[Waycos]

So my power supply melted down a few weeks ago. I got a new one and when I plugged it into the pc it lights up and that's it. I'm pretty sure the CPU has burnt out as well. In looking at deals I came across this one. Since I have not been keeping up on motherboards and CPU's I'm just looking for some advice. Is this a good deal/system or should I look elsewhere?

New Egg Combo


btw, this is the replacement power supply I got:

Enermax

[Paddy0]

Are you specifically in need of a Micro ATX board? I tend to go for anything Asus for MB's I know and trust them, the processor and the XMS2's are fine though, I got a quad-core sort of regretting it because its a bit useless.

[Waycos]

I like Asus and MSI. But since this isn't really a gaming pc for me anymore I don't need anything overkill. And since this is a packaged deal I was looking at it. Going to check more and see if I can find a package deal with an ASUS, Gigabyte or MSI board.

[Twisted1616]

What made you conclude that the CPU has burnt out rather than something else being wrong?
If it is your CPU then you only need a new CPU, not a new MB or MEM.
If you want a new MB and MEM along with a new CPU - i.e. almost an entirely new system - and want someone to help you out then you should let them know what you want the new system to be able to do (not just what you don't need it to do, like don't need it to play games.. ok, what do you need it to do?)

[Maelgwyn]

Waycos - its not a *bad* system but I would not suggest that motherboard. Apart from it being a little dodgy (the brand) it will severely hamper your upgradability in the future. However, for the price, its not bad at all...

Personally, if the machine was to do basic work without needing to be updated often, look at a Atom processor. They are capable and very low power consuming. But you would be locked into a certain processor and mainboard.

Other places to try would be ebay

But, because you are on a budget and because you must stick to said budget (Im sure wifey would be impressed if you just came home after spending more), I would be confident that it would suit whatever you wanted to do with it (also, you would be able to game with it no problems)

Mael

[endgame]

I trust Asus and Gigabyte for motherboards, and AMD is seriously delivering a lot of bang for the buck, and are still improving. That's my recommendation, anyway. I would also stick to newegg.com, good stuff.

[Waycos]

I was checking a couple other sites for prices today, NewEgg is still the cheapest. I was considering AMD, just not sure about those 3 core processors. The idea that the chip is 3 only because the fourth failed is a bit unsettling, but they do end up being a bit cheaper.

At this point I'm looking at a board with an onboard video/HDMI and making it a HTPC/do my bills on. By doing that I'm pretty much garanteeing spending more then $300, and doing a motherboard with a seperate videocard with HDMI really increases the price. I may go motherboard with normal onboard video and get a graphics card with HDMI later on.

They don't make anything but memory for my pc now. It's about 7 years old. The motherboard and powersupply and long out of manufacturing. I'm guessing the cpu is fried because the motherboard does power up, but even with just the graphics card it doesn't boot.

[endgame]

Hmm. I'm not clear on what you're trying to use this thing for. It sounds to me like you'll never need more than a 2.0GHz AMD dual core with any cheap 128mb - 256mb video card.

Onboard video will just hide the price of a shitty video card on top of the motherboard's, and no matter how cheap it is, in my opinion it's never worth it.

Worthy of note is the fact that having over 3gb of ram is useless if you're not running a 64-bit OS, and I don't think you'll need that much anyway.

Enermax is pretty reliable.

Let's take a look at the combo deals again.

http://www.newegg.co...st=Combo.232668
- This one is more than you need, and probably beyond the budget you've decided on.

http://www.newegg.co...st=Combo.230452
- Closer, but I have no experience with Biostar. Only one user review for it, at least it's a good one.

...Actually, that's really fuckin' cheap.

I'm still looking, but so far everything else is either quad core or not worth mentioning.

[endgame]

That's MB/Processor..

Now how about video card/memory combos? As it turns out, these are crazy good deals.

http://www.newegg.co...st=Combo.218015
- I prefer NVIDIA cards, but $75? Jesus. Add the MB/CPU combo and you've got a brand new computer for under $200.

http://www.newegg.co...st=Combo.218008
- Add just $6 and you get a high end ASUS GeForce 9400 GT. Seriously that's a good one. Native HDMI integrated.

Tell me if I'm going overboard.

Ugh..the prices have really gone down. Maybe it's time for me to upgrade.

[Twisted1616]

At this point I'm looking at a board with an onboard video/HDMI and making it a HTPC/do my bills on. By doing that I'm pretty much garanteeing spending more then $300, and doing a motherboard with a seperate videocard with HDMI really increases the price. I may go motherboard with normal onboard video and get a graphics card with HDMI later on.

HTPC outputting what? HD? .. Well, if it's not it should be, and I'll go by that.
Will you be, for example, encoding HD videos?

Hmm. I'm not clear on what you're trying to use this thing for.

Watching videos and doing accounting, apparently.

Onboard video will just hide the price of a shitty video card on top of the motherboard's, and no matter how cheap it is, in my opinion it's never worth it.

In dire situations onboard video can be useful. Can mean the difference of being able to access your computer at all or not if your GPU fries.



