Looking to build a new desktop

[Steve325]

I have no need for a laptop anymore and plan on just putting together a nice little desktop. I've been out of the tech wolrd for a little while and just wanting to be filled in on what a nice little setup would be

i'd like to get away with something capable of playing some good games for ~$600 without a monitor

any recommendations? I'd like a low capacity 10k RPM hard drive, that's the only thing I know I want. I saw a 10k RPM 36.7GB drive on newegg for $100. I already have a 500 gb external, so not looking for any more space

 

[Operandi]

$600 is pretty tough budget for machine capable of gaming.

 

[Steve325]

it's not a super strict budget. I like the littler type of games that require less system req's (command and conquer, civilization, aoe, etc). I do like a very smooth running OS and a very stable computer. I also like doing photoshop stuff. It's more of a school/gaming computer

 

[3LEMENT0]

Do you need new cd/dvd, Case, PSU or are you going to carry over old stuff.
I'm currently building a gaming machine myself.

4300- $175
S3 - $109 - this will probably be the MB I'm going to get for the sake of Ocing
8800 GTS 320 - $300 or 7950 from $280 below or Radeon X1950 pro for $250 below
1Gig (512x2) DDR2 - $70 to $100
HDD - 200Gig or so SATA $60 on sale

Assuming you have a case/psu/cd-dvd drive/etc.

Good luck

 

[3LEMENT0]

Also personally I don't think the raptor is a good value when it comes to PforP but that's just me.

If you're building everything up for $600 though it will be hard

 

[Steve325]

All I have are speakers and external hard drive. I do have an external dvd/cd writer, so I assume that can be put on hold

 

[mcurphy]

Hmmm, $600 seems like a tough price to build, here's a quick rundown of a budget Intel Core2 rig I threw together. The rig below will play games pretty decent. It might give you a starting point for things to look at.

Mobo: Gigabyte S3 ~$110
CPU: Intel E4300 ~$180
RAM: DDR2 533 1GB Value RAM ~$75
GPU: Something around $150
PSU: Enhance 5140GH ~$58
HDD: your 10k choice ~$100
Case: CoolerMaster RC330 ~$40
OS: ~$100
Optical: your choice $50

Total = $863

I suppose you could go a lot cheaper with an AMD system, but the price / performance ration is not worht it IMO.

 

[Steve325]

Originally posted by: 3LEMENT0
Also personally I don't think the raptor is a good value when it comes to PforP but that's just me.

If you're building everything up for $600 though it will be hard

what exactly is PforP?

 

[3LEMENT0]

price for performance or P/P. It's fast don't get me wrong, but for the price I don't think it's worth it just to load games faster by a few seconds, even if it was faster by a minute. The fun in games is the game itself and not how fast it can load anyways. GL

 

[Steve325]

Originally posted by: mcurphy
Hmmm, $600 seems like a tough price to build, here's a quick rundown of a budget Intel Core2 rig I threw together. The rig below will play games pretty decent. It might give you a starting point for things to look at.

Mobo: Gigabyte S3 ~$110
CPU: Intel E4300 ~$180
RAM: DDR2 533 1GB Value RAM ~$75
GPU: Something around $150
PSU: Enhance 5140GH ~$58
HDD: your 10k choice ~$100
Case: CoolerMaster RC330 ~$40
OS: ~$100
Optical: your choice $50

Total = $863

I suppose you could go a lot cheaper with an AMD system, but the price / performance ration is not worht it IMO.

that does sound like a pretty good build. I'm not too familiar with CPU's anymore these days, do I really need a dual core? I'm considering 2gb of RAM instead of 1gb and I might get rid of the 10k if it's not worth it (although I already have a huge amount of space external)

What is considered a good video card for less than $150?

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: Operandi
$600 is pretty tough budget for machine capable of gaming.

You guys are amateurs. Seriously.

