I'm putting $600.00 towards a new computer. Just the computer, already have a keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc. I'm not adverse to building one but I wouldn't know where to get started. In a more perfect world, I'd get something already quasi-built where I'm plugging in my own memory, graphics card, etc but I'll let price over-ride my convenience on this one. I'm not a hard-core gamer but I am getting a new computer largely to keep up with gaming to some extent. I don't really need a new box just to browse the web.
I know $600 ain't a lot but it's guaranteed to produce something better than my 2003 Dell. $600 is a fairly firm price. I might go over a little for shipping or something but none of this "Or for an extra $150 you could get this really awesome card" nonsense. That $150 extra ain't happening. Although an eye towards future upgrades is a plus.
Have at it and help me get started.
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Belkira wrote:
Wow. Regular ol' Joph fan club in here.
I assume you have a monitor already. I'd just hit up Newegg for one of their upgradeable premades.
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
What's your existing system? I just gutted mine to replace the motherboard and video card (since I burned out my high-end AGP and needed to switch to PCI-E) and used my existing memory, CPU, audio, hard and optical drives and case, all for a minimal investment. Later on I can replace all those parts as needed.
publiusvarus wrote:
we all know liberals are well adjusted american citizens who only want what's best for society. While conservatives are evil money grubbing scum who only want to sh*t on the little man and rob the world of its resources.
I'm still going to go and recommend building your own.
Trust me when I say that If I can do it, you should be able to as well.
Trust me when I say that If I can do it, you should be able to as well.
Debalic wrote:
What's your existing system?
Dell Dimension 4550. There isn't really any upgrading left to be done on it as I have the 2 gigs of RAM in there (those specs lie; it can take 2 gig) and about the best graphics card it can handle wth its gimpy old school AGP slot. Likewise, the components are all on the obsolete end since they're in an obsolete system such as the DDR SDRAM and AGP video card.
Samira, that'd generally be my plan (or something close to it) but I figure there's folks here who enjoy noodling these things out so I'd collect some options.
Yes, I have a monitor. 22" widescreen LCD that I run at 1680x1050.
Edited, Mar 25th 2010 5:38pm by Jophiel
Belkira wrote:
Wow. Regular ol' Joph fan club in here.
I just built my computer last month. It's the first time I've done it from the ground up (usually my computers were built by someone else and I just upgraded in places). The only thing I messed up was putting the start button wires on the wrong prongs. Other than that it was super easy. So if I can do it, surely you can! 
And yeah, go to Newegg.com. I think I spent $450 or so on my stuff. I didn't get the newest or the greatest, but I got stuff that was greatly better than what I had been using.
This processor, this motherboard, some memory to go in it, Windows 7 Professional and I was able to use my video card and power supply from my old machine.
Yeah, like I said: not the newest and greatest, but I'm very happy with it. So you can imagine how crappy my other computer was
And yeah, go to Newegg.com. I think I spent $450 or so on my stuff. I didn't get the newest or the greatest, but I got stuff that was greatly better than what I had been using.
This processor, this motherboard, some memory to go in it, Windows 7 Professional and I was able to use my video card and power supply from my old machine.
Yeah, like I said: not the newest and greatest, but I'm very happy with it. So you can imagine how crappy my other computer was
My brother recently helped me pick out parts to build a new PC for my birthday, as well. He pointed me to this page which is updated frequently with the newest hardware and lists some good sample builds (scroll to the bottom of the post):
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=105060
The budget build there will probably suit your needs and should be able to run most of the newest games just fine. I ended up going with a mix between the budget and "bang for your buck" build. I wasn't looking for a super-high-end gaming machine either, but I wanted something that could encode and stream video smoothly to my PS3.
Intel core i3-530 processor ($119)
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 160 memory ($94)
ATI Radeon 5750 graphics card ($135)
GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard ($124)
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive ($99)
Antec NSK 4482B Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 380W Power Supply - Retail ($79)
D-Link DWA-556 IEEE 802.11n (draft) IEEE 802.11g IEEE 802.11b PCI Express Xtreme Desktop Adapter ($50)
Came out to $700 for me, but you could probably get yours under $600 if you skip the wireless card and/or get a less expensive motherboard and case. I hope my parts come in soon, because my laptop and my wife's PC both decided to die in the same week leaving our little Ubuntu netbook as our only connection to the 'net :(.
Happy Birthday, and hope that helps!
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=105060
The budget build there will probably suit your needs and should be able to run most of the newest games just fine. I ended up going with a mix between the budget and "bang for your buck" build. I wasn't looking for a super-high-end gaming machine either, but I wanted something that could encode and stream video smoothly to my PS3.