Now.. Through my independent digging I actually came up with one of the same combos endgame found.. This one: http://www.newegg.co...st=Combo.232668
A fast dual core. Will take anything you throw at it.
MB supports a lot of upgrades (assuming you would use what I'm linking or similar) so is future-proof, and has good reviews. 5(+2) SATA, an eSATA and has a 7.1 onboard audio support (which, unlike onboard video, is quite enough).

This GPU has some good reviews and someone claims it's silent (which I can't confirm or deny either way, but if it's true it can be a huge plus for a HTPC and a definite plus for a work PC). It has enough power to play today's top-notch games (on not quite the best settings, maybe) and will at least handle the games of the foreseeable future, probably on decent quality settings for a good long while.. If the urge to get and play a game should ever strike you. And ofc. has that HDMI you want (and a $20 rebate.. which I understand to be some sort of refund?): http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814121318

And this MEM also has them good reviews as well as a good price (and free shipping). It's 4GB.. Because, it's bloody cheap, dammit.. Even if you don't use a 64-bit OS, get it.. Cause you should upgrade to a 64-bit OS.. But even if you don't, it's so cheap you wont mind the loss of 0,75GB.. http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231166


Pfff.. I've done enough digging for now I think.. Have been out of the computer hardware world for a long while now.. Forgot how fun it is to compare all that junk.. Though I was as gonna do it soon, anyway.


Btw, a grand total of $370 (shit has gotten cheap. :O) minus $35 after rebates.. Which may be offset by shipping costs for the graphics card.

This post has been edited by Twisted1616: 12 August 2009 - 06:34 AM

[Waycos]

It's 4GB.. Because, it's bloody cheap, dammit.. Even if you don't use a 64-bit OS, get it.. Cause you should upgrade to a 64-bit OS.. But even if you don't, it's so cheap you wont mind the loss of 0,75GB..

That's exactly what I was thinking.

Really funny.. I came across that same MB/CPU combo. So it's good to hear that 3 people all agree it's a good deal/option.

It looks like this is what I'll be getting:
Asus P5QPro with Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz LGA 775 65W Combo
ASUS GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit
OCZ Flex EX 4GB (2 x 2GB)
It totals out to $400 with shipping but $50 in rebates. It's more than I want to spend but since I can use it as an HTPC I think it will be worth it.


Anyone see a problem with that combo? In particular the memory. New Egg's return policy would screw me if I went with the wrong kind.

[Twisted1616]

It's 4GB.. Because, it's bloody cheap, dammit.. Even if you don't use a 64-bit OS, get it.. Cause you should upgrade to a 64-bit OS.. But even if you don't, it's so cheap you wont mind the loss of 0,75GB..

That's exactly what I was thinking.

Really funny.. I came across that same MB/CPU combo. So it's good to hear that 3 people all agree it's a good deal/option.

It looks like this is what I'll be getting:
Asus P5QPro with Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz LGA 775 65W Combo
ASUS GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit
OCZ Flex EX 4GB (2 x 2GB)
It totals out to $400 with shipping but $50 in rebates. It's more than I want to spend but since I can use it as an HTPC I think it will be worth it.


Anyone see a problem with that combo? In particular the memory. New Egg's return policy would screw me if I went with the wrong kind.

Dunno about the memory personally.. Some reviewers say it can be a difficult experience to get going and may not work as advertised for all.
I just wanna know why you'd rather choose this than the one I linked to? The G.Skill one has lower timings and many more, and overall better, reviews (aside from being cheaper). Just PC2 8500 instead of PC2 9600.

Though note that it's possible that with almost whatever RAM you choose you may need to set it to the advertised speeds manually (would be done in the BIOS).

What about the return policy would screw you? And does Newegg's policy even matter.. most (or all?) RAMs have a very long (lifetime) manufacturer warranty (though, yeah, I'm not sure Exactly what it entails but I assume you'd be able to return DOAs, non-performers, BOAs, burn-outers, etc.?)


A thought.. Make sure the dimensions of the hardware (GPU especially) will fit inside your computer case.

And another point.. You actually may want to consider a MB that supports DDR3 RAM for further future-proofing.. Something I forgot to check last time.. But I don't think they have a combo deal with that sort of board (makes sense, though, that they'd use whatever they're trying to phase out in the special deals).
It boils down to what you need now and what you think you will need.
1. Cheapest - If you're currently using your HTPC only for SD viewings and accounting work and will for the foreseeable future then really you hardly need any power. get yourself a junk PC for $100 or something. If you need this now but want to output HD soon then rather choose 2 or 3.
2. Average - You can get pretty much what has been discussed so far in this thread. It will even be safe for upgrades for the next few years. Good enough if you want to watch HD and don't plan to do anything more demanding than that for the next decade (for, barring component failures, it will be enough for that long - power wise). Good because after that long you may not find parts to upgrade your computer with, even if you bought today's top-end system (due to something as simple as socket changes to something completely unexpected (quantum computers introduced to the mass market :O .. jk, btw)).
3. The-one-to-upgrade - Should you plan to upgrade in more than a few years or more than once this may be the way to go. This is the one where you make sure that (at least) the MB is completely future-proof which raises the price a bit.. And if it only supports DDR3 and not 2 as well then the cost of the RAM will go up a tad too. The best way to be able to stay at whatever level you want, i.e. if you don't want your mid-level rig to become low lvl in a few years you need to upgrade. Also gives the possibility of turning a mid-level about-to-go-low-level-due-to-time-passing rig to a high-level rig. For this you'll need a slightly better MB than discussed before in this thread (+DDR3 RAM). Should be a few dozen $ over 2.