AMD Athlon X2 3600+ AM2 + Biostar TForce 550 Combo $160

Arctic Cooling Alpine 64 $10

HIS X1950Pro $155

PQI 1GB DDR2 667 $57

Lite-On 20X DVD Burner $33

Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB $53

Antec Solo ATX Case $40

Fortron 400W PSU $42

Total: $550 After Rebates Plus Shipping/Tax

 

[3LEMENT0]

also remember to add TAX too if your state charges them. It eats up the budget which sucks.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: 3LEMENT0
also remember to add TAX too if your state charges them. It eats up the budget which sucks.

Tax and shipping varies by state. For me, tax is 0.000000% repeating.

 

[Steve325]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: Operandi
$600 is pretty tough budget for machine capable of gaming.

You guys are amateurs. Seriously.

AMD Athlon X2 3600+ AM2 + Biostar TForce 550 Combo $160

Arctic Cooling Alpine 64 $10

HIS X1950Pro $155

PQI 1GB DDR2 667 $57

Lite-On 20X DVD Burner $33

Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB $53

Antec Solo ATX Case $40

Fortron 400W PSU $42

Total: $550 After Rebates Plus Shipping/Tax

I think this might be the one

I'm not familiar at all with that PS brand, would it be worth a couple more bucks to get a good one?

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: Steve325

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: Operandi
$600 is pretty tough budget for machine capable of gaming.

You guys are amateurs. Seriously.

AMD Athlon X2 3600+ AM2 + Biostar TForce 550 Combo $160

Arctic Cooling Alpine 64 $10

HIS X1950Pro $155

PQI 1GB DDR2 667 $57

Lite-On 20X DVD Burner $33

Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB $53

Antec Solo ATX Case $40

Fortron 400W PSU $42

Total: $550 After Rebates Plus Shipping/Tax

I think this might be the one

I'm not familiar at all with that PS brand, would it be worth a couple more bucks to get a good one?

Fortron is one of the best PSU companies in the world.

 

[3LEMENT0]

Perosnally I'd stick with C2D, nope not an intel fanboy, had Cyrix (wish they were around to give more cometition) AMD's and Intels in my rigs but the C2D is the king of the hill currently and the upgrade path looks better than the AM2 right now.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: 3LEMENT0
Perosnally I'd stick with C2D, nope not an intel fanboy, had Cyrix (wish they were around to give more cometition) AMD's and Intels in my rigs but the C2D is the king of the hill currently and the upgrade path looks better than the AM2 right now.

Great, well when you post a C2D rig for under $600, you let us know.

 

[Steve325]

no idea waht a C2D is, but I will spend a couple more bucks if it's that much better. As I said, budget is not super strict. Give or take $100

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: Steve325

Originally posted by: mcurphy
Hmmm, $600 seems like a tough price to build, here's a quick rundown of a budget Intel Core2 rig I threw together. The rig below will play games pretty decent. It might give you a starting point for things to look at.

Mobo: Gigabyte S3 ~$110
CPU: Intel E4300 ~$180
RAM: DDR2 533 1GB Value RAM ~$75
GPU: Something around $150
PSU: Enhance 5140GH ~$58
HDD: your 10k choice ~$100
Case: CoolerMaster RC330 ~$40
OS: ~$100
Optical: your choice $50

Total = $863

I suppose you could go a lot cheaper with an AMD system, but the price / performance ration is not worht it IMO.

that does sound like a pretty good build. I'm not too familiar with CPU's anymore these days, do I really need a dual core? I'm considering 2gb of RAM instead of 1gb and I might get rid of the 10k if it's not worth it (although I already have a huge amount of space external)

What is considered a good video card for less than $150?

Dual core is quickly becoming a base line standard, so yes I would say it's a required feature for mid-range to high-end build. 2GB is also something I would defiantly aim for with any new machine.

Since it sounds like you be most dealing with light gaming I would go with an AMD build based on the nVidia 6150 chipset. The Abit NF-M2 nView is excellent motherboard (the best 6150 implementation for sure) that features a good onboard GPU as well as a PCI-E 16x slot for future upgrades.

I would pair the board with a Athlon64 X2 3800+ along with 2GB of RAM (Crucial, Mushkink Corsair, Geil, ect).

