the hell of the price). I shall update these when technology and time allows. If people not using USD want me to do some in what currency they use, PM me, and I'll try to put them in. Also, any computer you want to see that's not up, just say so.
Please note: None of these have Shipping & Handling included unless S&H is free
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Custom prebuilt computer websites
Cyber Power PC
Ibuypower
ABS
Voodoo PC
Falcon NW
Overdrive PC
Biohazard computers
Vigor Gaming
______________________________________________________________
I've seen GPU companies offer lifetime warranties. Is this real?
The three main companies which offer lifetime warranties are BFG, XFX, and eVGA. When looking at lifetime warranties, it's important to note whether the company is referring to the actual life of the product, or if they define 'lifetime' as that by which the card remains in the retail segment. If a video card's lifetime warranty expires once the product is discontinued, then this could potentially be a shorter warranty than the 3 years offered by Asus and MSI.
I upgrade often, should I even be concerned with a long warranty?
This is a common argument against absurdly long warranties, and it does hold some merit. The importance that a warranty plays when making a purchasing decision has no right or wrong answer. Some could care less about a warranty altogether, others are willing to spend extra for the peace of mind. A couple of arguments in favor of a lifetime warranty include:
1) A lifetime warranty makes for a good advertising bullet if/when selling your card on EBay or For Sale forums. XFX allows you to transfer a warranty to a second owner, provided you both register online. BFG also allows transferring a warranty (or so I've heard) with no registration required. eVGA's warranty is applicable to the original owner and is non-transferable.
2) If not selling an 'old' card, a user may opt to throw it in a secondary rig or upgrade a family member's PC. In either case, the benefit of an ongoing warranty is obvious.
What's the deal with open-box items?
Open box items are essentially items that have been bought, opened, then returned. Just because it's open box though doesn't mean it's a bad product. Most of the time it was just an ordering mistake or the person couldn't figure out how to use it. You can save a lot of money by buying open-box parts, but make sure you do long burn-in tests. It's like buying a new car at a used car price.
_____________________________________________________________
$1000 computer:
Case-$79.99:
Cooler Master Mystique
Motherboard-$124.99:
ASUS P5Q P45
CPU-$169.99:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Video Card-$159.99:
Sapphire Radeon HD4850
RAM-$90.99:
OCZ Flex XLC DDR2-1200
HDD-$69.99:
500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11
Optical drive- $31.99:
LiteOn DVD+-RW w/ Lightscribe
PSU-99.99:
Silverstone 500w 80+ certified
OS-$179.99:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL:::$1007.91
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$1500 computer
Case-$74.99:
Cooler Master RC-690
Motherboard-$249.99:
Intel BOXDX48BT2
CPU-$329.99:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450
RAM-$169.99:
4GB OCZ Platinum DDR3-1333
HDD-$109.99:
1TB Samsung SpinPoint F1
Optical drive- $31.99:
LiteOn DVD+-RW w/ Lightscribe
PSU-109.99:
610W PC Power & Cooling S610EPS
Video Card-$159.99:
Sapphire Radeon HD4850
Sound card-$89.99:
ASUS Xonar DX
OS-$179.99:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL:::$1506.90
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$2000 computer
Case-$179.99:
Cooler Master Cosmos 1000
Motherboard-$249.99:
Intel BOXDX48BT2
CPU-$329.99:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450
RAM-$189.99:
4GB OCZ Special Ops Urban Elite (LULZ) DDR3-1600
Video Card-$234.99:
Sapphire Radeon HD4870 GDDR5
HDD-$109.99:
1TB Samsung SpinPoint F1
Optical drive- $31.99:
LiteOn DVD+-RW w/ Lightscribe
PSU-109.99:
750w PC Power & Cooling
Sound card-$174.99:
Auzentech Auzen X-Fi Prelude
OS-$179.99:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL:::$1816.90
_____________________________________________________________
AMD computers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$800 computer
Case-$49.99:
Cooler Master Centurion 541
CPU-$169.99:
AMD Phenom X4 9850 BE
Motherboard-$79.99:
GIGABYTE GA-MA79GM-S2H
Video Card-$79.99:
512MB Sapphire Radeon HD4670
RAM-$39.99:
2GB Mushkin DDR2-800
HDD-$69.99:
500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11
Optical drive- $31.99:
LiteOn DVD+-RW w/ Lightscribe
PSU-59.99:
500W Seasonic SS-500ES
OS-$179.99:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL:::$761.91
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$1000 computer
Case-$79.99:
Cooler Master RC-690
