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Cheapest possible i5 build

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ssarti   11-03-2009 at 11:45:15 AM

hello all; so i have finished building a somewhat expensive but very powerful i7 build [thanks to great advice from 'build'!] with a gtx 295, maximus iii formula etc.. now the problem is my rig has gotten my six year old sister excited and she has been bothering me from day 1 to play her mickey mouse games on it. so in the end our dad decided to just buy her another one so i have come up with a super cheap build.
core i5 750 - 180 euros
INTEL DP55WB mobo - 96 euros
1gb ddr3 ocz - 20 euros
seagate 500gb hdd - 30euros
samsung dvd writer - 15 euros
gigabyte hd4350 - 20 euros
16" lcd by chimei - 60 euros
mad-x case + psu - 27 euros
keyboard + mouse - 10 euros
the grand total comes to an acceptable 457 euros. what do you all think? now my biggest worry is whether i can just use a single ram module or do i need to use two. if i do, then ill prolly just make a core 2 quad rig since that goes down to just 350 euros

------------------------------ asus maximus iii formula, i7 860 @ 3.6 ghz [stock cooler 1.28 vcore], corsair dominator gt 2000 mhz 4gb, silverstone raven, gainward gtx 295 single pcb, 40gb maxtor 5400rpm
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sub mesa   11-03-2009 at 11:49:49 AM
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You wanna spend 180+96= almost 300 euro on mobo+cpu but only 20 euro on a videocard? Why not just an AMD setup and you'll be done for 120 euro for the cpu+mobo and you can spend the money you save on more memory and a better videocard. You'll have a better system for the purpose.

------------------------------ ...man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but usually manages to pick himself up, walk over or around it, and carry on.
Reply to sub mesa
ssarti   11-03-2009 at 12:25:13 PM
- 0 +

well actually by mickey mouse games i meant like those silly flash games seen on free game websites so the only real reason this rig would need a graphics card is to have a vga output. and my real doubt is that i heard the lynnfield is dual channel and the cheapest dual channel set of two ram sticks i can find is 55 euros so if the single 20 euro ram stick doesnt work then ill just make her a phenom/q8200 rig lol.

------------------------------ asus maximus iii formula, i7 860 @ 3.6 ghz [stock cooler 1.28 vcore], corsair dominator gt 2000 mhz 4gb, silverstone raven, gainward gtx 295 single pcb, 40gb maxtor 5400rpm
 Reply to ssarti
build   11-03-2009 at 01:13:38 PM
- 0 +

Congrats on finishing your other rig. I see most of it is different from what I recommended though lol :D

Anyway, about your sister's rig, 1GB of RAM is not enough. 4GB would be the recommended amount for any new rig. The case will be fine, but the PSU that comes with it is junk. You should get a separate PSU from known brands like Corsair, Antec, OCZ, etc. Your also missing an OS and maybe speakers? I don't know if the monitor has built-in one's.

What is your budget? We'll help you put together a more appropriate set-up :)

Reply to build
ssarti   11-03-2009 at 01:29:21 PM
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awwww build you're the greatest!!! lol yeah its sort of different from what you recommended but the maximus iii was on sale on the website you showed me so i pounced on the chance lol and i got the gtx 295 refurbished from a local dealer for just 240 euros so everything worked out pretty well actually! and my sisters rig - well i'd like to keep it as low cost as possible but not really using outdated parts. i suppose i'd like to keep it around 400 euros [excluding the monitor] so got any ideas? thank again man!

------------------------------ asus maximus iii formula, i7 860 @ 3.6 ghz [stock cooler 1.28 vcore], corsair dominator gt 2000 mhz 4gb, silverstone raven, gainward gtx 295 single pcb, 40gb maxtor 5400rpm
 Reply to ssarti
ssarti   11-03-2009 at 01:32:56 PM
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oh and i already have the os actually i bought the windows 7 family thing so i still have two more activations left so thankfully thats a few bucks less!

------------------------------ asus maximus iii formula, i7 860 @ 3.6 ghz [stock cooler 1.28 vcore], corsair dominator gt 2000 mhz 4gb, silverstone raven, gainward gtx 295 single pcb, 40gb maxtor 5400rpm
 Reply to ssarti
build   11-03-2009 at 01:44:53 PM
- 0 +

I don't know where your buying it so I gotta use hardwareversand again :).

 

AMD Athlon II X4 630 Box AM3 - 97,47 €
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/art [...] &agid=1242

 

MSI 770-C45, AM3 - 54,71 €
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/art [...] &agid=1232

 

4096MB Kingston HyperX-Kit DDR3 1600 - 82,20 €
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/art [...] &agid=1010

 

HIS HD 4650 GDDR2 512MB Native HDMI - 36,79 €
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/art [...] 4&agid=717

 

Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB - 40,52 €
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/art [...] 1&agid=689

 

Corsair CX400W - 41,67 €
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/art [...] 7&agid=240

 

Coolermaster Elite RC-335 - 29,60 €
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/art [...] 5&agid=631

 

Samsung SH-223B bare schwarz SATA - 24,13 €
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/art [...] 9&agid=699

 

Total = 407,09 €

 


Includes the newest quad core from AMD, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, slightly better graphics card, faster hard drive and a much more reliable power supply.


Message edited by build on 11-03-2009 at 01:47:16 PM
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ssarti   11-04-2009 at 12:56:05 PM
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wow thats a pretty good build 'build'! lol and the best thing is i can steal her harddrive and replace it with my old 40 gig one! woohoo! ok now time to order [man that site is fast i got my stuff delivered the next day!]

------------------------------ asus maximus iii formula, i7 860 @ 3.6 ghz [stock cooler 1.28 vcore], corsair dominator gt 2000 mhz 4gb, silverstone raven, gainward gtx 295 single pcb, 40gb maxtor 5400rpm
 Reply to ssarti
build   11-04-2009 at 01:07:09 PM
- 0 +

Lol :lol:

I see you have overclocked your i7 860 with just the stock cooler, what kind of temps are you getting (idle & load)?

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ssarti   11-04-2009 at 01:25:36 PM
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well actually i first ordered a xigmatek dark knight but it turned out to be a lga 1366 cooler so i have it lieing around but i still got the itch to overclock lol. temps are on the high side, unfortunately. at idle temps are around 45 degrees and at load it goes all the way up to low eighties. i was thinking of returning the 1366 cooler and getting an ac freezer instead but i have this thing where i get embarrassed haggling with the after sales department so im prolly just gonna go work a few more hours in mcdonalds [or i could just trick my dad into getting it with my sisters build lol]

------------------------------ asus maximus iii formula, i7 860 @ 3.6 ghz [stock cooler 1.28 vcore], corsair dominator gt 2000 mhz 4gb, silverstone raven, gainward gtx 295 single pcb, 40gb maxtor 5400rpm
 Reply to ssarti
build   11-04-2009 at 02:05:01 PM
- 0 +

Don't be embarrassed, just tell them it's not the product you need (or yes you could trick your dad :p ). Those temps are a bit on the high side so you should get a decent aftermarket heatsink as fast as possible ;)

Reply to build
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