# Computer Specs 101



## Praetor

*Computer Specs 101*

Revision History

 v1.00 Feb 2006 Initial draft
 v1.01 Apr 2007 Major rewrite *here*

Contents

 *Preface*
 *American Buyers Start Here*
 *Canadian Buyers Start Here*
 *European Buyers Start Here*


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## Praetor

Preface
Thanks to some VIPs for giving me the push to finally do this, Ive been meaning to do this for the last few months, just seems like a big undertaking (in terms of maintanance). In any case, this stuff should hopefully be updated monthly.

As for pricing, while I will be trying to get the best price, that may not always be the case however look at it this way: if you can find a better price then great! The suggestions are only there as a baseline to compare to, I would expect people to do their own price searching and bargain hunting, the pricing here is only included as a guineline. 

Due to the complexity for picking out systems for people all across the planet who may or many not have the same access as everyone else this guide will be broken down first by region and then by intent/budget, this way there is the least amount of scrolling around. Of course, once you do scroll down to the individual sections, it's still pretty messy but thats the price of catering to everyone.

Applicable to all sections:

 I dont pick out peripherals like mice and keyboards and that silliness
 I dont pick out monitors, speakers, printers, card readers either
 I also dont pick out operating systems or software
 So if you need these things, make sure you keep that in mind when picking the budget category.

When navigating to your prospective geographic region, the breakdown is into three groups

 *Work machines* Machines in this bracket emphasis the processor, RAM and harddrive the most: the video subsystem is rarely a concern as most buyers for these serious machines will be looking to have their machines run 24x7 or to be able to do some statistical analysis or something to that effect rather than play games.
 *Play machines* Machines in this bracket, short of going the PentiumM route (which generally will be more expensive as well as more finicky) will be an AMD dominated arena due to the performance/dollar ratio. The emphasis here will be the videocard, CPU and ram
 *General purpose machines* Profiled as a family PC or one which literally is a multirole system: this machine will empgasise the same things as the play-machine except the videocard requirements will be toned down significantly (but more than allow the user to play when he/she wishes)


As for regionality, in particular, European readers, all prices have VAT included.


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## Praetor

Section 01 - American Buyers
_Where to Buy Stuff?_
Here are some places you can start with

 *Newegg*
 *TigerDirect*
 *NCIX*
 *eBuyer*
 *Outpost*
 *FrozenCPU*
 *Xoxide*

_Categorical Reccomendations_

 Work Oriented machine
 Play Oriented machine
 General Purpose machine


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## Praetor

*-- American Buyers --*

_Work Machines_
*Budget: <500USD*

 *Intel Pentium D 805 [LGA775, BX80551PE2666FN, 2.66GHz] ($145.00)*
 *Wintec AMPO 2x512 PC2-4200 CL4 ($71.55)*
 *Athenatech A416WG.400 + 400W [12V@25A via two 12V@20A] ($35.99)*
 *Samsung SH--W162Z/BEBN ($36.99)*
 *MSI 945GM2 H-F [i945G] ($89.99)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA ($96.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $475.52*
Not much to say here, got a 1GB dualcore box with 250GB 16MB cache harddrive; only thing that was compromised on was having onboard video. This however isnt an important consideration for a work machine so it is an acceptable loss for the raw value of the machine

*Budget: <600USD*

 *Intel Pentium D 820 [LGA775, BX80551PG2800FN, 2.80GHz] ($220.00)*
 *MSI 945PL Neo-F [i945PL] ($86.00)*
 *ASUS EAX300SE-X/TD/128 Radeon X300SE 128MB ($48.00)*
 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB PATA ($92.00)*
 *Athenatech A416WG.400 + 400W [12V@25A via two 12V@20A] ($35.99)*
 *Wintec AMPO 2x512 PC2-4200 CL4 ($71.55)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $593.29*
Upping the budget allows us to jump to the PentiumD 820 as well as add a discrete videocard, again a hell of a deal for what you're getting

*Budget: <700USD*

 *ASUS EAX300SE-X/TD/128 Radeon X300SE 128MB ($48.00)*
 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *Athenatech A416WG.400 + 400W [12V@25A via two 12V@20A] ($35.99)*
 *AMD Athlon64 X2 3800 [S939, Manchester, ADA3800DAA5BV] ($297.00)*
 *Corsair ValueSelect 2x512 PC3200 CL2.5 ($67.98)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA ($96.00)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $680.71*
With the budget here we can finally get a balanced system based on the Athlon64 X2. The A8R-MVP is an added bonus: flagship performance for a far-from-flagship price

*Budget: <800USD*

 *AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)*
 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *Sapphire X300SE 128MB DDR PCIE ($47.99)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA ($96.00)*
 *Corsair ValueSelect 2x512 PC3200 CL2.5 ($67.98)*
 *Xclio GOODPOWER 500W [12V@29A] ($48.00)*
 *Sky Hawk/Eagle TEch PSR5601W-SL Aluminum Case ($34.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $789.70*
Here we move to the X2-4200 and away from "included" (although decent) power supplies.

*Budget: <900USD*

 *AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)*
 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *Sapphire X300SE 128MB DDR PCIE ($47.99)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)*
 *Xclio GOODPOWER 500W [12V@29A] ($48.00)*
 *Chenming 301KEB-0-0 ($35.50)*
 *Rosewill 2x1GB PC3200 CL2.5 ($152.99)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300GB 16MB SATA ($116.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $895.22*
The budget here now allows us to upgrade the harddrive as well as the RAM.

*Budget: <1000USD*

 *AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)*
 *Rosewill 2x1GB PC3200 CL2.5 ($152.99)*
 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *XClio XClio-480BL [12V@33A] ($63.99)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)*
 *RaidMax xB ATX-528B Case ($22.50)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($96.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($96.00)*
 *ASUS N6200/TD/128 GeForce 6200 128MB ($48.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $975.21*
This is a very formidable workmachine: two 250GB high performance drives, a proven motherboard and CPU, 2GB of RAM and an excellent power supply. Realistically, after this machine we're just looking for ways to spend money (except when it comes to the later SMP machines)

*Budget: <1100USD*

 *ABit AN8 32X [NF4SLI X16] ($194.99)*
 *AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)*
 *Rosewill 2x1GB PC3200 CL2.5 ($152.99)*
 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *XClio XClio-480BL [12V@33A] ($63.99)*
 *RaidMax xB ATX-528B Case ($22.50)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($96.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($96.00)*
 *ASUS N6200/TD/128 GeForce 6200 128MB ($48.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1074.21*
Although I am normally opposed to putting such a gaming oriented motherboard in a work system, this machine offers an extensive amount of support for infrastructure: twin RAID5 configurations and an obscene amount of HDD connectivity justify the motherboard switch

*Budget: <1200USD*

 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)*
 *AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)*
 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *Sapphire Radeon X300SE 128MB ($47.99)*
 *Rosewill 2x1GB PC3200 CL2.5 ($152.99)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 300GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($125.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 300GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($125.00)*
 *XClio XClio-480BL [12V@33A] ($63.99)*
 *RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B ($22.50)*
 *Arctic Cooling Freezer64 Pro ($32.99)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 300GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($125.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1190.20*
Three 300GB drives (so ready for RAID5 configuration), an aftermarket cooler to allow the system to handle virtually any heat related issues that may (but probably wont) arise, this box will serve as a fairly robust data archival server if needed. Very good for people looking to do video processing and animation.

*Bigger Budget?*
Well short of a $2000 budget, not much really is going to be improved here without seriously unbalancing something. With the higher budget, we can finally move to a Opteron 2xx configuration for true SMP/SMT (ideally Opteron 265 or higher). To balance this out, a decent RAID5 and memory configuration are needed (explaining the cost). Throw in the cost of the eATX case and various controller cards, the prices will climb very quickly.


