Noob non gaming pc

[FocusKey]

I am looking to finally build apc. Currently I am rocking out a Dell Dimension 2400 with a Pentium 4 from around 2003. It struggles to have Firefox and iTunes running at the same time.

I would primarily use the new PC for internet, music downloads, light photo editing in Photoshop, Excel, Quickbooks, etc. I would also like to have the capability to stream video to a tv or projector if possible.

It will not be used for any gaming.

I took a computer repair course in about 6 years ago, so I feel pretty confident in being able to assemble my own pc. However I am out of the loop when it comes to what components would work efficiently together.

I would like to keep the price as low as possible. The max amount I would spend would be $500-$600.

I do not need a mouse, keyboard, monitor, or speakers for this build.

Could someone give me any recommendations for parts to suit my needs, or direct me to somewhere that has them?

Thanks!

[David M]

Pretty much the only think you can do to make your old one faster is to make sure it has the maximum amount of RAM that it was designed to accommodate.

You can build a very decent non-gamer from scratch with $600.

Which applications do you want to run? Any preferences between AMD or Intel? Are you in the USA?

[FocusKey]

Oops, I think there was a miss communication on my part. When I said I was looking to upgrade, I meant building a completely new PC.

Yes, I am located in the US.

I will edit my first post to clarify this.

AMD v Intel? My preference is price point and performance. I am unbiased when it comes to this.

[David M]

Sorry, I misunderstood upgrade. After getting into the response, I realized what you meant and left part of the first part of my response.

Have you had a chance to look over the recent builds?

[glc]

Does your budget include an operating system or do you already have that covered? You can't reuse the Dell OS. Can you wait till April when the new Intel boards are out?

[FocusKey]

Originally Posted by David M Sorry, I misunderstood upgrade. After getting into the response, I realized what you meant and left part of the first part of my response. Have you had a chance to look over the recent builds?

No I have not. I read through a few threads, but was getting lost in too many opinions lol. Is there a section on this site that has people's completed builds?

Originally Posted by glc Does your budget include an operating system or do you already have that covered? You can't reuse the Dell OS. Can you wait till April when the new Intel boards are out?

Yes I can wait until April for the new boards. The cost of the OS slipped my mind. That is why I am here. The budget is somewhat flexible though, although I would like to keep it as low as I can. I saw on Microsoft's site that I can get a copy of Windows 7 Professional for $65, so that should not be a problem at all.

[glc]

Let's look at this again when the new boards are out. The Sandy Bridge socket 1155 platform is clearly superior to anything else that's out right now, we are just waiting for a chipset fault to be fixed and the updated boards to hit the streets. Using it, you may not even need a video card if your Photoshop demands are modest.

[FocusKey]

Well I see that the new processors are out. Any recommendations GLC?

[glc]

Here you go - low to mid 500's. No video card, the onboard Sandy Bridge video should be fine. If not, the power supply is strong enough to support a decent video card if you ever want to add one.

Newegg.com - Rosewill R101-P-BK 120mm Fan MicroATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Newegg.com - ASUS P8H67-M PRO/CSM (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52400

Newegg.com - A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model AD3U1333B2G9-DRH

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X 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 Writer

Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

[FocusKey]

Thanks glc.

I probably should have mentioned this in my original post, but this pc will wirelessly to the internet, at least for a year or so. Would this change any of your recommendations?

Also my budget for this build can be a little bit more flexible. Would there be any significant performance gains if I was able to spend around $700-$750 including the OS?

Thanks again for your help.

[FocusKey]

Gonna place the order, will I be okay with the wireless internet?

[glc]

You need a wireless card?

Newegg.com - Rosewill RNX-G300EX IEEE 802.11b/g PCI Wireless Card Up to 54Mbps Data Rates 64/128-Bit WEP, 802.1x, WPA, WPA2, AES, TKIP with 100cm cable external 2 dBi Antenna

[FocusKey]

What is the cheapest way to obtain a copy for Windows 7? I am a student.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Not even academic online stores can beat the price of OEM. Mostly because if you want academic software you won't get OEM. I don't think that 100 dollars for a copy of Windows Mom Premium is expensive.

[glc]

Check with your school.

[FocusKey]

I started this build and have run into problems. I believe I have everything connected correctly. The green LED light is turned On on the motherboard. When I try to turn the PC on the cpu fan and case fan spin momentarily, but then turn off. Nothing else happens. Any advice for troubleshooting?

[Nuclear Krusader]

PROBLEMS with a NEW BUILD? Try This!!

[FocusKey]

Well I had the pc boot up and it went into the bios screen. I think I may have made a mistake when I saved updated dates and times in the bios. When I try to boot the pc up now it says:
Reboot and Select proper Boot device
or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key

Is this when I insert the windows 7 dvd?

I inserted the dvd that came with the motherboard and this is what it says:
Welcome to ASUS Motherboard Make Disk for DOS Menu
a) Make Intel 32 bit XP/Vista/Win7 RAID/AHCI Driver Disk
b) Make Intel 64 bit XP/Vista/Win7 RAID/AHCI Driver Disk
c) FreeDos command prompt
Please choose a "c:


What to do??

[Nuclear Krusader]

Insert the Win7 DVD, then reboot. You won't need the Asus DVD until Windows is installed.