New Basic PC

[azza_1992]

Hi everyone,

Here are the planned specs and prices (in $AU) for a new Basic PC.

CPU - AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ - $85.00
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-M61PME-S2 - $61.60
RAM - Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 2GB (2x XMS2 1GB) DDR2 - $62.70
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 160Gb 7200RPM 8Mb SATA 2 - $55.00
Case - Intech H340B Black Tower Case (550W) - $49.50
Optical - Pioneer DVR-215 SATA DVD Writer - $29.99
Operating System - Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit OEM - $145.20
Assembly - $75
Shipping - $36

TOTAL - $599.99 (exactly!)

I'm pretty sure that I can assemble this by myself but will I be able to get Vista at OEM prices if I just buy the parts (all from the same online store)?

Also, will there be a huge performance increase if I were to add a GeForce 8400GS for $37?

Last thing, any idea how much faster this will be compared to a 4 year old 2.4GHz Celeron with 512MB or RAM and a GeForce 4?

Thanks

 

[pilotguy121a]

Yes OEM is available to anyone who wants to buy it and work with the set regulations. You could add the 8400 as it will help the load on the CPU and will be noticeable if you do any editing or gaming. You'll see a performance increase.

 

[veg1992]

Its faster, but if you want to play like new games both the 8400gs and the built in GeForce 6100 are pretty weak

Also you're using a built in case PSU (unless its Antec I don't recommend that)

Because Idk if Pioneer make good PSU's

If you want a good GPU, you could drop the 5200+ for a Cheap Brisbane Cored AMD CPU and then get a 780g board, which has the best IGP (integrated Graphics processor) out right now and you can overclock it like I did to like 8500gt speeds

 

[azza_1992]

Yeah, definitely no gaming on this system. Simply Word Processing, Email, Internet and iTunes. And Google Earth.

Out of curiousity, what are the Brisbane Cored CPUs? Are they the Phenoms?

Also, it was mentioned that OEM is available to anyone willing to work inside the set regulations. What are these set regulations?

 

[veg1992]

Brisbane cored are 65nm's over the 90nm's of the Windsors, and consume less power...

Stick with the Geforce 6150 then.. Try to get a decent PSU though...

 

[azza_1992]

Will do. Any idea on the OEM conditions?

 

[veg1992]

Nah... no idea..

 

[azza_1992]

If I were to get a Video Card as basic as a 8400GS, would there be a huge performance increase in doing the aforementioned tasks? Would I be able to run other programs such as Flash and Photoshop which I currently run on a separate computer?

 

[veg1992]

You'd have no performance increase unless its in game or unless she does Video Playback a lot, as it'll take the load of the CPU, and load it on the 8400gs

 

[azza_1992]

So I'm better off not spending the $37 on the 8400 and instead spending it on a better Case/PSU or CPU.