[waldojim]

So a friend that I work with had his PC blow up today (literally, as the motherboard caps exploded). The question of the day, how can I get back on my feet on the dirt cheap? My question, what are your goals?

"I want to be able to join you guys in Fallout 3 and Skyrim, and keep the machine under $300."

Tall order. But holy crap can this be done - and interestingly enough, it is best done locally at a Micro Center! At least, that is the plan. But I thought I would post this up, as this is a VERY interesting build for under $300.

Zalman Z9 ATX case - $35
Antec Vp 450 PSU - $35 (has hardware secrets golden award for what that is worth - so it can't be too terrible)
AMD X4 965 BE - $90 Complete with the 4 heatpipe heatsink.
Gigabyte GA 78LMT - $59.99 - $40 (for buying an AMD CPU!) - $19.99 There is also a $10 MIR on this - who can ask for more from a $10 board!
WD Blue 500GB - $80
Crucial DDR 4GB 1600Mhz kit - $23
LG DVD RW - $16

That right there is $299 before the MIR. There you have it, a relatively decent quality $300 PC complete with true quad core CPU!

Oh - and in the friends case, he has a left over AMD AIW HD card, so a 3650 of sorts for the GPU.

More than anything, I was shocked today to even see that this was possible, not to mention with as much power as we are looking at here.

[Evildave]

Buy a console. Both are single player games. Consoles can be had for under $200. Especially 'refurb' consoles. Similarly, Fallout 3 and Skyrim are available for either PS3 or XBOX 360.

The XBOX 360 can be had cheaper. The PS3 doesn't need a 'subscription' to stream stuff, and some games (like Portal 2) can be played with PC version players.

Just a suggestion.

Though you could do without the new chassis, and add more RAM in its place. As long as his old case is an ATX, there's no reason at all to replace the metal box.

[LiveBrianD]

Not bad at all, I have to say. I wonder how the Athlon x4s compete with the Pentiums though - better architecture, but half the cores. (but then again, the Pentium G620 does compare favorably to a FX-8150 bulldozer for games) I'm not so sure I'd go for a refurb hard drive though - I had a refurb Maxtor before, and it got a bunch of bad sectors after 2 years as I recall, at which point I replaced it. (I got it in 2006.)

Just out of curiosity, what was damaged in the original PC? Can the HDD, DVD drive, case, etc be salvaged?

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 06 May 2012 - 07:36 PM

[mjd420nova]

How skilled are you in soldering?? Myself, it would be on the bench, all the caps would find the trash and new ones installed. Then a test to see if that solved the problem. This is a recurring event and it's half and half with bad caps and a voltage spike. A quick check with a meter to insure the regulators are still good and a meter tied to the voltage bus, maybe a couple meters to watch during power up to head off any abnormal readings causing any more damge. Building new would cost a lot more and a repair would be minimal.

[waldojim]

Evildave, on 06 May 2012 - 06:53 PM, said:

Buy a console. Both are single player games. Consoles can be had for under $200. Especially 'refurb' consoles. Similarly, Fallout 3 and Skyrim are available for either PS3 or XBOX 360.

The XBOX 360 can be had cheaper. The PS3 doesn't need a 'subscription' to stream stuff, and some games (like Portal 2) can be played with PC version players.

Just a suggestion.

Though you could do without the new chassis, and add more RAM in its place. As long as his old case is an ATX, there's no reason at all to replace the metal box.

Consoles don't replace PC's for the other uses. The games are the specific ones that have been requested.

For what it is worth - we probably won't be getting a new case for him. But it is nice to know it can fit in the budget as needed.

This post has been edited by waldojim: 06 May 2012 - 07:48 PM

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 06 May 2012 - 07:34 PM, said:

Not bad at all, I have to say. I wonder how the Athlon x4s compete with the Pentiums though - better architecture, but half the cores. (but then again, the Pentium G620 does compare favorably to a FX-8150 bulldozer for games) I'm not so sure I'd go for a refurb hard drive though - I had a refurb Maxtor before, and it got a bunch of bad sectors after 2 years as I recall, at which point I replaced it. (I got it in 2006.)

Just out of curiosity, what was damaged in the original PC? Can the HDD, DVD drive, case, etc be salvaged?

All IDE parts about 8~9 years old. The fact that it had PCI-E surprised the crap out of me.

The problem with Intel, is getting a cheap mobo to go with the chip.

[waldojim]

mjd420nova, on 06 May 2012 - 07:44 PM, said:

How skilled are you in soldering?? Myself, it would be on the bench, all the caps would find the trash and new ones installed. Then a test to see if that solved the problem. This is a recurring event and it's half and half with bad caps and a voltage spike. A quick check with a meter to insure the regulators are still good and a meter tied to the voltage bus, maybe a couple meters to watch during power up to head off any abnormal readings causing any more damge. Building new would cost a lot more and a repair would be minimal.

