Bang for buck mobo & CPU

[]v[etaphoid]

In your opinion, what is the best combination of motherboard & CPU as far
as bang for buck goes?

Putting together a system which I want to have a decent shelf-life and
upgrade path, but not looking to spend on cutting edge gear when cheaper
stuff is available which can perform near identically or be overclocked to
do so. Was even considering something with an AGP or PCIExpress *and* decent
integrated graphics to save on the initial cost.

Recommendations?

 

[Old Gringo]

In your opinion, what is the best combination of motherboard & CPU as far
as bang for buck goes?

Putting together a system which I want to have a decent shelf-life and
upgrade path, but not looking to spend on cutting edge gear when cheaper
stuff is available which can perform near identically or be overclocked to
do so. Was even considering something with an AGP or PCIExpress *and* decent
integrated graphics to save on the initial cost.

Recommendations?

http://pcrightnow.com/

 

[Mac Cool]

http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/system-guide-200411.ars/2

 

[Tod]

Nvidia 5200 Ultra or ATI 9600 ($90 or cheaper)
ATI 9100 ($25 on eBay)
ECS K7VTA3 (version 6 or later)
ECS KT-600
Fry's Electronics will have the K7VTA3/CPU combos for $60

 

[Cuzman]

" Putting together a system which I want to have a decent shelf-life and
upgrade path, but not looking to spend on cutting edge gear when cheaper
stuff is available which can perform near identically or be overclocked to
do so. Was even considering something with an AGP or PCIExpress *and* decent
integrated graphics to save on the initial cost. "


Sempron 3100+ ?

 

[chadwick110]

How big is your buck?
Or how big does your bang need to be? (What do you want to do with the
machine?)

 

[]v[etaphoid]

http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/system-guide-200411.ars/2

Fantastic link - exactly what I was looking for! Between the budget &
hot-rod recommendation sections, I should be well catered to.

Much obliged Mac.

 

[John Doe]

In your opinion, what is the best combination of motherboard & CPU
as far as bang for buck goes?
Putting together a system which I want to [last]
and upgrade path, but not looking to spend on cutting edge gear

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=241151

I have one. It's dirt cheap. With your choice of Athlon XP CPU.

The only thing I don't like about it so far has something to do with
the built-in LAN.







when cheaper

 

[John Doe]

....

Fry's Electronics will have the K7VTA3/CPU combos for $60

A mainboard with a CPU for $60? Sold at a retail store? That sounds
scary.

 

[rhys]

http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/system-guide-200411.ars/2

Good grief, I actually began to drool over that "God Box", although I
could skip about half the hardware to concentrate on the HD, the
board, the dual CPUs and the huge helpings of RAM sauce.

R.

 

[jaster]

...

A mainboard with a CPU for $60? Sold at a retail store? That sounds scary.

Let me say two things about Frys
1) I returned a non-working bare bone system 4-5 months after purchase
for full refund. It was a Xmas gift that they mismatched the cpu and
m/b but only 1 question was asked.

2) Another time a guy returned an opened box of software for full
refund.

 

[Mac Cool]

]v[etaphoid:

Fantastic link - exactly what I was looking for! Between the budget &
hot-rod recommendation sections, I should be well catered to.

They also have two gaming specific builds:
http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/gaming-08-30-2004.ars

 

[larry moe 'n curly]

A mainboard with a CPU for $60? Sold at a retail store?
That sounds scary.

That's $20 more than it was yesterday with a 1.6 GHz Duron, but the $60
package often includes the heatsink/fan. Fry's also had an Antec
SLK1600 case w/ 300W PSU for $15, after rebate, but it was $5 AR on
Nov. 26, and I paid a whopping $25 AR for it back in Sept.

www.latimes.com and http://dfw.newspaperads.com can give you an idea of
what Fry's offers.

 

[John Doe]

I think the problem occurs mainly when you cross post to not quite
technical discussion groups.

 

[Parko]

In your opinion, what is the best combination of motherboard & CPU as far
as bang for buck goes?

Putting together a system which I want to have a decent shelf-life and
upgrade path, but not looking to spend on cutting edge gear when cheaper
stuff is available which can perform near identically or be overclocked to
do so. Was even considering something with an AGP or PCIExpress *and* decent
integrated graphics to save on the initial cost.

Recommendations?

Try a 2.8C P4, mine's overclocked to 3.27Ghz. Stable, with a Gigabyte
GA8-IPE Pro Rev 3 Mobo. Both should be dirt cheap now.

 

[Bob Snelgrove]

Where do you find a 2.8c for "dirt cheap"?

thx

bob

 

[John Doe]

Where do you find a 2.8c for "dirt cheap"?

At Frys of course [kidding].

Good luck.

(out of curiosity, wondering which group all the top-posting is
coming from)

 

[JAD]

From the true 'unmoderated' freedom groups....

wonder what group the control freaks reside?

 

[John Doe]

(the author got upset at a generic complaint about top posting)

From the true 'unmoderated' freedom groups....
wonder what group the control freaks reside?

Top posting is discouraged especially when asking for help, offering
help, or just trying to communicate.

Posting in context is the standard on Usenet. Almost everyone who
has been around here for a while posts in context.

If you really want to look "unmoderated and free", top post and
don't wrap your lines.