Need input on new build

L

Lord Nassirbannipal

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Apr 1, 2005
Messages
1,155
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web browsing, Word Processing(Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc), Photo viewing(plus some light photo editing), Listening to music, Light gaming(Mostly ROMS and flash games like Bejeweled, Mahjong, etc))
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
450, and yes
3) Where do you live?
Pennsylvania
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Case, Power Supply, Mobo, CPU(+Fan/Heatsink), RAM, HDD, Video Card
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
DVD +/- RW - This One
Sound Card - Diamond XS51 XtremeSound 5.1 16 bit Sound Card
Speakers - Logitech S200 2.1 Speaker System
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
20"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
In about a month.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
None of those.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Yes indeed.


Here is what I have in mind at the moment(yeah, it's a bit over budget, but that's why I'm here :p )

Case: Sunbeam Transformer IC-TR-US-BA-WOPSU Black Steel ATX Full Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811166004

Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green(No power cored included) EA-430D Green 430W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371034

Mobo: MSI G41M-P33 LGA 775 Intel G41 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130251

Processor/CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115206

CPU Fan/Heatsink: COOLER MASTER RR-LEE-L911-GP 92mm Sleeve X Dream 4 CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103039

RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231149

Video Card: PNY VCG8600GXXB GeForce 8600 GT 256MB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133282

Hard Drive: WESTERN DIGITAL Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB SATA 7200 RPM 8MB Buffer
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...Code=101208-17

Any and all suggestions welcome.
 
This outta kick ass and is well below your budget

Antec Three Hundred + Antec NEO ECO 400W both for $79.94
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.304791

AMD Athlon II X4 630 2.8ghz Quad + ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO AM3 785G both for $187.98 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.308656

Crucial 4GB (2x2GB DDR3 1333 for $83.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148262

Seagate 500GB Sata HDD for $54.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

Total: $406.90
Shipping: $12.87
Boom ----> $419.77 w/shipping
 
+1 to HardwareGuru's build list. Better multi-tasker, bigger and faster hard drive, better cooled case, and twice as much RAM with virtually the same gaming performance for the games you mentioned for significantly less than your planned setup.
 
Second rig makes good sense, especially with the integrated video. If you needed something more from your video subsystem later, then you just pick up a video card at that time.
 
I agree (w/ HG, Danny, and Rike). An Intel system for such a low budget is a bit overpriced, IMO.

DDR2 would be a waste right now for a new system since all major memory manufacturers are switching most, if not all, production to DDR3 -- which is why DDR2 price has doubled in the past couple of months (since i5 was released).

If you're not OC'ing, no real need for an aftermarket CPU HSF if buying a retail chip.
 
Thanks for the suggestions.

I think I'm gonna go with HardwareGuru's setup with 2GB or RAM and add in the video card in my original setup on account of the fact that I've never had much luck with onboard video(I always end up buying a video card later anyway).

Much obliged.
 
I would stick with the 4GB of RAM. No sense settle for 2GB only to upgrade it later on. Also, I would try the ATI Radeon HD 4200 onboard graphics first before purchasing any video card. The onboard graphics on the AMD 785G chipset is pretty good. It's definitely better than most of Intels onboard graphics like the GMA X4500 graphics that does not support full 1080P and its 3D performance is slower than the Radeon HD 4200.
 
HardwareGuru said:
I would stick with the 4GB of RAM. No sense settle for 2GB only to upgrade it later on. Also, I would try the ATI Radeon HD 4200 onboard graphics first before purchasing any video card. The onboard graphics on the AMD 785G chipset is pretty good. It's definitely better than most of Intels onboard graphics like the GMA X4500 graphics that does not support full 1080P and its 3D performance is slower than the Radeon HD 4200.
Click to expand...

Noted on the video card, but I would like to know why you feel I'd need 4GB of RAM. The rig in my sig has been running pretty well with only 1GB for years.
 
if that's how you really feel you will notice a difference in the increase of RAM, everything will be snappier, you will be able to open up more programs at once and your PC shouldn't slow down at all unless you're putting it under the heaviest load it can handle

pretty much 2 GB has been standard for years, and now 4 GB is the new 2 GB, and has been for the last few years, and lately it's starting to get to where 6 GB is the new 4 GB

time marches on, and so does technology
 
I used to run my P4 XP system with 512MB of RAM, and it was FAST. The updates to XP (SP3, namely) have rendered my P4 XP system so slow it's unbearable. I upgraded to 2GB and now it runs MUCH faster. I WISH I had 4GB of DDR-400 to stick in there now, lol. If you're using XP, 2GB should be fine. If you're using Win7, 2GB would be slower than 4GB, but still usable. If you're using Vista, upgrade to 7 or you'll definitely need 4GB. If you're using a non-Windows/*nix-based OS, then 1GB should suffice. :p
 
I understand what you two are saying, but everyone doesn't need to "march on" with technology. If I did that, my build would be a lot more expensive.

Maybe 2GB has been the standard for a while, but I've been running all this time with 1GB and I've had no problems whatsoever.

But thanks for all your help. I've decided to give the onboard video a shot, which should bring down the price.

Merci Beaucoup
 
you're hardcore, sir, that's all i can say.

Once I went from single core to dual core, I haven't looked back, once i went from 1 GB of RAM to 4, I haven't looked back

my next build will be a quad core with 6 GB of RAM and I won't be looking back.
 
^ ^ What he said, I went from an Athlon 3000+ with 1GB of DDR PC3200 to a Quad Core with 4GB of DDR2, and.... it is well worth it, even for an extra $30-40. Definitely get at least 2GB of RAM.
 
2GB, definitely.

I suppose it's one of those things you don't really see a need for unless your computer's performance really starts to drag.

I actually know quite a few people who get by with 512MB of RAM, Celeron processors, and a mere 80GB of drive space :confused: To me, that's totally unfathomable, but if it works for them, who am I to tell them that it's not good enough?
 
Yah, definitely go with what works for you. I have a Core2 1.8Ghz w/ 2GB of RAM that just dies when I use it (XP SP2), lol (I'm not talking about games; I'm talking about Outlook, Word, Excel, Acrobat, Visual Studio, and Firefox with ~40 tabs while iTunes is playing some music; and I'm also transcoding a video in the background). I just run way too many things at once for it to keep up with my usage. On the other hand, the same system is blazing fast to my lil cousin, lol.
 
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