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halbhh2
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Much, much better "Econobox"

Thu Aug 09, 2012 2:03 pm

Even after today's sale ends, this Newegg combo will be much better than TR's econobox configuration.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1018125&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL080912&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL080912-_-EMC-080912-Index-_-Combo-_-Combo1018125-LM0A

Why? SSD, 8GB, those are the main reasons. But, even the HD6850 graphic are better. (And I think even the case and PSU are as good or better.) Very good for gaming.

Altogether it is a *lot* better than the TR recommended econobox:

1x Rosewill R5 Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Case, comes with 2 x front fans, Fan Controller, USB2.0 & USB3.0 front ports, Removable top and lower front filter panels (Model:R5)
$69.99

1x MSI 970A-G46 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS (Model:970A-G46)
$89.99

1x SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity (100315L) (Model:100315L)
$149.99

1x Rosewill CAPSTONE Series CAPSTONE-650-M 650W ATX12V v2.31 & EPS12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply (Model:CAPSTONE-650-M)
$99.99

1x AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX (Model:HDZ965FBGMBOX)
$109.99

1x Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) with Transfer Kit (Model:CT128M4SSD2CCA)
$119.99

1x G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM (Model:F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM)
$56.99

Combined Total: $696.93
Combo Discounts: -$70.00
Combo Price: $626.93
 
halbhh2
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Re: Much, much better "Econobox"

Thu Aug 09, 2012 2:14 pm

Suppose though you want your "econobox" to be more "econo", and the sale has ended....

After the sale ends:

Downgrade some components down to the TR econobox choices:
http://techreport.com/articles.x/23204/2

Cheaper:
Downgrade the HD6850 down to the TR recommended HD7770
Downgrade the "Gold" power supply down to the TR recommended supply.
Downgrade the case down to the TR recommended case.

Those are good choices, and then you'll be more "econo"

Need to save even more? Use a Microcenter.com for the motherboard and cpu combo to get $40 off on your motherboard with the Phenom II x4 cpu.

example:
ASRock 970 Extreme3 Socket AM3+ 970 ATX AMD Mother... ASRock 970 Extreme3 Socket AM3+ 970 ATX AMD Mother...
SKU: 217471 $44.99 (price includes combo discount with AMD cpu)

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz Boxed Pr... AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz Boxed Pr...
SKU: 518936 $89.99

After all of that, you'll be under the TR econobox price, and still have a faster, better system.
 
JustAnEngineer
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Re: Much, much better "Econobox"

Thu Aug 09, 2012 11:31 pm

Have you actually tried that Rosewill case and power supply?

The Rosewill case is functional, if a bit flimsy, but I'd recommend an Antec Three Hundred or NSK3480 case as a much better-engineered piece of hardware.
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Chrispy_
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Re: Much, much better "Econobox"

Fri Aug 10, 2012 10:12 am

The econobox is not supposed to be low quality in any way. You can always drive the price lower by taking advantage of offers, bundles, and substituting high-quality parts for lower-quality parts.

It is, after all, just a guide.
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superjawes
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Re: Much, much better "Econobox"

Fri Aug 10, 2012 10:23 am

Chrispy_ wrote:
The econobox is not supposed to be low quality in any way. You can always drive the price lower by taking advantage of offers, bundles, and substituting high-quality parts for lower-quality parts.

It is, after all, just a guide.

I thought this post was particularly weird considering that it's criticizing a build listed more than a month ago now....

And I do think it would be cool for a more Gerbil-based sub-Econobox guide, but considering that there are three more powerful machines in the guide, the Econobox is a more affordable build without seeming gimped compared to a Sweet Spot or Editor's Choice. Weaker, yes, but still a solid and reliable machine.
On second thought, let's not go to TechReport. It's infested by crypto bull****.
 
absurdity
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Re: Much, much better "Econobox"

Fri Aug 10, 2012 12:15 pm

That PSU seems a bit overkill - my guess is you could bump down to a 500 (or maybe less) and be okay.
 
halbhh2
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Re: Much, much better "Econobox"

Fri Aug 10, 2012 12:48 pm

Basically, I think we should make an effort to show newbies how to build as good or better than the TR configuration for the same or less money. The way the Econobox in the guide is configured is okay if $100 means little to you. But for some people, $100 is actually a lot.

