[Mercenary Dude]

Hey,
I am interested in building a gaming desktop for myself since the one I was using left with my brother for college. I have about $600 to build this box but if needed, i can pull another $100 in about a month. I was thinking a AMD dual core and some brand of a Radeon x1650pro. Not sure on which brand though.
Important things to know
All i need is the box without dvd/cd drive.
Case looks are not important, just black.
Hard drive does not need to be huge.
Everything else... give me suggestions.
Thank you in advance,
Merc

 

[rollnw24inkmc]

http://forums.techguy.org/hardware/533255-need-help-please.html

 

[schusterjo]

Do you have anything already? Monitor ? keyboard mouse? anything so we could keep the price down.. or do you need it all?

 

[schusterjo]

ABIT IL9 Pro Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 945P ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: IL9 Pro $84.99


Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300 - Retail $181.00

CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X1024A-6400 - Retail $122.00

Open Box: BFG Tech BFGR76256GTOCE GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - OEM $119.99

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JSRTL 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Retail $59.99

APEVIA (ASPIRE) X-Plorer ATXB8KLW-AL/420 Black Body/Silver Front Panel Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 420W Power Supply - Retail $69.99

Total
$.637.96

Prices may have changed a little, this is a copy paste from a build I did a month or so back.

Need an OS?
Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2b 1pk w/Upgrade Coupon for Vista - OEM $139.99

By the way you may also want to read this for the video cards.
The Best Gaming Video Cards for the Money: January 2007

And this (the red lines) for the CPU's
Toms Hardware CPU chart

 

[rollnw24inkmc]

id say go with a barebones kit to keep cost down, they are pretty cheap last time i looked at them on newegg.com and tigerdirect.com and geeks.com but i wouldnt recommend geeks.com.

 

[Mercenary Dude]

I have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, OS. I just need the box and everything inside. Wouldn't it be better to buy say... a AMD X2 3800+ that is a little cheaper and take a step up with the video card, case, ect, then get a Intel core duo?

 

[brite750]

go to frys right now and get a FREE pc case, $40, free shipping and a $40 rebate, FREE, FREE, FREE, buy a thermaltake PSU for $29 on new egg, so total cost of case/psu $29 that will give you the money you can spend on the other stuff, especially gfx card. I'll look for the links for ya.

http://shop2.outpost.com/product/4997441?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

 

[brite750]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103940

thermaltake one is gone i think, this one would be nice since your case was free

 

[schusterjo]

I have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, OS. I just need the box and everything inside. Wouldn't it be better to buy say... a AMD X2 3800+ that is a little cheaper and take a step up with the video card, case, ect, then get a Intel core duo?

Guide to building a Gaming rig..
People/kids run out and get the biggest and fastest graphic cards they can find. Well the problem with that is they have no ideal they just wasted their money due to the fact their current CPU is not going to allow that graphic card run to its full potential (lowering the performance).

The ideal is to get the BIGGEST CPU possible without really cutting into the graphic card size.
1.Decent motherboard that is a stable board

2.Pack in the biggest and fastest CPU you can afford. (remember Ghz does not really mean anything anymore its all about how much work the cpu can do in a given time.)

3.Then you need to look at the Video card
rules for best performance
ATI= buy ATI
Nvidia=Buy BFG

4.Ram (very important but is usually the cheapest to upgrade that's why i put it last) You really want no less then 1G but preferably 2G for gaming.
Corsair
OCZ
Samsung
Crucial
Kingston
(do not mix manufacture or speed or size of ram for best performance, may cause issues with computer as well. you can put 2 different speeds but the system will run at the slowest ram speed. a good rule is to by the exact same sticks)

Follow those steps and you will end up with a great machine.