Can I do the soldering? Sure. But is it worth it on a 9 year old machine? After a while, the motherboard isn't the only thing likely to kick the bucket. The PSU could easily be next, or hard drive, or who knows what else.

[LiveBrianD]

waldojim, on 06 May 2012 - 07:45 PM, said:

All IDE parts about 8~9 years old. The fact that it had PCI-E surprised the crap out of me.

The problem with Intel, is getting a cheap mobo to go with the chip.

OK, got it. It's too bad that motherboard doesn't have IDE ports; otherwise you could've at least reused the ODD. (The optical drives in this PC are several years old and IDE, salvaged from my old PC that this replaced.)

Anyway, I would spend a little more money on a new hard drive instead of a refurb if I were you. (edit: saw the note about not getting a new case)

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 06 May 2012 - 08:26 PM

[waldojim]

We will pick up whatever is cheap while there. Normally, they have drives on the shelf (new) much cheaper than the website drives.

[coastie65]

Too bad you guys are in Texas as I have an HD4850 ( 1Gb GDDR5 ) with very few hours on it that I'd I like to get rid of. With that 965 B.E. That is going to be a pretty nice build for that price.

[Rommel]

waldojim, on 06 May 2012 - 06:36 PM, said:

So a friend that I work with had his PC blow up today (literally, as the motherboard caps exploded). The question of the day, how can I get back on my feet on the dirt cheap? My question, what are your goals?

"I want to be able to join you guys in Fallout 3 and Skyrim, and keep the machine under $300."

Tall order. But holy crap can this be done - and interestingly enough, it is best done locally at a Micro Center! At least, that is the plan. But I thought I would post this up, as this is a VERY interesting build for under $300.

Zalman Z9 ATX case - $35
Antec Vp 450 PSU - $35 (has hardware secrets golden award for what that is worth - so it can't be too terrible)
AMD X4 965 BE - $90 Complete with the 4 heatpipe heatsink.
Gigabyte GA 78LMT - $59.99 - $40 (for buying an AMD CPU!) - $19.99 There is also a $10 MIR on this - who can ask for more from a $10 board!
WD Blue 500GB - $80
Crucial DDR 4GB 1600Mhz kit - $23
LG DVD RW - $16

That right there is $299 before the MIR. There you have it, a relatively decent quality $300 PC complete with true quad core CPU!

Oh - and in the friends case, he has a left over AMD AIW HD card, so a 3650 of sorts for the GPU.

More than anything, I was shocked today to even see that this was possible, not to mention with as much power as we are looking at here.

Very nice. That is hard to beat @ $300.

That cpu is an excellent price. By far less than what I've seen.

It will perform nicely.
I am using 2 WD blues, though in a raid 0. Blues are nice drives.
It won't disappoint provided the refurb isn't an issue.

GJ man.

[waldojim]

Well, even when you plan things out so nicely - it doesn't always work out the way you want. Especially when things are on sale. Interestingly enough, the parts I expected to be a problem, were anything BUT. The parts that I expected to be in stock, however, were not. So here is the final rundown and cost:
Asus M5A78L-M - $55 (40 discount with the CPU) - $15
AMD 965 - $90
Crucial Ballistix 4GB 1600Mhz - $23
Lite On burner - $18
Seagate 1TB hard drive - $95
PC Power and Cooling Silencer MK III 600 - $90 ($20 MIR) - $70
OK, so the Gigabyte board went out the window at the store simply because they sealed the boxes so you had no clue what you got. Namely because he needed the sata cables... The Asus board worked out extremely well though. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see a completely standard overclocking menu in there complete with auto tune and core unlock! Freaking powerful board.

The board was a perfect drop-in replacement for the old MSI OEM board. Everything fit perfectly, the audio, front panel USB, even the memory card reader. Oh - and the BIOS happens to detect EVERY card slot in that reader perfectly! As I said, very impressed. Good job ASUS - even the inexpensive boards are top notch!

The hard drive was simply the only choice available. There were others on the shelf, but the closest in price was $30 more expensive (unless you dropped to 320GB). And the Seagate has a 5 year warranty.

The power supply was chosen partially because we couldn't locate our first choice. Then we found out about the sale it was on, and the rebate... so it won. For $70 I think it will do just fine. Also, in case there is any concern over lack of quality, fit, or finish of the new PC P&C power supplies, let me lay that to reset right now. They included everything, and made it pretty. ALL the cables are sleeved now - except the SATA cables, because they are a single cable that doesn't need sleeved. The extra cables get a nice bag to keep them in with "SILENCER" written on the side of the bag. And the new Silencer is true to its name for one. Never heard a peep out of it.

SO - what is the final verdict? We were well over budget at $331+ tax. Though with the $20 MIR, that gets us darned close.

