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Need help planning for first build.

1337h4x0r

Weaksauce
Joined
Aug 12, 2009
Messages
111
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Gaming and web browsing. Mainly looking to play GTAIV, Starcraft II, and Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 without any lag and on medium-high settings.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$500 give or take. Looking for a build with and without tax and shipping included.

3) Where do you live?

California

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

Case, CD/DVD drive, HDD, mobo, graphics card, PSU, RAM, CPU, and OS.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

None


6) Will you be overclocking?

No

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?

Already have a 17" LCD

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Newegg

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.

Not really sure on this one, this is my first build.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?

No

Also, is it a good idea to do a build now or wait until October-December? I hear prices are always much more cheaper around that time on Newegg. If so, I can possibly wait but I would like to see what I can make for now.
 
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You need to increase your budget, unless you can obtain Windows 7 Home Premium at a college student discount (an OEM copy costs $100 on its own).

I would recommend looking at Amazon, since it doesn't charge California residents any sales taxes, but it doesn't have many combo deals (compared to NewEgg).
 
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Here's one build that could play all three games well at any resolution up to 1680x1050. All of the components were chosen from Amazon and come with free ground shipping.

$50 - Corsair CX400 400W PSU (free shipping)
$40 - Cooler Master Elite 310 case (free shipping)
$72 - Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3 (free shipping)
$99 - AMD Athlon II X4 630 (free shipping)
$100 - Corsair XMS3 CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 2x2GB DDR3 1600 dual channel kit (free shipping)
$115 - XFX HD485XZNFC Radeon HD 4850 1GB (free shipping)
$45 - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB HDD (free shipping)
$20 - LG GH24NS50 SATA DVD burner (free shipping)
======
$541 - Total (not including costs of OS)

You could switch out the processor (down to an Athlon II X2 250) and the video card (to, say, an HD 5670), but that doesn't account for the issue with Windows (or, rather, affording it) nor can I guarantee that you won't suffer any performance degradation (compared to the above listed setup).

Reread Question 8: WHEN (is it days? Weeks? Months?) are you planning on buying/building everything?

And what's the most, including shipping charges and taxes, that you're willing to spend on this build?
 
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You meant the 4850 not the 5850 btw tiraides. Don't wanna get the poor guys hopes up by seeing a 5850 in a $550 budget :D :D
Good build though, I agree with all of your choices.
 
I fixed it... I was probably thinking too much about the 5850 that I picked up last week for $250 shipped (from NewEgg, natch).
 
Hmmm... lets see here. I think you should put together a pc, and just wait on the video card. You can also look at a used 4850/4770. It will be plenty for 1280x1024 resolution. At least you will have an up and running system.

MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit + MSI 760GM-E51 AM3 AMD 760G both for $159.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.437524.13-130-254

OCZ Special OPS Edition 4GB 2x2GB + AMD Athlon II X2 250 3.0ghz both for $130.98 ($20 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.456888

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB for $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

LITE-ON 24X Sata DVD Burner for $18.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

Antec Eartwatts EA380-D for $44.99 ($10 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033

COOLER MASTER elite 341 for $39.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119193

Total: $449.92
Tax: $43.87
Shipping: $4.92
Grand Total: $498.71 You still have $1.29 to invest into the video card. Hehe
 
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