Help on a Budget Build (Beginner)

[Blue_Tail]

Hey everyone!

Im new on these forums, but I've been looking at a lot of the treads for awhile now.

I want to build my own computer around the end of summer, It will be a budget build. I need everything, so around 1200 - 1500 for the monitor, keyboard & mouse, OS, speakers, and all the "hard parts" case and all.

This is what I've coem up with for a budget, based on the parts Im looking at:

Monitor- 19" - 22" about $200 - $300 ( depending on sale)
Keyboard - ~$50
Mouse ~$50 (or a combo around $100, don't want to spend more than that for both)
Speakers - prolly 2.1 for around $30
OS - $120

Here are the parts I'vebeen looking:

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...acture=Seagate Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 3.5IN 500GB SATA2 8.5MS 7200RPM 32MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive $89.00

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...acture=Diamond Diamond Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out Video Card $175.00 (on sale, $215.00 Reg,)

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...anufacture=AMD AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Dual Core Processor Socket AM2 2.6GHZ Retail Black Box No HSF Unlocked $90.00

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...ufacture=ANTEC Antec Earthwatts 650W Power Supply ATX12V V2.2 EPS12V Active PFC 80PLUS 120MM Fan $90.00

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...%20Electronics LG GSA-H55L DVD+RW 20X8X16 DVD-RW 20X6X16 DL 10X Lightscribe DVD Writer IDE 2MB Black OEM W/ SW $35.00

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...re=THERMALTAKE Thermaltake SopranoRS 101 Mid Tower ATX Case Black 4X5.25 2X3.5 5X3.5INT No PSU Side Window $70.00

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...re=CORSAIR#Top Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X4096-6400C5 4GB DDR2 2X2GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 5-5-5-18 240PIN Memory Kit $80.00


so thats slightly over budget in the end, but I may have over estimated and might be able to find a good sale.
Im in canada, so I've been looking at NCIX.

Any info on good models/brand would be a great help as well as the MOBO and CPU decision, and if it's a good choice.

I don't know anything about the MOBO or RAM, any info on those would be good.

[jon_e_33]

looks ok so far. First off I'd go with this processor since it's a bit faster than the one that you have and it includes a heatsink, which yours doesn't have, for 50 cents more: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...anufacture=AMD

Check out this RAM: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...re=CORSAIR#Top

If you want to go Intel, this motherboard has onboard Wifi internet: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=ASUS

[Blue_Tail]

Thanks for the RAM, It looks like a good choice.

I forgot to mention that I planned on overclocking the CPU. I read you could get it to about 3 GHz without a problem... I think the other ones have locked multipliers.

Ohhh, and Additional Info I forgot to mention, the computer will be used for everything, Movies, DVD burning, games and CAD.

[vtfanmv5]

Originally Posted by Blue_Tail Thanks for the RAM, It looks like a good choice. I forgot to mention that I planned on overclocking the CPU. I read you could get it to about 3 GHz without a problem... I think the other ones have locked multipliers. Ohhh, and Additional Info I forgot to mention, the computer will be used for everything, Movies, DVD burning, games and CAD.

Pretty much all CPUs have locked multipliers - to overclock, you increase the FSB while leaving the multiplier the same.

Here's a good monitor: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=Acer

[XenaWP]

End of summer, in dog or computer years, is a long way away. Prices and even the technology can change a good bit between now and then.

No harm doing your research now, but I recommend against ordering the parts yet. For both of my builds, the prices have changed in as little as 1-2 weeks after I ordered parts.

Best to order right before the build, and double-check product offerings.

[Blue_Tail]

Thanks for the advice, I don't plan on ordering until mid August and I'll build the last week, that gives time for all the parts to arrive by the time Im ready to build.

I wanted a list of parts that way I know what Im looking for and can just order the parts when theres a sale or good deal, or would I be better off just doing it all at once, and not worry about sales?

As for the CPU, the black Edition has an unlocked multiplier, meaning I can up it to about 16x by a simple BIOS change and it will be clocked at about 3.0 GHz, for $90 I thougt that was good. Would it play games like Crysis?

[vtfanmv5]

Originally Posted by Blue_Tail As for the CPU, the black Edition has an unlocked multiplier, meaning I can up it to about 16x by a simple BIOS change and it will be clocked at about 3.0 GHz, for $90 I thougt that was good. Would it play games like Crysis?

There's really not a whole lot of advantage for OCing by increasing the multiplier instead of the FSB. I think if you wanted to go for a higher end CPU (for higher end games like Crysis) the E8400 would be your best choice. You could OC that to 3.6-3.8GHz just as easily as the black edition. Obviously it's about double the cost but if you really want to play Crysis (on somewhat high settings) I don't think that CPU will be quite enough.

[Blue_Tail]

alright, so I take it that processor is outdated, and not very good?

so you would recomend this proc?

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...ufacture=Intel Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Dual Core Processor LGA775 3.0GHZ Wolfdale 1333FSB 6MB Retail at $210 it's a little high... what would be a good MOBO choice with that?

[vtfanmv5]

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=ASUS