Whats the best desktop CPU for around $200

[Spongebob]

Looking for suggestions on what desktop CPU to get someone that has around $200 US for a CPU. It'll be used for both video gaming and video editing.

[BURTON88]

you can get a amd 64 3200 for around 150 for socket 939 and its pritty wquick

[zaqwsx]

amd athlon 64 3500+ grate
or the 3700+ san diago awsowem and oces grate though its 235 i would recommend it but if you can't the 3500+ is the runner up

[wayout44]

I'd suggest you look at the Pentium D930 as it's about that price and as it's a dual core it'll do your video editing much faster than those single core alternatives (it's a shame that cheapest dual core Athlon is about $100us dearer) but it will be a little slower at games than those other CPU's.

[Yawgm0th]

You can't just price a CPU alone, because motherboard prices vary greatly based on socket and what you want to do. For example, the Core Duo T2300 is just over $200 and once overclocked it's better than anything else currently available. However, you'll need to spend over $250 for just a decent overclocking motherboard. A 3800 X2 is just under $300, but you can get a good overclocking socket 939 motherboard for under $100.

So that's $360-$420 for an X2 3800, but $450-$550 for a T2300. See my point? It's hard to give you a recommendation on just a processor if we don't have an overall CPU/Board price or knowledge of whether the system will be overclocked or not.

[Spongebob]

The person that wants this system found a used AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800 CPU for $150, so I think we will build it around that.
Now what mainboard should we get for it?

He's also been looking at 19" LCD monitor around the $200 range. Anyone have some suggestions, I've kinda fallen behind on some of this stuff lately so I'm suggesting sumething with a low response time and a good contrast ratio. Am I aiming in the right direction?

I think overclocking will happen but nothing too severe Yawg. I'm thinking he's not going to spend alot on cooling but I'm aiming for a little higher end system ram to make overclocking atleast possible.

[Yawgm0th]

Originally Posted by Spongebob

The person that wants this system found a used AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800 CPU for $150, so I think we will build it around that.
Now what mainboard should we get for it?

The ASUS A8N5X and DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity are two great motherboards that will overclock as far as you need to and help keep the price down. The DFI SLI-Infinity is also a good choice if you want to be able to have SLI in the future, but I'd probably stick with one of the other two.

Originally Posted by Spongebob

He's also been looking at 19" LCD monitor around the $200 range. Anyone have some suggestions, I've kinda fallen behind on some of this stuff lately so I'm suggesting sumething with a low response time and a good contrast ratio. Am I aiming in the right direction?

The rated response times, contrast rations, and anything of the sort on an LCD mean almost nothing. Read a couple professional reviews and see what users think before buying an LCD. Also, in that price range and that size, you'll probably want to go with a used or refurbished monitor. I'm not saying you can't get a new, decent 19'' LCD for under $200, but you probably can't get a good one.

Originally Posted by Spongebob

I think overclocking will happen but nothing too severe Yawg. I'm thinking he's not going to spend alot on cooling but I'm aiming for a little higher end system ram to make overclocking atleast possible.

Hell, stock cooling will get you pretty far, even with an X2. If you make sure to get a decent power supply and maybe spend $30-40 on a Thermalright XP-90 and fan, you'll probably take that thing pretty far without too much effort. I wouldn't worry too much about RAM overclocking. Get something that can handle being run above 200MHz, but don't go crazy. Running high-speed RAM does very little for Athlon 64s.

[MUSTANGPC]

Originally Posted by wayout44

I'd suggest you look at the Pentium D930 as it's about that price and as it's a dual core it'll do your video editing much faster than those single core alternatives (it's a shame that cheapest dual core Athlon is about $100us dearer) but it will be a little slower at games than those other CPU's.

Yes, I am thinking of getting this same CPU for my 955chipset Foxconn motherboard. Price of CPU are getting cheaper because of the USDlrs fluctuation. Am using this for rendering and video editing.

[Amd_Lover2004]

Or you can get an 805 and OC the crap out of it, if you are into that kind of thing.

[Spongebob]

Originally Posted by Yawgm0th

The ASUS A8N5X and DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity are two great motherboards that will overclock as far as you need to and help keep the price down. The DFI SLI-Infinity is also a good choice if you want to be able to have SLI in the future, but I'd probably stick with one of the other two.
Also, in that price range and that size, you'll probably want to go with a used or refurbished monitor. I'm not saying you can't get a new, decent 19'' LCD for under $200, but you probably can't get a good one.
Running high-speed RAM does very little for Athlon 64s.

Thanks, sounds like great choices for mainboards. Can you give me an example of what you'd call a good LCD monitor? What system ram should we order from Newegg? I think he wants 2GBs.