750$ For a New Machine ...

[Warchinchilla]

It has been about 4 years since I built a computer and my Radeon9800 pro stopped working today (the connectors look like an old spark plug). So now I decided it was time for a new computer for the family.

The budget is 750$ give or take a few $$

I have no special allegiance to any brands and only a few criteria.

Fastest processor I can afford and best Video Card (two most important I think?)
750+ gig Hard drive
Quite case with decent cooling because it is in an enclosed desk (17h x 19d and width isn't really an issue)
DVD burner is a must the faster the better
A few USB's in the front for easy camera connections

This machine is used for everything from light gaming to photo shop (Sons play old cs when they come home and I play Ultimate Online, son was talking about new Call of Duty ?)

Any suggestions would be very welcome and thank you in advance.

Also I found a refurbed HP M9577c at Frys for 699
AMD x 4 9550
8GB
1 tb hard drive
Nvidia 9300GE 256mb
Blue Ray drive

Would that work?

 

[Rockinacoustic]

Are you opposed to building your own machine? You'll get much more a computer for $750 than that HP.

 

[Warchinchilla]

Yes making my own would be preferable unless that HP is a really good deal or something

 

[fffblackmage]

Doesn't look like an uber hot deal to me, but I guess the best way to tell would find parts for a comp you want and just compare the prices to that pre-built comp. Personally, I would just build my own rather than buying a pre-built comp and adding other stuff like a decent gfx card.
This thread has some pretty useful info for choosing parts for a new comp
It should give you a good idea of what's low end, high end and whatnot.

 

[Warchinchilla]

I am pretty clueless on what will fit what and how much power I am going to need etc..

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

$170 - Acer 22" LCD
$90 - Windows XP Home Edition SP3
$79 - Samsung F1 HD103UJ
$70 - Pentium E5200
$70 - Corsair CMPSU-450VX ($75 before EMCLRPL33 promo code, $40 AR)
$56 - Asus P5KPL-CM
$40 - HEC / Compucase 6K60BS
$30 - Logitech EX 110 wireless keyboard/mouse combo
$23 - Samsung SH-S222L
Total $628

That leaves $122 for a video card and whatever else you might need.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: hurtstotalktoyou
$170 - Acer 22" LCD
$90 - Windows XP Home Edition SP3
$79 - Samsung F1 HD103UJ
$70 - Pentium E5200
$70 - Corsair CMPSU-450VX ($75 before EMCLRPL33 promo code, $40 AR)
$56 - Asus P5KPL-CM
$40 - HEC / Compucase 6K60BS
$30 - Logitech EX 110 wireless keyboard/mouse combo
$23 - Samsung SH-S222L
Total $628

That leaves $122 for a video card and whatever else you might need.

That all looks good, but honestly, get Vista. It is roughly the same price for Home Premium, and you can actually use 4GB RAM with it since you can get 64bit. And go ahead and get 4GB of RAM, it is like 4GB. AData makes a good 2*2GB kit that works great (I have it).

 

[Warchinchilla]

Looks good - I do have 20.1" HD monitor so the cash can go into better parts if there is anything else I may need - I believe I also have a copy of XP still from the old computer - Also got that exact keyboard mouse combo for a present = )

 

[TheStu]

I would ditch the case listed and get something better. The e5200 is a great chip, and if you aren't afraid to OC, can be taken up to 3GHz or better pretty easily.

 

[Warchinchilla]

Is there a good overclock thread on here I have always been interested in trying to do that

 

[TheStu]

You might want to check the CPUs/OverClocking forum here. There is a sticky at the top that outlines what you need to know.

It is also important to get a board that can OC. That Asus may not be able to, or at least not very well.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

For a $750 budget I think you can get a whole lot better than a e5200.

Check out the new Phenom II's. I just put together a new X3 rig for under $400 dollars (see sig) only reusing my Case, PSU, and DVD drive. I have been very happy with it.

 

[Warchinchilla]

Any ideas for a system without the overclocking - looks like I might mess something up...

 

[krnmastersgt]

I'd say just get an E8400, if you aren't that into the newer games with quad optimization, nothing more than a good dual core is needed, and the E8400 is one of the best dual cores around.
My suggestion:
Motherboard: Asus P5Q SE
CPU: E8400
Ram: Patriot Viper 4gb (Not true 800mhz ram but that doesn't really matter )
Video card: Depends on you actually, do you intend on playing some graphically intensive games? If not, no need to spend much here.
PSU: Corsair 450w (Same as posted above)
Case: HEC 6K60BS (Taken from above list)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar 750gb
DVD Burner: Samsung DVD burner
Operating System: Vista Home Premium 64bit

Grand total (not including video card): $623.92, light shipping charge, $70 less once rebates are filed. (This is assuming you don't live in a state where Newegg is taxed).

 

[Warchinchilla]

Motherboard: Asus P5Q SE
CPU: E8400
Ram: Patriot Viper 4gb
PSU: Corsair 450w
Case: COOLER MASTER Elite 360 RC-360-KKN1-GP (http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16811119195)
HD: Samsung F1 HD103UJ
DVD Burner: Samsung DVD burner
Vid Card: MSI N9800GT-T2D512-OC V2 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16814127406)

Comes out to $658 and then $90 in rebates for a grand total of $568

All the should work correct? Then I found my old XP pro software so Ill use that until windows 7 comes out

Someones gotta teach me how to do the link thing I forgot ...

 

[Warchinchilla]

For video card I think I may have put the wrong link on there
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127406

 

[fffblackmage]

I think the hd4770 is a better deal than the 9800gt.

there's a button labeled "http" in the reply window. just paste the link and enter the text you want to show up as the link.

Or: {L=text here}url here{/L}
With square brackets instead of the squiggly brackets

 

[heyheybooboo]

PhII940BE/Biostar 790gx: $260 before $10 mir

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
PhII940BE/Biostar 790gx: $260 before $10 mir

I`m not a huge fan of Biostar...when I can get ASUS or Gigabyte....

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
PhII940BE/Biostar 790gx: $260 before $10 mir

I`m not a huge fan of Biostar...when I can get ASUS or Gigabyte....

PhII 940BE / Gigabyte 790x: $ 270

The PhII 720BE / Gigabyte 790x is only $225 and for the most part would provide enough jam (and OC headroom) for both you and Warchinchilla.

The Biostar 790gx combo with the 720BE is only $204 AR and seems to be the preferred mobo in unlocking the 4th core.

Biostar may not have a 'top tier' reputation but they make good stuff.