Trying my First custom build - need help pls

[real1g]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I need this computer to be ultra-portable, I'll be taking it from work to home every day. I'll be using simple programs at work, Word, Excel, etc., at home I primarily play cs1.6 and will want to play sc2 and future games.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
my budget is around 800$

3) Where do you live?
Bay Area, CA

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

i'll need a "lan box" or very portable mini, hopefully 8GB RAM, Quad core
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Nothing reused
6) Will you be overclocking?
I dont know what overclocking is so proabbly not
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
19inch CRT
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
As soon as i get a config that would work
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
no firewire. and i dont really know the other things.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
XP pro 32bit.

Here's my initial setup.
Computer Case :Thermaltake LANBOX Lite VF6000BWS w/ Window Cube Gaming Case
Power Supply Upgrade : 550W Heavy Duty TOUGH Series SATA Power Supply
DDR3 Memory : 8GB (4X2GB) DDR3-1600 PC3-12800 Hyper-X
Processor : AMD Phenom II X4 925 2.8Ghz AM3 Quad Core 6MB Cache
CPU Cooling Fan : Original Factory Cooling Fan and Heatsink
Hard Drive : 500GB Seagate 7200RPM SATA-2 UDMA 300 16MB Cache
Video Card : ATI Radeon HD5770 1GB DDR VGA/DVI/HDMI PCI-Express Video Card
DVD Recorder : Samsung 22X DVD+/-RW
Sound Card : Built-in HD 8-Ch Sound Card
Network Card : Built-in Gigabit LAN

Also I'm thinking i might want like a 40-60GB SSD in addition to the regular HD

ALL YOUR HELP WILL BE HUGELY APPRECIATED!!

 

[tonytnnt]

That sounds rough, lugging a desktop to/from work every day. Have you considered a cheap laptop or desktop for work, and one for home? You're not taking the monitor back and forth too are you?

I'm not quite sure how those parts add up to $800. Are you building it yourself or paying someone to build it for you?

I'll try and throw a build together in a bit but I need some more information. Specifically if this is being built by you or if you're ordering a custom rig from a shop.

 

[real1g]

it's being built by me. and im willing to spend 700-800. and no ill just be moving the computer no other parts.

 

[Dangman]

$210 - Intel Core i5-2500 CPU
$115 - Gigabyte GA-H67N-USB3-B3 Intel H67 mITX Motherboard
$78 - 2 x Patriot PSD34G13332 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$135 - XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$135 - Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1 2.5" 64GB SSD
$61 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$105 - Silverstone SG05-B mITX Case with FSP SFX 300W PSU
---
Total: $839 plus tax and shipping.

Fairly small and very portable. That HD 5770 1GB should be enough for games on a 19" monitor. Includes a very fast SSD and a CPU that should last you for quite a long time.

 

[real1g]

$210 - Intel Core i5-2500 CPU
$115 - Gigabyte GA-H67N-USB3-B3 Intel H67 mITX Motherboard
$78 - 2 x Patriot PSD34G13332 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$135 - XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$135 - Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1 2.5" 64GB SSD
$61 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$105 - Silverstone SG05-B mITX Case with FSP SFX 300W PSU
---
Total: $839 plus tax and shipping.

Fairly small and very portable. That HD 5770 1GB should be enough for games on a 19" monitor. Includes a very fast SSD and a CPU that should last you for quite a long time.

this looks solid, i'd also need just a dvd drive, cheap any recommendations?

 

[tonytnnt]

$210 - Intel Core i5-2500 CPU
$115 - Gigabyte GA-H67N-USB3-B3 Intel H67 mITX Motherboard
$78 - 2 x Patriot PSD34G13332 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$135 - XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$135 - Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1 2.5" 64GB SSD
$61 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$105 - Silverstone SG05-B mITX Case with FSP SFX 300W PSU
---
Total: $839 plus tax and shipping.

Fairly small and very portable. That HD 5770 1GB should be enough for games on a 19" monitor. Includes a very fast SSD and a CPU that should last you for quite a long time.

+1 to this build.

