First Build

[launcelot7891]

This is my first build... bear with me.

I would like a PC capable of handling music editing and recording, burning CDs. Also I would like to be able to play fairly current games (eg Oblivion, Bioshock). My budget is at $600. I have a monitor, mouse, and keyboard. My friend suggests a mid-ATX case with good airflow.

[glc]

600 bucks is cutting it too tight for a quality gaming box. I insist on quality base components. Here is a suggestion for something that will give you the basis for a good gaming system if you can do some strategic upgrades when you get some extra cash (specifically a video card and possibly a stronger processor) - and it will do your other work fine and be somewhat gaming capable. Prices are from Newegg and include shipping.

Case - Antec Sonata 3 - $150
Motherboard - Asus P5K-VM - $125 (onboard video with a PCI-Ex16 slot)
Hard drive - Seagate 7200.10 250gb 16mb cache SATA - $70
Optical - Lite-On DVD burner - $30
Ram - Corsair DDR2-800 2x1gb - $71
Processor - Intel E2180 - $90
XP Home - $95

Total $631, possibly less if they adjust shipping.

If you already have an OS, you can get a E6550 processor now for $170 or a E6750 for $195.

Budget around $250 to $300 for a good video card later.

[wildfire]

With a budget of $600 I don't think you can play bioshock or obliv on highest settings and max reso but you could probably play on medium on 800/600. Because look at these charts, on max quality on 1024/800, the $100 8600GT that would fit in your budget only sticks at 21FPS. http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphi...=722&chart=294

But anyways here what I would suggest to you.

E4500 $130 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115031
eVGA 8600GT $100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130091
Asus P5K $125 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131180
ANtec Sonata 3 Case+PSU $130 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129024
2GB Corsair Ram $45 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145098
Vista Home Premium 32Bit $110 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116202
250GB Seagate $65 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148261
LiteOn DVD Burner $35 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106057

This totals up to around $700 though. LIke what GLC said, seriously think about saving up some more money for a better video card if you're planning on playing high tech games like obliv 4. a 8800GT is what you'd want and a E6750

[glc]

If he uses the P5K-VM he would at least have onboard video till he can afford a decent video card. The little E2180 is actually a very impressive processor. I'd spend more for the DDR2-800 now for future processor upgrades.