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## Praetor

*-- American Buyers --*

_Play Machines_
*Budget: <500USD*

 *Athlon 64 3000+ [Venice, E6[Venice], Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 1800MHz, ADA3000DAA4BW] ($153.00)*
 *MSI RX480 Neo2-F [RX200] ($53.00 after $15.00 MIR)*
 *OCz Value Series 2x512MB PC3200 CL2.5 ($66.13 after $10.00 MIR)*
 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *Sapphire 100139L Radeon X800GTO 128MB ($96.00 after $10.00 MIR)*
 *Athenatech A416WG.400 + 400W [12V@25A via two 12V@20A] ($35.99)*
 *Hitatchi Desktar 7K80 80GB 8MB SATA-II ($50.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $493.87*
Hard drive and PSU were skimped (whithout compromising the system however) but this is a hell of a machine for the budget.

*Budget: <600USD*

 *Athlon 64 3200+ [Venice, E3[Venice], Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3200DAA4BP] ($166.00)*
 *DFI nF4 Ultra Infinity [NF4U] ($88.00)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 2x512 CL2.5 ($67.98)*
 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *Sapphire 100139L Radeon X800GTO 128MB ($96.00 after $10.00 MIR)*
 *Xclio GOODPOWER 500W [12V@29A] ($48.00)*
 *RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Case ($22.50)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 160GB 8MB ($71.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $599.23*
Surprisng what $100 can do, we improved the processor, motherboard, power supply and harddrive. This system here is a hell of a buy for the price!

*Budget: <700USD*

 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 2x512 CL2.5 ($67.98)*
 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *Sapphire 100139L Radeon X800GTO 128MB ($96.00 after $10.00 MIR)*
 *Xclio GOODPOWER 500W [12V@29A] ($48.00)*
 *RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Case ($22.50)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 160GB 8MB ($71.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV] ($297.00)*
 *MSI RX480 Neo2-F [RX200] ($53.00 after $15.00 MIR)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $695.23*
Took a step back with a few components but this is a highly balanced dualcore gaming box.

*Budget: <800USD*

 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 2x512 CL2.5 ($67.98)*
 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *Xclio GOODPOWER 500W [12V@29A] ($48.00)*
 *RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Case ($22.50)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB PATA ($92.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV] ($297.00)*
 *Sapphire 100130L-BL X800GTO² 256MB ($149.00 after $20.00 MIR)*
 *MSI RD480 Neo2-FI [RX200] ($80.99 after $10.00 MIR)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $797.22*
With an extra $100 we've upgraded the videocard and harddrive significantly as well as made a minor improvement to the motherboard

*Budget: <900USD*

 *DFI nF4 Ultra Infinity [NF4U] ($88.00)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 2x512 CL2.5 ($67.98)*
 *Xclio GOODPOWER 500W [12V@29A] ($48.00)*
 *RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Case ($22.50)*
 *AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 200GB 16MB PATA ($89.00)*
 *Samsung SH-W162Z/BEBN ($36.99)*
 *Sapphire 100106 Radeon X850XT 256MB ($160.00 after $15.00 MIR)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $900.47*
Shuffling things around we've managed to get a X850XT into the box -- nothing to balk at.

*Budget: <1000USD*

 *AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)*
 *eVGA 7800GT 256MB + SLI Mobo ($329.00 after $20.00 MIR)*
 *OCz Value Series PC3200 2x512 CL2.5 ($66.13 after $10.00 MIR)*
 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA ($96.00)*
 *XClio XClio-480BL [12V@33A] ($63.99)*
 *Coolermaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW ($44.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $998.86*
With 1GB of RAM, a 7800GT and a dualcore X2 this spec is here to show you how much you're really should be paying when you buy from an OEM.

*Budget: <1100USD*

 *AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)*
 *XClio XClio-480BL [12V@33A] ($63.99)*
 *Coolermaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW ($44.99)*
 *eVGA 256-P2-N516 GeForce 7800GT 256MB ($265.00 after $20.00 MIR)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB PATA ($92.00)*
 *A-DATA V-Series PC3200 2x1GB CL3 ($141.33)*
 *Samsung SH-W162Z/BEBN ($36.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1099.29*
The extra $100 goes towards getting a non-combo motherboard with a solidly overclocked videocard as well as upgrading to 2GB of RAM

*Budget: <1200USD*

 *AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)*
 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)*
 *A-DATA V-Series PC3200 2x1GB CL3 ($141.33)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($96.00)*
 *Gigabyte GV-RX18T512V-B Radeon X1800XT 512MB ($394.99)*
 *RaidMax xB ATX-528B ($22.50)*
 *Xclio GOODPOWER 500W [12V@29A] ($48.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1197.56*
A whole bunch of shuffling was done here to make room for the X1800XT but it fit 

*Budget: <1300USD*

 *AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)*
 *XClio XClio-480BL [12V@33A] ($63.99)*
 *GSKill PC3200 2x1GB CL2.5 ($150.99)*
 *PowerColor 1900XT512OEM Radeon X1900XT 512MB ($479.00)*
 *BenQ DQ60BK ($37.99)*
 *ATADC CAG101 Case ($19.50)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB PATA ($92.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1298.46*
Some shuffling was done but this is a fairly balanced box packing a X1900XT in it ... and unlike OEM boxes, this one doesnt cost more than a few small countries.

*Budget: <1400USD*

 *AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)*
 *RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Case ($22.50)*
 *XClio XClio-480BL [12V@33A] ($63.99)*
 *PowerColor 1900XT512OEM Radeon X1900XT 512MB ($479.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 300GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($125.00)*
 *BenQ DQ60BK ($37.99)*
 *Corsair XMX PC3200 2x1GB 2-3-3-6@2.75 ($176.00 after $40.00 MIR)*
 *Arctic Cooling Freezer64 Pro ($32.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1392.46*
An upgrade in the HDD, RAM and the addition of a aftermarket cooler is what an extra $100 fetched us.

*Budget: <1500USD*

 *AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)*
 *RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Case ($22.50)*
 *XClio XClio-480BL [12V@33A] ($63.99)*
 *PowerColor 1900XT512OEM Radeon X1900XT 512MB ($479.00)*
 *BenQ DQ60BK ($37.99)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($96.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($96.00)*
 *Corsair XMX PC3200 2x1GB 2-3-3-6@2.75 ($176.00 after $40.00 MIR)*
 *Thermaltake Big Typhoon ($54.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1481.46*
The extra $100 allows us to shuffled the harddrive configuration (for 200GB more space) around and improved the HSF


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## Praetor

*-- American Buyers --*

*Budget: <1600USD*

 *AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)*
 *PowerColor 1900XT512OEM Radeon X1900XT 512MB ($479.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 300GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($125.00)*
 *BenQ DQ60BK ($37.99)*
 *Spire BlackFin V SP-3005SB Case ($21.99)*
 *Corsair XMX PC3200 2x1GB 2-3-3-6@2.75 ($176.00 after $40.00 MIR)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 300GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($125.00)*
 *Thermaltake Big Typhoon ($54.99)*
 *OCz PowerStream 520ADJSLI [12V@33A] ($124.99 after $15.00 MIR)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1599.95*
Adding an extra 100GB and upgradsing to a class leading power supply we're definitely approaching the maximal performance/price value point for this type of system

*Budget: <1700USD*

 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)*
 *RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Case ($22.50)*
 *PowerColor 1900XT512OEM Radeon X1900XT 512MB ($479.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 300GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($125.00)*
 *BenQ DQ60BK ($37.99)*
 *Corsair XMX PC3200 2x1GB 2-3-3-6@2.75 ($176.00 after $40.00 MIR)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 300GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($125.00)*
 *Thermaltake Big Typhoon ($54.99)*
 *OCz PowerStream 520ADJSLI [12V@33A] ($124.99 after $15.00 MIR)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4400+ [Toledo, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4400DAA6CD] ($458.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1699.46*
For a system that will easily cost you a few grand when bought from an OEM, this box packs a whallop of performance for it's price.

