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New Parts Help

W

Wingy

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 18, 2000
Messages
1,294
Hello,

Here's the quick summary:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web browsing, office work, will hook up to my 42" LCD for Hulu, movies, etc.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$500, Would LOVE to spend less though.
3) Where do you live?
Ann Arbor, MI
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.
Mobo, CPU, RAM, PSU, Video Card, Blu Ray Drive/DVD Burner (If can't fit the budget, leave this out)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Lian Li ATX Case, OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W, WD 74gb Rapter SATA, WD 120 gb 7200 rpm SATA (dunno exact model, will upgrade later), Lite On DVD-ROM and CR-RW, should I need them.
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Either 2x Samsung 22" bbw or 42" Sharp Aquos
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next month or so
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Would like decent sound capabilities, surround if possible, although I do not currently have a system to support it.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Will be using Ubuntu, or other open OS. I have licenses to all Windows 7 OS's also.


Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Wingy said:
Hello,

Here's the quick summary:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web browsing, office work, will hook up to my 42" LCD for Hulu, movies, etc.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$400, Would LOVE to spend less though.
3) Where do you live?
Ann Arbor, MI
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.
Mobo, CPU, RAM, Video Card, Blu Ray Drive/DVD Burner (If can't fit the budget, leave this out)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Lian Li ATX Case, WD 74gb Rapter SATA, WD 120 gb 7200 rpm SATA (dunno exact model, will upgrade later), Lite On DVD-ROM and CR-RW, should I need them.
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Either 2x Samsung 22" bbw or 42" Sharp Aquos
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next month or so
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Would like decent sound capabilities, surround if possible, although I do not currently have a system to support it.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Will be using Ubuntu, or other open OS. I have licenses to all Windows 7 OS's also.


Thanks!
Click to expand...

Here's a preliminary build:

$58 - AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ADX245OCGQBOX
$75 - MSI 880GM-E41 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
$75 - G.SKILL NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBNS
$18 - LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 22X DVD±R DVD Burner LightScribe Support - OEM

$226 shipped. (This will leave you with more than enough room for a good 400 to 500W PSU since you did not list one in your original post.)

I will leave the combo deals and any other suggested upgrades to others. But I am confident that the parts that I picked out would be more than adequate for Web/office use even with streaming video (which, by the way, does not need any more than a motherboard IGP for video output) while still coming in at well below your stated budget limit. I did not pick a Blu-ray drive because the CPU that's required for high-definition video viewing would have either been rather pricey or required an expensive mobo in order to use. (By my estimates, the least-expensive worthwhile core combo that's suitable for Blu-ray viewing would have cost nearly $500.)
 
Last edited:
I do have a PSU already, sorry.

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W
 
Wingy said:
I do have a PSU already, sorry.

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W
Click to expand...

That would suffice for such a low-power-consumption build such as my preliminary suggestion. But it would be close to becoming overtaxed on a higher-end system.
 
Since you're planning on buying next month, no point in recommending costs saving combo deals since they'll expire at the end of the month and therefore utterly useless to you.

I recommend E4g1e's setup as well but with some modifactions:
Get a SATA DVD drive and not an IDE drive:
$20 - LG iHAS124-04 DVD Burner

If you want blu-ray playback, I recommend this blu-ray drive:
$50 - Lite-On iHOS104-06 Blu-ray Reader SATA Drive

In addition to the blu-ray drive, I highly recommend getting this software as well:
$60 - ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre 3 Platinum

That's one of the best blu-ray playback software out there and it does offload the processing of blu-ray playback onto the video card. The onboard graphics of the 880G motherboard should be enough for blu-ray playback. Though do note that you'll only get 2.1 audio via HDMI. If you want 7.1 audio or bitsreamed audio via HDMI, I recommend this add-on video card:
$50 - XFX HD-545X-YNH2 Radeon HD 5450 512MB PCI-E Video Card

After all that, about $100 or so under your $500 budget.
 
Danny Bui said:
Since you're planning on buying next month, no point in recommending costs saving combo deals since they'll expire at the end of the month and therefore utterly useless to you.

I recommend E4g1e's setup as well but with some modifactions:
Get a SATA DVD drive and not an IDE drive:
$20 - LG iHAS124-04 DVD Burner

If you want blu-ray playback, I recommend this blu-ray drive:
$50 - Lite-On iHOS104-06 Blu-ray Reader SATA Drive

In addition to the blu-ray drive, I highly recommend getting this software as well:
$60 - ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre 3 Platinum

That's one of the best blu-ray playback software out there and it does offload the processing of blu-ray playback onto the video card. The onboard graphics of the 880G motherboard should be enough for blu-ray playback. Though do note that you'll only get 2.1 audio via HDMI. If you want 7.1 audio or bitsreamed audio via HDMI, I recommend this add-on video card:
$50 - XFX HD-545X-YNH2 Radeon HD 5450 512MB PCI-E Video Card

After all that, about $100 or so under your $500 budget.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the correction. I have not kept up with the DVD burner offerings since I went strictly by price. I did not realize that the one in my list was only an IDE (PATA) model.