Installed Windows 8 on there for now, he wants to play with it until the official 8 launch. So far, he loves it. We have Office 97 on there (last one he paid for), Autocad, Morrowind, and Fallout 3. As for performance (remembering the 3650 AMD video card), it actually is impressive. Fallout 3 is playable at Ultra Quality & 720P (no AA), or "high" & 1080P. Morrowind was absolutely no trouble for it. Nor was autocad, or Office (of course). The machine almost seemed to predict his actions. When browsing the internet, it actually WAS predicting them. Completing addresses for places he had not yet been to, and pulling them up instantly upon confirmation that it was right.

His Canon printer/fax/scanner was also detected immediately, and MS downloaded the necessary drivers on its own. No interaction needed. The printer was an MX860 in case anyone here cares.

For $350 + random video card, I have to say, I am impressed. In case anyone else out there is interested in a cheap machine, that is a perfect solution right there. You can pick up a card as powerful (or more powerful even) for about $40 these days, so it would be easy to build a sub $400 gaming machine from the ground up and still have a powerhouse.

[Rommel]

Glad to here it all worked out.

Nice to get everything all at once and build it the same day.

[LiveBrianD]

Good to know - I'm getting some ideas myself from this. (as I've mentioned before, a few family members still have Pentium 4 machines that are ready to be replaced)

[coastie65]

waldojim, on 07 May 2012 - 11:33 PM, said:

Well, even when you plan things out so nicely - it doesn't always work out the way you want. Especially when things are on sale. Interestingly enough, the parts I expected to be a problem, were anything BUT. The parts that I expected to be in stock, however, were not. So here is the final rundown and cost:
Asus M5A78L-M - $55 (40 discount with the CPU) - $15
AMD 965 - $90
Crucial Ballistix 4GB 1600Mhz - $23
Lite On burner - $18
Seagate 1TB hard drive - $95
PC Power and Cooling Silencer MK III 600 - $90 ($20 MIR) - $70
OK, so the Gigabyte board went out the window at the store simply because they sealed the boxes so you had no clue what you got. Namely because he needed the sata cables... The Asus board worked out extremely well though. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see a completely standard overclocking menu in there complete with auto tune and core unlock! Freaking powerful board.

The board was a perfect drop-in replacement for the old MSI OEM board. Everything fit perfectly, the audio, front panel USB, even the memory card reader. Oh - and the BIOS happens to detect EVERY card slot in that reader perfectly! As I said, very impressed. Good job ASUS - even the inexpensive boards are top notch!

The hard drive was simply the only choice available. There were others on the shelf, but the closest in price was $30 more expensive (unless you dropped to 320GB). And the Seagate has a 5 year warranty.

The power supply was chosen partially because we couldn't locate our first choice. Then we found out about the sale it was on, and the rebate... so it won. For $70 I think it will do just fine. Also, in case there is any concern over lack of quality, fit, or finish of the new PC P&C power supplies, let me lay that to reset right now. They included everything, and made it pretty. ALL the cables are sleeved now - except the SATA cables, because they are a single cable that doesn't need sleeved. The extra cables get a nice bag to keep them in with "SILENCER" written on the side of the bag. And the new Silencer is true to its name for one. Never heard a peep out of it.

SO - what is the final verdict? We were well over budget at $331+ tax. Though with the $20 MIR, that gets us darned close.

Installed Windows 8 on there for now, he wants to play with it until the official 8 launch. So far, he loves it. We have Office 97 on there (last one he paid for), Autocad, Morrowind, and Fallout 3. As for performance (remembering the 3650 AMD video card), it actually is impressive. Fallout 3 is playable at Ultra Quality & 720P (no AA), or "high" & 1080P. Morrowind was absolutely no trouble for it. Nor was autocad, or Office (of course). The machine almost seemed to predict his actions. When browsing the internet, it actually WAS predicting them. Completing addresses for places he had not yet been to, and pulling them up instantly upon confirmation that it was right.

His Canon printer/fax/scanner was also detected immediately, and MS downloaded the necessary drivers on its own. No interaction needed. The printer was an MX860 in case anyone here cares.

For $350 + random video card, I have to say, I am impressed. In case anyone else out there is interested in a cheap machine, that is a perfect solution right there. You can pick up a card as powerful (or more powerful even) for about $40 these days, so it would be easy to build a sub $400 gaming machine from the ground up and still have a powerhouse.

Sounds good. Talk about a decent "Budget" build, I think you just hit a winner.

[waldojim]

coastie65, on 08 May 2012 - 05:01 PM, said:

Sounds good. Talk about a decent "Budget" build, I think you just hit a winner.

It sure seems that way. I think more than anything though, this should highlight the type of market AMD is taking care of. When you can build a quad core gaming machine for less than $400, you are doing great. AMD makes that possible. With another $70 (bringing the total to 400), he could have easily found a decent 6650/6670 and had all the power he needed to play the latest games.