Help Building First PC - Budget

[Foyboy543]

Hi. I'm planning on building my first PC. I've spent the better part of today looking for parts, reading reviews, etc., but I'm still kind of lost. I'm not exactly tech-savvy, but I'm no 90-year old man.
Here's what I have so far:

1. Purpose of computer: Running PCSX2 at top speeds. Everyday computing. Watching high quality movies.
2. Budget: <$750 preferred, but no real limit.
3. List which parts you have and/or which parts you are considering:

a. CPU: Want at least 3.4GHz. Considering http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103912 $109.99
b. Motherboard: Absolutely no idea. Would prefer at least 4 USB2 ports.
c. GPU: Looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161338 $99.99 after MIR
(Nvidia Geforce 8800GT or better, or ATI Radeon 4750 or better based on PCSX2 recommendation). HDMI needed.
d. Hard drive: Considering http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136320 ($59.99) or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136358 ($49.99). I don't know the difference, but one is $10 cheaper. I have 3TB worth of external hard drives so I don't need much space.
e. Ram: 4GB. I don't know anything about the difference between memory sticks.
f. PSU: No idea
g. Case: Willing to spend a little extra for a solid case.
h: Optic (CD/DVD/Blu-ray): CD/DVD, Considering http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118031 $16.99
i. Monitor (size&resolution): None atm, Going to wait for a good deal on a 20inch monitor. Also use a 30inch HDTV for watching movies.
j. I already have a keyboard, mouse, and speakers.
k. I plan to run Windows 7 64 bit.
l. What do I do about internet?

4. Overclocking: No knowledge of overclocking. Would prefer to not complicate things with extra heat sinks etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[David M]

What's wrong with 60? George is pretty sharp. He can run circles around the twenty-somethings in here. In fact, the sum of three twenty years olds is still less knowledge than the King of the forum.

[Foyboy543]

Originally Posted by David M What's wrong with 60? George is pretty sharp. He can run circles around the twenty-somethings in here.

Fixed

[glc]

Probably not what you want to see, but here is MY recommendation for a gamer in that budget range:

Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

Newegg.com - ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Newegg.com - Intel Core i3-550 Clarkdale 3.2GHz 4MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80616I3550

Newegg.com - CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMV4GX3M2A1333C9

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6402AAEX 640GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - CD / DVD Burners

Newegg.com - HIS H685F1GD Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

-OR-

Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1373-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked EE 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

End cost is just under $750 shipped. Add 100 bucks for a copy of Windows if you need it.

The motherboard has onboard Ethernet, just connect it to your router.

[glc]

Originally Posted by David M What's wrong with 60? George is pretty sharp. He can run circles around the twenty-somethings in here. In fact, the sum of three twenty years olds is still less knowledge than the King of the forum.

Thanks, Dave - us old farts have to stick together!

[glc]

1. Because Intel is all I'm familiar with, build with, and recommend. I told you it might not be what you wanted to see. However, Tom's Hardware rates the i3-540 and i3-550 as the best gaming CPU's in their price class. There is more to a CPU than raw clock speed, there are significant architectural differences.

2. The video card is a lot more important than the CPU for any kind of gaming. I picked cards that are currently regarded as the best of the sub-$200 cards, that would be commensurate with your budget.

3. I recommended it because it's only $4 more than the 500 gb SATA 6.0 Black drive after shipping. The extra cache is a bonus.

4. There are 6 USB 2.0 and 2 USB 3.0 ports on the rear I/O panel. The 2 front USB ports will plug into additional USB headers on the motherboard, of which there are 6.

Okay, if you want to go cheaper on the video card, here is a card that is regarded as "a very good starting point for the serious gamer".

Newegg.com - HIS H577FK1GD Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

[Foyboy543]

GLC, thanks so much. I'll take your advice and go with the Intel for the extra $15.
As for the video card, I'm not really running typical computer games. I'm emulating old consoles that aren't very graphics-heavy, so I'll go with the cheaper graphics card (which happens to be the same as the one I originally posted )
I'll go with the improved hard drive. Thanks.
If you could, I'd really like to hear your input about the power supply I found.

