Long Time No Build

[SJUnion]

Hey,

Ive been visiting the boards for a few months. I just registered but Ive been taking a little bit from here and little from there trying to put together a list. Obviously like a lot of people here SC2 is a big motivator behind this build but I'm also going to school for graphic design. Ive been using the usual (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Quark, ya know etc etc). Up until this point Ive mooched off the school and used the iMacs on site to do my graphics work, but now I'm moving onto another school and its time to build my own setup.

The Problem: as usual...limited funds. In fact no funds, this will be one of those 12 month zero interest deals lol.

Anyway my hopes are to keep this low, as under $1,000 as possible.

What I have...

-G7 Logitech cordless mouse.

-An old ATX case..pretty basic.

-An old IDE DVD Drive.

-And this old power supply
Newegg.com - HIPER HPU-4K580-MS 580W ATX12V v2.2 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Modular Power Supply

What I need...

Keyboard
CPU
Motherboard
RAM
GPU
LCD Screen around 24"

I also need Windows 7. But I think I'm getting that from the Microsoft student discount website thing.

This is what I have in my Newegg cart so far.
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG P2350-1 Rose Black 23" 2ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 50000:1(1000:1)
Newegg.com - ASUS M4A77TD AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.com - ASUS EAH5830 DIRECTCU/2DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 5830 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity
Newegg.com - Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BA1339
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDX945WFGMBOX

and I have a copy SC2 in there..The total on that is $850 shipped with taxes.

[David M]

Just so others know, SC2 is Starcraft 2.

Seems like a good build.

I question the quality of the PSU but I would go ahead and keep it since the budget is tight and it has worked for you so far. You will want to check your voltages after your new build is up and running.

The keyboard is a personal preference and run anywhere from $10 to $200. I would go to a computer store and type on a number of them to see which you prefer.

If you are looking to save some money on your monitor then consider this Asus monitor. It has a smaller screen but the same resolution as the Samsung you selected.
Newegg.com - ASUS VH222H Black 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen 16:9 Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor Built in Speakers 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR20000:1) w/ SPDIF out

[SJUnion]

Originally Posted by David M Just so others know, SC2 is Starcraft 2. Seems like a good build. I question the quality of the PSU but I would go ahead and keep it since it has worked for you so far. The keyboard is a personal preference and run anywhere from $10 to $200. I would go to a computer store and type on a number of them to see which you prefer. If you are looking to save some money on your monitor then consider this Asus monitor. It has a smaller screen but the same resolution as the Samsung you selected. Newegg.com - ASUS VH222H Black 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen 16:9 Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor Built in Speakers 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR20000:1) w/ SPDIF out

Nice deal!

But I have a question. I think Ive read most PC widescreen monitors are 16:10? Will a 16:9 affect how SC2 is displayed?

[David M]

You can change the resolution in the game which changes the games aspect ratio to the same aspect ratio of the monitor. Therefore the monitor will not have a vertical or horizontal black band while playing the game. The trend in monitors is to go with the lower 16:9 aspect ratio which the 1920 x 1080 is. I'm pretty certain SC2 is going to have a 1920 x 1080 choice since it is very common.

FAQ - WSGFWiki

[SJUnion]

Originally Posted by David M Not necessarily. You can change the resolution in the game which changes the games aspect ratio to the same aspect ratio of the monitor. Therefore the monitor will not have a vertical or horizontal black band while playing the game. The trend in monitors is to go with the lower aspect ratio which the 1920 x 1080 is. 16:9 is becoming the more common standard for monitors. FAQ - WSGFWiki

Thanks for the suggestion and the link!