Building first computer need advice

[lastdonut]

I'm building a new computer, but I am inexperienced.

I already have a tower and monitor and am hoping to use this computer to do everything from schoolwork to games for the next few years.

I have around 2000 dollars but would prefer to spend about 1500.

 

[Atari]

Is this american money? That's a pretty loose budget. Since you will be doing mostly school work i'm going to suggest you go intel. I don't know much about intel motherboards, but a Intel 540/550 3.4EE, 1 GB of corsair XMS series DDR400, one 250 GB sata drive(no need for a raptor since he won't be gaming), a sony DVD-CDRW combo, an MX-510 for the comfort, or just any other mouse you can think of, a nice logitech keyboard, and an FX5500, and a nice intel mobo should run you about that.(he doesn't need a 6800 or x800 series card since he's not going to be gaming)

 

[beanman101283]

well, he DID say he'd be playing games. I'd go with what lastdonut said, except i'd DEFINITELY get an MX510 mouse (higher MX model) and at least get a GeForce 6600 vanilla, or GT if you can. No sense in going with last gen hardware, IMHO.

 

[lastdonut]

Thanks a lot for the suggestion, but i need some more power. I am going to be playing games a lot during breaks.

 

[lastdonut]

I'm going for a gig of ram, a 6800 GT (or ultra if I have enough money extra), an ASUS Athlon 64 motherboard, around 2.5ghz processor, 120 gig hardrive. I'm also wondering if ASUS is compatible with pentium, or is it AMD only?

 

[Thepoptart13]

I'm going for a gig of ram, a 6800 GT (or ultra if I have enough money extra), an ASUS Athlon 64 motherboard, around 2.5ghz processor, 120 gig hardrive. I'm also wondering if ASUS is compatible with pentium, or is it AMD only?

Im pretty sure that ASUS makes intel boards, just make sure you get a processor that will fit the board that you pruchase, nothing hurts more then making that silly mistake.

 

[lastdonut]

What do you think i should go with, intel or athlon?

 

[Thepoptart13]

i prefer my AMD to my parents intel, no real reason though, ive just never been a fan of the Pentium line. Im on AIM Billy102386 if ya wanna talk more inepth about the topic or have any questions.


-edited for my stupid mistake

 

[Atari]

i prefer my AMD to my parents athlon

Anyways, lastdonut your best shot is to OC because a 2.5 GHZ AMD proc will run you the upwards of 900$

 

[lastdonut]

OC?

i want to talk about the processor and motherboard on aim. hypertension56 add me.

Also, i'm not worried about how well it will hold my schoolwork, i just need it to be able to last me for the next 4 or 5 years without buying parts constantly to upgrade it.

 

[TR0GD0RtheBURNiNAT0R]

For $1500 dollars, you should be able to get a very good system. My question is: do you need a monitor, mouse/keyboard, and speakers? If so, here are my reccomendations (this is basically what I have, minus the case, since mine sucks):
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe Mobo
AMD Athlon64 3000+ socket 939 90nm
1Gb of any name brand "value" PC3200 RAM (I'd reccomend Kingston, Corsair or Mushkin)
MSI NX6600GT Video Card (usually one of the cheapest 6600GTs, and one of the best OCers)
Antec NeoPower 480 PSU
The cheapest Name-Brand 16x DVD +/-RW drive you can find
A floppy drive, if you need it
WD800JD (80GB Western Digital SATA HD)
Thermaltake "Silent Boost" K8 (Heatsink)
Samsung SyncMaster 997DF
Saitek Gamer's Keyboard
Logitech X-530 Speakers
Logitech MX1000 Mouse
A nice case (Lian-Li, Cooler Master, etc)

If you either don't need a monitor, or you don't need a keyboard, mouse, and speakers Get a 6800GT instead of a 6600GT
If you only need the PC (no display or other periphials), Get 1GB of high-end memory instead of the cheap stuff.
This should keep you around $1500