new build $500 and under

S

Spike..

Gawd
Joined
Feb 16, 2006
Messages
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Ive been out of the game for a while but am in need of a nice little box, I only need it for light gaming, and hd video and it needs to be able to run 1920x1200 on my 24" monitor and 1900x1080 on my 50" tv.

I have A 500w power supply, Dvd burner, and a 300gb sata harddrive I do have a case as well i could use but i would prefer not to.

Heres sort of what i was looking at build wise

Video:
Radeon HD 4670 512MB 64.99-20 mir=44.99

Edit i dont need a video card As i found an ati x800 pro in a box o electronics stuff i had laying around

i liked that it had hdmi out andis fairly budget friendly as long as it will run hd video smoothly itll work for me, i think this will but i like second opinions I will likely be running both monitors consecutively

Case:

COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 RC going for 189.99 though i saw it a couple months ago for 140 shipped im not in any huge hurry and dont mind waiting till it drops to that pricing again



You may think its sort of stupid to want a 200 case on a 500 build but the last box i made i skimped and i tend to reuse the case while upgrading the guts farily often, needless to say i regretted not spending more on my last case.


AMD Phenom II 925 Deneb 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor Model HDX925WFGIBOX - Retail $240-10mir=230

I wanted to finally upgrade to quad core the problem here is this will put me about a hundred dollars over budget. I could settle for dual cora and just upgrade later but id prefer not to. So if anyone knows of anything thatd be better suited to this build comment away

Finally the ram:
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $93



What can i say its ram, corsair had been good to me in the past.


Total this comes to 596.94 - 30 in mir so about 560 -45(as i found a video card that will work) I just wanted to know if anyone knows of any better components that would be better suited to the task. Origonally my buget was 400 but after looking i decided it would be difficult to accommodate that and aquire an adequate case for future needs so i upped it and for all the good that did me im still over. I also need to pick up a copy of windows 7 for 30 from Ms which puts me back up to the 590 mark.
 
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Please answer the following questions so that we can help you better:
6) Will you be overclocking?
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.

A) Which 500W PSU do you have?
B) Are you absolutely dead set on that case? Spend $150+ on a case doesn't necessarily guarantee you better usabilit FYI. Some other case choices:
$65 - Cooler Master RC-590-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$70 - Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$80 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$80 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$100 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$120 - Thermaltake ElementS VK60001N2Z ATX Case
$130 - Cooler Master Storm Sniper ATX Case
$140 - Antec P183 ATX Case
$130 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case

So far, the easiest and best solutions to your budget problem is to ditch that case. You're right: It is stupid to spend $200 on a case considering the other parts that you need or might need.
 
The main things i liked about the case i had piched was first and foremost its quiet and does not have a lot of lights. i did also like the partition between the powersupply and the rest of the case as i have had heat issues in the past. Of the cases you listed i thought the Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case seemed pretty nice especially for the pricing but i was concerned about the noise. the other one i particularly liked was the antec p183 but its close to the case i was looking at price wise and i think if i wait a bit i may find this case for the same $$. I also found a decient videocard kicking around a box of electronics stuff Its a ati x800 pro Ill edit my first post to include that, it should free up $50 for the budget. I was mainly curious about my mobo, proc, ram selection does anyone know of anything that may be better for the money or similar for less?
 
Spike.. said:
I was mainly curious about my mobo, proc, ram selection does anyone know of anything that may be better for the money or similar for less?
Click to expand...

It would help if you answered the first four questions that I asked.

Also, so for all intents and purposes, you basically have a $600 budget now correct?
 
Ditch the case man. For a person who is not really into gaming and is on a budget, he shouldn't be spending that much on a case.
 
6) Will you be overclocking?

I would to do a lite oc nothing crazy

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

in the next 2 months give or take

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

I would like Esata support as i have a couple of 1tb hd's that have the connection It would be nice but is not a deal breaker

A) Which 500W PSU do you have?

It is an Aspire 500 W psu they are now known as apevia from what i understand this model is identical to the one i have.

B) Are you absolutely dead set on that case?

In lite of the hardware im after costing more than previously anticipated and the various jeers :p i think ill just throw a case out of the equation and keep using the old junker i have now. Ill just save the case for an upgrade in 6 months or so Doing that however id like to bring the budget back down to 400 shipped (im in oregon So no taxes :D) like i was originally planning on spending
Throwing both the case and video card out of the picture brings me to about 350 shipped for my above build.


gwarren007:
Since you have light gaming, I would go with the Athlon II instead.
Coolermaster 690 and M4A79XTD combo - $175

Athlon 630 and DDR3 Gskill 1600 combo -$208

I had read some nice things on the phenomII 925 I hadnt compaired the performance to the Athalon What are the pros/cons between the two?
 
lt_shiro said:
I am with hardwareguru...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119161
COOLER MASTER ELITE 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $30

is very good for the money case.
Click to expand...

It doesn't seem too bad and its got to be better than what i have and while its not as sexy as the other one i was looking at its got an incredible price. That being said Im at 380 Shipped after adding that into the build. Can anyone recommend a good cpu heat-sync combo for $20?
 
Definitely get a newer PSU. Don't use that crappy psu for a new cpu/mobo. You can consider these:

AMD Phenom II X4 925 + Corsair XMS3 4GB both for $219.98 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.286677

This is just $12 more than the CPU + RAM that gwarren007 listed earlier but, it's worth it as the Phenom 925 is faster overall than the Athlon 630 Quad which is crippled by its lack of L3 cache.

ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G for $99.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131398

Antec Earthwatts EA430 for $54.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371006

This PSU is better quality than that Aspire 500W psu. You can pop in a Radeon HD 5770 video card down the road if you want to upgrade that Radeon X800 Pro later on.

Total: $374.96 w/free shipping
 
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