So, for instance, build a system that is as good or better for $100 less, or $150 less, and forget about the rules, etc., because it is not about TR's guide, it is about helping folks with less money build a great system.

So, as I suggested in the 2nd post, pick and choose, make trade offs, focus on what matters, get the performance for less.
 
halbhh2
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Re: Much, much better "Econobox"

Fri Aug 10, 2012 12:52 pm

More: while I posted the OP above because of the great combo sale it had, really a better goal, and very doable is to build a gaming system that will be very close to the TR in terms of framerates for a lot less money. It's great that some people want nice cases, or a psu, like me, that is extremely well made. Great. Viva la difference. But for many years, when I had less money, I built great systems with cheap psus, cheap cases, reused stuff, and *that* is the kind of thing the guide just fails on. It's not about a contest, or following rules. It is about what can be done, in actual give-me-more-for-less reality.

You can't please everyone, and I think in the future I want to focus my posts to be for the cheapskates that know they can get by spending 1/2 the cash, and get the same speed.

So, by all means, suggest your own flavors. That's my flavor.
Last edited by halbhh2 on Fri Aug 10, 2012 12:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
Chrispy_
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Re: Much, much better "Econobox"

Fri Aug 10, 2012 12:53 pm

Well, the guy's new here and just trying to be helpful ;)

I screwed together an all-new PC for £180 not long ago. It was not as good as the econobox but it'll game, surf and play 1080p better than an Xbox or PS3, which made the recipient happy enough to buy me a crate of beer.
I think it all depends what you are expecting for the money. If you don't mind cheap, flimsy no-name parts then that's fine - since the budget Dell/HP boxes are no different - they just back it up with a more robust warranty (and some OEM licensing hax).
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halbhh2
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Re: Much, much better "Econobox"

Tue Aug 14, 2012 12:43 pm

180 quid seems like a good price! Eventually we should think about trying to configure a kinda in-between box, using less expensive motherboard/processor and case/psu than the TR econobox, but able to achieve the same framerates almost all the time. That would not be too hard, and some would find it useful. My 2nd post above is not all the way there. Instead of a somewhat better for somewhat less, I'd like to see an about-as-good-as for quite a bit less. It would have to match the graphics power of the TR, and probably would have to use an AMD quad core to match the Intel dual core and take advantage of the less expensive AM3+ motherboards (where you get the same USB3.0, etc. for $20-$50 less than similar Intel boards), and especially needs to use combo prices whenever available.
 
halbhh2
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Re: Much, much better "Econobox"

Thu Aug 16, 2012 7:46 am

Here's a great new starting point if you see this thread on 8/16 am (until 09:59AM PT, or about Noon Central time): Newegg combo (today only)
http://www.newegg.com/Special/ShellShocker.aspx?nm_mc=EMC-SD082012&cm_mmc=EMC-SD082012-_-SD081612-_-item-_-combo

1x Rosewill FUTURE Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, come with Four Fans - 2 x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1 x Top 120mm Fan,1 x Rear 120mm Fan, Support up to 6 Fans (Model:FUTURE) $44.99
1x MSI 890FXA-GD70 AM3+ AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard (Model:890FXA-GD70) $169.99
1x Rosewill Green Series RG530-S12 530W Continuous @40°C, 80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC "Compatible with Core i7,i5" Power Supply (Model:RG530-S12) $49.99
1x AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4100WMGUSBX (Model:FD4100WMGUSBX) $109.99
1x OCZ Vertex Plus R2 VTXPLR2-25SAT2-120GB 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (Model:VTXPLR2-25SAT2-120GB) $84.99
1x G.SKILL Value 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9S-4GBNT (Model:F3-10666CL9S-4GBNT) $20.49

Combined Total: $480.44
Combo Discounts: -$80.45
Combo Price: $399.99

Add in your own video card choice, such as the HD7770 in the TR guide (link in 2nd post above), and you've again got a better, faster computer for less.

What makes it "faster"??

The solid state drive.

Want even faster yet? grab another 4GB of that same Ram to get 8GB total.

Or....Move up one level in graphics if you are an intense gamer, such as to a HD6850.


These combo deals come every week it seems.

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