Mobo-$128.99:
GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H
CPU-$169.99:
AMD Phenom 9850 BE
Video Card-$164.99:
Sapphire Radeon HD4850
RAM-$39.99:
2GB Mushkin DDR2-800
HDD-$69.99:
500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11
Optical drive- $31.99:
LiteOn DVD+-RW w/ Lightscribe
PSU-109.99:
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610W
OS-$179.99:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL:::$975.91
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$1500 computer
Case-$79.99:
Cooler Master RC-690
Mobo-$188.99:
ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe AMD 790FX
CPU-$169.99:
AMD Phenom 9850 BE
RAM-$114.99:
4GB Mushkin DDR2-1066
HDD-$69.99:
500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11
Optical drive- $31.99:
LiteOn DVD+-RW w/ Lightscribe
PSU-109.99:
610W PC Power & Cooling S610EPS
Video Card-$234.99:
Sapphire Radeon HD4870 GDDR5
Sound card-$174.99:
Auzentech Auzen X-Fi Prelude
OS-$179.99:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL:::1355.90
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$2000 computer
Case-$189.99:
Cooler Master Cosmos 1000
CPU-$184.99:
AMD Phenom 9950 BE
Mobo-$188.99:
ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe
RAM-$112.99:
4GB DDR2-800 OCZ Reaper HPC edition
Video Card-$564.99:
2GB DIAMOND HD4870 X2
HDD-$109.99:
1TB Samsung SpinPoint F1
Optical drive- $31.99:
LiteOn DVD+-RW w/ Lightscribe
PSU-109.99:
750w PC Power & Cooling
Sound card-$174.99:
Auzentech Auzen X-Fi Prelude
OS-$179.99:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL:::$1848.91
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
______________________________________________________________
Home Theater system
Case-$299.99:
SILVERSTONE CW01-B-WDR Black Aluminum ATX Media Center / HTPC Desktop Computer Case
CPU-$59.99:
AMD Athlon X2 4850e
Motherboard-$79.99:
GIGABYTE GA-MA79GM-S2H
RAM-$39.99:
2GB Mushkin DDR2-800
Optical Drive-$31.99:
Lite-On DVD+-R SATA
HDD-$109.99: (recommend for media)
1TB Samsung SpinPoint F1
HDD2-$279.99: (recommend for non-media)
300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor
Video card-$33.99:
ASUS EAH3450 256MB
TV Tuner-$89.99:
Hauppage WinTV-HVR-1800 MCE
PSU-$89.99:
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151056] 500W Seasonic M12IISS-500GM
OS-$179.99:
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116493] Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL:::$1295.89
Other optional stuff:
Zalman CNPS 9500
Artic Cooling 80mm exhaust fan ( I highly recommend this)
External DAC model 1300
Linksys WMP54G wireless G adapter
Auzentech XPlosion 7.1 sound card
FrozenCPU noise dampening material
_________________________________________________________________
Casual Web Surfer
Case-$49.99:
Cooler Master Centurion 5 mid-ATX
Motherboard-$79.99:
GIGABYTE GA-MA79GM-S2H
CPU-$22.99:
AMD Sempron LE-1150 1.9GHz
RAM-$27.49:
2GB Kingston DDR2-800 Value series
Video Card-$0.00 (integrated Radeon)
Sound card-$0.00 (integrated)
HDD-$27.99:
160GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
PSU-$39.99:
430W Antec Earthwatts 80+ certified.
OS (doesn't really matter)-$89.99:
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
TOTAL:::$338.43
_________________________________________________________________
High Capacity Storage
Case-$59.99:
Cooler Master Centurion 590
CPU-$125.99:
1.8GHz AMD Phenom X4 9150E
Motherboard-$89.99:
GIGABYTE GA-MA770-DS3
RAM-$44.99:
2 GB Corsair XMS2 DDR800
Video Card-$0.00 (integrated)
Sound Card-$0.00 (integrated)
HDD-$42.99:
160GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
HDD #2-$109.99: (RAID 1)
1TB Samsung SpinPoint F1
HDD #3-$109.99: (RAID 1)
1TB Samsung SpinPoint F1
OS (doesn't really matter)-$89.99:
Windows XP Home Edition
TOTAL:::$673.92
____________________________________________________________________
Best of the Best
Case-$249.99:
Cooler Master Stacker 830 Evolution
Motherboard-$249.99:
Intel BOXDX48BT2
CPU-$1,439.99:
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770
RAM-$344.99:
4GB OCZ Reaper HPC edition DDR3-1800
Video card #1-$549.99:
Diamond Radeon HD4870 X2
Video card #2-$549.99:
Diamond Radeon HD4870 X2
HDD #1-$279.99:
300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor
---RAID 0 with:----
HDD #2-$279.99:
300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor
HDD #3-$109.99:
1TB Samsung F1
Optical drive-$239.99:
Lite-On Blu-Ray 4x burner
Sound Card-$199.99:
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132005] ASUS Xonar D2X PCI-E x1
OS-$179.99:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
TOTAL::: $4784.87
Price tags are done in here: http://www.newegg.com/
Lord*Jani- Lieutenant General
- Location : In the bridge of Carrier UNSC INFINITY
Age : 48
Number of posts : 2375
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