*Bigger Budget?*
Realistically after this point I'm essentially looking to spend money and it's not really for a few more budget steps that I can direct the system to a more balanced state (i.e., add a RAID5 infrastructure as well as upgrade the memory and then processor/motherboard)


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## Praetor

*-- American Buyers --*

_General Purpose Machines_
*Budget: <500USD*

 *MSI RX480 Neo2-F [RX200] ($53.00 after $15.00 MIR)*
 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *OCz Value Series PC3200 2x512MB CL2.5 ($66.13 after $10.00 MIR)*
 *Athenatech A416WG.400 + 400W [12V@25A via two 12V@20A] ($35.99)*
 *Sapphire 100139L Radeon X800GTO 128MB ($96.00 after $10.00 MIR)*
 *Athlon 64 3000+ [Venice, E6[Venice], Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 1800MHz, ADA3000DAA4BW] ($153.00)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE 80GB 8MB SATA ($55.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $498.87*
This is a fairly well balanced and affordable box which should be able to tackle most things thrown at it whether it be straight up work, gaming or something in between

*Budget: <600USD*

 *MSI 945PL Neo-F [i945PL] ($86.00)*
 *Wintec AMPO PC2-4200 2x512MB CL4 ($71.55)*
 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *Athenatech A416WG.400 + 400W [12V@25A via two 12V@20A] ($35.99)*
 *Sapphire 100139L Radeon X800GTO 128MB ($96.00 after $10.00 MIR)*
 *Intel Pentium D 820 [LGA775, Smithfield, BX80551PG2800FN] ($220.00)*
 *Hitatchi Dekstar 7K80 80GB 8MB SATA-II ($50.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $599.29*
A dualcore gaming oriented rig for $600 .. there's not a lot to balk at here.

*Budget: <700USD*

 *MSI 945PL Neo-F [i945PL] ($86.00)*
 *Wintec AMPO PC2-4200 2x512MB CL4 ($71.55)*
 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *Athenatech A416WG.400 + 400W [12V@25A via two 12V@20A] ($35.99)*
 *Hitatchi Dekstar 7K80 80GB 8MB SATA-II ($50.00)*
 *Intel Pentium D 920 [LGA775, Presler, BX80553920] ($258.00)*
 *Sapphire 100130L-BL X800GTO² 256MB ($149.00 after $20.00 MIR)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $690.29*
The extra $100 goes a long way to upgrading both the CPU and the videocard.

*Budget: <800USD*

 *NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)*
 *OCz Value Series PC3200 2x512MB CL2.5 ($66.13 after $10.00 MIR)*
 *Athenatech A416WG.400 + 400W [12V@25A via two 12V@20A] ($35.99)*
 *Sapphire 100130L-BL X800GTO² 256MB ($149.00 after $20.00 MIR)*
 *AMD Athlon64 X2 3800 [S939, Manchester, ADA3800DAA5BV] ($297.00)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($96.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $779.86*
Here we've shifted the entire platform over to an X2 based system

*Budget: <900USD*

 *eVGA GeForce 7800GT 256MB + SLI motherboard ($329.00 after $20.00 MIR)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 2x512MB CL2.5 ($67.98)*
 *HIPRO HP-P500W/TOP-500P5 500W [12V@40A] ($36.50)*
 *RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Case ($22.50)*
 *BenQ DQ60 BK ($37.99)*
 *AMD Athlon64 X2 3800 [S939, Manchester, ADA3800DAA5BV] ($297.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($96.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $886.97*
As a general purpose machine the 7800GT will prolly be the best allaround card to suit the task in the videocard department for some while

*Budget: <1000USD*

 *eVGA GeForce 7800GT 256MB + SLI motherboard ($329.00 after $20.00 MIR)*
 *AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 2x512MB CL2.5 ($67.98)*
 *HIPRO HP-P500W/TOP-500P5 500W [12V@40A] ($36.50)*
 *RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Case ($22.50)*
 *BenQ DQ60 BK ($37.99)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 300GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($125.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $977.97*
The extra $100 allows us to upgrade the harddrive and CPU here.

*Budget: <1100USD*

 *eVGA GeForce 7800GT 256MB + SLI motherboard ($329.00 after $20.00 MIR)*
 *AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)*
 *HIPRO HP-P500W/TOP-500P5 500W [12V@40A] ($36.50)*
 *RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Case ($22.50)*
 *BenQ DQ60 BK ($37.99)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 300GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($125.00)*
 *Arctic Cooling Freezer64 Pro ($32.99)*
 *GSKILL PC3200 2x1GB CL2.5 ($150.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1093.97*
Upgrading to 2GB as well as tacking on an aftermarket cooling this machine is more than able to tackle virtually anything thrown at it

*Budget: <1200USD*

 *eVGA GeForce 7800GT 256MB + SLI motherboard ($329.00 after $20.00 MIR)*
 *AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)*
 *HIPRO HP-P500W/TOP-500P5 500W [12V@40A] ($36.50)*
 *RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Case ($22.50)*
 *BenQ DQ60 BK ($37.99)*
 *GSKILL PC3200 2x1GB CL2.5 ($150.99)*
 *Thermaltake Big Typhoon ($54.99)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($96.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($96.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1182.97*
Doing a bit of shuffling, you can get an extra 200GB and improve the HSF.

*Bigger Budget?*
Anything after this price point and again I find my self looking to spend money so as far as reccomendations go, if you've got more money to play with (and the above specs havnt net your performance needs), make a post and we'll deal with it on a case by case basis.


----------



## Praetor

Section 02 - Canadian Buyers
_Where to Buy Stuff?_
Here are some places you can start with

 *Canada Computers*
 *BigFoot Computers*
 *TigerDirect*
 *NCIX*
 *Xoxide*
 *FrozenCPU*

_Categorical Reccomendations_

 Work Oriented machine
 Play Oriented machine
 General Purpose machine


----------



## Praetor

*-- Canadian Buyers --*

_Work Machines_
*Budget: <500CAD*

 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *Kingston Value RAM PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *Festival ATX Case + 400W [12V@18A] ($36.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 9 80GB 8MB ($59.99)*
 *Athlon 64 3000+ [Venice, E3[Venice], Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 1800MHz, ADA3000DAA4BP] ($165.65)*
 *ASUS A8V-MX [K8M800] ($80.32)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $498.94*
Really not a whole lot of options in this ballpark! Do note that the motherboard is AGP based and so wont be really upgradable anymore. If this is a problem the *Foxconn 761GXK8MB-RS [SiS761GX] ($80.92)*  will provide a PCI-Express based upgrade path however the SiS chipset isnt exactly spectacular by any means. If the budget can be stretched by a few dollars, the *MSI K8NGM2-L [C51G-6100] ($84.99)* will offer no compromise.

*Budget: <600CAD*

 *Intel Pentium D 805 [BX80551PE2666FN, Smithfield, 2.66GHz] ($179.23)*
 *ASUS P5LDS2-VM [i945G] ($129.99)*
 *OCz PC2-4200 2x512MB CL4 ($102.00)*
 *Duke Black Case + 450W [12V@18A] ($48.00)*
 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *Western Digital Caviar 160GB 8MB SATA-II ($93.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $599.21*
A huge jump from the above, this box features a harddrive upgrade as well as an upgrade to a dualcore configuration.

