Yo guys first computer build anyone help?

[Darkness112]

Alright guys, im going to attempt to build my first PC i was wondering if anyone here had the time to throw me together a compatable PC with a budget of around 815$. Im trying to build a computer for gaming i know 800$ isnt alot to work with but its all i can afford. I'll mostly be playing games like World of Warcraft. I would try to throw my own together but the problem is i dont know if parts are compatable and whats the best for the buck kinda thing... but in meantime im going to be reading up so i can learn. Note though, i want have to spend any money on the Monitor or anything like that, i strictly just need a Tower build i have everything else, but i will be needing to buy windows so that is going to hurt on my money supply . Im probably going to be ordering my parts from Newegg but if there is another place please share some light :P Anyways I appeciate any help and thank you.

[jayb1234]

antec sonata 2 case/psu $99.99

Windows XP w/sp2 oem $87.99

Hard drive: Seagate or Western Digital, Sata 16 Mb cache $80-$120 depending on how big you want.

Processor/ motherboard: Intel or amd?

Ram Corsair value select 1Gb(2x512Mb) or 2Gb(4x512Mb or 2x1Gb) about $75-$80/Gb plus/minus

Optical drives: 1 liteon dvd burner: $40-50

Video card: whatever the budget allows after you get the other stuff picked.

You can start with 1Gb of RAM and add another later if you need to.

Other things that you can add later are a second optical drive, sound card, tv tuner, etc.

MB brands: Intel; Intel or Asus. Amd: Asus

Vid card brands ATI or evga

[pam123]

Check out this article from ExtremeTech :

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...1959810,00.asp

Then, if you haven't already, grab the latest copy of PCGamer you can find and check out their specs for an entry level system.

Now you know what you're shooting for.

Since AMD is drastically cost cutting on their older single core processors so you'll be able to get more processor for your money and since they'll continure supporting the 939 socket you'll have a dual core upgrade path for next year as well.

So the 3200+ Venice cpu is now $99 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103535
which means you get more processor for less money.
Skip SLI motherboards and for a budget build get this one : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131569 $76.99
Corsair value select is compatible with your board : $81.99 for 2 512 mb sticks
For 2 gigs : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820211014 $168.82
I would get one gig now and the another when you switch to vista.
This case and it's power supply will run anything now out : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129155 $99.99
Hard drive : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144701 $89.99
It's an OEM drive but the cables will come with the motherboard,
Optical drive : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106013 $37.99
If you watch a lot of DVDs on your monitor then you may want to add a seperate DVD-ROM drive to spare the burner : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827101131 $19.99

All this leads up to the video card .
You have already spent $475 (If you go with the basics) and you'll be spending $90 for XP so that's $565 and I'd stick in another $25 to cover shipping.
That leaves you $210.
So from ATI this X1800 GTO : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102021 $185.99
From nVidia this 7600GT : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130283 $169.99, down to $149.99 after mail in rebate but note that it's only got 128 for memory bandwith and the X1800 is faster.
They're both good cards though.

[Darkness112]

I love you guys :P thanks for the responses but a questions still baffle me... on the Mobos you guys listed will i have to configure those with the jumpers? (if so i was reading that sounds a little troublesome) and with a hard drive, i hear if its OEM ill have to set it up the old fashioned way to do the formatting and partitions. Along with the Cd-rom drivers i dont want to manual install the drivers,i just want to pop the disk in and be done, i read some companies dont have convient cd's that allow it to be that simple. Reason for this is because this is my first build and i dont want to have tons of troube LOL. So id want to avoid doing this at all costs. And i was wondering how much would it cost me to upgrade to a duel core processor?

[pam123]

Welcome to the age of the jumperless (or nearly so) motherboard.
All hard drives have to be partitioned and formatted, that's non-optional and XP does it for you.
Yes manufacturers include drivers on the cd but if you're a gamer you're now committed to keeping up with driver releases. that's also non-optional.
Just download the latest drivers for your card and motherboard chipset(you may or may not need these last) from nVidia's site : http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp
and burn them to disk before you start the build.
For convenience create a driver folder in My Documents and put them in there .
You're making more out of this than necessary though.
The current price for the X2 3800+ is $297 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103562

[pam123]

Heads up.
AMD will discontinue all socket 939 CPUs by the end of the year.
If you're going to buid with one now buy the most powerful you can manage.
Story here : http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060623-7120.html

[Darkness112]

So does that mean if i want to in the future upgrade the CPU i wont have that option? Or will i be able to use Intel chip type processor's ? Basically in your guys opinion would it be wise to stick with the 939 socket type or maybe try something else?

[pam123]

Yes.
The X2 4800 will the last socket 939 cpu and it will be gone by the end of the year.
This is a change from AMD's previously announced plans ( If I were the spin-meister on this I'd probably say something like "Hey, were carrying this to the end of the year, it's supported!).
If you want to put more cash into the cpu do it now or wait for the AM2 to come out.

[Kareeser]

Darkness, you will not be able to put an Intel manufactured processor onto a motherboard designed for an AMD processor.

Pam, this is news to me... I guess AMD's putting all of its eggs into one basket, and going out with a bang. I suppose they've got faith in the product,

[Darkness112]

lol sorry man this is new stuff to me, but yeah i realized that after i looked up motherboards.

[glc]

I would still think you will find 939 processors for quite a while after they are discontinued. There are still Socket 478 Intels around and they were discontinued quite a while ago. You can even get Socket A Semprons.