Bargain Hardware Thread

[moebius]

I have a 3700+ Revision SH-E4, AMD Bios 0403.

If I upgrade from A64 3700+ Rev.E4 to A64 3700+ Rev.E6,
I would have to upgrade to AMD Bios 0506.

[petrw1]

I checked on newegg and tigerdirect a couple months ago and could get a Q9550 for $220.

Now newegg has them listed for $270 and tigerdirect has no Q9550 listed but even has the Q9400 at $190.

Is it that time of year or have they decided the Q9550 are too popular?

Pardon if this is a naive question but I'm new to buying my own hardware.

===========================================

BUT...maybe this is a moot point. The i5/750 is under $200 and the i7/860 and i7/920 are under $300 and according to the benchmarks both are faster (slightly) than the Q9550.

Might I'd be better off with one of the i-series instead or are there other gotcha's to watch out for with this newer hardware?

Thanks

[stars10250]

Originally Posted by petrw1

I checked on newegg and tigerdirect a couple months ago and could get a Q9550 for $220.

Now newegg has them listed for $270 and tigerdirect has no Q9550 listed but even has the Q9400 at $190.

Wow, that is weird. I thought you might have been confusing it with the Q9550S, but you are correct. I tend to agree with your latter assessment; it is probably time to move beyond the Q9550 and memory bottlenecks and all that. I would definitely price out a system built around one of the i chips and potentially pay a little more if necessary.

[Prime95]

Originally Posted by petrw1

BUT...maybe this is a moot point. The i5/750 is under $200 and the i7/860 and i7/920 are under $300 and according to the benchmarks both are faster (slightly) than the Q9550.

definitely go with the i5/750. Even if it benchmarks the same as a Q9550, when you run 4 worker threads on an i5 there is no degradation - there is with a Q9550.

[petrw1]

Originally Posted by RMAC9.5

Petrw1,
Also, new desk top PCs from Fry's and NewEgg are incredibly cheap when you find them on sale and send in the mail in rebates.

I found this on newegg for $699:
Anything look suspect to any of you??? i.e. DDR2 vs DDR3?

Processor: Intel Core i5 750 (2.66GHz)
Memory: 4GB DDR3 1333
Hard Drive: 500GB SATAII
Optical Drive 1: 22X DL DVD+/-RW Drive
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD4350 512MB
Audio: Sound card - Integrated
Ethernet: 10/100/1000 LAN

Piecemeal (sample components that I suspect would work together and be comparable to the system above):

CPU: $200 (Intel Core i5 750 (2.66GHz)
MB: $90 (Foxconn P55MX Micro ATX Intel Motherboard 2×240pin DDR3 1333/1066)
RAM: $94 (Patriot Gamer Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) 
PowerSupply $80 (Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W "compatible with Core i7/Core i5")

Total $464 assuming I can use the existing HD, case and CD/DVD Reader

And I just noticed the prices are about 10% higher on the NewEgg Canada site but probably in Can$ and less shipping?? But no comparable complete systems from Canada.

Oops lied: Found this one:
Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750
ASUS P7P55D LE LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1333LV4GK
Original Price: $609.96
Discount: -$45.97
Combo Price: $563.99

Oops lied again... this is just a combo not a complete system. I'd still need the Powersupply and hope I can use my existing case.

[Prime95]

Also use Bing cashback to save another ~3%

[only_human]

I bought this from a 24-hour sale yesterday at NewEgg:
ASUS WL-520gC IEEE 802.3/3u, IEEE 802.11b/g 125 HSM Wireless Router / DD-WRT Open Source support for $24.99 (and free shipping using the NewEgg's eBlast email promo code) + tax = $27.43. Tracking tells me that this was loaded onto a delivery truck in Gardena, California this morning and should be at my house today (Boggle). Alas I didn't go through Bing so I wasted some portion of a dollar. Looking at their website now, I think I should have bought some Nvidia cards from them too.


Also be on the alert for BillMeLater sign-up incentives. I used a $25 NewEgg/BillMeLater sign-up incentive around Christmas thuse turning a $39 order into one that costs me merly $14. Also, I think I saw a $100 sign-up incentive in November but, alas I didn't act on that one.

This CUDA talk lately has me interested. I bought a couple of inexpensive Nvidia cards recently from TigerDirect. I keep a computer a few feet from where I sleep so wanted something silent and low power (and cheap!) so that I could avoid beefing up the power supply or hearing any fans. Speed is not my priority and I wouldn't want to be near the bleeding edge anyway.

I bought these:

• M452-9502 MSI GeForce 9500 GT Video Card - 512MB DDR2, PCI Express 2.0, DVI, HDMI, VGA MPN: 602-V133-310 $39.99
• S15-8406 Sparkle GeForce 8400 GS Video Card - 256MB DDR2, PCI Express, One Link DVI, HDCP Capable, HDTV
  MPN: SFPX84GS256U2LP $24.03
• S19-4040 OEM White Box 450-Watt ATX Power Supply - 450-Watt, ATX, 12V, OEM MPN: GT450W $10.96

The power supply was bundle priced with the MSI card, I believe, and is part of the reason I bought that one as a spare. My desktop is right next to my bed so I primarily wanted a silent card. I've just installed Sparkle card with the passive heatsink and also avoided beefing up my power supply at least for the moment. It's running around 60 C idle at the moment versus just under 50 C for my CPU. I hope that's ok.

[only_human]

Originally Posted by only_human

I bought this from a 24-hour sale yesterday .... Tracking tells me that this was loaded onto a delivery truck in Gardena, California this morning and should be at my house today (Boggle).

Taking my sweetheart to the doctor's at the moment, I just glanced at my email first. It looks like NewEgg is going to be my new impulse purchase site (I hope others here get to enjoy the fun):

Dear Customer,

We are introducing a new shipping option on Newegg.com
that will allow you to get your purchases delivered even faster!

Newegg Local Express Delivery will enable customers who live near one of our three main distribution centers (located in California, Tennessee and New Jersey) to receive delivery of eligible, in-stock items the same day they are ordered if the order is placed by the designated cut-off time (see below).

You are receiving this e-mail because your primary shipping address is located in an eligible zone. To take advantage of Newegg Local Express Delivery, simply follow these steps:

1. Place an item in your shopping cart and go to checkout.
2. Enter your zip code where prompted and if the item in your cart is eligible the option Local Express Delivery will appear in the drop-down menu and a message will appear on the page alerting you so.
3. Complete your order by the designated cut-off time for Local Express Delivery (11am in California, 12pm in New Jersey and Tennessee (local times)).

Thank you, as always, for shopping with us!

[Uncwilly]

While not the fastest machine out there, this may be useful for a serviceman or for bad environments.
http://www.compusa.com/applications/...EwZtotoueVMqKg

Panasonic Toughbook CF-29H3 Rugged Notebook PC - Intel Pentium M LV 738 1.4GHz, 1GB DDR, 40GB HDD, DVD-ROM, 13.3" TFT, Windows XP Pro (Off-Lease)

It has a Mil STD

[petrw1]

...

[markr]

Originally Posted by petrw1

A sneap peek at Intel's proposed i9 chip

I hope they gave credit to xkcd.com.