And most importantly, the motherboard you recommend seems expensive. What are the reasons you recommend this specific one? Is there any way I could get away with a cheaper motherboard, closer to the $100 range? I understand I'm well below my $750 budget, but that's still without the $100 windows 7 and ~$80 monitor. And I'd like to stay as far under that budget as possible

Finally, I just want to clarify: With the case and a motherboard that has 6usb ports, I'd be able to plug in a mouse and gaming controller in the front, and plug in an external harddrive in the back?

Once again, thanks for all your help and sorry for all the questions.

P.S. Why don't my posts show up?

[glc]

I apologize - your posts were getting caught in the spam filter for some reason and I just deleted them all by mistake! Post quoted from our archives:

Originally Posted by Foyboy543 Thanks for the recommendations, GLC. I had a couple questions regarding them: 1. Is there any particular reason you recommend the Intel 3.2 over the AMD 3.4, especially given that the Intel is $15 more? 2. The graphics cards you recommend are much more expensive. The type of gaming I do is not GPU intensive. Are there any noticeable benefits to the graphics card you suggested, outside of gaming? If not, is there a better graphics card better than the one I was looking at that's closer to the $100 price range? 3. Will the 64MB cache hard drive provide a noticeable difference over the 32MB? I'm guessing that's the reason you recommend it over the 500gb 32mb cache? 4. (This may be the stupidest question I ask, ever) I only see 2 USB ports on the front of the case, but the motherboard says it has 6 USB2's and 2 USB3's. How do I plug stuff if there's no slot in the case? I really would prefer access to 4 USB2 slots for my mouse, external harddrive, gaming controller, and a spare slot. 5. (EDIT) The PSU you suggested seems very similar to this one: Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply This one is $10 cheaper. Is there any difference between them (brand quality, etc)? Sorry for the uninformed questions. I don't mean to discount your suggestions, I'm just trying to better understand them. I appreciate all your feedback.

Excellent deal on an excellent power supply.

Take a look at this motherboard:

Newegg.com - ASUS P7P55D-E LX LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

I would personally plug the mouse, controller, and external drive into the rear ports, and use the front ports for devices that you are inserting and removing frequently, such as flash memory keys, phones, and MP3 players.

[Foyboy543]

That motherboard doesn't say anything about HDMI or DVI support? I need HDMI support for connecting to my TV. And isn't DVI the common input for monitors? Edit: NVM, just realized it all goes through the GPU. Sorry for the stupid question.

As for the usb ports, yea, that makes more sense lol. Just wanted to make sure there would be enough slots for plugging it all in.

[Foyboy543]

Thanks for all your help so far.

Ok, I think I'm ready to buy. I spent the last several hours researching deals and this is what I've come up with. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. And if someone could at least confirm that everything is compatible, that would be great:

Case: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $49.95 after MIR

CPU: Core i3 550 3.2GHz Socket 1156 Boxed Processor BX80616I3550 $124.99

HD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $184.98 after MIR combo with Motherboard

Motherboard: ASUS P7P55D-E LX LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $184.98 after MIR combo with HD

GPU: Galaxy 60XMH6HS3HMW GeForce GTX 460 GC Edtion Video Card - 768MB GDDR5 $79.99 after MIR/coupons Note that I went with this instead of the Radeon 5770 because it's $20 cheaper and reviews say that it's better. I'm just worried about the compatibility?

RAM: CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMV4GX3M2A1333C9 $43.99

PSU: Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply $44.99 after MIR After looking at a bunch of different models and review sites, it seems that 550W would be more than enough to power my components. Am I wrong? Is it still compatible otherwise?

Media: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM $19.99

Total cost without tax, shipping, monitor, and windows: ~$550

Are there any problems with my build? Anything that could be improved at almost no cost?

PS, sorry to whichever mod has to keep approving these edits.

[quartet-man]

Originally Posted by David M What's wrong with 60? George is pretty sharp. He can run circles around the twenty-somethings in here. In fact, the sum of three twenty years olds is still less knowledge than the King of the forum.

