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Build Your Own No-Compromises $1,500 PC
Posted 04/01/08 at 03:32:34 PM | by Gordon Mah Ung
Any fool can spec out the ultimate Dream Machine. Just open up your wallet, pull out the Visa card, and tell the web store to overnight its most expensive parts to you. Voila! You’ve got the makings of a badass rig.
It’s an entirely different story when you’re building a machine on a budget. You’ve got to carefully weigh your options, consider every possible combination of parts, and make choices you know you can live with—because, typically, you will make some sacrifices. To be honest, the whole process can be downright painful. When we built our $1,500 PC last year (February 2007), we had to break so many of our own minimum spec guidelines that no one was truly satisfied with the results.
But this year is different. We found the job of building a $1,500 rig actually pleasurable—with minimal trade-offs. In fact, we’re tickled pink with the quality of the hardware we got into this box. So much so, we can unabashedly say that this PC can stand up to damn near any task. Read on to find out what parts we picked, why we picked them, and why there’s never been a better time to assemble your own no-compromises PC on a budget.
- Videocard
XFX GeForce 8800 GTS 512 Alpha Dog Edition
$350, www.xfxforce.com - Motherboard
MSI P35 Neo2-FR
$120, www.msi.com.tw - CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
$275, www.intel.com - Memory
Patriot 4GB DDR2/800
$120, www.patriotmem.com - Case
Cooler Master CM Stacker STC-T01-UW
$120, www.coolermaster.com - Power Supply
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610
$120, www.pcpower.com - Operating System
Windows XP Media Center Edition*
$120, www.microsoft.com - Hard Drive
Seagate 750GB Barracuda AS 7200.10
$184, www.seagate.com - Optical Drive
Optiarc AD-7190A
$25, www.sonynec-optiarc.com - Soundcard
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer
$80, www.soundblaster.com
*Update: Our initial build included an OEM version of XP Pro we acquired from NewEgg, which is now unavailable at the price we quoted ($100). We now recommend Windows Media Center Edition, which is currently $120 at NewEgg.
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No RAID?
Submitted by Jedi_Master_Revan on Sat, 2009-05-02 00:44
But no RAID? What's with that? I see now that the extra RAM does actually get used (or at least microsoft claims so), so I guess I shouldn't have opened my big mouth on that one, and at $80, awesome. I still think you guys should give Ubuntu a try for one of these, especially if NT7 turns out to be as bad as vista. And remember-Linux is free.
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"When you always know what is right, where is freedom? No one chooses the wrong, Jacen Solo. Uncertianty sets you free."
I'm no expert by a long
Submitted by Drzues on Mon, 2008-07-28 22:15
I'm no expert by a long shot...but I'm in the end part of my research for building my own new rig and from what I understand 4 gigs of ram is overkill for any OS less than Vista 64 bit (Linux not included as I know absolutlely nothing about it including whether or not I spelled it correctly). Is this a miscomception on my part?
Correct
Submitted by MAJORzer0 on Thu, 2008-12-18 01:11
I do belive you are correct. From what I understand you need a 64bit OS to run more then 3.5 gigs of ram. You spelled Linux the right way from what I can remember. I would also assume there's a version based of unix that has 64bit capabilities or just unix with an addon. it's so much fun to plunk around with but I've never really gotten into it. Here at the office we are force to use windows on everything.... so sad.
Submitted by Jedi_Master_Revan on Sat, 2009-05-02 00:29
Yeah, it's total overkill, most system's wouldn't know what to do with that much RAM, and nothing outside of NASA needs it. As for linux goes, Ubuntu 9.04 can run on 264 MB of RAM, and it's pretty much the newest linux system out right now. Speaking of which, why didn't they just ditch some of the RAM as well as XP, install Ubuntu, and use the money they saved for other hardware?
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"When you always know what is right, where is freedom? No one chooses the wrong, Jacen Solo. Uncertianty sets you free."
Submitted by csdavid505 on Wed, 2008-07-09 08:34
Using today's prices from Tiger Direct, you can build a better system, for less. This system has a 22" Monitor, Trackball, joystick, and keyboard. On that basis alone (The ability to actually play on it) it is vastly better. Add in the fact is has twice the graphics performance, twice the memory, and twice as fast a hard drive subsystem, with comparable processor speeds (except for the 64 bit 32 bit thing).
Your system is probably capable of greater overclocking, but even tweaking to the max would be shredded by this system. For the extra 25$, I'd buy a Cedega subscription, so that I can play all the same Windows games, head to head.
