$600 for Personal/Media Computer

B

book

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 6, 2008
Messages
368
I'm currently looking to either to upgrade to the new mac mini or build a pc. Reason for upgrading to the mac mini is the small form factor I don't really have room for a full desktop.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Just browsing internet/listening to music/watching videos/minor photoshop/converting avi files to h264 (I'll like it to do it fast) I also usually watch HD movies in 720P
2) What's your budget? $600-$630 including Shipping
3) Where do you live? Illinois
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? Just the internal parts
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? I have monitor/keyboard/mouse/speakers
6) Will you be overclocking? No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? 15" maybe 19" in the future
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Next Month
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? None
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? No but I can just download Windows 7 RC right?

Something specific I'll like is a small form factor that doesnt take up much space. and optical audio output. Quiet operation too. I'm also not sure on Intel or AMD but this is what I got so far.

CPU:AMD Phenom 9950 Agena 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103291
$130

Motherboard:ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131324
$69 After MIR

RAM:G.SKILL 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166
$100 Since I'm getting 2

Hard Drive:Western Digital Caviar 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218
$70

Graphics Card: MSI R4670-2D1G/D3 Radeon HD 4670 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127399
$65 after MIR

DVD Drive:Not sure????

Power Supply:Antec earthwatts EA500 500W Continuous Power
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007
$75

Case:APEVIA X-QPACK-NW-BK Micro ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144162
$60 after MIR

Total:$569

Also should I go ahead and get DDR3 memory instead of DDR2, not sure on that.
 
Get a phenom II 940 if you can afford it. The original Phenoms were pretty bad. Also, that's one small ass monitor.

EDIT: Do you really need 8GBs of memory? Pretty sure 4 GB is enough...
 
Last edited:
Well I'm not sure I just wanted to make sure I don't get any lag running itunes since I have like 200GB library.
 
book said:
Well I'm not sure I just wanted to make sure I don't get any lag running itunes since I have like 200GB library.
Click to expand...

This is gold.

As for parts, a Phenom 2 and onboard video pretty much sums it; you don't need a separate video card.
 
Go with a Phenom II processor (plus a board that can support one right out of the box) and DDR2 800 RAM instead. As Joseph mentioned, the original Phenom processors were generally garbage, and you don't need DDR2 1066 RAM if you have no intentions of overclocking. In fact:

$265 - AMD Phenom II X4 905e & Asus M4A78-EM combo deal (free shipping on processor)
$45 - Corsair XMS2 2x2GB DDR2 800 kit (free shipping)
$75 - Western Digital WD6401AALS 640GB HDD (free shipping)
$26 - Samsung SH-S222L SATA DVD burner
$60 - Corsair CX400 400W PSU (free shipping & $20 mail-in rebate)
$75 - APEVIA X-QPACK-NW-BK microATX desktop case (free shipping & $15 mail-in rebate)
=====
$546 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

You won't need more than 4GB of RAM, as the quad-core Phenom II will handle all of your tasks with ease. In fact, the onboard GPU eliminates the need for a separate video card.

About those HD movies: Are you converting movies for viewing on your system or are you watching them on HD-DVD or Blu-ray discs? If it's the latter, you'll need a more expensive optical drive -- plus media playback software -- that's capable of reading those types of disc.
 
The videos I'm converting are just avi files to h.264 just dvd rips mostly. But I like the build you gave me thanks, so I should get about the same performance with the onboard GPU instead of a video card?
 
Since you aren't gaming, the GPU isn't that important, provided it can encode/decode HD video and has HDCP support. The onboard AMD-based GPUs are capable of that.

Also, throw out the APEVIA PSU that comes with the XQPACK. They're garbage.
 
book said:
so I should get about the same performance with the onboard GPU instead of a video card?
Click to expand...

No, but you're not giving any indication that one is required when onboard will handle them exquisitely.
1. You didn't mention any gaming
2. You're playing 720p which does not require barely anything to play (since Atom can do that sht)
 
Alright then thanks. BTW Quad Core isn't overkill right.
 
This outta smoke for your budget. Guaranteed! Observe

Case - Silverstone Sugo SG02-BF for $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163112

PSU - Corsair 400CX for $59.99 w/free shipping ($20 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

CPU/MOBO - AMD Phenom II X4 940BE 3.0Ghz + Gigabyte GA-MA78GPM-UD2H 780G uATX for $244.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.211639

RAM - G. Skill 4GB DDR2 1066 for $49.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

HDD - WD BE 640GB 32MB Cache for $74.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

OPTICAL - Samsung 22X DVD Burner for $25.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151176

Total: $525.93
Shipping: $22.64 on UPS 3 day gound
Grand Total: $548.57
 
book said:
Alright then thanks. BTW Quad Core isn't overkill right.
Click to expand...
I think a quad core suits your needs and a phenom II 940 isn't terrible expensive(especially with the combo discount). You could get a dual core if you wanted to save some money.
 
What the hell, you got some budget left for Heatsink also.

CoolerMaster Gemini II RR low profile/quiet aftermarket heatsink for $39.99
 
How would the heatsink benefit me? Just make it cooler? Or will it also turn down the noise.
 
It just make it cooler especially under load. But, the stock hsf is pretty quiet already. You don't really need it actually. I was just messing around with the heatsink part.
 
PSU - Corsair 400CX for $59.99 w/free shipping ($20 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

CPU/MOBO - AMD Phenom II X4 940BE 3.0Ghz + Gigabyte GA-MA78GPM-UD2H 780G uATX for $244.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.211639

RAM - G. Skill 4GB DDR2 1066 for $49.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

HDD - WD BE 640GB 32MB Cache for $74.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

OPTICAL - Samsung 22X DVD Burner for $25.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151176
Click to expand...
Okay so thats what I got so far, Any suggestions on a case? I no longer care if its compact or not a midtower is fine as long as its quite.

I was thinking about this one
Rosewill R5604-TBK 0.8mm Japanese Cold Rolled Steel Screw-less Dual 120mm Fans ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147033

I also need some help on the DVD drive newegg doesnt have any dvd burners in stock >_<

I'm planning on ordering everything in next 3 days.

I could also spend a few $50 if there is anything I can change to get better performance.
 
Alright I built the computer and everything =) Everything went fine. Thanks for all the suggestions everyone =)

Just have one issue I installed 4GB of RAM, yet windows only shows 3.5GB is available (Yes I installed 64 bit version). Any ideas?
 
Gigabyte GA-MA78GPM-UD2H 780G uATX for $244.98


this is a bad decision... get a nvidia 8200 series motherboard, it will do full 7.1 audio over HDMI, which might not be something you care about now, but for future proof.

the 780g chipset is old and out dated compaired to the 8x00/9x00 Nvidia series....

I know I own 3 780g chipset motherboards :)
 
Well I already purchased everything so yeah can't do nothing about it. Read my last post =)
 
Your onboard video is likely using some of it. Are you SURE you installed the 64-bit version? :p

Hm... I would've gone mini-ITX. ;)
 
Yeah onboard video must take up 512 mb thanks.

To show that your suggestions actually went somewhere
3731433966_bfd3b09f7e.jpg

Thanks for all the help. Here are my windows experience scores if anyone is interested.
Subscore-4.6
Processor-7.3
Memory-5.9
Graphics-4.6
Gaming Graphics-5.2
Primary Hard Disk-5.9

This was my first build ever and I enjoyed it =)
 
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