What happned to that challenge topic?

[Blasto121]

darn I was getting ready to post a computer up for that challenge topic.

oh well

I post it anyway

I love building computers even if it won't be built, and yes this computer does work the power requirements of the whole thing with video card are under 250 watt with the stock but for safety sake I included the 300 watt supply at the bottom.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824254018
Hanns·G HW-173DBB Black 17" 8ms
$144.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6856101038
Shuttle SN68SG2 AMD Socket AM2 AMD Athlon 64 / Athlon 64 X2 / Sempron NVIDIA GeForce 7025 2 x 240Pin GeForce 7 Series glamor small form factor Black XPC Barebone
$204.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103242
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ 2.8GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - OEM
$105.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6823107120
LITE-ON SK-1788/BS 2-Tone 104 Normal Keys PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard - Retail
$6.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6826193001
Rosewill RM800P Black 3 Buttons 1 x Wheel PS/2 Wired Optical 800 dpi Mouse - OEM
$4.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148262
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$69.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827151161
SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM
$24.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6836121014
Logitech S-220 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System - OEM
$22.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231098
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
$46.99

TOTAL = 632.91 without shipping and handling
TOTAL =671.36 when shipped to an oregon area code

with video card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130290
EVGA 512-P2-N757-TR GeForce 8600GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
$149.99

Alternate get a 256 version drop 50 bucks.

TOTAL = $782.90 without shipping and handling
TOTAL = $823.31 when shipped to an oregon area code

along with new PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817157006
Shuttle Silent X PC50 SFX 300W Power Supply 100 - 240 V CUL, TUV, CB, CCC, FCC class B, CE, BSMI - Retail
$92.99

TOTAL = 875.89 without shipping and handling
TOTAL = $919.45 when shipped to an oregon area code

 

[Thraxis]

I took it down because I didn't have an incentive ready, then was asking around the RiP forums for incentive, and people didn't get it (MiB did, thumbs up to him), so I didn't post it back up.

But uh...since this is already up and I have the file saved...

Okay, so a few of my friends have decided not to follow my advice and all went and got over priced laptops last year. Two of them who are game oriented are now complaining heavily due to them not taking my advice of consolting me with the necessary requirements of a laptop that is still capable of gaming.

So for the past week as these two have both started finding more time to game, they have both become depressed that one laptop cannot run MSC at all, and the other is barely capable of running Portal and TF2 on all low/off settings.

So here is the challenge I make to you, my fellow MS:C members. I decided this weekend with my free time I will try and make a computer build from scratch, using only 1,000 USD to back the idea. This is completely fictional and I don't intend to actually BUILD the computer, just to give my friends on what a real computer, on a modest budget is like.

You have to assemble a computer from scratch.
this includes
A tower
A mother board
A Power Supply
A monitor
A Disc Drive
A keyboard
A mouse
A set of speakers
A Processor
A Graphics Card
And finally? Ram

This computer MUST be able to do/have the following things

Run old and new games (So openGL support is a must)
Run newer games decently well (Orange box is good example)
CPU must be dual core (Bonus points if listing both AMD and Intel cpu)
GFX card does NOT need Direct X 10, however, it must be at least PCIE 16x
Monitor no less than 17"
And of course, not overheat/asplode
At least 2 USB 2.0 slots

Bonus points if it's easy to configure, comes with deals for games, has nifty things (fire wire for instance), looks rad, comes at a total price of < 800 dollars and still meets reqs.

If I missed anything, made anything unclear, or questions about rules are raised, you can just ask here and I will reply.

I know there isn't much incentive to do this, so for kicks, if you need anything in MSC and i'm available, I will gladly help out whoever my 2 friends decide the winner to be, wether it be getting items, leveling up, whatever. (And if I find a double of something that's rare, I will offer that up too)
Have fun with it.

Took the deadline out

Edit: By the way, thanks for pwning me and posting even when the contest was down. I like just about everything that build. Just didn't know the makers of the ram, and have always been skeptical of names I haven't heard of for computers. Everything else does the job and does it well . Also, having been talking with a friend while you posted this, she liked the build after consulting with me, so you get thumbs up from her too.