Agreed. With age doesn't necessarily come wisdom (we see people of all ages who will not learn and who are set in their ways), but it also doesn't mean people of that age are inept. George has probably forgotten more about computers than many of us know.

[jdeb]

george is like fine wine, this forum is his cellar.

[glc]

I'm a bit concerned about Galaxy as a brand. The reviews also say that the card is noisy. It also uses a mini-HDMI port, which is going to need an adapter or non-standard cable to connect to most TV's. Yes, it is a stronger card than a 5770.

Good PSU, I was almost going to recommend it last night.

[Foyboy543]

Originally Posted by glc I'm a bit concerned about Galaxy as a brand. The reviews also say that the card is noisy. It also uses a mini-HDMI port, which is going to need an adapter or non-standard cable to connect to most TV's. Yes, it is a stronger card than a 5770. Good PSU, I was almost going to recommend it last night.

Alright thanks. I'll just go with the 5770 for $99.
Is everything else compatible?

[Foyboy543]

Ok, I've come up with my final build. I'm looking for some final confirmation that everything is compatible, sufficient, and solid brands.
I've decided to go with an AMD build to save a bit of money and get a quad-core. Sorry GLC

$19.99 ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

$99.99 after MIR HIS H577FK1GD Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

44.99 after MIR Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

$228.99 combo, after MIR AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX Combo with Mobo
$228.99 combo, after MIR ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard Combo with CPU

$49.95 after MIR Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

$60 Samsung 1 TB Spinpoint 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.5 inch Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive (It's not the recommended WD, but it's the same price with 150% extra capacity, a brand-name, and good reviews)

$40 after MIR CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory

Total cost pre-tax, after MIR: ~$545

[flanzig1]

We tend to discourage Samsung HDs and optics. They make great monitors but the drives tend to be on the not so great side.

[Foyboy543]

Alright, thanks. I'll go with the smaller capacity Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
I have enough space in external drives anyway.

With this better HD, is everything good? I'm really looking for some indication either way about the general performance of this build.

[Berethorn]

I was under the impression that the new Samsung hard drives, or at least the F3 series, were quite good, they certainly were some of the most highly recommended that I found when looking for a HD last month. I don't mean to contradict the advice of those with much more experience building computers, but is it not possible Samsung have improved their drives in recent times?

I have to hope so, because I have an HD103SJ as my primary now.

If you're getting a WD Black, consider the 640gb version instead of 500gb - extra space for a few bucks more, and I've heard the 640gb is an especially good performer, though I doubt the difference is noticeable. EDIT: Sorry, glc already pointed this out.

[Foyboy543]

How is this memory: $41.99G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT The reviews seem great, it's around the same price as the Corsair, and the brand seems to be exceptional. Would this fit well with my build?

[glc]

Stay away from G.skill, they have had major quality and compatibility issues recently.

[Foyboy543]

Originally Posted by glc Stay away from G.skill, they have had major quality and compatibility issues recently.

Alright, thanks. I'll stick with the Corsair memory you recommended earlier.

Would you able to confirm whether everything in my build is compatible/sufficient? I know you dislike AMD, but still I'd really appreciate it.

[glc]

I don't just dislike it - I'm not familiar enough with it to advise you on compatibility.

I would recommend the 640gb WD Black SATA 6.0.

[David M]

Somewhat outside of the thread topic, I'm curious why so many people are picking G.skill? Any ideas? Price? Big marketing campaign?

[Foyboy543]

Thanks for all your help, everyone.

Unfortunately, the cost is coming out to be quite a bit more than what I was expecting. I think I'm going to hold off until late next year to upgrade my computer. Maybe look for black friday deals.

Once again, thanks, and sorry for (kinda) wasting your time. Regardless, I learned a lot and very much appreciate everyone's help.

Feel free to close this topic.

[Berethorn]

It's too bad you won't be able to get a new computer right away, but your thread will probably be useful to other people in a similar situation.

And just throwing this out there - if the cost of Windows is putting you over the top, you could consider using Linux for a while.