 

[Mercenary Dude]

go to frys right now and get a FREE pc case, $40, free shipping and a $40 rebate, FREE, FREE, FREE, buy a thermaltake PSU for $29 on new egg, so total cost of case/psu $29 that will give you the money you can spend on the other stuff, especially gfx card. I'll look for the links for ya.

http://shop2.outpost.com/product/4997441?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

I will be buying that case tonight. I have taken some things i liked from schusterjo set up and got this:
Processor:$193.00
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
Motherboard:
I don't like the one posted. Never heard of the brand.
Ram:
Without knowing mobo hard to pick ram
Case:Free
(buying the ultra wizard case tonight)
PSU:$94.99
The one that was pointed out (Here) seems alittle on the pricy side but I do know you want a good PSU so please tell me if i go with the spendy one or find something cheaper that would work
Hard Drive:$59.99
Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JSRTL 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Retail
Video Card:$109.99
BFG Tech BFGR76256GTOCE GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Total (without motherboard and ram)=457.97(after rebates.)... i think.
What would be a good mobo and ram combo with this and is this a good PSU for this computer?
Thanks,
Merc

 

[schusterjo]

I will be buying that case tonight. I have taken some things i liked from schusterjo set up and got this:
Processor:$193.00
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
Motherboard:
I don't like the one posted. Never heard of the brand.
Ram:
Without knowing mobo hard to pick ram
Case:Free
(buying the ultra wizard case tonight)
PSU:$94.99
The one that was pointed out (Here) seems alittle on the pricy side but I do know you want a good PSU so please tell me if i go with the spendy one or find something cheaper that would work
Hard Drive:$59.99
Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JSRTL 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Retail
Video Card:$109.99
BFG Tech BFGR76256GTOCE GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Total (without motherboard and ram)=457.97(after rebates.)... i think.
What would be a good mobo and ram combo with this and is this a good PSU for this computer?
Thanks,
Merc

ABIT is a name brand motherboard, They are great and perform well.
Anybody here in this forum that knows motherboards will tell you Abit is a good motherboard.

Abit is one of the best,

Good motherboards
Asus
Abit
Gigabyte
MSI
Tyan
Intel (can be a pain sometimes but good performers)

Then
DFI (is okay they have came along way)
Asrock (debatable)

Stay away from
ECS
Biostar
Foxcon
Pcchips
Jetway
Machspeed

 

[Mercenary Dude]

Alright, sorry about that. I had never heard of Abit before. only Asus, Gigbyte, MSI and Tyan as the good ones. So, take that mobo as mine? even though the case has fount firewire?
And is the PSU I was told over kill at all or just what im looking for?
Thanks a billion for replies,
Merc

 

[schusterjo]

Sure, the case has front "Up-Font" USB & Firewire.
No problem, just plug the usb cords from the case to the motherboard. no biggy. Look in the manual you get with the motherboard where the connectors are on the motherboard and plug them in.

The PSU?
Overkill? maybe a little but room for upgrade, So if you like that PS then get it. A 420W would also work. I would not go below 420W.

You will like that computer setup. Built several just like it. (different case and PS) they really like the computers and haven't had a complaint. play any game out as of now.

 

[Mercenary Dude]

Thanks. Very much. I've been trying to build one by myself for about 6 months. lets just say there were high priced and not the best. Thank you again. I will order it some time soon i bet. And as far as set up on a brand new system, just plug everything together and install windows xp as you would an older PIII (the computers i grew up and played with)? Im not exactly sure on what everyone is talking about in the Bios. Its the screen to change all the settings. But... will i need to do anything such as that to this one? or will I be good off the get go with drivers and XP?
Thank you very much. You've been a big help,
Merc

 

[brite750]

any where from a 420watt and above would be good, I happen to like Antec and Thermaltake, you may be able to get down to more in the $75 range, but with free case, hell I'm going with a nice PSU, but thats your call.

 

[brite750]

Abit has made some good MB's its not an off brand

 

[brite750]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153027

this one is ok also, a little light in the loafers but not bad, not SLI which you probably dont care about, I like to see at least 15amp on each 12v rail, this one just squeaks in IMO

 

[brite750]

maybe some of the other C2D guys can chime in I thought the prefered chipset was the intel 965 variety

 

[Mercenary Dude]

I like the new PSU. Alittle cheaper and enough power. I have to try to keep it around $600. So if the chip set on the mobo is not and Intel 965 variety, should i be looking for another motherboard?

 

[brite750]

I like the new PSU. Alittle cheaper and enough power. I have to try to keep it around $600. So if the chip set on the mobo is not and Intel 965 variety, should i be looking for another motherboard?

I dont know it says it works and was cheap, just dont plan on overclocking if that is what you have in mind. The advise I have seen given is go for an intel MB to run intel cpu, and the ones that were given had P965 chipset, this may have changed since cpu was released in july. Intel MB dont oc for crap but run stable with intel cpu, makes sense anyway.