Real cheap build or?

[technix]

I'm building a cheap system for somebody but not sure which route to take:

Option #1:
Intel P43, P35 or P45 - used or new, but mobo for around $80
cpu - $ ???? (I think there's not many choices unless I go with a more expensive cpu?)
DDR2 RAM - I currently have two sticks of 1GB (each) of DDR2 1066GHz

Option #2:
AMD AM2+ or AM3 mobo w / DDR2 support
brand? chipset?? Asus? Gigabyte? Price range of $70 - $90 (depending on the chipset and whether it has integrated graphics, I think.... but, which one?).

Option #3:
AMD AM3 mobo w/ DDR3 RAM
DDR3 RAM increases budget by about $100

I was looking at under $200 for both cpu and mobo. A DDR3 system increases this by $100 as previously noted.

Comments? Recommendations? Advice? Ideas? 'I'm not sure what to do or what to decide on.

Also, some requirements include: prefer hardware suited for virtualization. OS is Linux distribution, prefer a firewire port but whatever allows an easy or cheap bracket to be added later, no need for gaming, integrated video is thought to be useful as a safeguard... but, again, not necessary

Prefer Realtek LAN and sound although not necessary....

Brand? I thought Gigabyte was good but strange placement of SATA ports if you want a video card. Does the angled SATA cables allow for video card and SATA connections?

I am considering the 'Regor' AMD cpu, 245 model since it's about $70 + tax. 'Does okay in benchmarks. Prefer 4GB of RAM whether DDR2 or DDR3 but if I go for a DDR2 board, I have 2GB already. 'Concerned about DDR2 availability and price, though, in case something happens with current RAM.

Well, that's all I can think of for now. Oh yeah, the system that died was an AMD socket 939 board, Asus. Components already owned include mouse, keyboard, DVD burner, hard drives (SATA), case (Antec 3800), monitor, video card (ATI Radeon X300 SE).

Pls suggest! :D

[GregH]

X2 550 + GA-MA770-UD3 (or UD3P if you want DDR3) is a very nice bang-for-buck combo for around $180 + tax
Both those boards are able to unlock the hidden cores on the 550 too (assuming you get the rev.2 version of the 770)

*EDIT*
1st post I see!
Welcome to HWC!

[MarkOne]

interesting I'm looking for the same thing.. for a Ubuntu 9.10 or Linux Mint 7

[somecanadianguy]

Originally Posted by technix

Option #3:
AMD AM3 mobo w/ DDR3 RAM
DDR3 RAM increases budget by about $100

I was looking at under $200 for both cpu and mobo. A DDR3 system increases this by $100 as previously noted.

I just built an AM3 system.
Didn't cost more to go with DDR3.
I did get the RAM used, but even new can be had for around $80 - $100.

Athlon II X4 620 + Gigabyte ga-ma785gmt-ud2h (combo $179.99)
2x2GB Crucial DDR3-1333 ($65 used)

The X4 620 is a great little budget quad-core.
It doesn't have any L3 Cache, but the importance of that is debatable.
The motherboard is decent, but really it didn't matter much to me.
Haven't done any overclocking yet, but it has a nice full BIOS to play with.

Other parts in the build (though I see you already have some parts to use):
Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB
Corsair CMPSU-400W
LG 22x DVD-RW
Coolermaster Elite 330

The whole build cost under $500.
Keep your eyes open for sales/deals.

[andenario]

Yeah you could definitely keep it cheap with AM3. With deals you could do a lot better than the X2 245. Just look around for package deals on the egg and ncix like the one mentioned above

[technix]

I'm still hunting around. I would like to decide whether to pursue a DDR2 or DDR3 system. Do you think the cheapest AM3 DDR3 motherboards are as cheap as AM2/AM2+? I think they are a bit more expensive but maybe someone else knows for sure? I think 740G and 760G motherboards are only DDR2 and are around $50 and $60 respectively. So, how can I get this cheap with a DDR3 motherboard?

I am inclined to accept I can get either type of RAM for around the same price with DDR2 RAM prices staying relatively static/stable.

I don't need a case, disk drive, video card or PSU.

Any ideas? I even checked out the 'for sale' section but there's so much scattered there and nothing yet that is within my budget. Someone was selling DDR2 RAM for a decent price but I would like to get 4GB regardless of whether it's DDR2 or DDR3. One idea I had was to buy a stick of DDR3 budget value RAM and wait for prices to go down. What about that idea?

Pls advise! This is quite complicated!!! LOL!

[3.0charlie]

NCIX.com - Buy NCIX Gaming Bundle Deal Phenom X4 9850 Black CPU & ASUS M4A785-M DDR2 Motherboard - X4 9850 & M4A785-M In Canada.
NCIX.com - Buy OCZ Gold XTC PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 CL5-5-5-18 DDR2 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit - OCZ2G8004GK In Canada.

Keep the X300SE, good little GPU.

[technix]

Interesting. I thought the processor might run a bit hot, though?

I thought this mobo looked good:
Newegg.ca - ASRock M3A770DE AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

Could/should I post a similar thread in 'New Builds?' There might be more reads there?

I was hoping to get a large sample of opinions...

That is an interesting bundle, though. I still can't decide whether to go DDR2 or DDR3 which makes a large difference in the choices.

I thought I could even go cheap on the motherboard and put the difference into the RAM and processor.

I need to make sure this system isn't slow! It's not for me and I'm getting complaints about the old computer now! lol!

[3.0charlie]

Slap a Coolermaster Hyper 212 on top of the Quad...

DDR2 over DDR3? DDR2 all the way. And invest in the CPU as much as possible, since this component has the largest impact on speed.

No need to create another thread. Members will reply if they wish to.

[jcmaz]

Where are you from OP?