Need help building a low-cost multipurpose PC.

[kenprescott21]

Hey guys,

My name is Ken and i'm obviously new to the forums. I havn't built a pc since the overclockable celeron 466's were the [H]otness. After much browsing for premade systems, I've decided im going to do it like I used to and build my own machine. I am not up to speed on all the new tech and prices. I did lay out this post the way I feel it would be easiest for you guys to take a quick scan and pick out my messups. Thanks for your help and i'm really excited to get this project going.

PS:
Motherboard audio is fine. I also dont care if the box is a loud mofo. The louder the better to me, lets me know its a beast.

Computer uses:
Gaming
Internet/Web Design
Office Programs/SOHO
Video Editing
Photo/Graphics Editing (e.g. Photoshop, Maya)
Television/Video/Music
FTP/BitTorrent (download/upload)
Possible Multiple OS (Windows/Linux/Mac)

Hardware:
IDE for a cdrom (cdr/rw and dvdr/rw)
SATA (Would like to run one cheep 10k rpm harddrive just for the os and then have a larger harddrive for games and files. Probably top out at 500g total space would be fine for me)
Ethernet/LAN - wireless (802.11b would be fine)
USB/FireWire - internal headers or external slots
Number of RAM slots (Looking for 4g+ of ram)
TV/DVR capabilities

Budget to be around about $500min 700max. I work two fulltime jobs so I can spread the ordering out over a few weeks or months.

I have a 19"wide screen flatpanel and would like to purchase another flatpanel monitor for more screen realestate. (Photoshop in one Dreamweaver in the other makes me hot)

Heres what I have selected so far, and please guys critique your life away.

Case: Chiefmax AF-2B Black
http://3btech.net/chafbl11bays.html

Power Supply: V2 VioTek 700W
http://3btech.net/ewv2vi7020pi.html

CPU/Mobo Combo: Athlon x2 6000 & Biostar MCP6P-M2+
http://www.portatech.com/catalog/viewitem.asp?ID=25354&O=26108

Ram: Patriot DDR2 PC6400
http://shop1.frys.com/product/5200607
What does the latency mean? and does the motherboard i am purchasing be able to support the "latency" dont laugh

Video Card: Geforce 8600GT 512meg DDR3
http://www.partspc.com/ProductDetails.asp?CatID=588&ProdID=14100

Im not to sure about video cards but the best bang for my buck is what im looking for.

Harddrives:
*OS: 36GB SATA 10000RPM 8MB CACHE
http://www.ascendtech.us/itemdesc.asp?ic=HDIUSDSATA36GRP
Looking for a cheep smaller faster drive JUST for the OS. I dont care if its only 20Gigs. Ill only have Adobe Creative Suite and Vista on it
*Software/Storage: Maxtor 6H500F0
http://www.gearxs.com/gearxs/product_info.php?products_id=10021

Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech EX110
http://3btech.net/locodeexwiop.html

Operating System:
Vista preferred please. I am a student so maybe I can get some [H]ot deals?

 

[Dangman]

The biggest problem with your build is that "700W" PSU for $40. It's a generic brand PSU, quality is unconfirmed and the fact you're paying $40 for a 700W PSU (Usually $100 is the norm), that's a big red flag on the quality of the PSU.

Hmm, looking over the rest of your build, it looks like it'll be faster and less tedious for me to just provide you with a significantly better (50% better quality at least) build:
Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200 CPU - $84
Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L Intel P43 Motherboard - $87
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $60
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $65
Western Digital WD5000AAJS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $65
Sapphire 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB PCI-E Video Card - $160
Samsung SH-222F 22X DVD±R SATA DVD Burner - $25
Antec Earthwatts 650W PSU - $65
Antec 300 ATX Case - $52
Microsoft Windows Vista 64bit - $65
----
Total: $728 plus tax and shipping

Since you're a college student, go to http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx. Put your mouse over "Additional Products". You'll see Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade w/SP1 for $65. You don't need a previous Windows OS install to use the upgrade disc.

If you don't qualify, get Vista from here:
Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit SP1 OEM - $80

The Seagate 7200.11 320GB is actually a bit faster than that old 36GB Raptor drive as the result of a newer and better hard drive design. If you need to cut costs, I recommend ditching the two drive plan and getting one of these drives:
Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $75

If you want more storage for your money ($130 total for a total of 820GB of space), ditch the two drive plan and get one of these drives:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $120

Either way, the above build would be faster than your current build in both games and photoshop work.

 

[engiNURD]

A quick google search yields that CAS latency is: A feature of memory that reflects the number of clock cycles that pass while data is written to memory.

You won't notice the difference between CL4 and CL5, unless you're running benchmarks (and even then, its negligible), so don't pay much of a price premium for lower latency.

... Either way, the above build would be faster than your current build in both games and photoshop work.

I agree. Go with Danny's build.