~£500 to spend on whole new system

[Lead_Head]

Where do I start?

Basic requirements would be that it will have to be:-

-- an AMD 64 shuttle,
-- Able to play latest games comfortable in a decent res.

I'd prefer all components to be from the same shop to save on delivery costs.

Spec me!

[joely]

uhhh 500 quid on a whole new system that plays the latest games and has an athlon 64, your hoping!! Im about to spend 700 on a new gfx card, ram, mobo processor and Psu, no case, no monitor keyboard etc, no HD or optical.

[Lead_Head]

I dont require a monitor / keyboard / mouse...

Give me the best options around £500 - £600... I could be pushed if I can see the obvious advantages of spending that little bit more

[joely]

so basically you want the box with everything in it?

[malfunction]

If you'll be able to afford it (£300+) I'd recommend waiting for the SN95G5 - AFAIK it will be the one to get...

Not much chance of getting a socket 939 system together for that kind of cash though. Especially not with a 6800 / X800 based graphics card

Other than that it's the socket 754 shuttles / cpus you'll be looking at - and even then you're probably looking at £400+ (inc VAT) for a shuttle, 2800+ CPU and 1G RAM (and normal RAM at that)... Nevermind the HDD / DVDRW / GFX

[r1zeek]

If you'll be able to afford it (£300+) I'd recommend waiting for the SN95G5 - AFAIK it will be the one to get...

Not much chance of getting a socket 939 system together for that kind of cash though. Especially not with a 6800 / X800 based graphics card

Other than that it's the socket 754 shuttles / cpus you'll be looking at - and even then you're probably looking at £400+ (inc VAT) for a shuttle, 2800+ CPU and 1G RAM (and normal RAM at that)... Nevermind the HDD / DVDRW / GFX

Very true, your not going to be able to get a Socket 939 Shuttle with HDD and everything for under £600 methinks, unless you skimp on stuff like HDD and RAM.

If you went for the older Socket 754 then you might be able to just afford it. A64 Socket 754 3000+ = £140

[r1zeek]

Shuttle SN85G4 = £200
A64 Sokcet 754 3000+ = £140
512Mb (2x256) Crucial RAM = £80 (?)
WD SATA 80Gb = £50
9800Pro = £140

Grand Total: £610

Will run it pretty well, HDD and RAM are a bit lacking though.
Thats all I could think up really, i'm sure someone will come up with something better but I think that would be ok
Probably won't run Doom3 on "super mega high settings" but it will be comfortable with it, but by no means a beast.

[Nomadd]

Why get a Shuttle? Surely a small midi-tower or desktop case with a ATX mobo would save you £100? That's money, IMHO, which could be put to much better use - i.e. an extra 512MB of RAM, or move up from a 9800Pro to an X800 or 6800NU. A small case isn't that much more difficult to lug around than a shuttle, and the cooling would be better. And you'd end up with a much better gaming rig.

To be honest, if I was on your budget, I'd just buy a decent rig second hand. Surely you must be able to get a decent P4 or A64 (754) system for £400? Again, with the money you've saved, get a better graphics card, if gaming really is your thing (which it is for me! :-))

Nomadd

[Lead_Head]

I dont mind buying 2nd hand parts, so that is a possibility.

The only part I would buy brand new would be the case + mobo...

Regarding Shuttles... I've had this one for about 8-10months... and I like it... it sits next to me, within easy reaching distance... and also I've built 2 of them.

Any other similar sized cases / mobo's which take AMD 64bit chips?

[Michael]

Shuttle XPC SN85G4
Socket 754 2800+
2x OCZ Premier PC3200 256MB
Sapphire 9800 Pro
120Gb HDD (Choose any, they're all the same cost)

...

£563 inc

[Nomadd]

re: "Any other similar sized cases / mobo's which take AMD 64bit chips?"

The Soltek Qbic has a socket 754 version. And the Biostar IDEQ.

Nomadd