Starting off

[Meotch08]

Hey everyone, first of all thanks in advance for any help you guys can give.
Im moving out on my own soon so i figured i will probably need to get my own computer. However, ive come to the horrible realization that despite the amount of time i spend on computers, i'm pretty lost when it comes to building one.

I figure my budget is somewhere around $1000. obviosly i want to save money where possible but im also ok with spending a few more bucks if its gonna make a difference.

I already tried looking around online for parts but its kinda pointless cause i dont really know whats worth the money im willing to spend.

for my understanding i need: a hard drive, cd drive (can probably figure this one out myself), a processor, cooling fans (again, probably not to much to look for), a Motherboard, memory, power supply, and a video card.

if i could get some suggestions on what to buy/what to look for that would be fantastic!


Im planning on using to computer mostly for gaming, but im also starting college soon so ill also be writting papers and doing research on it.

Also i doubt it makes much of a difference when it comes to the build but im planning on running windows on it since its what im mmost familiar with.

I think i should be able to handle the actuall assembly process and setting it up once its running. i just need help for the first few steps.

Thanks again for any help,
Mitch.

[blue60007]

OK, do you have any perference towards AMD or Intel, or do you just want what works?

Here's my Intel suggestion:

ASUS P5B motherboard - $150
Intel E6300 Core 2 Duo - $183
Antec Sonata II w/450W Power supply - $100
Corsair Value Select 2x1GB DDR2-667 - $230 (might wait for other memory suggestions...might be able to find something cheaper. unfortunately, DDR2 prices have spiked lately due to demand)
X1900XT - $240
WD SE16 250GB hard drive - $80
LITE-ON or NEC DVD-RW - $30 or less

That's a wee bit over budget though ($1013)...it can be adjusted though. That video card is about the best you'll get for the money, but here's a cheaper alternative.

When do you head off to college? You might be able to get Windows through your university for dirt cheap (above pricing doesn't include an OS).

Also keep in mind portability - you might find a laptop handier at a university...just something else to consider.

EDIT:
Here's an AMD suggestion:
ASUS A8N5X - $80
AMD 4200+ X2 - $187
Corsair Value Select 2x1GB DDR400 - $214
puls other from above

That's around $931. Just another idea...its a bit cheaper because of the cheaper motherboard and RAM.

I'd say both of these would serve your needs well. Even though the Core 2 Duo is slightly more powerful, the AMD is cheaper and a more mature platform. I'd be inclined to go towards the AMD. The video card makes the biggest difference in gaming, so either CPU will perform roughly the same. And the CPU doesn't make very much difference in word processing.

Oh, and what about a keyboard and mouse? will you need those?

[DarkPacMan77]

there is a very helpful walkthrough that details how to build a computer on this site... it not only taught me the proper way, but taught me what i need and how to do it... I am unsure of where the page is right now, but look on the home page to this site and you should find it. Or someone could be very helpful and link you to it.

For $1,000 I would get an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 939 processor. I would look for a motherboard with two pci-e slots (those are where you plug in your graphics cards, get two because for 1,000 you may be able to put two of them in and make a very good gaming computer).

I would look for 7900gt for the graphics card.

you should try to get atleast one gb of ram, two would be outstanding.

Are there any parts like monitors and stuff that you currently have that you don't need to pay for? Because it is hard working with a budget that is "undefined"

[LMC]

I'd say both of these would serve your needs well. Even though the Core 2 Duo is slightly more powerful, the AMD is cheaper and a more mature platform. I'd be inclined to go towards the AMD. The video card makes the biggest difference in gaming, so either CPU will perform roughly the same. And the CPU doesn't make very much difference in word processing.

Why all these dual core recommendations? Meotch I am also a newb builder for the same uses, just not yet financially ready. So I've been researching. Points: A) Presently there is no software that utilizes dual core, much less requires it. Unless you multitask, you only use one core. So I suggest the AMD 3700+ San Diego chip at $102(down $200 in the last 2 months). Multi core is the future, but then S939 dual cores will be cheap- pop one in. B) C2D and AM2 are new. Immature, testy, touchy. For steep learning curve, high maintenance, future upgradeability- fine. For us newbs, stable and reliable- not yet. C) The 7900 GT goes for $270 right now. A single $540 card would perform better than 2 $270 cards. The $270 card would be better than 2 $135 cards. I don't intend to compare knowledge or hijack the thread, just fill in and clarify. Offer an alternative. And perhaps learn with you as well from further posts. One thing- how do you space your paragraphs like that?