*Budget: <700CAD*

 *ASUS P5LDS2-VM [i945G] ($129.99)*
 *OCz PC2-4200 2x512MB CL4 ($102.00)*
 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *Festival ATX Case + 400W [12V@18A] ($36.00)*
 *Intel Pentium D 820 [BX80551PG2800FN, Smithfield, 2.80GHz] ($263.00)*
 *Western Digital Caviar 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $694.98*
Here we've uupgraded the processor as well as stepped up the harddrive significantly in both size and performance.

*Budget: <800CAD*

 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *Kingston Value RAM PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *Silverstone SST-ST405 400W [12V@29A] ($63.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV] ($349.00)*
 *MSI RS482M4-ILD [RX200] ($94.99)*
 *Nikao 2750 Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Western Digital Caviar 200GB 16MB SATA-II ($103.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $792.77*
Taking a minor penalty to the harddrive, we can make a switch to the superior Athlon64 X2 system here.

*Budget: <900CAD*

 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *Kingston Value RAM PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *Western Digital Caviar 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Silverstone SST-ST405 400W [12V@29A] ($63.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *MSI RS482M4-ILD [RX200] ($94.99)*
 *Nikao 2750 Black Case ($25.80)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $882.77*
With an extra $100 we can upgrade the CPU and bring the HDD back to the 250GB mark

*Budget: <1000CAD*

 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *Western Digital Caviar 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Silverstone SST-ST405 400W [12V@29A] ($63.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *MSI RS482M4-ILD [RX200] ($94.99)*
 *Nikao 2750 Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Kingmax Value PC3200 CL3 1GB ($109.99)*
 *Kingmax Value PC3200 CL3 1GB ($109.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $992.76*
Here we've upgraded the box to 2GB 

*Budget: <1100CAD*

 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *Western Digital Caviar 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Silverstone SST-ST405 400W [12V@29A] ($63.00)*
 *ASUS AX300SE-X/TD Radeon X300SE 128MB ($62.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *Nikao 2750 Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Muskin EM PC3200 2x1GB CL3 ($222.16)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1083.95*
Here we move to an extremely solid motherboard and discrete video solution and do a minor upgrade on the memory

*Budget: <1200CAD*

 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *Silverstone SST-ST405 400W [12V@29A] ($63.00)*
 *ASUS AX300SE-X/TD Radeon X300SE 128MB ($62.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *Nikao 2750 Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Muskin EM PC3200 2x1GB CL3 ($222.16)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 16MB SATA ($116.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 16MB SATA ($116.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1198.95*
The extra $100 goes towards doubling the harddrive capacity here.

*Budget: <1300CAD*

 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *ASUS AX300SE-X/TD Radeon X300SE 128MB ($62.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *Nikao 2750 Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Muskin EM PC3200 2x1GB CL3 ($222.16)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Antec True Power 2.0 550W SLI [12V@38A] ($106.95)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300GB 16MB SATA ($145.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300GB 16MB SATA ($145.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1300.90*
Here we add an extra 100GB as well as upgrade to an extremely solid PSU. 

*Budget: <1400CAD*

 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *ASUS AX300SE-X/TD Radeon X300SE 128MB ($62.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *Nikao 2750 Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Muskin EM PC3200 2x1GB CL3 ($222.16)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 16MB SATA ($116.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 16MB SATA ($116.00)*
 *Antec True Power 2.0 550W SLI [12V@38A] ($106.95)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 16MB SATA ($116.00)*
 *Thermaltake Golden Orb II ($39.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1398.89*
Although I would have preferred the Blue Orb II or Big Typhoon, IMO, the Golden Orb II is more than a fair trade for the extra 150GB which is ready for a RAID5 configuration for business servers needing data integrity.

*Bigger Budget?*
After $1400 it's a big jump before we get something seriously balanced and significantly improved. This is because, any substantial upgrades involve: adding another 2GB, adding a dedciated RAID5 controller and/or switching to a SMP dualcore Opteron configuration all of which incur large price penalties. If you're lucky enough to have a higher budget, make a post stating your requirements and we'll get to it on a case-by-case basis


----------



## Praetor

*-- Canadian Buyers --*

_Play Machines_
*Budget: <500CAD*

 *Kingmax Value RAM PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *Festival Case + 400W [12V@18A] ($34.00)*
 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 9 Plus 8MB 80GB ($59.99)*
 *ASUS K8U-X [ULI1689] ($61.99)*
 *Gigabyte Radeon 9600Pro 256MB ($89.99)*
 *Sempron 2800+ [Palermo, E6[Palermo], Socket 754 Lidded OmPGA, 1600MHz, SDA2800AIO3BX] ($89.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $491.95*
Christ this was a hard box to balance out ... unless you're absolutely dying for a gaming capable box in this budget I would advise _against_ this box. Too many sacrifices had to be made: this box is already obsolete (socket754 is discontinued, AGP is essentially dead). The only saving grace was that the on-die memory controller here gives the system a chance at handling games; the Radeon9600Pro is probably the best videocard in its price bracket here but it's also horribly outpaced. I guess the only good point about this box is that it has a decent amount of HDD space and I didnt compromise on the 1GB of RAM.

*Budget: <600CAD*

 *Athlon 64 3000+ [Venice, E3[Venice], Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 1800MHz, ADA3000DAA4BP] ($165.65)*
 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *Gigabyte GA-K8N51GMF-9 [C51-6100] ($83.99)*
 *Festival Black Case + 400W [12V@18A] ($34.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 9 Plu 80GB 8MB ($59.99)*
 *ASUS Extreme N6600LE/TD 6600LE 128MB ($99.99)*
 *Samsung SH-W162C ($45.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $599.60*
With an extra $100 we can upgrade to a S939 Athlon64. Granted we're still stuck with a 4-pipe card but it's a generation newer than the 9600Pro as before.

*Budget: <700CAD*

 *Athlon 64 3000+ [Venice, E3[Venice], Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 1800MHz, ADA3000DAA4BP] ($165.65)*
 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *Gigabyte GA-K8N51GMF-9 [C51-6100] ($83.99)*
 *Festival Black Case + 400W [12V@18A] ($34.00)*
 *Samsung SH-W162C ($45.99)*
 *Sapphire Radeon X800GTO 256MB ($185.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 100GB 8MB SATA ($69.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $693.62*
Finally, a system that has more non-compromises than compromises. The X800GTO here gives this box a significantly improved chance of handling games that are thrown at it

*Budget: <800CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *Festival Black Case + 400W [12V@18A] ($34.00)*
 *Samsung SH-W162C ($45.99)*
 *Sapphire Radeon X800GTO 256MB ($185.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 100GB 8MB SATA ($69.00)*
 *Athlon 64 3500+ [Venice, E3[Venice], Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA3500DAA4BP] ($232.99)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $798.97*
This is now a competitive box, the extra $100 allows us to upgrade both the motherboard and CPU.

*Budget: <900CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *Festival Black Case + 400W [12V@18A] ($34.00)*
 *Samsung SH-W162C ($45.99)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 100GB 8MB SATA ($69.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV] ($349.00)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *XFX GeForce 6800XT 256MB ($157.20 after $20.00 MIR)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $887.18*
A step back with the videocard however with this box we've moved to a dualcore configuration

*Budget: <1000CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *Festival Black Case + 400W [12V@18A] ($34.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV] ($349.00)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Sapphire Radeon X800GTO² 256MB ($239.99)*
 *Western Digital Caviar 200GB 8MB ($99.99)*
 *LiteOn SHW-1653S ($44.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $999.96*
With the extra $100 we've got the the unlockable X800GTO² and upgraded the HDD to a respectable 200GB

*Budget: <1100CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV] ($349.00)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Nikao Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Fortron SAGA AX400-PN 400W [12V@34A] ($52.63)*
 *Sapphire Radeon X800GTO² 256MB ($239.99)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1063.40*
Here I've upgraded the PSU, case as well as the HDD

*Budget: <1200CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *Nikao Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Fortron SAGA AX400-PN 400W [12V@34A] ($52.63)*
 *LiteOn SHW-1653S ($44.99)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *eVGA 7800GT CO 256MB + SLI motherboard ($449.65)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 9 Plus 160GB 8MB ($87.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1195.06*
Shuffling around the HDD we can make enough room here for the 7800GT.

