Need suggestions for budget (~$450-500) build

[bovinda]

Not even sure whether to start with an intel or AMD system on this one. The main thing is to put together a budget system (assuming I already have monitor, mouse, and keyboard). So I need suggestions for...

1. Mobo - preferably one with an IGP that would be satisfactory for an HTPC (no games will be played on this); onboard audio is fine as well; stability is key; no overclocking for this system

2. CPU - again, either AMD or Intel, performance within budget is main concern. All CPUs are 64 bit now, right?

3. Video - probably just IGP is fine, as long as it's about up to HTPC quality, unless a separate video card that serves this purpose better fits into budget (again, no games more demanding than solitaire will probably ever be played on this sytem)

4. Case and PSU - just nothing tacky 😛

5. HD - probably just going to get whatever cheap 500 GB HD I can find that is Seagate, Samsung, or WD

6. RAM - would like a total of 4 GB, if possible (will probably be running Vista 64)

7. Optical - I'll probably just grab a $30 DVD burner off NewEgg...

8. OS - probably Vista Home Premium 64

And again, the budget would ideally be around $450 to $550, tops.

Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks guys! 🙂

 

[Astroluna]

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor $59.50
G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) $24.99
BIOSTAR A740G M2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $59.99
XFX PVT98GYDLU GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported $129.99

Subtotal $274.47
Tax $26.46
UPS Ground $11.60
Order Total $312.53

Add more ram, take out the video card

hard drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136149
case/psu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811156044

 

[Astroluna]

with that cpu, mobo, 2x2gb ram, hdd, case/psu subtotal for me @ $279.95.

im using that cpu, mobo, and video card, i have a simular hard drive also, i only have 1gb though but OCs like beast.

onboard audio and graphics.

 

[bovinda]

Thanks for the quick suggestions, I was just looking over your choices. Yeah, I might yank the video card if the onboard graphics is enough--again, this person will probably only be playing card games on their computer, watching movies, and emailing. Would the onboard graphics do it for that? Have you found that mobo to be very stable?

 

[bovinda]

BTW I like the look of the case (and the price). Any experience with it? Basically, I'm going to be overseeing someone while they build this computer, and this will be their first build, so I just want to make sure it's something they'll be able to easily work with, but right now it sounds like exactly what they'd be looking for.

 

[Astroluna]

for newer games the onboard isnt much, if you want to go play some cs 1.6 or some pokerstars it will be fine with that 4gb of ram.

no personal exp with that case, http://www.newegg.com/product/...x?Item=N82E16811133171.

that case is nothing fancy but sure to get the job done.

this motherboard is amazing for the price, has tons of overclocking options in the bios with that cpu im @ 3.1ghz stable.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: bovinda
Thanks for the quick suggestions, I was just looking over your choices. Yeah, I might yank the video card if the onboard graphics is enough--again, this person will probably only be playing card games on their computer, watching movies, and emailing. Would the onboard graphics do it for that? Have you found that mobo to be very stable?

The onboard graphics will do more than fine for all that.

 

[bovinda]

Thanks guys. This seems like it's making it easy. I'll just hang around for a bit in case I get any other suggestions, but I really appreciate these.

 

[bovinda]

Bump just in case any last suggestions!

 

[Kraeoss]

u can get a HD 4670 instead of the 9800. will work nicely with that board