[newbuilder14]

I actually think S939 Dual Core prices are going up. They will eventually, not too soon, but eventually be replaces by SAM2 processors. Just like DDR prices are going up, so why not get a 3800+ x2, which is $50 or so more.

[Meotch08]

thanks a lot you guys, your suggestions are a lot of help.

can someone explain the difference between AMD and INTEL to me though?

[DarkPacMan77]

they are both companies that make processors

AMD is famed for being better at video games, which was kinda true for a long time there because they usually held the crown for a higher front side bus (something that determines how good the processor is)

Intel is famed for being the "office computer" processor. almost every single office computer has an intel chip inside of it, and nearly all schools etc.

both, however, are far too similar to be put into such categories, especially now that Intel has the best line of processors out (core 2 duo)

[DarkPacMan77]

for gaming... dual core is honestly too much.

dual core is for people that like to download large movies while ripping a cd in one cd-drive and burning to another... lol, a lot of processors today are honestly too powerful for most people to utilize.

the processor that LMC mentioned for $102 would actually be amazing for video gaming...

and to LMC... just hit the enter button my friend

[Alaron]

Regardless of the need for dual cores *now* , we recommend buying them to future proof your machine. The costs are not prohibitive, aside from very low budget machines. And everyday new software comes out that can take advantage of dual core chips.

DarkPacMan, there are games that use dual cores. And there will be much more of them in the future.

Our advice is to get a dual core now.Why? Maybe you don't need it today, but why spend the money on a computer to find that 6 months from now, the extra $50-$100 for a dual core would have been worth it.

[claudegiz]

I am also a newb builder. Before I began I researched everything. I read Maximumpc, pcmag. I reviewed articles on this site, extremetech, tom's hardware, anandtech. Nothing, and I mean nothing takes the place of doing your research. I also talked to people. As I was doing my research and I came across a term that I didn't understand, I googled it, asked around until I understood.

Why is this so important? No matter how good the instructions, something is going to happen that is not a part of the instructions, and if you don't understand what the parts are, etc, your frustration letter will skyrocket. For example, when I was loading windows, you insert the first disk, follow instructions, then load the second disk, then the screen asks you for the SP1 disk. If I had not done my research and read, I would not have known that the SP1 disk, is the first disk.

Also, I agree with LMC, unless you are multitasking, etc, go with a single core. Also, tech is changing so quickly, it's almost impossible to get a cutting edge system that isn't obsolete in 2 months. So look at what was top of the line 6 months ago. It's still great tech, but now, its a lot cheaper.

Good luck on your build.

[clroberts]

Yeah, getting the very newest processor and best everything will be at a high cost. The depreciation of computers and their components is the highest in all industries. Even compared to automobiles which have a high depreciation as well. I myself have been happy with this XP 3000. I remember purchasing the Pentium 200 when it was the fastest. I paid about 800 bucks for just the processor and MB. I just wanted to do that once. Just remember that they are coming out with Quad Cores next year. And who knows when DDR2 will be DDR3,4,5,6,....etc. For the best bang for the buck, you can't go wrong with AMD. The FX processors are excellent for Gaming. I would probably get a motherboard that has some room to expand with regards to the processor. I'm not sure what performance gains there are with Dual DDR2 vs. Regular DDR2.

[claudegiz]

Sorry, meant to say frustration level.

[DarkPacMan77]

you can edit your posts in the bottom-right of the text box claudegiz


also, there are some games that really appreciate dual core, and dual core is a good future-proof... however, i stated earlier that it is "too much" to have dual core for gaming... and that is true in 90% of games out today.

F.E.A.R is supposed to run perfectly on an AMD athlon 64 3500+ processor (given you have everything else needed in the computer)... so most cases, yes, dual core IS too much, for the newer games though, dual core is highly recommended. F.E.A.R does appreciate some dual core attention as well as the big resource hogs like oblivion, doom, etc.

i think it is ok to buy a non-dual core cpu... would i? ... most likely not. you can play every single game on the single core processor that was listed above, but in certain games your cpu will bottleneck and cause the whole computer to go a bit slower resulting in loss of frames and quality of gaming.

the AMD athlon 64 x2 3800+ for socket 939 that i mentioned above is what i would buy