*Budget: <1300CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Nikao Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *eVGA 7800GT CO SE ($367.47 after $25.00 MIR)*
 *Antec TruePower 2.0 TPII-430W [12V@34A] ($84.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1299.24*
Here we've upgraded the power supply (for tighter rail management) as well as paired the A8R-MVP up with an overclocked eVGA 7800GT (in addition to bringing back the 250GB drive)

*Budget: <1400CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Nikao Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *Antec TruePower 2.0 TPII-430W [12V@34A] ($84.99)*
 *eVGA 7800GT 256MB ($341.14 after $38.00 MIR)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1389.91*
Here we've switched to a different 7800GT to make room for a second 250GB drive

*Budget: <1500CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Nikao Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *Antec TruePower 2.0 TPII-430W [12V@34A] ($84.99)*
 *eVGA 7800GTX 256MB ($563.56)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1495.33*
Here we've traded one of the 250GB drives for the upgrade to the 7800GTX ACS³


----------



## Praetor

*-- Canadian Buyers --*

*Budget: <1600CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Nikao Black Case ($25.80)*
 *LiteOn SHW-1653S ($44.99)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *Antec TruePower 2.0 TPII-430W [12V@34A] ($84.99)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Sapphire Radeon X1900XT 512MB ($619.99)*
 *Thermaltake Blue Orb II ($49.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1599.75*
The extra $100 allows us to finally hit the X1900XT and upgrade the system cooler.

*Budget: <1700CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Nikao Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Sapphire Radeon X1900XT 512MB ($619.99)*
 *Antec TruePower 2.0 TPII-480W [12V@36A] ($95.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1678.77*
Losing the aftermarket HSF we've got a beefier PSU and a second 250GB drive.

*Budget: <1800CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Nikao Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Sapphire Radeon X1900XT 512MB ($619.99)*
 *Thermaltake Blue Orb II ($49.99)*
 *OCz PowerStream 520W [12V@33A] ($148.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1781.76*
Here we've brought the aftermarket HSF back along with an upgrade to the PSU for even tighter regulation

*Budget: <1900CAD*

 *Samsung SH-W162C ($45.99)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Nikao Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Sapphire Radeon X1900XT 512MB ($619.99)*
 *Thermaltake Blue Orb II ($49.99)*
 *OCz PowerStream 520W [12V@33A] ($148.00)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 2x1024MB CL2.5 ($229.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1899.77*
The extra $100 allows us to wrap this box up with an upgrade to 2GB of memory.

*Bigger Budget?*
Well the boxes are for the most part, maxed out in a balanced manner; yes there are more balanced configs possible but not without incurring a few hundred dollar jumps in between.


----------



## Praetor

*-- Canadian Buyers --*

_General Purpose Machines_
*Budget: <500CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *Festival Black Case + 400W [12V@18A] ($34.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 9 Plus 80GB 8MB ($59.99)*
 *LiteOn SHW-1653S ($44.99)*
 *Sempron 2800+ [Palermo, D0[Palermo], Socket 754 Lidded OmPGA, 1600MHz, SDA2800AIO3BA] ($89.00)*
 *ASUS K8N-VM [C51-6100] ($79.99)*
 *Connect3D X600Pro 256MB ($79.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $497.95*
Nothing special about this machine although compared to the $500 gaming box, this rig is a lot more upgradeable due to it's PCI-Express nature although it is still based on the discontinued S754 platform

*Budget: <600CAD*

 *Festival Black Case + 400W [12V@18A] ($34.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 9 Plu 80GB 8MB ($59.99)*
 *LiteOn SHW-1653S ($44.99)*
 *Intel Pentium D 805 [BX80551PE2666FN. Smithfield, 2.66GHz] ($179.23)*
 *ASUS P5PL2 [i945PL] ($115.00)*
 *OCz Value Series PC2-4200 2x512MB ($102.00)*
 *ASUS AX300SE-X/TD Radeon X300SE 128MB ($62.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $597.21*
Downgrading from the X600Pro to the X300SE, we can fit in a dualcore CPU

*Budget: <700CAD*

 *Festival Black Case + 400W [12V@18A] ($34.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 9 Plu 80GB 8MB ($59.99)*
 *LiteOn SHW-1653S ($44.99)*
 *Connect3D X600Pro 256MB ($79.99)*
 *ASUS P5PL2 [i945PL] ($115.00)*
 *OCz Value Series PC2-4200 2x512MB ($102.00)*
 *Intel Pentium D 820 [BX80551PG2800FN, Smithfield, 2.80GHz] ($263.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $698.97*
The extra $100 allows us to upgrade the CPU as well as bring back the X600Pro

*Budget: <800CAD*

 *Festival Black Case + 400W [12V@18A] ($34.00)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 100GB 8MB SATA ($69.00)*
 *LiteOn SHW-1653S ($44.99)*
 *ASUS P5PL2 [i945PL] ($115.00)*
 *OCz Value Series PC2-4200 2x512MB ($102.00)*
 *Intel Pentium D 820 [BX80551PG2800FN, Smithfield, 2.80GHz] ($263.00)*
 *Sapphire X800GT 256MB ($159.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $786.99*
The extra $100 allows us to make a substantial upgrade on the videocard

*Budget: <900CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *Gigabyte GA-K8N51GMF-9 [C51-6100] ($83.99)*
 *Festival Black Case + 400W [12V@18A] ($34.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV] ($349.00)*
 *LiteOn SHW-1653S ($44.99)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Sapphire X800GT 256MB ($159.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $897.97*
With the budget bump we've got enough to easily make the switch to the Ahlon 64 X2 platform

*Budget: <1000CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *Festival Black Case + 400W [12V@18A] ($34.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV] ($349.00)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Sapphire Radeon X800GTO 256MB ($185.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $963.98*
Here we've upgraded to the X800GTO and upgraded the motherboard significantly

*Budget: <1100CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Nikao Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Fortron SAGA AX400-PN 400W [12V@34A] ($52.63)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *Sapphire Radeon X800GTO 256MB ($185.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1084.41*
Here we've upgraded both the PSU/case as well as the processor

*Budget: <1200CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *Samsung SH-W162C ($45.99)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV] ($349.00)*
 *Nikao Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *eVGA 7800GT CO 256MB + SLI motherboard ($449.65)*
 *Antec TruePower 2.0 TPII-480W [12V@36A] ($95.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1192.43*
Here we've made a CPU sacrifice to get the 7800GT into the spec

*Budget: <1300CAD*

 *Kingmax Value PC3200 2x512MB CL3 ($109.99)*
 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Nikao Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *Antec TruePower 2.0 TPII-430W [12V@34A] ($84.99)*
 *eVGA 7800GT 256MB ($341.14 after $38.00 MIR)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1272.91*
This budget allows us to comfortably bring back the items that were trimmed back to make room for the 7800GT originally

*Budget: <1400CAD*

 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Nikao Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Western Digital 250GB 16MB SATA-II ($117.00)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *Antec TruePower 2.0 TPII-430W [12V@34A] ($84.99)*
 *eVGA 7800GT 256MB ($341.14 after $38.00 MIR)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 2x1024MB CL2.5 ($229.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1391.92*
Here we comfortably make the switch to a 2GB of memory setup