 

[3LEMENT0]

"
Great, well when you post a C2D rig for under $600, you let us know. " - Wow a sarcastic prick and probably a know it all...well dorks with no life are like that...kids

"Tax and shipping varies by state. For me, tax is 0.000000% repeating." - reminding him NOT you what a tool...

Hope this helps:

4300- $175

S3 for $110 - note there are probably cheaper MB's out there like ASRock so depends on what features you want check them out.

HIS X1950Pro $155

PQI 1GB DDR2 667 $57

No need for the DVD drive since you already have one

Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB $53

Antec Solo ATX Case $40

Fortron 400W PSU $42

Sum = $632 add tax and shipping depending on where you are.

And since "It's not a super strict budget. I like the littler type of games that require less system req's (command and conquer, civilization, aoe, etc). I do like a very smooth running OS and a very stable computer. I also like doing photoshop stuff. It's more of a school/gaming computer "

The $32 over should be ok and you can upgrade your CPU in the future.

GL

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: Steve325
no idea waht a C2D is, but I will spend a couple more bucks if it's that much better. As I said, budget is not super strict. Give or take $100

I just built the exact same machine I listed above for a friend two days ago. The X2 3600+ will run at 2.6GHz all day long at default voltage. I just set it at 2.4GHz and his system flies through games just fine; 100+ FPS in HL2 and COD2 on his 19" LCD.

A Core 2 Duo machine will be faster, but my friend was on a strict $600 budget and wanted the fastest possible machine for the money.

If you have an extra $125 to spend, build a Core 2 Duo machine instead.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: 3LEMENT0
"
Great, well when you post a C2D rig for under $600, you let us know. " - Wow a sarcastic prick and probably a know it all...well dorks with no life are like that...kids

"Tax and shipping varies by state. For me, tax is 0.000000% repeating." - reminding him NOT you what a tool, possibly another internet tough guy LOL!

The $32 over should be ok and you can upgrade your CPU in the future.

GL

He already has a DVD drive? Is he just going to pull it out of his laptop (or did you not bother to read his original post)? :laugh:

FWIW, AMD has socket AM2 CPUs on their roadmap thru 2008 (and much like socket 939, newer CPUs will only need a BIOS update to work on older motherboards). Intel will most likely require a new motherboard/chipset when their new CPUs launch at the end of 2007/early 2008. Intel already changed chipsets on socket T three times for three CPU lines (P4, PD, and C2D). Not many current budget Intel motherboards support 1333MHz FSB, which Intel's newer CPUs will be moving to later this year.

It seems funny you're bashing me, yet you copied 90% of my components list. Don't worry, I'm flattered you think so highly of my choices.

 

[3LEMENT0]

really a tool you should go back to school and learn how to read.
"All I have are speakers and external hard drive. I do have an external dvd/cd writer, so I assume that can be put on hold"
...lot's of time in your hands huh tubby...

Don't know how to boot from USB? add in a dvd drive for $35 (on sale in B&M like frys) or floppy drive for probably $10 (not sure haven't used this for a while).

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: 3LEMENT0
really a tool you should go back to school and learn how to read.
"All I have are speakers and external hard drive. I do have an external dvd/cd writer, so I assume that can be put on hold"
...lot's of time in your hands huh tubby...

Don't know how to boot from USB? add in a dvd drive for $35 (on sale in B&M like frys) or floppy drive for probably $10 (not sure haven't used this for a while).

Is Engrish your second language?

 

[3LEMENT0]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: 3LEMENT0
really a tool you should go back to school and learn how to read.
"All I have are speakers and external hard drive. I do have an external dvd/cd writer, so I assume that can be put on hold"
...lot's of time in your hands huh tubby...

Don't know how to boot from USB? add in a dvd drive for $35 (on sale in B&M like frys) or floppy drive for probably $10 (not sure haven't used this for a while).

Is Engrish your second language?

definitley yours tubs. go finish your chips stop spamming this thread.