Those are the main stages for you to consider, I think.

This post has been edited by Twisted1616: 12 August 2009 - 04:38 PM

[Waycos]

I went with that memory just because it's faster. I admit to not looking at the reviews because I trust the company. They do have combo deals with the MB that support DDR3, but they typically are more expensive and go with the more expensive CPUs, quad cores in most cases. That was ending up )with graphic card) over 500.

The bad part of the return policy is that if the memory doesn't work with your MB, tough luck, and they do no verification for you like Mwave does.

[Twisted1616]

I went with that memory just because it's faster. I admit to not looking at the reviews because I trust the company. They do have combo deals with the MB that support DDR3, but they typically are more expensive and go with the more expensive CPUs, quad cores in most cases. That was ending up )with graphic card) over 500.

The bad part of the return policy is that if the memory doesn't work with your MB, tough luck, and they do no verification for you like Mwave does.

Oh.. I did a keyword search in the mobo combo for DDR3 amd nothing came up.. :/ .. Also even looked up some DDR3 mobos and manually checked if they had a combo deal (And, btw. I'm talking about a combo with a CPU or GPU.. not the combos that I always saw with a remote for Vista) and nothing. :/ Didn't check all, though.


Well, two things factored in my decision; that many of the higher rated for speed RAMs weren't always delivering that performance.. and that your setup wouldn't require high quality or high speed RAM because it (I assume, by what you've said) will pretty much never be strained.... Thus I put by far the most importance on pure price (on anything not lower than the CPU FSB) and reviews (though by the reviews/ratings of the G.Skill RAM it seems it even turned out to be high quality and low price. :/ )
Basically something cheap enough that you wont think twice about removing if you ever wanted to upgrade your CPU. But it's still more than enough for what you need, I'd say.

You could also consider getting the best the MB can handle right now.. You'll never need to worry about switching them out then (though you could later buy 2 more if ever needed... doubtful).. Which would be this: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231201
Newegg doesn't carry RAM's that fit the max of the MB precisely.. This is the same PC as the one you chose, but with slightly better timings and reports that it can be OCed to the max of the MB. Also this responce from the manufacturer to a complaint: "We apologize this inconvenience. Please contact our RMA Dept for warranty replacement. We will help you to replace your bad memory module. All our memory carries lifetime warranty, we will make sure your replacement can run at DDR2 1200". ... Disadvantage is price, obviously. :O

I guess this is all just talk though.. You'll never *need* better RAM than what I originally posted.. Not for a simple HTPC (especially if you intend to run XP or linux.. But that's just "especially". Any OS will run fine.). Considering that I can play some 1080p matroskas and all 720ps (and play games such as Oblivion on decent settings) with my piece of shit computer and that compared to it a computer of the parts here would seem like a god, it's seriously more than enough.



Bah, I almost forgot...

The bad part of the return policy is that if the memory doesn't work with your MB, tough luck, and they do no verification for you like Mwave does.

You could just go to the nearest street retailer and buy RAM there. Get assurance from a salesperson that it will work with the mobo you've chosen and if it doesn't you've got the right to return it.

This post has been edited by Twisted1616: 12 August 2009 - 06:59 PM

[Waycos]

Thus I put by far the most importance on pure price (on anything not lower than the CPU FSB)
....
You could also consider getting the best the MB can handle right now.. You'll never need to worry about switching them out then
....
Bah, I almost forgot...

The bad part of the return policy is that if the memory doesn't work with your MB, tough luck, and they do no verification for you like Mwave does.

You could just go to the nearest street retailer and buy RAM there. Get assurance from a salesperson that it will work with the mobo you've chosen and if it doesn't you've got the right to return it.

You make good points. I'll go with the other memory. I keep thinking I should just get the faster/more expensive memory because I wouldn't have to update later, but as you point out, I may not even have to.

[Twisted1616]

You make good points. I'll go with the other memory. I keep thinking I should just get the faster/more expensive memory because I wouldn't have to update later, but as you point out, I may not even have to.

Right.. You could even probably make do with a computer that's quite a bit cheaper than seen here. But I wouldn't go for less if this will be the only PC in the house.

[SaintArthur]

Just one small thing, if you put 2 x 2gb cards in an XP PC you will have 2gb of memory available, not 3.25gb as some people think.
Also vista lies about the amount of memory it can use, the system properties will say you have 4gb but you can only use.. 2gb (assuming it's the 32 bit version)
maximum usable memory you can put in and still use the dual channel interleave is 3gb, composed of 2 X 1 gb and 2 x 512k.