Could You All Help?

[Dracknem]

Ok, I'm stuck with a dilemma that I know I have posted with before, but I am still clueless on what to do.

I am trying to build a computer that I will get for X-mas and I need all of your help. My computer happens to be on an $800 budget, including OS, Keyboard, and Mouse. This DOESN'T include a monitor, which I do not need.

Now, This is my FIRST PC, so I am clueless on what really to get. I want to get the most bang for my buck, and be able to run games. I own a Macintosh and this computer is for 99% gaming. So, could you all post your lists of parts that you come up with.

I am sorry if this is a burden to ask, but I would really appreciate. I am not planning on OCing right when I get it, I will only OC my Video Card until I need the Chip OC'd.

Thank-you all in advance.

 

[Mr. Chambers]

Welcome!

first things first, we'll need to know a couple things:

-do you want a CD-Burner, or just a CD Drive?
-Speakers? Headphones?
-Dial-up Internet or Broadband, NIC or Modem?

i'll see if i can dig up some prices for you, but where do you live?

 

[Dracknem]

-Burner
- Headphones, my family never lets me boost the sound on speakers, so no real use
-I already have a cable modem

I live in New Jersey, blegh

 

[Mr. Chambers]

-Burner
- Headphones, my family never lets me boost the sound on speakers, so no real use
-I already have a cable modem

I live in New Jersey, blegh

alrighty

for some nice vendors check out:

www.newegg.com
www.googlegear.com
www.mwave.com
www.nutrend.com
www.tcwo.com

 

[Miknow]

hehe DUAL AMD

 

[james.miller]

he need to know what to get before he starts looking lol

 

[Mr. Chambers]

he need to know what to get before he starts looking lol

i know that. i was just pointing him in the direction of the vendors people would most likely be quoting from, so he could browse a bit

 

[Dracknem]

he need to know what to get before he starts looking lol

Yeah, what he said.

 

[Penguin4x4]

Budget?

 

[Dracknem]

My budget is....

$800 with OS, keyboard, and mouse, but no monitor, I already have an older monitor that will work, I already checked.

 

[Penguin4x4]

Rightey-O. I'll post back later with some suggestions

 

[Penguin4x4]

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...=22&manufactory=1318&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...=22&manufactory=1283&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...=22&manufactory=1315&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...=22&manufactory=1312&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...343&manufactory=1028&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...147&manufactory=1666&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1


These are the CPU/Memory/Motherboard Setups I would choose. Take your pick of what features you want and those you don't.

 

[Dracknem]

Umm....

Heh, darn I don't know what to choose. Bah.

 

[Kid Payne]

This is how I did it when I built my PC: First I shopped around for a long while for what the prices were like because when you're unfamiliar about something, chances are you don't know if it's a good price or a bad one just by looking at numbers.

So I searched around and read tons of posts here on parts, and prices. Then I had to decide if I was going AMD or Intel. I chose AMD mainly because the Duron was only $40 and this was almost like an "experiment" anyways.

Next was choosing a motherboard. I chose the ECS K7S5A because I wanted something stable, something "easy" to work with(I regret getting this board now because it has no OCing options).

Then I went searching for a case. Since my mobo is standard ATX formfactor, I looked for cases that corresponded to this form (again I made a bad choice with the case. Remember this was my first time ever building a puter from scratch )

Then I had to choose the HDD, memory, fans for the case, DVD drive or if you choose to, you can have a burner and a dvd drive or both or a dvd burner or a combo dvd/cdrw player/burner....Get it?! LOL. It's not hard! The hardest part was choosing the mobo, and the processor. The rest was picking whatever I wanted to have in my box.

Pretty broad huh? Ask questions and ask specific questions. That will help us help you out

 

[krm197]

Normally I would recommend the refurbished section of newegg, but since this would be your first "pc", I'd suggest going for the retail versions of stuff you buy, just to make sure you get all the right cables/screws/documentation.

 

[Dracknem]

3 specific questions.

Ok, I have about 3 questions.

#1 What AMD processor should I get for the most bang, not planning on OCing, much less unlocking right away?

#2 What mobo should I get to support this processor?

#3 What video card should I get. 4200? What about the new ATI options coming out?

Oh, and a #4, what OS should I probably get? On newegg right now I saw a special for Windows XP Home OEM for $100 when you buy hardware, that would leave $700 for the actual computer. What do you guys think?

 

[Mr. Chambers]

Re: 3 specific questions.

Ok, I have about 3 questions.

#1 What AMD processor should I get for the most bang, not planning on OCing, much less unlocking right away?

#2 What mobo should I get to support this processor?

#3 What video card should I get. 4200? What about the new ATI options coming out?

Oh, and a #4, what OS should I probably get? On newegg right now I saw a special for Windows XP Home OEM for $100 when you buy hardware, that would leave $700 for the actual computer. What do you guys think?

1.) heck yes, for 800bucks total, AMD is the way to go, and i'd love to see someone try and argue with me about that one

2.) depends.. you said you werent looking for any heavy overclocking (althought that will change if you hang out here long enough *insert evil laugh here* brands are one of the most important things when looking for good boards, i'd say ABIT, ASUS, MSI, EPOX, SHUTTLE.. check out the respective sections for these boards in our AMD MOTHERBOARD section. or try the search function in the top right corner for any peticular boards you may have in mind, its very handy

3.) well if you're looking for cheap, linux is free but being your first computer, i somehow doubt you know how to use linux, i would definately go with XP, or Windows 2k, just stay away from Windows ME like the plague my friend no matter how cheap you find it!

 

[fuzzba11]

Re: 3 specific questions.

Ok, I have about 3 questions.

#1 What AMD processor should I get for the most bang, not planning on OCing, much less unlocking right away?

#2 What mobo should I get to support this processor?

#3 What video card should I get. 4200? What about the new ATI options coming out?

Oh, and a #4, what OS should I probably get? On newegg right now I saw a special for Windows XP Home OEM for $100 when you buy hardware, that would leave $700 for the actual computer. What do you guys think?

Hey Drack, I'll try actually help you out with your system

As others have mentioned, Newegg is the best place to get anything from, at the moment, but you might have to go to different sites for different components. The more you buy from one site, the less shipping you have to pay, and the fewer bills you have to keep track of. www.resellerratings.com is a good place to check other sites you find at www.pricewatch.com, a site which will give you the absolute lowest online cost of any general component. It's good to keep track of it if you plan on upgrading, so you can find a time when parts are cheaper.

Anyway, recommending an entire system out to someone is quite a long process, so you should look around the forums, especially at the stickies, to learn some basics of putting together a new computer.

 

[Warlord2]

ok I will bite

Athlon XP 2100 $100
PC2700 DDR 512MB $150
any ANTEC case $60
Antec 330W Power Supply TRUE330 $55
40 gb westerdigital harddrive $80
dont have a clue on motherboard about $140
GeForce4 TI 4600 $220

total $705


you can get all this stuff from newegg.com, I left out the cdrom,burner,sound card etc.. up to you to deside on.. oh yeah dont forget to get a nice heatsink and fan for that cpu, add another $40 in there for that.

 

[Dracknem]

Cool......

Any other ideas? I think I'm gonna get the XP 2000+ with only 256 mb of 2700 or 3200. What mobo do you all suggest?