Intel core i3-530 processor ($119)
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 160 memory ($94)
ATI Radeon 5750 graphics card ($135)
GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard ($124)
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive ($99)
Antec NSK 4482B Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 380W Power Supply - Retail ($79)
D-Link DWA-556 IEEE 802.11n (draft) IEEE 802.11g IEEE 802.11b PCI Express Xtreme Desktop Adapter ($50)
Came out to $700 for me, but you could probably get yours under $600 if you skip the wireless card and/or get a less expensive motherboard and case. I hope my parts come in soon, because my laptop and my wife's PC both decided to die in the same week leaving our little Ubuntu netbook as our only connection to the 'net :(.
Happy Birthday, and hope that helps!
My new rig cost me about $700. The only thing I didn't replace was the hard drives, CD/DVD-Rom drives, and the external stuff like monitor, keyboard, etc.
The rest I got new;
Motherboard
Processor
Case
Power Supply
Video Card
Ram
Windows 7
The rest I got new;
Motherboard
Processor
Case
Power Supply
Video Card
Ram
Windows 7
Yeah, I don't need a wireless card since I'm wired directly to the router. I'm not sure that my hard drives are still compatible with today's modern motherboard and they're tiny by today's standards.
Belkira wrote:
Wow. Regular ol' Joph fan club in here.
Ok, ignore my initial idea since you got a Dell, dude. Since I homebuild everything anyways, I can just mix and match parts. And I do it for fun, which for most people is kinda like Jack Nicholson going to the dentist in Little Shop of Horrors.
Your IDE drives can be used in some new systems; some motherboards may have IDE as well as SATA ports (but not all). And since they're tiny, you'd likely only put the OS on it and do everything else on a separate drive - which in itself is not a bad idea. I run all my games on a drive separate from my OS.
Your IDE drives can be used in some new systems; some motherboards may have IDE as well as SATA ports (but not all). And since they're tiny, you'd likely only put the OS on it and do everything else on a separate drive - which in itself is not a bad idea. I run all my games on a drive separate from my OS.
publiusvarus wrote:
we all know liberals are well adjusted american citizens who only want what's best for society. While conservatives are evil money grubbing scum who only want to sh*t on the little man and rob the world of its resources.
Debalic wrote:
Ok, ignore my initial idea since you got a Dell, dude. Since I homebuild everything anyways, I can just mix and match parts. And I do it for fun, which for most people is kinda like Jack Nicholson going to the dentist in Little Shop of Horrors.
You're thinking of Bill Murray.
To Joph, I just bought mine. Newegg had a deal on mine... uh, the box says Orca, no idea if that's what it is. But it was like $550, and REALLY good (compared to my crappy 4-year old laptop). I have had issues with it, but I think most are fine now. I can't build stuff unless it's made of LEGO, so I just went premade.
Edited, Mar 25th 2010 8:42pm by LockeColeMA
Jophiel wrote:
Yeah, I don't need a wireless card since I'm wired directly to the router. I'm not sure that my hard drives are still compatible with today's modern motherboard and they're tiny by today's standards.
Hard drives are getting ridiculously cheap anymore. I would upgrade
Belkira wrote:
Wow. Regular ol' Joph fan club in here.
Jophiel wrote:
Yeah, I don't need a wireless card since I'm wired directly to the router. I'm not sure that my hard drives are still compatible with today's modern motherboard and they're tiny by today's standards.
40g HD for $200??
How the hell did you find that?Assassin Nadenu wrote:
40g HD for $200?? How the hell did you find that?
How the hell did you find that?I didn't pay $200 for it! It's the stock HD for this computer. I'm assuming the $200 tag these days is because it's no longer being made and anyone who needs to replace the HD in their ancent Dells is stuck for parts where they can find them.
Belkira wrote:
Wow. Regular ol' Joph fan club in here.
Jophiel wrote:
Also, thinking about it now...
Seeing that you're familiar with the 1960 version of Little Shop of Horrors instead of the 1986 version... I think you might be getting a little too old. How about you have no more birthdays after this? :-P
In that price range, here is what I would put together.
Motherboard: Asus P55 LX $119
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1681313160
Processor: Intel Core i5 3.2 GHz Dual Core $184
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115220
Ram: 4GB Corsair DDr3 $109
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260
Hard drive: Western Digital 160GB SATA $39
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075
Power Supply: Coolmax 850 watt $39.99 (after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817159112
Video Card: 9800 GTX+ $84 (after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133246
DVD Burner - Samsung 22x SATA $19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151192
Case: Cooler Master CM 690 case $69.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium OEM 32 bit $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116752
Total: $662 for the hardware, $99 for the operating system. $751 with the OS.
