My first build on a tight budget

[Brandon005]

Hi all I am attempting to build my first computer from scratch it doesn't have to be the fastest or most powerful out there I mostly do web surfing and an ocassional mmo. My computer now is getting pretty dated and I just need something new but don't have a lot of disposable income at the moment. I am looking for the best value I could get for under $500 including OS if possible I would prefer 2gb of ram but at least 1gb show me your best deal on a "budget" pc. I also would like the option of adding a graphics card later on and would prefer it not to be somthing that would be outdated in a year or so. I feel confident that I can do the assembly and setup as I'm fairly mechanically inclined and am fairly literate with computers but not an expert by any means. Any help you guys could provide would be great. Also one more question as far as OS is concerned would you go with XP or Vista I know Vista is new and may not have all of the kinks worked out but will XP be out of date in a couple of years? Also I don't need a monitor. thanks again for your help

[Jamie Nixx]

Ok, sub $500 can build you a great computer, even for gaming.

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103747
Athlon dual core, excellent value, really good CPU.

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138026
This motherboard is awesome and pretty cheap for a 550 chipset.

Ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590
Corsair XMS2 2GB, i use this memory in one of my gaming rigs and it is stunning, don't think its expensive just because its gaming Ram, it comes with a $30 rebate.

Harddrive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144456
Excellent HD, 250GB capacity, great brand.

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811164071
The case is down to you, so i just chose the first one i looked at that had a PSU over 400w, although i think this case looks pretty cool and its very cheap.

GPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130062
7600GT graphics card, excellent card, i know you said you only play the occasional mmo but this will play almost anything and its cheap.

Windows XP OS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116056
Windows XP won't be going anywhere for a while yet.

All this, without taking off the rebates comes to $503.95, take off the rebates and your probably looking at about $450 or maybe even less.

You will need to add an optical drive to this, i didn't add one because i don't know which you require, DVD ROM, DVD R/W ect, a DVD Rom should come to no more than $20.

Well, i hope this helps :)

[Brandon005]

that looks about the price range I'm looking at I think I would leave out the graphics card for now though its $80 and if I see I need one in the future its good to know it can be easily added I would also add a dvd/rw also in the whole amd vs intel debate is one really better than the other or is it just preferance also would you not recomend vista at this point as its similar in price to XP I just don't want to have a computer that is going to outlive the OS as far as functionality also that case is really cheap :eek: has anyone had any experience with it? all suggestions are very much appreciated I am really looking forward to doing this I've wanted to build a PC for a while now but it just seemed intemidating with all the options out there

[Jamie Nixx]

High end computers, video editing, gaming ect, Intel are best.

Normal browsing word processing computer, AMD, and thats a dual core and a good one at that. Its not that AMD are better than Intel at the moment, AMD are just cheaper.

If you remove the GPU your going to have to find another motherboard, one that has onboard graphics, that one doesn't.

[Brandon005]

thanks for all of the great advice I think I will go with the setup you reccomend this site is great alots of good information and advice do you reccomend any other sites about learning about computer design and consturction. There is just so many things I don't understand about the way they work and what all of the numbers and letters stand for and mean to someone building a computer

[Brandon005]

also I noticed that that motherboard you reccomended is currently out of stock do they stay out of stock long?

[Eldric IV]

I have no idea how long parts stay out of stock on Newegg but you can find that same motherboard at other sites or find a similar motherboard on Newegg (just make sure it is compatible by posting it here first).

Directron (http://www.directron.com/tforce550.html) has it for $73.99 and it is a Yahoo merchant.

[Brandon005]

What do you guys think of this setup it puts me under $400 before rebates is there anything else I should add to this list I would like to go bigger but with my budget and this being my first time I don't want to have more money than is necessary for this build.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2.2GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADA4200CUBOX - Retail
Model #: ADA4200CUBOX
Item #: N82E16819103747
$74.00

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400 - Retail
Model #: TWIN2X2048-6400
Item #: N82E16820145590
$78.00

Maxtor STM3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: STM3250310AS
Item #: N82E16822144456
$57.99

Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM
Model #: N09-01991
Item #: N82E16832116056
$89.99

MSI MBOX K9N6SGM-V AMD Socket AM2 AMD Athlon 64 X2 / Athlon 64 / Sempron NVIDIA GeForce 6100 /nForce 405 chipset Barebone - Retail
Model #: MBOX K9N6SGM-V
Item #: N82E16856167009
$89.99

Subtotal: $389.97

[Jamie Nixx]

Looks good, but i don't like the case/motherboard combo.

[Brandon005]

could you explain? is it better to buy them separate or do you not like the motherboard and or case? I just want to make sure everything goes smooth.

[Brandon005]

also can you think of any odds and ends I would need, I know I will need one of those antistatic straps and I already have hand tools for the assembly the only thing that concerns me a little is that case I don't want to get something that is flimsy I won't be moving it around a lot but I don't want some crap either, am I asking for trouble with this bargain case or will it be ok

[The Wise Monkey]

The case is OK, but the motherboard isn't very good. You don't really need an antistatic strap - just make sure that you touch an unpainted part of your case before touching any components.

I have used the straps, but only because I do work on £3000 servers... :D

[Brandon005]

could you reccomend a compatible motherboard that you think is good in a similar price range also how do you determine if a board is "good" or "bad" learning all of this stuff is like learning a foreign language, its starting to make sense but I'm still loosing things in translation :D

[The Wise Monkey]

There are several factors in determining whether a board is good or not, but the main one is the Chipset type that it uses. The nVidia 405 chipset is not that good, to be honest with you.

You are better off going for the ASUS M2N-E (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131022R) or something else with a 570 chipset, as this is very good.

If you want to know more about motherboards, I recommend checking out Rob's guide, or looking at Wikipedia's page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motherboard

[Jamie Nixx]

I think he wants one with an inbuilt graphics chipset WM, plus the Asus is open box so you don't get anything.

I have used this boards big bro before and it was excellent
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186126

Very cheap as well.