I've built quite a few PCs for myself and friends/family in the past, but nothing in the last 2+ years. I haven't had a decent desktop in twice that long, so this will be an upgrade from an underpowered laptop.
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
General windows environment tasks (browsing, word proc, etc.) and some gaming.
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$1200-$1500
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
US
4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.
None
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Keyboard, mouse, speakers
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
My build below is based on browsing recent threads.
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Light OC
8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Next ~2 weeks
Motherboard: Asus P5Q ~$150
CPU: E8400 ~$175
HSF: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 ~$30 w/ thermal
Memory: 2x2GB Mushkin DDR2-800 ~$75
GPU: HD4850 ~$150
HDD: WD 640GB ~$90
DVD: Samsung SATA DVD-R ~$25
Case: Haven't decided ... Antec 300, CM690, etc. range (they all look pretty similar, I'll go with whatever is ~$75 when I order)
PSU: Corsair 620HX ~$100
For the monitor, I'll probably go 22". I considered a Dell 30" I could use as a bedroom TV, but I want this PC to push 2 years, and I don't think that would happen with gaming at a resolution above 1680x1050, so I think I'll just buy a separate TV with the price difference.
On to the questions ... does this build make sense? Will the PSU be adequate? Should I be able to run the E8400 @ 3.6ghz (9x400) with that RAM and HSF? Which version of the P5Q should I go with, or is there a better motherboard out there in my situation?
Finally, that build is on the low end of my budget. Assuming I wanted to throw another ~$150 at an upgrade, what should I go for first? HD4870? VelociRaptor? 8gb RAM? Q9450? How would you rank those 4 possible upgrade options?
Thanks.
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
General windows environment tasks (browsing, word proc, etc.) and some gaming.
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$1200-$1500
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
US
4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.
None
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Keyboard, mouse, speakers
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
My build below is based on browsing recent threads.
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Light OC
8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Next ~2 weeks
Motherboard: Asus P5Q ~$150
CPU: E8400 ~$175
HSF: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 ~$30 w/ thermal
Memory: 2x2GB Mushkin DDR2-800 ~$75
GPU: HD4850 ~$150
HDD: WD 640GB ~$90
DVD: Samsung SATA DVD-R ~$25
Case: Haven't decided ... Antec 300, CM690, etc. range (they all look pretty similar, I'll go with whatever is ~$75 when I order)
PSU: Corsair 620HX ~$100
For the monitor, I'll probably go 22". I considered a Dell 30" I could use as a bedroom TV, but I want this PC to push 2 years, and I don't think that would happen with gaming at a resolution above 1680x1050, so I think I'll just buy a separate TV with the price difference.
On to the questions ... does this build make sense? Will the PSU be adequate? Should I be able to run the E8400 @ 3.6ghz (9x400) with that RAM and HSF? Which version of the P5Q should I go with, or is there a better motherboard out there in my situation?
Finally, that build is on the low end of my budget. Assuming I wanted to throw another ~$150 at an upgrade, what should I go for first? HD4870? VelociRaptor? 8gb RAM? Q9450? How would you rank those 4 possible upgrade options?
Thanks.
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