I thanked you for that post, simply because of the car analogy usage lol
You could also do the "blasphemous" move and swap
out the MT for an AT, then equip it with a 3500 Stall so it launches immediately in the power band :D A lot of the problem could easily be the fact that the Neon (sans SRT-4) was not intended for any sort of performance, so an overhaul of the computer's programming could do a world of difference (remap spark curves, AF:R table, tune the knock-retard table). Factory tune is sort of like the whole Intel Compiler use with AMD fiasco, where if you just run it as is you're not getting all the performance you
could be heh
As for the cat: Schrödinger's
Skun Cat Theory - The cat has neither been skinned,
nor does it
have skin! :eek:
(Definition for our foreign friends, -- ^^^^^ -- since it's not a commonly used term)
In the US I don't see it being that much for a system build, even for a A8-3850 (which I think the 3550 in that chart might be representative of what the 3850 is).
A8-3850: ~$130
Mobo: $65-140
RAM: 2x4GB - $30-40 (DDR3-1600)
PSU: $40-50
(for a quality 600W with MIR, which is overkill)
Case: $40-90
HDD: $40-55
Optical: $20
-------------------
Total: $525 (at most)
Monitor, keyboard, mouse, general purpose speakers: ~$155
(monitor would be name brand ~19-21 inch, but relatively inexpensive mouse/keyboard/speakers)
-------------------
Complete System: $680