 

[Blasto121]

the G.SKill ram is actually the best rated DDR2 ram from the whole of newegg, and at its price I figured I could splurge there and get some quality award winning ram for the small thing. The biggest saver is the fact its an AMD shuttle. Speaking of which that shuttle is actually one I own be it thats a much updated version from mine.

They are small compact computers, they do run a bit hot. Then again when it only has 1 fan cooling the whole thing what would one expect.

If ye want I can make a different built going in a different direction, geared specifically to High end gaming on a budget.

 

[Shurik3n]

Well I just spent all day building my new computer, only spent about $800 on new parts. I already had a case, fans and OS and my friend sold me 2 1GB sticks of Crucial Ballistix ram for $30. If I had to pick a case and the rest of the requirements I would probably go over the 1k limit. Went from 30 to 230 fps in TF2, so it was money well spent, and I think I got enough CPU to host a good MSC server now.

 

[Mikkel]

My computerz

Main computer

Core2duo E6600 2.4 ghz
2 GB ram
640 + 500 HDD
nVidia GeForce 7900 GS 256 MB


Meh server (to host MS:C soon)

Intel P4 2.66 ghz
1.5 GB ram
some ati card

 

[Sabre]

Thraxis, you forgot a sound card

I don't think many onboard sound chipsets can handle some games(F.E.A.R., for example, wouldn't work without an adequate sound card). But yeah, you can get a Sound Blaster Audigy SE with 7.1 surround for like $30-$40.

 

[Blasto121]

sound cards are not needed to fully enjoy a game, its the one device you can skimp on because it just doesn't make much of a a difference to have EAX 1.0 vs EAX 4.0.

 

[Jelly]

Some games lag if yer sound card isn't good enough. UT2004 used to lag like hell, when I was playing. Then I turned off the sound, and the lag stopped. :roll:

 

[Thraxis]

That is why there is a ? at finally, to cover my "Time to post in the AM hours of darkness instead of the PM hours of darkness" ass.

Anyway, Include sound card (Blasto Your fine, Since you have practically 100 bucks to spare) from here on, or just omit it if you are that lazy, and leave enough money (30 - 50 bucks) for one.

 

[Netrogor]

My computer build ->
CPU- AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+
GPU- XFX GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB GDDR3
Clock speeds- Factory Setting Clocks, Lifetime Warranty Intact
Core- 675MHz
Memory- 2000MHz
Shader- 2400MHz
RAM- 2GB Corsair OCd 866MHz (Factory Settings, Lifetime Warranty Intact)
Harddrive- WD250GB IDE... I want a SATA
Motherboard- TA690G AM2
Internet- TP-Link Wireless Adapter (optional use of a GbE corded adapter). The wireless adapter hasn't given me even a little bit of trouble or performance loss, and works just fine in games.
Monitor- 19" TFT LCD flat panel
Case- CoolerMaster (MidTower)
Fans- Supports up to seven fans. Currently has four installed, not including the CPU and powersupply fans.
Three 120mm fans, and one 220mm fan, are installed thus far.
When under extreme load, such as hosting my MSC server and playing TF2 (maxed out graphical settings), it hovers around 25-31 celsius (the CPU)... so it is a very nice cooling setup. Also have my computer next to a window, and, my being in Michigan, it gets pretty cold out & seeps in. ^^

This summer, I hope to get a 750GB SATA drive, fill in the remaining three fans I can pop in (one more space in front, on top, and on bottom of case)... and to buy a BFG GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB GDDR3 card, that a friend is offering to me for like $80 or something.

 

[Sabre]

Indeed it is, I would probably consider a sound card in addition to the MBox2Mini, as I have other, non-ProTools applications that could use it. However, ProTools mandates that sound be processed through the MBox, which has outputs for monitors and headphones.
As for the case I picked...I could always drill more ventilation/add more fans if need be, the case I selected looks like it will have a bit of room to do so.

On an unrelated note...I have yet to actually have an issue with this rig, I built it just with uber in mind, not for a specific task(Though this computer does a lot of graphic heavy work). Hopefully (more) software guys realize that the nForce chipsets are solid enough to add full compatibility.