Also, the OP's stated budget is $400. This means that with your suggested upgrades to my preliminary parts, this will come to right at about that budget.
 
E4g1e said:
Also, the OP's stated budget is $400. This means that with your suggested upgrades to my preliminary parts, this will come to right at about that budget.
Click to expand...

Oops. I thought I saw $500. :eek:

Still right at that $400 budget.
 
Danny Bui said:
Since you're planning on buying next month, no point in recommending costs saving combo deals since they'll expire at the end of the month and therefore utterly useless to you.

I recommend E4g1e's setup as well but with some modifactions:
Get a SATA DVD drive and not an IDE drive:
$20 - LG iHAS124-04 DVD Burner

If you want blu-ray playback, I recommend this blu-ray drive:
$50 - Lite-On iHOS104-06 Blu-ray Reader SATA Drive

In addition to the blu-ray drive, I highly recommend getting this software as well:
$60 - ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre 3 Platinum

That's one of the best blu-ray playback software out there and it does offload the processing of blu-ray playback onto the video card. The onboard graphics of the 880G motherboard should be enough for blu-ray playback. Though do note that you'll only get 2.1 audio via HDMI. If you want 7.1 audio or bitsreamed audio via HDMI, I recommend this add-on video card:
$50 - XFX HD-545X-YNH2 Radeon HD 5450 512MB PCI-E Video Card

After all that, about $100 or so under your $500 budget.
Click to expand...

Sorry if I sound newbish, I've been out of the game for a bit.

Is it simply that this motherboard only supports 2.1 audio over HDMI? I thought you could do 8 channels over it. And if I use that card, I can bitstream via HDMI, or 7.1 via the motherboard? Which should I prefer of those two (even though I currently haveno fancy sound system)? Sorry, I'm not up on my audio/video stuff like I should be.

Thanks also for the software recommendation. I do plan to use open source, but I may dual boot to take care of any areas that will be problematic for open source.
 
Also take note that blu ray playback would be nice, but not totally needed. I do have a PS3 I use, but it would be cool to get it all in one. Streaming HD content from the web is my main concern really with video playback.
 
Wingy said:
Sorry if I sound newbish, I've been out of the game for a bit.

Is it simply that this motherboard only supports 2.1 audio over HDMI? I thought you could do 8 channels over it. And if I use that card, I can bitstream via HDMI, or 7.1 via the motherboard? Which should I prefer of those two (even though I currently haveno fancy sound system)? Sorry, I'm not up on my audio/video stuff like I should be.

Thanks also for the software recommendation. I do plan to use open source, but I may dual boot to take care of any areas that will be problematic for open source.
Click to expand...

It's simply that the chipset doesn't generally support more than 2.1 audio over HDMI. You can get 8 channel audio out of that motherboard but not through HDMI. Just through the normal audio jacks. Get it?

If you use that video card, you can bitstream or get 7.1 audio via HDMI through the video card, not the motherboard. Since you don't have a fancy audio sound system or at least a 5.1 audio sound system, you really don't have to worry about bitstreamed or 7.1 audio. Stick with the motherboard's onboard audio. You can always get the video card later on.

AFAIK, Blu-ray playback in Linux is pretty much non-existent or nowhere near as clean as Windows. Even in Windows, there's no open-source software that I know of that can play Blu-ray discs well. So yeah, paid software is pretty much the only way to go if you want smooth, easy, and high-quality blu-ray playback with a HTPC.
 
Fuck, just saw Ubuntu in the OS question. Hmm that changes things a bit. Hardware accelerated playback in Linux with ATI cards is pretty much crap IIRC. So the base CPU + mobo + onboard graphics that E4g1e recommended will not be suitable at all for HD playback in Linux since that's an ATI onboard graphics. You will need to add on a Nvidia card if you want hardware accelerated playback in Linux:
$36 - Galaxy 21GFE4HX2HUN GeForce 210 512MB PCI-E Video Card

On the up-side, the GeForce 210 does support 7.1 audio via HDMI.
 
Danny Bui said:
Fuck, just saw Ubuntu in the OS question. Hmm that changes things a bit. Hardware accelerated playback in Linux with ATI cards is pretty much crap IIRC. So the base CPU + mobo + onboard graphics that E4g1e recommended will not be suitable at all for HD playback in Linux since that's an ATI onboard graphics. You will need to add on a Nvidia card if you want hardware accelerated playback in Linux:
$36 - Galaxy 21GFE4HX2HUN GeForce 210 512MB PCI-E Video Card

On the up-side, the GeForce 210 does support 7.1 audio via HDMI.
Click to expand...

That just shows me how little I know any OS outside of Windows... :eek:
 
Hey,

I posted a question regarding linux hardware acceleration for playback in the linux forum, so we shall see.

Also, the PSU I have is new, I was trying to save my urrent system after my previous PSU went out, and seems to have taken the motherboard, and possibly all other things with it, but it didnt work. So I'm RMAing the PSU, and bumping the budget to $500.

I'm thinking I will dual boot Ubuntu/Win7 so that I can take these possible software restrictions out of play for this build. Sometimes you just have to punt on that stuff. I have Win7 licenses, so this doesn't need to be built in to the budget.