You can reuse your existing DVD burner and save $20, OS you can use your existing XP key and save $100. The Hard drive, I would strongly urge you to upgrade to a new drive. HDD's fail, it's not a matter of if, but when. A newer SATA cable drive will be much easier to install (no jumpers) and will llast another 5 years or so. You are at the very end of your drive lifespan now, I'd be shocked if it lasts longer than a year, especially as it is a maxtor. the SATA dvd and SATA HDD do have several key updates that will make installing using them much easier than with the old style IDE drives with the large gray ribbon. That motherboard will also support 4 SATA drives, so you could add some inexpensive 500 GB drives for music or movie storage at a later date if you wanted rather easily.
That processor, motherboard and ram combo is about the same price as an equivelent Core 2 duo (older style) board at the moment, so you don't save anything by trying to build a core 2 at the moment. That processor is a huge upgrade over what you have, but there are faster units available. next step up adds about $100 (quad cores, etc) .
The operating system, you could go with 64 bit instead and someday add 8GB ram to that computer. I'm guessing thats probably a bit outside your technology comfort level for the time being now. Could go with a single 2GB stick for $50, and save some there, then upgrade later too. or 4 1GB sticks if you can find them.
That PSU isn't the best in the world, but it is cheap and has a lifetime warrenty.
The case is a nice and roomy case, very easy to assemble, comes with all the screws and fastners, aside from what the motherboard usually comes with. Between that and the motherboard you won't have to buy any other fans or screws or cables. Everything is included.
That's a damned good price for that video card there. if nothing else, get that for whatever you build. Or buy.
If you need help building it, let me know. I'm guessing you guys still have my number from allanois somewhere. If not, PM me.
Motherboard: Asus P55 LX $119
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1681313160
Processor: Intel Core i5 3.2 GHz Dual Core $184
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115220
Ram: 4GB Corsair DDr3 $109
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260
Hard drive: Western Digital 160GB SATA $39
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075
Power Supply: Coolmax 850 watt $39.99 (after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817159112
Video Card: 9800 GTX+ $84 (after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133246
DVD Burner - Samsung 22x SATA $19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151192
Case: Cooler Master CM 690 case $69.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium OEM 32 bit $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116752
Total: $662 for the hardware, $99 for the operating system. $751 with the OS.
You can reuse your existing DVD burner and save $20, OS you can use your existing XP key and save $100. The Hard drive, I would strongly urge you to upgrade to a new drive. HDD's fail, it's not a matter of if, but when. A newer SATA cable drive will be much easier to install (no jumpers) and will llast another 5 years or so. You are at the very end of your drive lifespan now, I'd be shocked if it lasts longer than a year, especially as it is a maxtor. the SATA dvd and SATA HDD do have several key updates that will make installing using them much easier than with the old style IDE drives with the large gray ribbon. That motherboard will also support 4 SATA drives, so you could add some inexpensive 500 GB drives for music or movie storage at a later date if you wanted rather easily.
That processor, motherboard and ram combo is about the same price as an equivelent Core 2 duo (older style) board at the moment, so you don't save anything by trying to build a core 2 at the moment. That processor is a huge upgrade over what you have, but there are faster units available. next step up adds about $100 (quad cores, etc) .
The operating system, you could go with 64 bit instead and someday add 8GB ram to that computer. I'm guessing thats probably a bit outside your technology comfort level for the time being now. Could go with a single 2GB stick for $50, and save some there, then upgrade later too. or 4 1GB sticks if you can find them.
That PSU isn't the best in the world, but it is cheap and has a lifetime warrenty.
The case is a nice and roomy case, very easy to assemble, comes with all the screws and fastners, aside from what the motherboard usually comes with. Between that and the motherboard you won't have to buy any other fans or screws or cables. Everything is included.
That's a damned good price for that video card there. if nothing else, get that for whatever you build. Or buy.
If you need help building it, let me know. I'm guessing you guys still have my number from allanois somewhere. If not, PM me.
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Dread Lörd Kaolian wrote:
Total: $662 for the hardware, $99 for the operating system. $751 with the OS.
Thanks. I have a family connection who works for Microsoft. I think I can get a deal on the OS and upgrade from my current XP.
Belkira wrote:
Wow. Regular ol' Joph fan club in here.
