Cheapest possible budget machine that will run office apps - overclocking fun!

sniper007

sniper007

sniper007

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OK, Im having to sell my nice fully capable gaming machine as need the money and dont really get the time to utilize the power of it. I want to hence build up a new machine on the cheap but I want it to whizz along all nicely and run my apps and do what I want it to be able to do with minimal fuss. What Im aiming for, is an absolute budget machine for as little as possible, preferably based around the type of processor that can be majorly overclocked for maximum bang per buck (but must be able to be air cooled sufficiently without sounding like a hoover)

The machine would ideally be able to run general office apps but also run heavy apps such as Photoshop occasionally and multitask where possible. DOES NOT HAVE TO RUN ANY GAMES! May be occasionally used for testing software etc in VM ware environment (virtual machines) hence may require 2 gig of ram, but not the worlds fastest or anything!

Ideally would be quiet as possible, so passive chipset etc.

Im thinking even an old style CPU - were there not some ridiculously good CPUs of the past that did like 100% overclocks that would only cost very little now?


Finally, only other thing it needs to be able to do, is run minimum of 3 hard disk drives, as want to set up a HDD and two others in RAID1 config. This CAN be via software in windows, but hardware raid would be preferred. HDDs can be IDE drives to save cost.

So any ideas and which route to go down!?



Regards!
 
The old Athlon 1700 and 1800s were pretty famous, I've heard of people getting 2.5Ghz out of them. ( about double their stock speed.) Failing that, theres always the classic Athlon XP 2500 -> 3200 trick.
 
Ah thats right! Remember now. Might have to have a scout about MM! What about ram considerations, is there really going to be a need for 2gig? Still would run dual channel mode?
 
The XP 2500 is not worth looking for. They are going for silly money these days as people with socket-A systems are looking for an upgrade.

Your best bet is an AM2 based Sempron 64. These will overclock like no-bodies business. DDR2 RAM is generally cheaper than DDR these days by a little bit too. Combine that with a 6100 nForce based AM2 motherboard (integrated 6200 graphics, good enough for vista) and you have a winner. The nForce chipset also has semi-decent built in RAID (good enough for your needs anyway).
 
HD-015-IB Hitachi Deskstar 7K80 80GB ATA-133 2MB Cache - OEM (0A30210) (HD-015-IB)
£23.50 £70.50
CD-059-LO Liteon DRW-6S160P-05C 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-059-LO)
£18.25 £18.25
CA-052-AN Antec NSK4400 Mini Tower Case - 380W SmartPower PSU (CA-052-AN)
£34.95 £34.95
CP-117-AM AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 90nm (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA3000BPBOX) (CP-117-AM)
£52.95 £52.95
MB-042-GI Gigabyte K8N51GMF-9 nForce 6100 Micro ATX (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-042-GI)
£41.95 £41.95
MY-006-OK OcUK Value 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 184pin DDR Memory Dual Channel Kit (MY-006-OK)
£99.95 £99.95
Subtotal £318.55
VAT £55.75
Total £374.30

I chose a 939 system as you can get an A64 3000 for the same price as a sempron on AM2 (due to motherboard prices).
 
Ok I decided that the CPU will be one of the following:

XP1700+ / XP1800+ - what is the difference in overclockability? And what cache do these chips have?
OC to 2 - 2.2ghz and about £30-£40.

XP2500+ Barton - I understand I need to go for a thoroughbred B? Is this because the Bs are multiplier unlocked?
OC to about 2.2 - 2.5 ghz. Bout £40

Prescott sckt 478 2.4a - These I can only see available from US and are hard to find. They dont have hyper threading but overclock well to about 3.4ghz and are only about £50.
 
Seriously look at 2nd hand A64 3000's. Brand new they are only £60 now so the 2nd hand price might be the same as those socket-A and socket 478 CPU's you listed. It will also overclock like mad and give you way better performance than either of the other 2 CPU's you listed.
 
Only issue with that, is that that pushes the price up of the whole system on the basis that socket 939 mobos are more money and the ram to go with it?
 
He needs RAM for either system and it will cost the same for both so thats not an extra expense. The only other cost then is the motherboard. You can get 939 motherboards very cheap these days. Even nVidia integrated graphics ones are under £45 new, let alone 2nd hand. Plus getting a good socket-A motherboard might take some hunting down.
 
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