Looking for some advice on how to make this build cheaper!

[sotu]

I'm looking to build a new computer and I need some advice on how to save money on the overall price. I was also considering buying a cheap prebuilt system.. could someone please let me know if this is either a bad or good idea?

What I will use this computer for:
coding/programing, music production with ableton and reason, web development (building and maintaining websites), computing basics (download, movies, music, etc).

I dont game so it doesn't have to be graphic intensive.

I dont have a set budget but I would like to save as much as possible by swapping the parts I don't need out for cheaper parts. Also, I have nothing against overclocking.. especially if it can save me money! So if there is a cheaper part that can do about the same once overclocked please advice!

The Build
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz ~ $130

MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX ~ $90

RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) ~ $45

GFX: EVGA 384-P3-N851-AR GeForce 8800 GS 384MB 192-bit GDDR3 PCI-E 2.0 ~ $110

PSU: Antec earthwatts EA500 500W ATX12V v2.0 Power Supply 100 ~ $60

CASE: Rosewill R5604-TBK 0.8mm Jap Cold Rolled Steel Screw-less 120mm Fans ~ $57

HD: West. Dig. Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200rpm 16MB SATA 3.0Gb/s ~ $90

This is roughly $600 dollars total at this point.

If Neccesary:
Cooling - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler ~ $32

Could someone also recommend a cheap DVD/CD Drive? I'm not sure what I should be looking for here.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: sotu

Could someone also recommend a cheap DVD/CD Drive? I'm not sure what I should be looking for here.

They're all cheap now. Try the Samsung 20X SATA drive. :thumbsup::laugh:

 

[Slowlearner]

Overall a good combination for the kind of work you have mind. It will be difficult to knock off more than 50-60$ without making serious compromises. The only change I would suggest would be an Sonata III - Directron has it for 110$ w/PS. I have recently bought a couple of LG DVD burners for 30$ each and they work fine.

Dell has small business deals for the vostro 200 slim tower E4600,Vista basic, 20" FP, 4GB ram, 160GB hd, int graphics for 554$.The slim towers are meant for basic office work.

 

[DSF]

The Earthwatts 430W is still $30 after rebate at Newegg, so I'd go with that. You don't need 500W for a basic system. If you're not gaming at all, you can save yourself at least $50 on the graphics card, or even go for integrated video.

 

[JackMDS]

You have good choices up there.

You can spend more time and effort on specials and rebates, but I doubt that you would save more than few $$$.

 

[Alex C]

sign up for newegg's and everyone else's email notifications so you're notified when things go on sale.