Thanks for your replies!
 
Do you need a new PSU with taht $500 budget? What other parts, besides what you listed in question 4, do you need, if at all?
 
Hello,

Sorry for the delay. I've edited my OP for the budget change, and added PSU to items I need.

This means I need:

Motherboard, CPU, RAM, PSU, Video Card, DVD-RW/Blu-Ray player is possible.

As a reminder, I will dual boot ubuntu/Win7.

Thanks!
 
The parts that E4g1e and Danny Bui recommended earlier are still fine.

Add this PSU and be done with it:
$40 - Antec Earthwatts Green EA-380D 380W PSU (free ground shipping)

Since you aren't overclocking, gaming, or using a high-end video card, it has more than enough power for your needs.
 
I'm digging the suggestions, thanks. It looks like it also leaves room to upgrade too, which I enjoy.

Assuming I do not go with the video card, are there any other upgrades to your build you would suggest, since I have some budget room? I was looking over some CPU benchmarks, and was wondering if going to an X4 or Phenom X2 may be worth it? Since I'm not doing anything too intensive, and video decoding will be done by the integrated chipset, I guess I'm wondering if a few more bucks will get me a better "feel" or if I'm throwing money at nothin there. Or maybe an Intel offering of some kind?

Otherwise I think I may use the money to swap out these aging HDDs for something newer. Any recommendations on those would be nice, all I've ever really bought are Western Digitals. These aren't too hard to pick out, but should you know of any great deals, I'd be appreciative.

Thanks again everyone!
 
Going to a Phenom II X2 would not be worth it. An upgrade to an Athlon II X4 635 might be worth it. A Phenom II X4 upgrade will probably not be worth it.

Your budget is not high enough nor are you needs specific enough to justify an Intel setup. HDD wise, these are some of the fastest but quietest drives out there:
$55 - Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
 
That WD500aaks hard drive is on sale for $40 at Newegg until 12:00 Pacific time. Look in hotdeals section.
 
One quick question, and I'm sure it's dumb, but just to make sure.

Is the Mushkin budget memory an OK swap for that GSkill? Inventory is short on the GSkill.

Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996586

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146748

Also, because of my budget, I upgraded the CPU to this:

AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX640WFGMBOX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871

I've decided to keep my OCZ PSU, it's slightly overkill but with restocking fee and possible video card upgrades in the future, I figure I may as well keep it.
 
Wingy said:
One quick question, and I'm sure it's dumb, but just to make sure.

Is the Mushkin budget memory an OK swap for that GSkill? Inventory is short on the GSkill.

Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996586

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146748
Click to expand...
Mushkin is an ok alternative.


Wingy said:
Also, because of my budget, I upgraded the CPU to this:

AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX640WFGMBOX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871
Click to expand...

Wait, what's the current list of parts you're looking at now? ANd you're still building next month, correct?
 
AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core

MSI 880GM-E41 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996586

Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (Or the similar 1TB one, still up in the air, but I'll prolly spring for it.)

Already Own:
OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W
Recycled DVD-ROM, for the moment.
LIAN LI PC-7B

You had mentioned that the upgrade to the Athlon II 635 may be worth it. The 640 is was $5 more, so I did that, and from what I can tell, Im still comfortably under the power threshold, should I decide to put in another HDD and/or low power video card.
 
Hey,

I'd like to take advantage of combo deals to do this, but since I'm not 100% on the build date, I'd like to make myself slightly more flexible.

For example, with the motherboard, What are the thing I'm looking for? My assumption is Socket AM3, DDR3 support, Onboard Video w/ HDMI. What I'm not sure of is what would be the minimum Video chipset that would suit my needs? I generally see a lot of ATI 4200 chipsets, although the MSI board suggested has 4250. I can't imagine that being a real difference, but hey, what do I know.

CPU, Memory, PSU, HDD: I pretty much know how to be flexible there.

Thanks again.
 
Wingy said:
For example, with the motherboard, What are the thing I'm looking for? My assumption is Socket AM3, DDR3 support, Onboard Video w/ HDMI. What I'm not sure of is what would be the minimum Video chipset that would suit my needs? I generally see a lot of ATI 4200 chipsets, although the MSI board suggested has 4250. I can't imagine that being a real difference, but hey, what do I know.
Click to expand...

The minimum onboard video is the HD 4200. That's usually the older 785G and 790G chipsets The onboard video HD 4250, which is found as part of the 880G and 880GX chipsets, is faster than the HD 4200 in gaming but that's pretty much it.
 
Hi there,

Here's my final build with CPU-Mobo combo. Let me know what you think. I appreciate your suggestions, definitely helped me in the right direction.

I would like to order this week, so if you know of any similar combos (including sensible downgrades or upgrades) that save money, or are just great, let me know. Saving money would be great.

The money seems worth it to me on the CPU-Mobo combo, but is prolly overkill for my purposes. Is there a combo you like better that's cheaper? I like the idea of getting cheap quad core going, but also looking at the X3.

ASUS M4A88T-M AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard + AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor - 179.98

Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop - 74.99

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - 54.99

LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer - 19.99
 
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