Never Built a Computer before... how are these specs?

[lemmyk]

Hello!

I am a brand new computer builder here... I've certainly had enough exp with upgrading and partial builds (have bought bare bones before) but never built from the ground up.

The wife has agreed to let me spend under $600 with OS and shipping from NewEgg. Here is what I've put together.

I've assumed that I can spend a bit at a time in the future for periodic upgrades (video, more mem, better Power Supply, etc...).

The only component I am salvaging from another machine is a 420w power supply.

Here is the list (with questions/comments sprinkled in):

1. Rosewill R6425 BK Black SGCC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - $20 cheap case

2. Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $70 hard drive

3. ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $125 MB. I thought I wouldn't go with an ultra low board - as this prolly won't be upgraded for a long time. Will this last me?

4. Leadtek PX8600GT TDH 512MB GeForce 8600GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail - $93: I am not a hardcore gamer, but I do like flight sim and some tiger woods golf. This should last a year or so, no?

5. G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail - $50. Will upgrade to 4gb very soon (first upgrade)

6. AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADA4600CUBOX - Retail - $88. Will likely upgrade in a year or so to latest (or at least a 6000 series).

7. Vista - $104. Ripoff, but what am I gonna do? The wife won't go for linux so not much else to choose from.

What do you all think? Is there anything I am missing? Total for this system with Vista is $550, not inluding shipping.

This is better than any sub $1200 machine from Dell, HP, etc... right?

 

[lemmyk]

Also forgot to mention, I am also salvaging a DVD RW and a Floppy Drive from another machine.

 

[CGR]

to the forums..

It looks ok to me. What brand PSU is it?

$104 for Vista isnt that bad.

Yes, it will be better than a low - mid range Dell/HP.

Are you planning to OC it at all?

 

[SeasonalEclipse]

In all actuality id go with a C2D system if your spending more then 500 bucks on a system the CPU advantage is well worth it.

 

[lemmyk]

Thanks for the feedback.

The PS, sadly to say, is a "Circuit City" brand I purchased about a year ago for around $30-40 if I remember.

Also, aren't the C2D and 64 x2 about the same (mid range anyways). I don't plan on quad core anytime soon, so I figured that there wouldn't be enough of a difference to justify the premium on the Intel cores.

 

[CGR]

The C2D systems are faster than their AMD equivalents. Question is if you really need the extra speed.

With a C2D system you would get few more FPS in games, shorter encoding times for media. Graphics rendering and photoshop work would be faster.

If you really dont do encoding or video work then dont really need a C2D system. Get whichever is more affordable to you.

 

[ps2cho]

Don't get that SLI board. You will never go SLI if your budget is limited to less than like $2000 lol....so just forget SLI. You can get better performance from a more expensive single graphics card than two.

I'd personally go for a
Celeron 420 $40
GA-P35-DS3L $80
Ati HD 3850 $180
Any good branded 2x1GB PC2-6400 RAM $40
^Thats $340 total and those prices are based on looking at good deals and nabbing them. Its totally doable.

...The single core Celeron's based on the Core 2 architecture really kick ***! Very energy efficient too!

 

[CGR]

Don't get that SLI board. You will never go SLI if your budget is limited to less than like $2000 lol....so just forget SLI. You can get better performance from a more expensive single graphics card than two.

I'd personally go for a
Celeron 420 $40
GA-P35-DS3L $80
Ati HD 3850 $180
Any good branded 2x1GB PC2-6400 RAM $40
^Thats $340 total and those prices are based on looking at good deals and nabbing them. Its totally doable.

...The single core Celeron's based on the Core 2 architecture really kick ***! Very energy efficient too!

There is no point to buying anything less than a Dual core nowadays. And he could certainl go SLI in the future if he wanted to.