*Budget: <1500CAD*

 *BenQ DQ60 ($46.99)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($122.00)*
 *Nikao Black Case ($25.80)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($425.00)*
 *eVGA 7800GT 256MB ($341.14 after $38.00 MIR)*
 *Antec TruePower 2.0 TPII-480W [12V@36A] ($95.00)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 2x1024MB CL2.5 ($229.00)*
 *Western Digital 200GB 16MB SATA-II ($103.00)*
 *Western Digital 200GB 16MB SATA-II ($103.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: $1490.93*
With the extra $100 we've upgraded the PSU slightly and shuffled the harddrive configuration for an extra 150GB

*Bugger Budget?*
I would reccomend you reconsider your performance requirements as "general purpose computer" tasks should be more than adequately handled by the configurations above. If not, feel free to make a post idenfying your particular needs


----------



## Praetor

Section 03 - European Buyers
_Where to Buy Stuff?_
Here are some places you can start with

 *Dabs*
 *Scan.co*
 *eBuyer*
 *Amazon*
 *Savastore*
 *Microdirect*
 *Kelkoo*
 *ePCBuyer*
 *Pyramid*
 *Kikatek*

_Categorical Reccomendations_

 Work Oriented machine
 Play Oriented machine
 General Purpose machine


----------



## Praetor

*-- European Buyers --*

_Work Machines_
*Budget: <250GBP*

 *OcUK PC3200 Value 512MB (£23.44)*
 *OcUK PC3200 Value 512MB (£23.44)*
 *Samsung SH-W162C (£26.44)*
 *Western Digital 80GB 8MB (£36.31)*
 *PCICASE CS2600-BKS1 Hyperline II (£21.98)*
 *Q-Tec 650W [12V@25A] (£23.44)*
 *Sempron 3100+ [Palermo, D0[Palermo], Socket 754 Lidded OmPGA, 1800MHz, SDA3100AIO3BA] (£54.49)*
 *Gigabte GA K8N51 GMF [C51-6100] (£41.39)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £250.93*
By the time we get to the higher end components we wont be using any of these parts ever, this is still a nice system for a very low price.

*Budget: <300GBP*

 *OcUK PC3200 Value 512MB (£23.44)*
 *OcUK PC3200 Value 512MB (£23.44)*
 *ASUS A8N-VM [C51-6100] (£48.50)*
 *Samsung SH-W162C (£26.44)*
 *Western Digital 80GB 8MB (£36.31)*
 *PCICASE CS2600-BKS1 Hyperline II (£21.98)*
 *Q-Tec 650W [12V@25A] (£23.44)*
 *Athlon 64 3000+ [Winchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 1800MHz, ADA3000DIK4BI] (£95.93)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £299.48*
Dang it took a long time to spec this box out, but this is a hell of a box for the price.

*Budget: <350GBP*

 *Viking PC2-4200 512MB (£29.99)*
 *Viking PC2-4200 512MB (£29.99)*
 *Samsung SH-W162C (£27.02)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE 80GB 8MB SATA (£34.73)*
 *PCICase CS2600-BKS1 HyperLine II Case (£21.98)*
 *XPro 460W [12V@30A] (£36.49)*
 *Intel Pentium 4 630 [BX80547PG3000F, Prescott 2M, 3.0GHz] (£114.32)*
 *ASUS P5RD1-VM [RX200] (£47.11)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £341.63*

*Budget: <400GBP*

 *Samsung SH-W162C (£26.44)*
 *PCICASE CS2600-BKS1 Hyperline II (£21.98)*
 *Q-Tec 650W [12V@25A] (£23.44)*
 *Intel Pentium D 805 [BX80551PE2666FN, Smithfield, 2.66GHz] (£102.53)*
 *Gigabye GA-8N-SLI [NF4SLI Intel] (£61.88)*
 *GeCube Radepm X300 128MB (£32.61)*
 *Viking PC2-4200 512MB (£29.99)*
 *Viking PC2-4200 512MB (£29.99)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£70.37)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £399.23*

*Budget: <450GBP*

 *OcUK PC3200 Value 512MB (£23.44)*
 *OcUK PC3200 Value 512MB (£23.44)*
 *ASUS A8N-VM [C51-6100] (£48.50)*
 *Samsung SH-W162C (£26.44)*
 *PCICASE CS2600-BKS1 Hyperline II (£21.98)*
 *Q-Tec 650W [12V@25A] (£23.44)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£70.37)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV, OEM] (£193.82)*
 *Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro (£17.04)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £448.47*
Shuffled a few things around to fit in out first X2 box

*Budget: <500GPB*

 *Samsung SH-W162C (£26.44)*
 *PCICASE CS2600-BKS1 Hyperline II (£21.98)*
 *GeCube Radepm X300 128MB (£32.61)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£70.37)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV, OEM] (£193.82)*
 *Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro (£17.04)*
 *XPro 460W [12V@28A] (£36.49)*
 *PNY PC3200 512MB (£26.00)*
 *PNY PC3200 512MB (£26.00)*
 *Gigabyte GA-K8N MF-9 [NF4] (£43.76)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £494.51*
Those extra 100GBP go a very long way in allowing us to upgrade virtually everything: RAM, PSU and mobo

*Budget: <550GP*

 *Samsung SH-W162C (£26.44)*
 *PCICASE CS2600-BKS1 Hyperline II (£21.98)*
 *GeCube Radepm X300 128MB (£32.61)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£70.37)*
 *Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro (£17.04)*
 *XPro 460W [12V@28A] (£36.49)*
 *PNY PC3200 512MB (£26.00)*
 *PNY PC3200 512MB (£26.00)*
 *Gigabyte GA-K8N MF-9 [NF4] (£43.76)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] (£249.74)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £550.43*
Not nearly as impressive an upgrade as before, here we've upgraded the processor

*Budget: <600GPB*

 *PCICASE CS2600-BKS1 Hyperline II (£21.98)*
 *GeCube Radepm X300 128MB (£32.61)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£70.37)*
 *Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro (£17.04)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] (£249.74)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] (£76.07)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *Antec Smart Power 450PGB 450W [12V@32A] (£48.47)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £599.21*
Switched up the motherboard, the optical drive, RAM and to a tried-and-true power supply.

*Budget: <650GPB*

 *PCICASE CS2600-BKS1 Hyperline II (£21.98)*
 *GeCube Radepm X300 128MB (£32.61)*
 *Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro (£17.04)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] (£249.74)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] (£76.07)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *Antec Smart Power 450PGB 450W [12V@32A] (£48.47)*
 *Maxtor 200GB 8MB SATA-II (£56.05)*
 *Maxtor 200GB 8MB SATA-II (£56.05)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £640.94*
Here we've changed the drive configuration a bit to allow us an extra 150GB total.

*Bigger Budget*
If you're lucky enough to have a bigger budget and the above suggestions dont meet your needs, feel free to make a post outlining your requirements


----------



## Praetor

*-- European Buyers --*

_Play Machines_
*Budget: <250GBP*

 *OcUK PC3200 Value RAM 512MB (£23.44)*
 *OcUK PC3200 Value RAM 512MB (£23.44)*
 *MSI GeForceFX 5900 128MB (£35.25)*
 *MSI K8T NeoV [K8T800] (£26.85)*
 *Q-Tec 400W [12V@18A] (£11.24)*
 *Western Digital 80GB 8MB (£36.31)*
 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *LG GSA-4167BAL (£26.89)*
 *Sempron 2800+ [Palermo, D0[Palermo], Socket 754 Lidded OmPGA, 1600MHz, SDA2800AIO3BA] (£46.94)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £246.69*
If you can confirm that the PSU that comes with the case has a minimum of 18A on the 12V line then you may consider dropping the added PSU (which isnt that great anyways) and upgrading the CPU to the 3100 (the 3000 gets a clock speed bonus at the cost of half the cache). If not, this is still a fairly competitive system especially so for its price.

