First time build, $500 budget (incl. monitor)

[YAOMTC]

Okay, now, I've never built a computer before, not even ever upgraded parts. I've always had a prebuilt HP PC. Now, they're alright for people who don't have the time or motivation to build their own. But I have higher standards, really. So...

From the money I've gotten from friends and relatives for my recent graduation party, I'm allotting $500 of it to building a computer. Yes, that includes the monitor. I've got speakers and a keyboard I will use, but I'll probably be getting a cheap corded optical mouse.

Now, this computer doesn't need to be so awesome that it can play high-graphics FPS games. That's probably not possible with a $500 budget anyway. It will run on Linux, so cost of an OS is not a factor. So that leaves the following unknowns (yes, I know what the acronyms mean):

Case, PSU, motherboard, CPU, RAM, HDD, optical drives, sound and video cards, and possibly the fan or heatsink? I don't know if that can be built into the case or not.

I'm planning on just getting a cheap CRT monitor, or maybe I can get lucky and find someone locally who'll just give me one. Who knows.

[flanzig1]

For $500, you could build a reasonable PC tower but with a monitor thrown into the budget you would end up getting substandard parts to make the budget. Would up the budget another $150 to cover for the monitor. A 17" LCD would go for around 130/140.

[Gen.Ben]

$500 including monitor would be pretty hard to accomplish.

$500 without a monitor could build you a decent computer.. Could you possibly get an old CRT from someone? Alot of people have these and they are just going to throw them away..

[Mr.Ferrari]

-CPU: Intel E2140 $81
-Motherboard: P5LD2 R2.0 $85
-Ram: Corsair VS 1GB $40
-Video & Audio: Onboard
-Hard drive: Seagate 7200.10 160GB SATA $54
-Optical: Liteon SATA $38
-PSU & Case: Foxconn TS-1 $45

Thats a total of $340. That leaves you enough to buy a high quality 17-19'' (some 20'' on sale) LCD monitor. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...d&Order=RATING

This is a bare minimum build, albeit with quality parts. It wont stand anything more then the occasional simple online game or the sort, but since your running linux, im assuming thats a non-issue.

[YAOMTC]

Yeah, gaming is a non-issue. I don't need a high-performance PC here, just one better than my current. And I don't want an LCD screen, really. A cheap but good quality CRT monitor would save money, for sure. So that's what I'll get. Any recommendations? (I don't know anyone who want to get rid of a good one, unfortunately.)

Thanks for the build suggestion, Mr.Ferrari. I'll look into that stuff.

[YAOMTC]

Mr.Ferrari, what does it mean when the video and audio are "onboard"? What component includes the video and audio... control?

Provided that the E2140 is better than the Celeron D, I'd say this is a noticeable improvement from the PC I'm currently using. However... Would you suggest that I stick with your suggestion, or maybe get a cheap CRT and up the... power... of the components a bit? Like, a friend just suggested SATA HD?

[Mr.Ferrari]

Thank you for pointing that out, I was typing in a hurry and linked the wrong board. The one you want is this: Asus P5L-VM

It comes with a video chipset onboard. So you dont need to buy an additional videocard.

The HD I suggested is SATA.

Well buying a CRT new will not give you all that much bang/buck as LCD prices are soo close. If you see here a CRT of equivalent size is only a few bucks less. That is unless you prefer a CRT.

If you can find a lightly used CRT monitor, you could save money. There are many computer specialty shops that sometimes have a bargain area for these.

In that case, I would look at the CPU as the first step for upgrades if a video card is not desired for gaming, as you mentioned. You can get a 200mhz boost just by spending $10 more (E2160). Or a bigger hard drive if storage space is needed.

[YAOMTC]

Okay, here's my Newegg wishlist.

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/...Number=5108951

Hopefully that should work, since I made it Shared.

I don't have a monitor on there, since for now I'm planning on finding a lightly used CRT monitor to save money, as Mr.Ferrari suggested. Once I find the price of that and the shipping costs, I will upgrade some components if I have extra room money-wise.

EDIT: Link fixed.

[jer888]

I was able to pick up a few CRTs for 5 bucks a piece at a local library that was getting LCDs. Just look around, you should be able to find something.
I can't see your wishlist BTW

[YAOMTC]

Okay, link fixed. I wish there was a way to determine total shipping cost...

[Cricket]

Don't forget to include the cost of the operating system in this build. You can't use the OS from a pre-built computer.

Cricket

[YAOMTC]

...

Did you read the first post, Cricket?

Look more closely. Namely, the third paragraph.

EDIT: I changed the wishlist... I changed the motherboard to one without integrated video/audio, and got video and audio cards. I figure I have enough room in my budget for that.

[Mr.Ferrari]

1. That MSI board is a drop down in quality from the Asus board.

2. That videocard is AGP, your motherboard is PCI-E, you need a PCI-E card for it to be compatible. On top of that, it is many generations behind, infact the onboard video would probably perform just as good.

3. The Creative SB is also many generations behind, motherboards nowadays have taken big leaps in onboard audio quality, the onboard is probably better if not just as good.

Just fyi if you already did not know, even if the motherboard comes with onboard video or audio, it doesnt mean that you can use dedicated cards instead. As long as the motherboard has a PCI-E or AGP slot, it can use a dedicated videocard if you ever feel dissatisfied with the onboard video. The P5L-VM for example is of quality and comes with a pci-e slot.

If you really have money left over, you could spend it on more ram (2gb of ram @ $70), a even better processor (E4300 or E4400). Because for the video card to be worth upgrading, you'll need to spend much more then $30.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by YAOMTC ... Did you read the first post, Cricket? Look more closely. Namely, the third paragraph.

Sorry about that...I didn't read the whole post. I just added that because many first time builders don't think to include the cost of the operating system in their first build budget.

Cricket

[YAOMTC]

Well, I took your suggestion, Mr.Ferrari. Take a look. (Thanks!)

[YAOMTC]

Due to the suggested case selling out, I chose a different one, a bit cheaper... Not quite as good, but it's the best I see for the money at this point. Anyone see a problem with it?

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811162040

I'm planning to make the purchases sometime later today.

[kissfan]

You might want to factor in a decent PSU, as that case will likely have a POS for that kind of money.

Deuce

[Cricket]

The case itself is probably okay, but the power supply is gonna be rubbish. This 350 watt PSU should power your system easily.

Cricket

[MichaelG653]

CRT monitor (used) are a dime a dozen....... so to speak... and it is getting harder and harder to find a new ... If you are anywhere near a big city you should be able to pick one up for next to nothing...... I live in a smallish town and have seen them at yard sales.........lol the local university practically gives them away at their surplus auctions. Definately go for the better psu...... you will save yourself alot of headaches and heartbreaks down the line... been there.......unfortunately.

[YAOMTC]

So I could possibly save a bit of money by getting a case without its own PSU, and getting one separately, like the one Cricket suggested?

Man, the motherboard disappeared from the list for the second time now. Too weird... Okay, I fixed that, and got a new case (without a PSU) and added Cricket's recommended PSU.

[LeftyAce]

The vast majority of psus that come in cases are rubbish, so you'd want to get a sepparate PSU anyway....no sense in buying 2, so get an 'empty' case :-)


A quality psu can prevent all kinds of headaches and hardware damage down the road, so definitely stick with Cricket's recommendation.