First PC build

[Paain]

Hi a friend recommended me these forums on help building a PC.

This is my first time building a PC, so I'm very inexperienced, but I've done some homework.

First off, I'll be using it for games like AoEIII and LoL, but nothing too high tier. I also want to program and edit things, so I'll need a bit of space I think.
I'm pretty poor, so my budget is like $500-$600.
I'd like to buy from the US, since I live there.
Not a brand fanboy, anything that works and will save some money on power I guess. I do prefer Intel or AMD stuff just because I recognize it better.
Not using current parts
Definitely not going to overclock because that's not what I care about for a while, I don't really need the extra speed
I have no idea on what resolution I'll use
I plan to build it sometime in a week or a couple weeks, I really just need an idea and a build suggested
ALSO, I need Windows 7, and it would be cool to run Linux somewhere down the road

Thanks if you can help me!

 

[krnmastersgt]

Does this build also require a monitor or do you have one already?

 

[Paain]

I have one, and it requires a VGA cord. But if I can fit it into the budget, it would be cool if I can upgrade the monitor, but the parts are the biggest priority.

 

[ElFenix]

may need more NE combos to pull this off. aoe3 is pretty old at this point, dunno what LoL is. this leaves you with room for a monitor and just maybe a vid card. you could save some money with a smaller hard drive, a 500GB drive would take about $30 off, switching the case for a bitfenix merc alpha would shave another $10

LG DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH24NS90 - OEM
Item #: N82E16827136247
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

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$16.99




BitFenix Outlaw Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

BitFenix Outlaw Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811345013
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy



$49.99




Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822148337
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

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$89.99




CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 (CMPSU-430CXV2) 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 (CMPSU-430CXV2) 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817139026
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

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-$10.00 Instant
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card

$49.99
$39.99




Logitech Wireless Combo MK260 920-002950 Black USB RF Wireless Standard Keyboard and Mouse

Logitech Wireless Combo MK260 920-002950 Black USB RF Wireless Standard Keyboard and Mouse
Item #: N82E16823126197
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$29.99
$28.99




Intel Celeron G530 Sandy Bridge 2.4GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80623G530

Intel Celeron G530 Sandy Bridge 2.4GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80623G530
Item #: N82E16819116409
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy

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$49.99




Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116986
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$99.99



ASRock B75M LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model PGD38G1333ELK


ASRock B75M LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813157313
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

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Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model PGD38G1333ELK
Item #: N82E16820220557
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy

-$5.00 Instant
-$7.00 Combo


$112.98
$100.98

Subtotal: $476.91

 

[Paain]

okay, I don't need the mous and key board, plus I don't need the 1.5 TB, so it would be $60 off, could I add that to a better processor and i think I could invest in a new monitor later on?


Posted from Anandtech.com App for Android

 

[krnmastersgt]

You have another hard drive?

 

[Paain]

No, I do not


Posted from Anandtech.com App for Android

 

[krnmastersgt]

Well I mocked up a build if you use your current monitor.
CPU: Pentium G620 $64
Motherboard: ASRock B75M $73
RAM: G.SKILL 8 GB Set $40
PSU: Corsair CX430 $25 AR ($5 more than normal, I think too many links to the page are causing it to inflate price)
Video Card: GTX 460 1GB $100 AR
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 $30 AR
Hard Drive: WD Caviar Blue 500GB $70
Solid State Drive: Crucial M4 64GB $80
Windows 7 Home Premium $100

Total: $624 with $50 in MIR.

There's a rough build of what you can get in your budget (goes over a bit but there's quite a bit back in MIR).

HOWEVER what I would recommend you do given your budget, go the Dell Outlet or something and look up some decent refurbished systems that come in under $400, you'll then have the money to add in a nice video card and an SSD without all the hassles of budget builds.

In terms of the build, I have a hard time suggesting the complete set as there's a lot of areas where if you pay a little more you get a lot more back. Such as the hard drives, for $20 more you can get 3x the capacity. For the SSD, for $40 more you can get twice the capacity. The GTX 460 is probably overkill however I wasn't sure if you'd transition to other games, if you only plan on really playing LoL then you could get a ~$50 video card and run it just fine.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Get a dell

 

[bononos]

I have one, and it requires a VGA cord. But if I can fit it into the budget, it would be cool if I can upgrade the monitor, but the parts are the biggest priority.

If you're going to need more speed for newer games, I would get an i3 (vs the G620) and a $100 video card (or slightly over) and drop the SSD.

 

[lehtv]

Here's my take on a $600 build incl windows:

Asrock B75M $65
i3-2100 $110
4GB DDR3 $20
Sapphire 6850 $135 ($120 AR)
Hitachi 7K1000.D 1TB $80 AP
Asus DVD-RW $17
Antec VP-450 $37 AP ($27 AR)
Rosewill Ranger $40 AP
Win 7 HP 64 OEM $100

= $604 after promos ($579 after rebate) + shipping

If you wish, you can back down to an Intel Pentium G620 or G850, I just picked the fastest CPU I could fit into $600 reasonably.

