New PC

[CaldaRaric]

Hello. I am looking to build a new mid-grade gaming/multimedia computer. If anyone could come up with a relatively inexpensive build, I would appreciate it. I do not need an optical drive, and I don't need anyone to look for a case or OS. I do not need a sound card either and I plan to reuse my video card for awhile. Please try to keep it under $700 if you could. The main trouble I'm having with looking the parts up is the motherboard. I don't know a good one for gaming/multimedia. Thanks!

[Katreat]

Is you video card AGP or PCI? Is your burner IDE or SATA? Do you have a preference for Intel or AMD?

Oh! Welcome to PCMech.

Kat

[sygaba]

lol u need to do some research first
decide what u want then come back wth ur ideas then the masses wil help u thay have helped me u just need to give them somthing to work with

[Lucky23]

I just finished building my comp about 1 1/2 months ago for around $600-$650 after rebates with out monitor and operatin system. But XP is only around $85 for OEM. My Rig is listed in my sig. Most of the parts are top or close to top rated parts off of neweggs website. Since you already have opperating system, case ect.... You can probaby go with an E8400 or better processor and a better graphics card then i have with the budget you listed.

[CaldaRaric]

Oh sorry I forgot to put all those important things! The card is PCIe x16. Optical is IDE. And I want Intel.

[Lucky23]

You have a graphics card or your looking for a PCIx16 card?

[CaldaRaric]

I have a graphics card that is PCI Express x16 interface so I will need a motherboard with at least one PCIe x16 slot, which shouldn't be to hard to find lol.

[Lucky23]

What graphics card do you have? Is it new? What games do you plan on playing?

Well my system is new and you can see what i built. Like i said with your budget you can pick and even better CPU if you want.

If your planning on running just one grapics card then the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L is a good motherboard to go with. Other brand you should look at are ASUS and Abit.

For intel processors look at the E7200, E6550, E6750, E8400, and if you plan on spending more then $200 on a processor then you can start looking at the quad cores.

For ram look at DDR2 6400 or higher and normally 2gb or more depending on how much you want to spend. Right now you can get 2gb for about $45 or so.

[CaldaRaric]

Well I have an 8600GT 256mb from xfx. Its nothing special but does ok. I have had it for about 10 months now and was even recommended to me from these forums. I do plan on upgrading it, but it isn't a huge problem right now. About the only game I will be playing is Age of Conan. I don't plan to SLI. It is only worth it if you have a bigger monitor running higher resolutions right? I was looking at the Gigabyte you have and liked what I saw. I was also looking at the E7200. Is there a big advantage with the E8400 over the 7200?

ADDED: I was looking at this graphics card for the future: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130334 Is it a decent card?

[shadowpr]

That is a good video card, especially for the price.

[Lucky23]

Well with the 8400 you got 6mb cashe instead of 3mb, 500mhz more, and 1333 fsb compared to 1066fsb. The 8400 will be faster but its also a $60 more. Its all in your budget but both of them are a good choice.

[CaldaRaric]

Could the 7200 be OC'ed to all those specs? I'm not very knowledgeable about OC though besides what I've read here and seen videos of.

[Katreat]

You can OC the speed but cant do much to help with added cache. For gaming every one of the CPUs Lucky listed will work fine. Gaming is so GPU dependent that any of the high end processors will not hold you back. The E8400 hits the sweet spot, just before prices skyrocket for minor performance gains but if budget drops you back to the E7200 you are not going to take a huge performance hit in gaming. The biggest gaming performance you will see will be when you pick up the new video card.

Kat

[CaldaRaric]

I don't only game, I also use the Adobe products. Haveing Photoshop and Illustrator open at the same time. Would the E7200 be enough to handle that with ease?

[faint545]

I don't think you should really have an issue, unless you are using both programs at full load. May I suggest?

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127030
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136218
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115037
CPU HSF: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...k=&srchInDesc=
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231098
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182032
Thermal Paste: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835100007

The whole thing comes to about $649.94 before shipping costs so it's right below your budget. I hope i'm not missing anything... I would personally go with the E8400.