My only suggestion (and I'm not entirely sure how it would work with the 300W FSP PSU) is to consider the Sapphire 5850 on Amazon for $140. You'd probably be looking at a different PSU as well, which will further blow the budget. Dropping the SSD will allow you to get the 5850 and a better power supply, but on a 19" monitor you won't notice the difference. This would really only help if you were to upgrade to a 1080p or higher display.

For a DVD burner:

$23 - Liteon 24X DVDrw Sata Retail (Amazon, no taxes.)
$21 - ASUS Black 24X DVD+R (Newegg, have to pay sales tax.)

Either one is fine. Pick whatever is cheaper and/or more convenient to you.

 

[real1g]

Yeah actually, can we cut out the SSD, and see what can be made better, still all for around 800$. thanks so much guys. really aprreciate it.

 

[tonytnnt]

Yeah actually, can we cut out the SSD, and see what can be made better, still all for around 800$. thanks so much guys. really aprreciate it.

Danny's build is about as good as you can get. The only "weak" spot is the GPU, but since you're using a 19" CRT, you won't notice it. So are you planning on upgrading your monitor as well? If not, then you'll probably notice the performance boost from the SSD more than the GPU.

Also: what resolution do you usually use on your 19" CRT?

 

[real1g]

Danny's build is about as good as you can get. The only "weak" spot is the GPU, but since you're using a 19" CRT, you won't notice it. So are you planning on upgrading your monitor as well? If not, then you'll probably notice the performance boost from the SSD more than the GPU.

Also: what resolution do you usually use on your 19" CRT?

1024x768, i mean i dont think the GPU is a problem. I'll be playing counter-strike 1.6 mostly. As well as starcraft 2 a little.

 

[Dangman]

+1 to this build.

My only suggestion (and I'm not entirely sure how it would work with the 300W FSP PSU) is to consider the Sapphire 5850 on Amazon for $140. You'd probably be looking at a different PSU as well, which will further blow the budget.

Some people are using the HD 5850 with that 300W PSU but IMO they're being a little short-sighted as the long term damage have not become apparent. So I'm errring on the of caution and recommend the HD 5770.

With that said, that's a really awesome deal for a HD 5850.

For a DVD burner:

$23 - Liteon 24X DVDrw Sata Retail (Amazon, no taxes.)
$21 - ASUS Black 24X DVD+R (Newegg, have to pay sales tax.)

Neither one will work actually. Slipped my mind but that SG05 case needs a slim DVD burner. So the OP will need the following:
$24 - Samsung SN-S083F/BEBE DVD Burner
$14 - StarTech SLSATAF20 20in Slimline SATA Female to SATA with LP4 Power Cable Adapter
---
Total: $41.51 shipped and taxed

Yeah actually, can we cut out the SSD, and see what can be made better, still all for around 800$. thanks so much guys. really aprreciate it.

Well are you wiling to sacrifice portability? Because as tonytnnt noted, that's as good as you're gonna get for ultra portable gaming. Then again, your low resolution and relatively low gaming requirements doesn't really justify a faster video card. And that CPU, RAM amount, and HDD is about the best bang for the buck parts out there. So not much you can do with the cash saved by dropping that SSD besides getting you under budget

EDIT: One slight change to the above build actually: Drop the Core i5 2500 down to the Core i5 2400. Saves you $20 and you're gonna get roughly the same performance as that Core i5 2500:
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Process...UXIA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304548095&sr=8-1

 

[tonytnnt]

Yeah, at 1024x768 the 5770 with an SSD will give you a better gaming experience than the 5850 without.

Neither one will work actually. Slipped my mind but that SG05 case needs a slim DVD burner. So the OP will need the following:
$24 - Samsung SN-S083F/BEBE DVD Burner
$14 - StarTech SLSATAF20 20in Slimline SATA Female to SATA with LP4 Power Cable Adapter
---
Total: $41.51 shipped and taxed[/url]

Totally missed that.

I think you'll be fine with the Core i5-2400 as well. The performance difference is negligible. If you're close to the Santa Clara Microcenter you could save a few more dollars by getting the Core i5-2400 there ($164 including taxes) and the Gigabyte GA-H67N-USB3-B3 ($120 including taxes -- $110 before taxes. Notice the Newegg price is $115 before taxes.) Basically if you're close to Microcenter, you'll save about $31 versus ordering those two parts online.