This supports modern features and is upgradeable.

- USB 3.0 on the front panel as well as back panel
- The motherboard has a SATA 6gb/s header for a future SSD upgrade. (An SSD is by no means essential since the hard disk here is pretty fast, but it may be a good idea to buy an SSD in the future once they get closer to the $0.5/GB mark)
- In a couple of years you can upgrade the CPU to a used Ivy Bridge i5 for a nice boost in performance, so it's not a dead end.
- One free RAM slot, just add another module later when needed
- The PSU is capable enough for a budget unit, any 6-pin PCIe graphics card is supported by default and it should also be fine for 2x6-pin with an adapter.
- The case will last across many builds if needed, supports ATX boards and has good cooling

 

[Paain]

Here's my take on a $600 build incl windows:

Asrock B75M $65
i3-2100 $110
4GB DDR3 $20
Sapphire 6850 $135 ($120 AR)
Hitachi 7K1000.D 1TB $80 AP
Asus DVD-RW $17
Antec VP-450 $37 AP ($27 AR)
Rosewill Ranger $40 AP
Win 7 HP 64 OEM $100

= $604 after promos ($579 after rebate) + shipping

If you wish, you can back down to an Intel Pentium G620 or G850, I just picked the fastest CPU I could fit into $600 reasonably.

This supports modern features and is upgradeable.

- USB 3.0 on the front panel as well as back panel
- The motherboard has a SATA 6gb/s header for a future SSD upgrade. (An SSD is by no means essential since the hard disk here is pretty fast, but it may be a good idea to buy an SSD in the future once they get closer to the $0.5/GB mark)
- In a couple of years you can upgrade the CPU to a used Ivy Bridge i5 for a nice boost in performance, so it's not a dead end.
- One free RAM slot, just add another module later when needed
- The PSU is capable enough for a budget unit, any 6-pin PCIe graphics card is supported by default and it should also be fine for 2x6-pin with an adapter.
- The case will last across many builds if needed, supports ATX boards and has good cooling

I like this build, but I think I'd go with this case instead
COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1
and then like you said, upgrade to the i5 later on

 

[Durvelle27]

get a HD 7770 instead of HD 6850

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150598
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102993

 

[Paain]

Get a dell

is kind of vague

 

[Paain]

get a HD 7770 instead of HD 6850

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150598
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102993

What's the advantage?

 

[Durvelle27]

highly overlockable and performs better in full Directx11 games, runs cooler and uses less power

 

[krnmastersgt]

I personally think an SSD would be of enormous benefit in this type of system. I also however value an SSD over a video card at this point as well however, and seeing as how neither of the games listed are that intensive I'd rather drop down to a cheap video card and grab an SSD than ditch the SSD to get a stronger card.

Paain, do you have plans on getting newer titles? As I said before, all of the video cards being suggested are overkill for the 2 games that you mentioned and could easily be dropped to cheaper cards. The same goes for the CPU, I originally intended to suggest the 2100 however the benefits you would see in AoE and LoL are pretty much non-existent.

As far as the video card comparisons:
GTX 460: Runs cooler than the 6850 but consumes more power, scales relatively equally depending on title.
6850: Theoretically strongest card from this group, newer tech than the 460 allows it to use considerably less power under full load however consumes just as much at idle/low loads.
7770: Quite weak compared to the 460 and 6850 UNLESS the title utilizes DX11 (which a lot of games do not) lowest power consumption however, runs cooler than the 6850 and roughly equal to or hotter than the 460 under full load (these are the models that AT tested).

I recommended the 460 as it doesn't really lose out to either card aside from having considerably more power draw, but also comes in a decent chunk cheaper than the other 2 (though the argument can be made that over time the power difference would make up the up front cost difference).

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I personally think an SSD would be of enormous benefit in this type of system. I also however value an SSD over a video card at this point as well however, and seeing as how neither of the games listed are that intensive I'd rather drop down to a cheap video card and grab an SSD than ditch the SSD to get a stronger card.

Paain, do you have plans on getting newer titles? As I said before, all of the video cards being suggested are overkill for the 2 games that you mentioned and could easily be dropped to cheaper cards. The same goes for the CPU, I originally intended to suggest the 2100 however the benefits you would see in AoE and LoL are pretty much non-existent.

As far as the video card comparisons:
GTX 460: Runs cooler than the 6850 but consumes more power, scales relatively equally depending on title.
6850: Theoretically strongest card from this group, newer tech than the 460 allows it to use considerably less power under full load however consumes just as much at idle/low loads.
7770: Quite weak compared to the 460 and 6850 UNLESS the title utilizes DX11 (which a lot of games do not) lowest power consumption however, runs cooler than the 6850 and roughly equal to or hotter than the 460 under full load (these are the models that AT tested).