Submitted by csdavid505 on Wed, 2008-07-09 08:28
QTY DESC Cost Price 2 EVGA GeForce 8800 GT Video Card - Superclocked Edition, 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card 149.99 299.98 1 Asus M2N-SLI Motherboard - NVIDIA nForce 560 SLI, Socket AM2/AM2+, ATX, Audio, PCI Express, Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, USB 2.0, Firewire, Serial ATA, RAID 99.99 99.99 1 AMD Phenom X4 9850 Quad Core Processor HD985ZXAGHBOX - Black Edition, Unlocked 2.50GHz, 4MB Cache, 2000MHz (4000 MT/s) FSB, Agena, Quad-Core, Retail, Socket AM2+, Processor with Fan 205.99 205.99 1 Cooler Master Stacker 810 Full-Tower ATX Case with 850-Watt Power Supply 229.99 229.99 2 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB Hard Drive - 7200, 8MB, Serial ATA-300, OEM 54.99 109.98 1 HP DVD1040i Lightscribe Super-Multi Retail DVD Burner - 20x DVD±R Burn, 16x DVD±R Read, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD±R DL, 12x DVD-RAM, 48x32x CD-R/RW, Internal 34.99 34.99 2 Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 2048MB) 86.99 173.98 1 Logitech Optical Trackman Trackball 24.99 24.99 1 Keys U See Large Print Keyboard with Yellow Keys (Black) 29.99 29.99 1 Logitech - Force 3D Pro Joystick 54.99 54.99 1 Sylvania SK2201WB 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 5ms, 800:1, 1680x1050 (WSXGA+), VGA, DVI, Internal Speakers, Black 229.99 229.99 1 openSuSE Linux 11.0 x86_64 0 0 1494.86
Submitted by rggavmxpc on Sat, 2008-06-28 13:43
I built this PC with the exception of using a ABIT IP35Pro XE motherboard(I wanted SPDIF out), Antec 900 case and I didn't install the sound card. It only cost me $1200 with the rebates I received. It is a very nice beast. My question is why did they overclock by only increasing the FSB. Why didn't they increase the multiplier? I was very conservative and set my FSB at 300. I'm running at 2.7GBs. In another MaxPC article on overclocking they increased the multiplier also?
Submitted by Mao on Tue, 2008-04-22 13:56
How does Windows count video memory? If the system is 4 GB & video is 512 MB willl Windows 32 bit see a total of 4 GB or 4.5 GB?
Peace..
Submitted by MAJORzer0 on Thu, 2008-12-18 01:24
A 32 bit system only recignizes 3.5 gigs of ram and that's also counting the video ram so if you have a 512 card and 3 gigs or ram you're done... if you have 4 gigs that extra gbit you have in there will not be used for any kind of performance enhancment. I do belive it still gets used ... maybe as a form of paging file or something. I have no Idea though. I've only gotten this from a few different web sites. you can google your question and get your answers. I'm currently at work and most of the sites are blocked.
Submitted by ketwyld on Thu, 2008-04-17 14:43
smh449:
You need the XP drivers on floppy for SATA RAID installations when you are installing with the OS partition on a RAID. On all the SATA (non-RAID) installs I have done, you usually have to set the mobo BIOS into a compatibility mode for the OS to install until you can install the chipset drivers.
Digitally yours,
ketwyld
Submitted by smh449 on Thu, 2008-04-17 00:44
I thought XP still needed a floppy drive to install SATA drivers. If so, where's the floppy? If you slipstreamed Windows you should at least say so.
Submitted by heavyd42 on Wed, 2008-04-09 12:04
Suppose you spent the same CPU and mobo $$$ on an AMD config - what parts would you recommend?
Submitted by cfield76 on Wed, 2008-04-09 01:53
Warf Drive 2008
I built this machine a couple of weeks ago and it runs great. I added a 22" LG monitor, some creative speakers, MS wireless keyboard and mouse. Great job on specking out a smooth fast machine. It is a joy to operate and my Call of Duty 4 flys.
Submitted by glennwarner on Fri, 2008-04-04 09:23
How'd you get XP for $100?
Submitted by cfield76 on Wed, 2008-04-09 02:04
Warf Drive 2008
Well I paid $135 for an OEM version, SP2 from a reputable dealer. I could of paid a little less but I was skeptical of the seller.The OEM version can only be used on the pc you are building. Technically it can not be moved to another pc if you eventually scrap the pc it is installed on. MS will usually let you move it if your pc pre maturely fails and you have to build another one.
Submitted by alanjrubin on Wed, 2008-04-02 14:40
I think the Cooler Master CM Stacker STC-T01-UW is too big and too heavy. What do you think of the Cooler Master CM690 instead.
Also, do you agree with a substitute psu that has a rear intake fan and a bottom exhaust fan; can you recommend a particular brand and model.
Submitted by alanjrubin on Fri, 2008-04-04 16:34
I have just found the Cooler Master CM690, which sells for about $80, which I like better than the Antec 900. Any opinions?
Submitted by Vondarkmoor on Wed, 2008-04-02 09:33
Why not use the q9300 if you were going quad core?
I think they went with a
Submitted by Strongbad536 on Wed, 2008-04-16 14:02
I think they went with a 65nm proc because the 680i's werent working with penryn, and the 780i boards are so expensive. hope that helps : )
Submitted by Vondarkmoor on Wed, 2008-04-23 11:31
but Gordon used a P35 based Intel board which supports 45nm CPUs.....
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