*Budget: <300GBP*

 *OcUK PC3200 Value RAM 512MB (£23.44)*
 *OcUK PC3200 Value RAM 512MB (£23.44)*
 *ASUS A8V-E SE [K8T890] (£38.70)*
 *Q-Tec 400W [12V@18A] (£11.24)*
 *Western Digital 80GB 8MB (£36.31)*
 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *LG GSA-4167BAL (£26.89)*
 *Athlon 64 3000+ [Newcastle, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 1800MHz, ADA3000DEP4AW] (£88.07)*
 *MSI Radeon X600XT 128MB (£35.13)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £299.55*
By sheer luck I was able to locate a X600XT (the alternative was to settle for a X300/6200 class card which is significantly behind in performance). In addition to the videocard change we've changed from a S754 Sempron above to a S939 Athlon64

*Budget: <350GBP*

 *ASUS A8V-E SE [K8T890] (£38.70)*
 *Q-Tec 400W [12V@18A] (£11.24)*
 *Western Digital 80GB 8MB (£36.31)*
 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *LG GSA-4167BAL (£26.89)*
 *ABit RX700Pro-128 Radeon X700Pro 128MB (£55.99)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Athlon 64 3200+ [Venice, E3[Venice], Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3200DAA4BP] (£108.50)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £348.70*
Here we spent the 50GBP to upgrade the videocard and CPU as well as switch to branded (as well as tried-and-true) memory.

*Budget: <400GBP*

 *ASUS A8V-E SE [K8T890] (£38.70)*
 *Q-Tec 400W [12V@18A] (£11.24)*
 *Western Digital 80GB 8MB (£36.31)*
 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *LG GSA-4167BAL (£26.89)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Athlon 64 3200+ [Venice, E3[Venice], Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3200DAA4BP] (£108.50)*
 *Sapphire X800GTO 256MB (£106.92)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £399.63*
Did a lot with the 50GBP difference between this and the previous stepping: a phenomenal upgrade in videocard performance as well as a bump in the CPU

*Budget: <450GBP*

 *ASUS A8V-E SE [K8T890] (£38.70)*
 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Athlon 64 3200+ [Venice, E3[Venice], Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3200DAA4BP] (£108.50)*
 *Sapphire X800GTO 256MB (£106.92)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£68.14)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *Q-Tec 550W [12V@28] (£16.20)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £437.72*
Did some minor changes here and there as well as bump the harddrive up to a respectable 250GB.

*Budget: <500GBP*

 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *LG GSA-4167BAL (£26.89)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Sapphire X800GTO 256MB (£106.92)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£68.14)*
 *Q-Tec 550W [12V@28] (£16.20)*
 *Athlon 64 3500+ [Venice, E3[Venice], Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA3500DAA4BP] (£140.69)*
 *ASUS A8N-E [NF4U] (£65.97)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £495.88*
Not quite enough money to make the jump to dual core so we make motherboard and CPU change.

*Budget: <550GBP*

 *ASUS A8V-E SE [K8T890] (£38.70)*
 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *LG GSA-4167BAL (£26.89)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Sapphire X800GTO 256MB (£106.92)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV] (£215.47)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£68.14)*
 *Q-Tec 550W [12V@28] (£16.20)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £543.39*
Some shuffling around of parts and we've got a dualcore gaming rig.

*Budget: <600GBP*

 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *LG GSA-4167BAL (£26.89)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Sapphire X800GTO 256MB (£106.92)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV] (£215.47)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£68.14)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP {RX200CF] (£76.07)*
 *Chieftec ENH-0746GB 460W [12V@29A] (£35.24)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £599.80*
Some more shuffling: traded one top notch motherboard for another as well as got a first rate PSU

*Budget: <650GBP*

 *ASUS A8V-E SE [K8T890] (£38.70)*
 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV] (£215.47)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£68.14)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *Chieftec ENH-0746GB 460W [12V@29A] (£35.24)*
 *Club3D 7800GT 256MB (£191.58)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £648.39*
A bit of shuffling and we can put a 7800GT into this box


----------



## Praetor

*-- European Buyers --*

*Budget: <700GBP*

 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV] (£215.47)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£68.14)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP {RX200CF] (£76.07)*
 *Chieftec ENH-0746GB 460W [12V@29A] (£35.24)*
 *Club3D 7800GT 256MB (£191.58)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £685.76*
Here we've shuffled back to the highly overclockable A8R-MVP

*Budget: <750GBP*

 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£68.14)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP {RX200CF] (£76.07)*
 *Club3D 7800GT 256MB (£191.58)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] (£249.97)*
 *Arctic Cooling Freezer64 Pro (£16.32)*
 *Antec NeoPower 480W [12V@33A] (£47.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £749.33*
Here we upgrade the CPU and PSU as well as add an aftermarket HSF

*Budget: <800GBP*

 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£68.14)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP {RX200CF] (£76.07)*
 *Chieftec ENH-0746GB 460W [12V@29A] (£35.24)*
 *Club3D 7800GT 256MB (£191.58)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] (£249.97)*
 *Arcitc Cooling Freezer64 Pro (£16.32)*
 *Kingston Value PC3200 1GB CL3 (£55.79)*
 *Kingston Value PC3200 1GB CL3 (£55.79)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £793.42*
Here we've upgraded the machine to a 2GB setup

*Budget: <850GBP*

 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP {RX200CF] (£76.07)*
 *Chieftec ENH-0746GB 460W [12V@29A] (£35.24)*
 *Club3D 7800GT 256MB (£191.58)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] (£249.97)*
 *Arcitc Cooling Freezer64 Pro (£16.32)*
 *Kingston Value PC3200 1GB CL3 (£55.79)*
 *Kingston Value PC3200 1GB CL3 (£55.79)*
 *Seagate 250GB 8MB SATA (£62.22)*
 *Seagate 250GB 8MB SATA (£62.22)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £849.72*
Stil not enough to upgrade the system to a 78GTX or the ATi equivalent so I've doubled the harddrive capacity

*Budget: <900GBP*

 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£68.14)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP {RX200CF] (£76.07)*
 *Chieftec ENH-0746GB 460W [12V@29A] (£35.24)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] (£249.97)*
 *Arcitc Cooling Freezer64 Pro (£16.32)*
 *PNY GeForce 7800GTX 256MB (£297.00)*
 *Kingston Value PC3200 1GB CL3 (£55.79)*
 *Kingston Value PC3200 1GB CL3 (£55.79)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £898.84*
Cutting back on the drives, we've got enough room to upgrade to the 7800GTX

*Budget: <950GBP*

 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£68.14)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP {RX200CF] (£76.07)*
 *Chieftec ENH-0746GB 460W [12V@29A] (£35.24)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] (£249.97)*
 *Arctic Cooling Freezer64 Pro (£16.32)*
 *Sapphire X1900XT 512MB (£347.86)*
 *Kingston Value PC3200 1GB CL3 (£55.79)*
 *Kingston Value PC3200 1GB CL3 (£55.79)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £949.70*
The extra 50GBP gave the needed budget to get a balanced gaming rig packing a X1900XT

*Budget: <1000GBP*

 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£68.14)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *ASUS A8R-MVP {RX200CF] (£76.07)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] (£249.97)*
 *Arctic  Cooling Freezer64 Pro (£16.32)*
 *Antec NeoPower 480W [12V@33A] (£47.99)*
 *Sapphire X1900XT 512MB (£347.86)*
 *Corsair TwinX PC3200 2x1GB CL3 (£135.00)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £985.87*
Here we've switched the memory over to the more overclockable Corsair XMS stuff

*Bigger Budget?*
If you're lucky enough to have a larger budget and the above guidelines dont help, feel free to make a post outlining your requirements.