I recommended the 460 as it doesn't really lose out to either card aside from having considerably more power draw, but also comes in a decent chunk cheaper than the other 2 (though the argument can be made that over time the power difference would make up the up front cost difference).

completely agree

when i said get a dell, go to the outlet and look at the dent and scratched models

 

[Paain]

I personally think an SSD would be of enormous benefit in this type of system. I also however value an SSD over a video card at this point as well however, and seeing as how neither of the games listed are that intensive I'd rather drop down to a cheap video card and grab an SSD than ditch the SSD to get a stronger card.

Paain, do you have plans on getting newer titles? As I said before, all of the video cards being suggested are overkill for the 2 games that you mentioned and could easily be dropped to cheaper cards. The same goes for the CPU, I originally intended to suggest the 2100 however the benefits you would see in AoE and LoL are pretty much non-existent.

As far as the video card comparisons:
GTX 460: Runs cooler than the 6850 but consumes more power, scales relatively equally depending on title.
6850: Theoretically strongest card from this group, newer tech than the 460 allows it to use considerably less power under full load however consumes just as much at idle/low loads.
7770: Quite weak compared to the 460 and 6850 UNLESS the title utilizes DX11 (which a lot of games do not) lowest power consumption however, runs cooler than the 6850 and roughly equal to or hotter than the 460 under full load (these are the models that AT tested).

I recommended the 460 as it doesn't really lose out to either card aside from having considerably more power draw, but also comes in a decent chunk cheaper than the other 2 (though the argument can be made that over time the power difference would make up the up front cost difference).

I do have plans on getting newer titles, but how would an SSD work instead of the Gfx? The highest game I would consider buying would be battlefield III, but really, I want to run games on highest quality without lag. Living with my parents, they pay the electricity bill, so I'd rather go with a less power consuming graphics card

 

[Durvelle27]

Hd 7770

 

[krnmastersgt]

I do have plans on getting newer titles, but how would an SSD work instead of the Gfx? The highest game I would consider buying would be battlefield III, but really, I want to run games on highest quality without lag. Living with my parents, they pay the electricity bill, so I'd rather go with a less power consuming graphics card

SSD's provide an enormous increase in just general usage of the system as its faster and more responsive, not to mention boot times become near nothing (my system takes over 1 minute with its start-up programs on a standard mechanical hard drive while almost instant with my SSD).

BF3 is an extremely CPU and GPU intensive game when you're doing large multi-player matches so regardless of which video card you choose, they won't really be able to run it smoothly on high settings. The 7770 does consume the least power at full load but that's primarily because it's also got a lot less power behind it, for DX11 titles the architecture is great but for DX9 or 10 titles it falls far short of the other 2. If you are concerned about power usage, then the middle ground would be the 6850, it is the most expensive up front though.

 

[Paain]

SSD's provide an enormous increase in just general usage of the system as its faster and more responsive, not to mention boot times become near nothing (my system takes over 1 minute with its start-up programs on a standard mechanical hard drive while almost instant with my SSD).

BF3 is an extremely CPU and GPU intensive game when you're doing large multi-player matches so regardless of which video card you choose, they won't really be able to run it smoothly on high settings. The 7770 does consume the least power at full load but that's primarily because it's also got a lot less power behind it, for DX11 titles the architecture is great but for DX9 or 10 titles it falls far short of the other 2. If you are concerned about power usage, then the middle ground would be the 6850, it is the most expensive up front though.

Wait, don't SSDs have low storage space compared to an HDD, and generally cost more? I like the gfx idea, I think I'll take it

 

[krnmastersgt]

Wait, don't SSDs have low storage space compared to an HDD, and generally cost more? I like the gfx idea, I think I'll take it

Yes but those are just the disadvantages, the advantages are near 0 seek times and MUCH higher data throughput. Also the build I linked early has a 500 GB hard drive to go with it, for just a tad more you could get quite a bit more storage space too. I honestly think you should squeeze the SSD in there and just stick to the Pentium G620 for now with the 6850. Then when you can muster up a bit more money you can upgrade to an i5 of some sort and grab a new monitor.

 

[Paain]

Yes but those are just the disadvantages, the advantages are near 0 seek times and MUCH higher data throughput. Also the build I linked early has a 500 GB hard drive to go with it, for just a tad more you could get quite a bit more storage space too. I honestly think you should squeeze the SSD in there and just stick to the Pentium G620 for now with the 6850. Then when you can muster up a bit more money you can upgrade to an i5 of some sort and grab a new monitor.

I guess the Pentium is enough for now, chances are that I won't -need- anything higher I guess. It's Dual-Core, right?

 

[krnmastersgt]

I guess the Pentium is enough for now, chances are that I won't -need- anything higher I guess. It's Dual-Core, right?

Yes as would the i3 2100, though that has Hyperthreading so it's capable of acting like a quad.