Crossover cables are pretty cheap. It might be helpful to buy one of those just in case something goes wrong.
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Jophiel wrote:
Dread Lörd Kaolian wrote:
Total: $662 for the hardware, $99 for the operating system. $751 with the OS.
Thanks. I have a family connection who works for Microsoft. I think I can get a deal on the OS and upgrade from my current XP.
Nice! In that case you really want Windows 7 Ultimate, which comes with 32 and 64 bit. (I got most of mine free from microsoft too! yay!)
Other computer musings, since i'm writing thingies here:
The main difference between 32 bit and 64 bit, as far as gaming is concerned, is that 64 bit is a bit trickier to set up (but only slightly) and it allows you to use more than 4 GB ram. I run 64 bit on all my PC's, even the media PC downstairs which only has 4GB ram, simply so I can upgrade to more someday without having to reload.
There are cheaper cases out there than the one I listed. There aren't many cheaper cases with that many ease of assemmbly features, room and general assembly quality that don't look like ***. Avoid the $30 cases if possible. If you go the build your own route, the case is the one piece you will have longer than all of your other components, so it pays to spend a bit extra and get one you won't get tired of looking at after 10 years. If you have to cut cost to meet budget, i'd cut one of the 2 ram sticks and upgrade that later before i'd cut the case.
That case does have a fan with a blue LED in it in the front, it just glows blue, not strobing or anything, but if extra lights annoy you you can easily swap it out for a standard 120MM fan.
Other thing to consider buying if you have a digital camera: 3.5" bay card reader. Can easily add later. They run about $20. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820223113
You won't need a 3 1/2" floppy drive anymore.
That 22X SATA burner is mostly important because it will allow you to install games and programs much faster than your existing, likely 4X or 8X dvd drive. I'd say worth it just in terms of time saved in the long run. but technically not necessary.
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That motherboard link on Newegg says it's been deactivated. Is this the same animal?
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5367162&CatId=4725
For what it's worth, Newegg has better pricing but Tiger Direct has their warehouse near where I live. Since they let you pick up directly from the warehouse, getting the MB from them wouldn't be an issue.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5367162&CatId=4725
For what it's worth, Newegg has better pricing but Tiger Direct has their warehouse near where I live. Since they let you pick up directly from the warehouse, getting the MB from them wouldn't be an issue.
Belkira wrote:
Wow. Regular ol' Joph fan club in here.
yes, thats the same board. I tend to prefer newegg just because their website is better for the bulk pricing I do for my other job. You should be able to find the same or equivelent parts at tigredirect just as easily.
Same video card at tigerdirect:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4385460&CatId=3670
Processor:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5581941&Sku=I69-0650
tiger actually has a bit better price on the ram at the moment looks like
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4631346&CatId=3412
Case: This is the Cooler Master CM690 Version 2. There is a basic and an advanced version of this case. I actually like the advanced version, then the version 1, then the version 2 basic, but they are all good cases. The advanced one has a hard drive dock on the top and a few extra thingies. The version 1 isn't quite as shiny inside, but it goes together slightly quicker.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=16808&CatId=1509
PSU, newegg has a much better price on that 850. for the machine you are building, any 650 or higher decent brand power supply will work and they do have some 650's in that range at tiger.
Edited, Mar 25th 2010 9:32pm by Kaolian
Same video card at tigerdirect:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4385460&CatId=3670
Processor:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5581941&Sku=I69-0650
tiger actually has a bit better price on the ram at the moment looks like
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4631346&CatId=3412
Case: This is the Cooler Master CM690 Version 2. There is a basic and an advanced version of this case. I actually like the advanced version, then the version 1, then the version 2 basic, but they are all good cases. The advanced one has a hard drive dock on the top and a few extra thingies. The version 1 isn't quite as shiny inside, but it goes together slightly quicker.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=16808&CatId=1509
PSU, newegg has a much better price on that 850. for the machine you are building, any 650 or higher decent brand power supply will work and they do have some 650's in that range at tiger.
Edited, Mar 25th 2010 9:32pm by Kaolian
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Newegg is, on average, $10-15 cheaper on most of the stuff. If it has free shipping, I'll probably go with Newegg just because $10 over six components adds up. Items like the case which cost the same either way but Newegg charges to ship, I might as well just buy local.
I see that MB comes with an ethernet port. Do I still need to purchase a network card for it? Would my old one work?
I see that MB comes with an ethernet port. Do I still need to purchase a network card for it? Would my old one work?
Belkira wrote:
Wow. Regular ol' Joph fan club in here.
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