Build me a new Computer $500.Follow

I'm not going to bother linking stuff up because others here can probably find better prices. From what I understand though reading the =10 forums, you can easily build a PC that can play FFXI for $300 or less. If it can play FFXI, it can surely play EQ.

Netbooks can run FFXI (and thus probably EQ):
HP 310 for $399

For a desktop, you can get something a hell of a lot more powerful though.

If you don't want to mess around with installing ANYTHING, get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883147044

Or this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103232

If you don't mind messing around and adding a few things on your own, get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883147034

Microsoft should give you a free upgrade to Windows 7, but you'll have to install it yourself.

Then add in this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500072

There. You have a system that will kick EQ's *** (and probably EQ2, WoW, and everything short of FFXIV) for under $500.

This

One reason I don't play LOTR:O very often right now is that my computer craws when I go into any heavily populated areas.

I know my computer can easily handle EQ for Him and all we would have to do is transfer everything on my HD.

Edited, Nov 1st 2009 11:26am by ElneClare

$550 is a really, really tight budget for a gaming rig. I'll see what I can do though.

Case: cooler Master CM690 - $69.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

Power supply: Antec PSU $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

Motherboard: Asus P5E Deluxe - Open box $125 (the non refurbished one is $169)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131317R

Processor: core 2 Duo dual core 2.93 GHz - $119.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115056
less horsepower than I would like, but the processor i'd usually reccommend is $160

Ram: 2 sticks of 1GB Corsair DDR2 Ram $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115056
You will want to double that to 4GB at a later date when budget allows

Video Card: Nvidia Geforce 9800 GTX+ $134
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130339
That card will run every game out there at the moment. You could go with a 9800 GT instead for $100, but with somewhat decreased performance

Thats at $561 right there with no hard drive and no DVD drive.

Hard drive: Western digital SATA 250GB HDD $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136113

Optical drive: 22x SATA DVD burner $25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151192

with the two drives it comes out to $631. If you can reuse your existing caseand maybe the existing DVD drive you can get that under $500.

You could go with the cheaper micro atx version of the motherboard above for $80, but you lose some functionality. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131222R
Also, could substitute the 9800 gt for $99 for the video card. but for $30 you take a very large performance hit.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130518

I also didn't include a new operating system in there. that machine will run Windows 7 just fine if you want, or XP, or vista.

You could also go with somethign like a Dell Inspiron 537S for $500.
http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/desktops/desktop-inspiron-537s/pd.aspx?refid=desktop-inspiron-537s&s=dhs&cs=19&ref=dthp
the video card options suck in that one, but the ram HDD and CPU are all a bit better than what I specced out. And it comes with windows 7.

If you are going to build a new computer, may as well build it with half decent components.

It's not really a gaming rig, though. Yes, he's doing some gaming on it, it's true. My mother plays solitaire on her PC sometimes. If her old one broke, I would not suggest she get a bec cooled super-computer.

Edited, Nov 1st 2009 7:29pm by Kavekk

I'm trying to work out how cheaply I can get those parts here in the UK now I DO need a new desktop...

Except for this stipulation:

I tend to suggest HP since they paid my paycheck for a long time, and I actually know enough about them to speak with some authority. (Plus, I run a refurbished HP workstation I altered myself, and I still swear it's the best way to get a good, cheap computer.)

Take Kao's post with the downgrades he mentioned...there are other items in there you can shave a lot off of and still end up with a good machine.

Save yourself the headache and build as good of a machine as you can within the budget.

If you're cheap and, say, don't get a nice chunk of RAM, a month down the road your machine will get bogged down doing even menial tasks, and you'll wonder why you're having so many issues getting things to work as well as they did on day one.

I've seen this happen over and over with family members that buy computers.



Edited, Nov 1st 2009 9:35pm by bsphil

Places you can afford to cut corners:

* Get a USB headset rather than a sound card initially.
* The case. A $21 case will handle things well enough until later.

Other notes:

To be honest, Kao's build probably can stand some rearranging for performance-per-dollar improvements - personally, I'm a fan of MSI for motherboards for home computers, so motherboard + 2x 2GB RAM + processor = $28 more than his current setup. After taking the $42 we're saving on the case into account, this gives a higher-powered system for $14 less (a quarter of the way to a 500GB HD).

Really, 1GB sticks aren't cost-effective (if your computer won't complain about having a single 2GB stick instead of two 1GB sticks, you can save some money that way; however, the same is not true for taking a 4GB stick over two 2GB sticks), nor are hard drives outside the 500-1500GB range (2TB drives are still well above the price curve, and 320GB and lower drives have reached the point where the limiting factor on cost is something that can't readily be reduced). If you can get by with a $50 graphics card (and you probably can), this would let you splurge a little on memory and the HD.

I have an MSI motherboard and used the onboard sound for a long time. The only reason I have a sound card now is the mobo's sound died. Don't know if that's a problem with MSI boards or if I just got a lemon. But for the record, it sounded pretty good while it lasted.