----------



## Praetor

*-- European Buyers --*

_General Purpose Machines_
*Budget: <250GBP*

 *OcUK PC3200 Value RAM 512MB (£23.44)*
 *OcUK PC3200 Value RAM 512MB (£23.44)*
 *MSI GeForceFX 5900 128MB (£35.25)*
 *MSI K8T NeoV [K8T800] (£26.85)*
 *Q-Tec 400W [12V@18A] (£11.24)*
 *Western Digital 80GB 8MB (£36.31)*
 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *LG GSA-4167BAL (£26.89)*
 *Sempron 2800+ [Palermo, D0[Palermo], Socket 754 Lidded OmPGA, 1600MHz, SDA2800AIO3BA] (£46.94)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £246.69*
Ironically this is very similar if not identical to the 250GB Gaming box

*Budget: <300GBP*

 *OcUK PC3200 Value RAM 512MB (£23.44)*
 *OcUK PC3200 Value RAM 512MB (£23.44)*
 *ASUS A8V-E SE [K8T890] (£38.70)*
 *Q-Tec 400W [12V@18A] (£11.24)*
 *Western Digital 80GB 8MB (£36.31)*
 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *LG GSA-4167BAL (£26.89)*
 *Athlon 64 3000+ [Newcastle, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 1800MHz, ADA3000DEP4AW] (£88.07)*
 *MSI Radeon X600XT 128MB (£35.13)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £299.55*
Again, very similar to the gaming box: for these lower budgets its not often we have wildly differing specs

*Budget: <350GBP*

 *Q-Tec 400W [12V@18A] (£11.24)*
 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *MSI Radeon X600XT 128MB (£35.13)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *Intel Pentium D 805 [BX80551PE2666FN, Smithfield, 2.66GHz] (£102.53)*
 *MSI 945PL NeoF [i945PL] (£51.00)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC2-4200 512MB CL4 (£28.73)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC2-4200 512MB CL4 (£28.73)*
 *Maxtor DiamondMax 8 120GB 8MB SATA (£47.44)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £349.32*
Here we make a move to dualcore and bump the harddrive capacity

*Budget: <400GBP*

 *Q-Tec 400W [12V@18A] (£11.24)*
 *Western Digital 80GB 8MB (£36.31)*
 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *MSI Radeon X600XT 128MB (£35.13)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *MSI 945PL NeoF [i945PL] (£51.00)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC2-4200 512MB CL4 (£28.73)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC2-4200 512MB CL4 (£28.73)*
 *Intel Pentium D 820 [BX80551PG2800FN, Smithfield, 2.80GHz] (£162.39)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £398.05*
Trading the harddrive for the processor, I've picked out the PentiumD 820

*Budget: <450GBP*

 *OcUK PC3200 Value RAM 512MB (£23.44)*
 *OcUK PC3200 Value RAM 512MB (£23.44)*
 *ASUS A8V-E SE [K8T890] (£38.70)*
 *Q-Tec 400W [12V@18A] (£11.24)*
 *Western Digital 80GB 8MB (£36.31)*
 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *ABit RX700Pro-128 Radeon X700Pro 128MB (£55.99)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV] (£215.47)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £449.11*
Shuffling around quite a few things we end up with a X700Pro and a X2-3800

*Budget: <500GBP*

 *ASUS A8V-E SE [K8T890] (£38.70)*
 *Q-Tec 400W [12V@18A] (£11.24)*
 *Western Digital 80GB 8MB (£36.31)*
 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Sapphire X800GTO 128MB (£95.99)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 3800+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2000MHz, ADA3800DAA5BV] (£215.47)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £496.97*
Here we have a switch to Corsair memory and an upgrade to the X800GTO

*Budget: <550GBP*

 *ASUS A8V-E SE [K8T890] (£38.70)*
 *Q-Tec 400W [12V@18A] (£11.24)*
 *Western Digital 80GB 8MB (£36.31)*
 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Sapphire X800GTO 256MB (£106.92)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] (£249.97)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £542.40*
The 50GBP difference allows us to upgrade both the CPU and videocard

*Budget: <600GBP*

 *ASUS A8V-E SE [K8T890] (£38.70)*
 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Sapphire X800GTO 256MB (£106.92)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£68.14)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *Chieftec ENH-0746GB 460W [12V@29A] (£35.24)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] (£249.97)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £598.23*
A much need harddrive upgrade and PSU upgrade are easily afforded by the extra 50GBP

*Budget: <650GBP*

 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£68.14)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *ASUS A8N-E [NF4U] (£65.97)*
 *Chieftec ENH-0746GB 460W [12V@29A] (£35.24)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] (£249.97)*
 *Sapphire X800GTO² 256MB (£129.99)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £648.57*
A transition to the nForce4 Ultra platform and a videocard upgrade easily fit into the addition 50GBP allocation


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## Praetor

*-- European Buyers --*

*Budget: <700GBP*

 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£68.14)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *Q-Tec 550W [12V@28] (£16.20)*
 *ASUS A8N-E [NF4U] (£65.97)*
 *Club3D 7800GT 256MB (£191.58)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] (£249.97)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £691.12*
Some shuffling around allows us to add the 7800GT to this spec

*Budget: <750GBP*

 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Corsair Value Select PC3200 512MB CL2.5 (£27.37)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£68.14)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum [NF4U] (£76.37)*
 *Chieftec ENH-0746GB 460W [12V@29A] (£35.24)*
 *Club3D 7800GT 256MB (£191.58)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] (£249.97)*
 *Arcitc Cooling Freezer64 Pro (£16.32)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £736.88*
Upgrading to the superb K8N Neo4 Platinum as well as adding an aftermarket cooler are afforded by the extra 50GBP

*Budget: <800GBP*

 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 16MB SATA-II (£68.14)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum [NF4U] (£76.37)*
 *Chieftec ENH-0746GB 460W [12V@29A] (£35.24)*
 *Club3D 7800GT 256MB (£191.58)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] (£249.97)*
 *Arcitc Cooling Freezer64 Pro (£16.32)*
 *Kingston Value PC3200 1GB CL3 (£55.79)*
 *Kingston Value PC3200 1GB CL3 (£55.79)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £793.72*
Here we've upgraded the box to a 2GB setup

*Budget: <850GBP*

 *Q-Tec LMDO2 Case + Junk 350W (£16.33)*
 *NEC ND4550 (£28.19)*
 *MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum [NF4U] (£76.37)*
 *Chieftec ENH-0746GB 460W [12V@29A] (£35.24)*
 *Club3D 7800GT 256MB (£191.58)*
 *Athlon 64 X2 4200+ [Manchester, Socket 939 Lidded OmPGA, 2200MHz, ADA4200DAA5BV] (£249.97)*
 *Arcitc Cooling Freezer64 Pro (£16.32)*
 *Kingston Value PC3200 1GB CL3 (£55.79)*
 *Kingston Value PC3200 1GB CL3 (£55.79)*
 *Seagate 250GB 8MB SATA (£62.22)*
 *Seagate 250GB 8MB SATA (£62.22)*
 *SUBTOTAL: £850.02*
Although technically 2pence over, I'm too lazy to make this fit, here I've doubled the harddrive capacity of the system

*Bigger Budget?*
If you've got a bigger budget and the above arent adequate guidelines, feel free to make a post indicating your particular requirements.


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## Praetor

Will post more stuff later.... blah.


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