New build

[Lamonte]

1. I will use the PC mostly for standard apps, study, and surfing. Would like the PC to run a few games - Oblivion and maybe Crysis.

2. Budget range - 400-600 for a desktop PC.

3. Parts will come from the USA.

4. I don't have any brand preferences.

5. Will not be using any older parts.

6. I've searched through the threads...even read the guides. I'm a long time lurker, but this time I'd very much appreciate a little personal attention...

7. I won't even think about overclocking. I will be running the system at default speeds.

8. Resolution for games is not a high priority with me. Hey, I used to play Pong and Pacman way back when.

9. I plan on building the PC within the next month.

At present I use an Acer Aspire 1410 laptop, Celeron M 1.3Ghz. I would like to upgrade by building a desktop PC. I'm open to suggestions...

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115222
mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157182
ram:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145251
power supply and case:http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.315680
That's the main stuff. You will need a DVD drive, OS, graphics card and hard drive. It will come in over your price but that's as cheap as I'd go.

 

[MisterDonut]

Crysis will be difficult to run well within the budget range. How long are you planning to keep this build for? Are you using an old monitor? If so, what resolution? There are games that are cpu dependent, such as GTA IV.

 

[RaistlinZ]

I can't see Crysis being enjoyable on a $500 rig, especially since you said you won't be overclocking at all and will need everything new: Case, Mobo, CPU, PSU, RAM, HDD, GPU, CD-ROM, OS, Keyboard, Mouse... you get the idea.

 

[nsafreak]

It's going to be really, really tough to make a build for $600 that'll run those two games well. Those are pretty demanding titles. We don't know what your resolution is so I'm just going to take my best shot. Btw I really hope that you have a monitor, keyboard, etc. already b/c there is absolutely no way I can think of to cram them into a build. If you really do need those parts however you may want to look at a prebuilt system from Dell instead. Lots of Intel fans around and while I like them when it comes to budget builds I tend to go with AMD. Here's what I came up with:

CPU: Athlon II X2 255
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA78LM-S2H
RAM: 4GB OCZ DDR2 800
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB
Video card: Gigabyte Radeon 4850
Case: Antec 300
PSU: Corsair 650 watt
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
DVD burner: Lite On 24x
Total not including shipping, taxes or rebates comes to about $668.

Wishlist with more details can be found here: https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=13786506 . The board does support Phenom II x4s should you choose to upgrade later. The PSU has a decent amount of headroom and the video card should run the games at a playable level. Perhaps not with all of the eyecandy turned on at a high resolution but still decent looking.

 

[MisterDonut]

650 watt is overkill, and instead of a 4850, pick up a 5770. It really depends on how long you're planning on keeping the system. 650 would be good in the long run, but only if you plan to use more power consuming parts. A cheap AMD quadcore build, without a monitor, OS, or DVD drive can run you about 400 bucks..

If you don't mind going a little over budget, (~650 without monitor or OS), you can pick up a nice Phenom II X4 940, XMS3 DDR3-1333, Gigabyte UD3P, Sapphire 5770, Antec 300 Illusion + PSU combo (above), WD Caviar black 640gb.

Otherwise a Propus + ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO + above (without OS/monitor again) can run you a little under 600. Keep in mind both these builds are quadcores, so they'll be slightly more future-proof than a dual core (assuming in the future, you'll start using apps that require quad-core). But from what I can infer in your first post, quad cores don't seem to be quite necessary yet.

If you want to count in the OS and monitor, then a cheap e5200 build can go a long ways for what you want to do. A lot of games are still GPU dependent, so a 5770 should handle things nicely.

 

[Lamonte]

I honestly appreciate the advice and range of build options posted here. I spent hours looking at and considering the different suggestions, and it helped me to better clarify what I want.

I'll be keeping the build for 5+ years.

While the i3 is intriguing, I'm leaning heavily toward AMD, especially the quadcore Propus X4. I really like the 5770, but I will delay purchase of it until I can afford it later. So I need a motherboard with onboard graphics. I have a keyboard, mouse and an OS (XP Pro), but not a monitor.

Here is what I'm thinking:
127 CPU: Propus X4 635 (There is also an X4 620 for 96 and a 630 for 108)
85 Motherboard: Asus M4A785TD-V EVO
119 Memory: XMS3 DDR3-1333
120 Case: Antec 300 Illusion with Antec EA500 PSU
75 Harddrive: Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB
31 DVD burner: Lite On 24x
129 Monitor: Hanns-G HH201HPB Black 20" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 250
-- OS: XP Professional 2002 (already have)
-- Keyboard, mouse (already have)
---
686

Suggestions? Comments?

Besides price, what are the practical differences (if any) between the X4 635, 630 and 620?

Is OS (XP Pro) going to be too limiting for this build?

Also, I haven't researched monitors much...quite frankly I just chose the least expensive deal I saw.

 

[Ichigo]

Step down to the 620 and use the money saved towards the monitor. I'd recommend the 22" Benq E2200HD.

 

[MisterDonut]

+1 on Ichigo. Can't beat a quadcore under 100 bucks. Otherwise, great build! Best of luck, mate.

 

[Lamonte]

Well I pulled the trigger on it...ordered all the parts. I ordered the 620 instead of the 635. They were out of the WD 640 HDD, so I replaced it with a WD Caviar Green 500GB HDD. I searched for a Benq E2200HD...and didn't see that it was easily available in the US...however Newegg redirected me to this Asus vH226H Black 21.5". I did a little bit of research on LCDs...and ended up ordering that one. With the 20.00 rebate the monitor cost would be brought down to 150.00.

Thanks again for all the feedback!!

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well I pulled the trigger on it...ordered all the parts. I ordered the 620 instead of the 635. They were out of the WD 640 HDD, so I replaced it with a WD Caviar Green 500GB HDD.Thanks again for all the feedback!!

If you couldn't get the black 640GB, why didn't you get the Blue 640GB? It's only a few percentage points slower. The Green drive is only 5400 RPM, not 7200, and therefore not recommended as an OS drive. It will work, but it will "feel slow".

 

[nsafreak]

Are you running XP Pro 64 bit edition? Because otherwise you won't be able to use all of the 4GB of RAM that you ordered..........

 

[jae]

You pulled the trigger too quick. Green hard drives are better used for data (music, movies, etc) storage. A WD Blue Edition or Samsung 500GB spinpoint would've been better for an OS.

The Asus is a good monitor but I believe you could've found something slightly cheaper, like 20-30. Best Buy has had some good sales on monitors.

Other than that, the good build. You should really rethink overclocking. ;-)