Beginner Wants a Base PC...

[thebeesknees]

Ok, so I'm not new at computers. I know how my computer functions, and I am quite obsessed with it. But I'd like to take the plunge, and build a PC. Above all, ease of assembly is the most part: I've read about case/motherboard combos, and I'd like one of those. Other than that, I don't really need something special. A 2.0 GHz C2D (or the AMD equivalent), a 500 GB or larger HDD, stuff like that. I've got a speaker set and subwoofer from an old Dell Dimension, as well as a smallish monitor from a newer, but still terrible, Dell Dimension. I'm interested in running Vista, but I would definitely use Ubuntu quite a lot to. I'd like everything to be under eight hundred dollar.

Thanks a lot guys.

EDIT:


Case: Don't Care

PSU: Don't Care

Mobo: Don't care

CPU: C2D 2.0 GHz or eqiuvalent
HDD: 500 GB or higher

RAM: 3-4 GB

Pri Optical: I'd like a DVD burner

Sec Optical: Only need one

Sound Card: I don't need high def audio, so what ever is standard,

Video Card: Nothing special. I'd like to be able to run Spore comfortably,

FDD: ... What does this mean?

Keyboard: I'll use an old one (USB)

Mouse: See above.
Modem: I'll be using wifi

Lan: I'll be using wifi

Monitor: Old one

Speakers: old set

OS: Vista Home Premium

Extras: I'd like a webcam


Thought that might come in handy...

[shadowpr]

Will you be gaming? If not, then you can get the actual build for less then 800, and use onboard video.

Will you need vista, keyboard, mouse?

[thebeesknees]

Originally Posted by shadowpr Will you be gaming? If not, then you can get the actual build for less then 800, and use onboard video. Will you need vista, keyboard, mouse?

Hey, I'd like a somewhat basic ATI or nVidia card, but definitely discrete graphics. I edited my post about the keyboard, mouse, and vista.

Wow, thanks a lot for the quick response.

[alex530]

Welcome to PCMech. It should be fairly easy to keep your budget under $800. Here's what I recommend.

Case and PSU:
Antec Sonata III
$130

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L
$105

OR

ASUS P5Q
$130

CPU:
C2D E8400
$165

HDD:
Western Digital 640GB
$75

RAM:
4GB DDR2 800
$65

DVD:
Samsung 22X
$26

Video Card:
ATI 4670
$80

OS:
Vista Home Premium 64 bit SP1
$100

Total comes to $746 before rebates and with the Gigabyte Mobo. I don't know much about webcams so I'll let someone else recommend you one, although I've heard Logitech makes some good ones. Another thing is the motherboard doesn't have wireless built in, so you will either need a USB dongle or a PCI Card, both are fairly cheap. I can already tell you this board will recommend the Asus motherboard, corsair RAM, and a Lite-on DVD burner. These are just my personal choices. Feel free to ask any other questions.

[SCKiller]

I would go with the Asus P5Q pro. I just got it and it's great.

[thebeesknees]

Hey, thanks a lot, guys! Now, there are a few things I was still wondering. Are there any guides that you would reccomend? From what I've read, it seems that everything is pretty easy, but the things that confuse me are the power supply, and, once I've got the computer built, putting it in the case.

Thanks again!

[not important]

The case will have some instructions about placement of the PSU and the drives (hard drive and optical drive's).
Follow this guide BEFORE installing everything into the case: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409