Robosexual

Hey guys, I am about to retire my 4.5 year old machine by the end of this month and I hadn’t thought about PC components in at least that long. So I find myself a bit overwhelmed by the prospect of putting together a PC from scratch. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

Budget: Between 1,500 and 2,000.

Brands: I'm thinking of going with Intel quad core processor w/an SLI compatible motherboard. Nvidia video cards (Maybe just one high end card to start w/room to add another later.)

Multitasking: I will need to be able to run multiple design programs similtaneously, such as photoshop and illustrator. There is a chance I will need to do some limited video editing, but I am not looking to gear my PC around that.

Gaming: Of course, a lot and the newest/upcoming games.

Overclocking: Never done it, but I would like to learn so long as I dont run the risk of blowing up a 2000 dollar PC.

Storage: A good bit. I was thinking a couple 250-500 gig hd's.

Legacy Support: Don’t think so.


Operating System: Was thinking Vista


Case:Yes and, big as it takes.

Recycled Components: None


Monitor: Was looking at 24'' wide.

Stores: Newegg and maybe tiger direct, open to anything reliable.

Location: USA



Thanks again,
-Joe

KoLAddict

Newegg and Tiger Direct are definitely my two favorites for online part shopping.

For processor, you'll want a quadcore since those are the best for running multiple programs at once. They aren't amazing with most games (since most games take advantage of only dual-cores at the moment), but it won't hinder anything. It'll be more expensive though for the quad.

As far as brands, for graphics cards I've found EVGA to be a personal favorite of mine. They have a great warranty.

For HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136040

It's only 7200rpm, but at that size a 10,000rpm would be a lot more expensive.

For a case, my boss (IT Dept.) says http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811124123 is really big. I know my "dream rig" is going to have one. It's only $115 too, which isn't bad.

PSU will probably be costly. http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817153056 is $320, but I'm not sure what you're build is going to be. I'd recommend looking at PSU last, so you know what wattage you'll want to be at. Just remember not to slack in the PSU, as that can seriously harm your rig in the long run.

For the drive, I swear by http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827248008 I've never had any problems with it, and it's only $30.

For RAM, http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145034 is good. It's DDR2, but DDR2 is still the staple, and DDR3 is much to expensive at the moment to consider.

For mobo, http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813127020 is also decent. It's $230, but is on sale right now.

Only thing I really can't help is with graphics card. My dream rig has an 8800 Ultra, which is overpriced right now, and my budget rig has a 512MB. The best graphics card power-wise is the GeForce 8800Ultra, but the GeForce 8800 GTX is pretty nice. Someone else can help you with that, as I'm a fan of the best in graphics cards, so I'm too biased.

Robosexual

Hey, thanks for the suggestions Kola. I'm not too terribly concerned about price. I saved up significantly more than my budget specifically to buy a new computer so if I go a little over, it's no big deal. Of course, when it hit me that I could save a lot of money by building the same machine that Alienware wants you to pay $5,000 for, I thought I'd give it a go. I've been wanting to do it for a while anyway, just for the experience.

I was looking at the 8800 ultra from BFG for a while as I'm currently using one of theirs and it's working out great. But I have heard that the EVGA warrante is pretty good, so maybe I should look into that as well.

KoLAddict

If you've had a good experience from BFG, then it's just as well that you stick with them. I really like the EVGA warranty, which is why I prefer them, but if you like BFG, then I'd consider going by which has the cheaper price (even if price doesn't matter, it'd still be nice to save a few bucks). Obviously, it's whatever you prefer though.

Yeah, that's what really got me to look into building a rig too. It's so much cheaper to build a rig than to buy one.

Also, when you check for stuff (like graphics cards) make sure you look to see if they are SUPERCLOCKED. That's their way of saying overclocked, which gets the item to run faster than normal, by consuming more power, etc. You can do that yourself if you want, and they charge more to buy SUPERCLOCKED.

carn3rd

Building a computer is fun and all, but for the price, U cant really go wrong with this setup:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229013


In fact, if you price this system out seperatley with the same specs, down to the case, it will cost you more.

With this type of setup, you'll be set for almost anything, plus it has plenty of room for expansion.

Add a nice 22" monitor for about 250-300$ and a nice laser mouse and you're set.

1 g0t 0wn3d

Umm they have a 600 watt power supply for a dual 8800 thats how its about the price of building your own

1 g0t 0wn3d

thermaltake 1k watt http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153056 320$

GIGABYTE GA-X38-DS4 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128080 200$

Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220144 80 without the rebate 40 with

Evga 8800 gts (g92) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130312 350$

intel e3850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115028 $280

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148288 $120

Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811133154 $130

LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106072 $40

Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Ultimate for System Builders Single Pack DVD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116213 $170

SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1(DC 3000:1) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824001096 $319

$2010 without the rebates or shipping

carn3rd

If it works, why knock it? U can always end up upgrading the power supply in the future.


The build u posted is interesting. 320$ is a tad too much to spend on a power supply, a tad twice as much as you should spend max.
why get a 3gz dual core when you could have a quad for 5$ less?
Also, the system included with the bundled computer I posted runs 4gb ram along with vista 64x. The only strong point I see in that build would be maybe the tower and mobo. In comparison to the computer I've posted already nicely built, it does not compare. Sure, with that same monitor the already buidl computer would be around 150$ more than your build, but it would sure damned be worth it. Not trying to be a prick or anything btw.

Jtsou

I agree with 0wned, Cyber Power PC is a good site if you build it yourself with their configurator. There is way more customizable options there. www.cyberpowerpc.com.
That system also has vista 64-bit, which as of now isnt the way to go. They do have competitive pricing. But I'd say build it yourself for the experience or use their website configurator.


With your needs, I would bump up to the Q6600 Quad. That is a nice powersupply that Owned mentioned if you are going SLI. If not, you can bump that down a tidbit.

Robosexual

What do you guys think of this case/ps?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119136

1 g0t 0wn3d

the pc power and cooling 750 watt is way cheaper and still very nice, (note the motherboard is not sli because it supports intels next gen cpus that have not come out yet, and yes you can use the quad with it)

And the point is it may work now but will it in 2-3 years? thats alittle iffy

The pc power and cooling http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703009 should be good for the next gen video cards to, i was just adding in the thermaltake just in case you felt like you needed some very high stabability when overclocking

Its more future profed and can be upgraded with intels new cpus when they come out

1 g0t 0wn3d

With that you could ditch my case and power supply (its very rare that a case would come with a quallity power supply nice choice

Robosexual

Sweet, thanks. I'm trying to compile a list of components/prices and if I get a price I'm happy with, I may order that imediately in case they run out. ;p

Robosexual

Alright here's an attempt. Please let me know if I'm missing anything other than monitor/mouse/keyboard.

Case/Powersupply: COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 Evolution RC-830-KKR3-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case Real Power Pro 1000W Power Supply - $379.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119136

Motherboard: ABIT IN9 32X-MAX LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - $219.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813127020

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor -$274.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115017

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231122

Video: BFG Tech BFGR88768GTXOC2E GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - $479.99 (planning adding a second a few months down the line.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814143093

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148288

CD-DVD: LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe – (x2) $35 ea.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106073

OS: Vista Ultimate 32-bit -$169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116213

total: 1,814.93 - rebate/shipping

I'll probably switch to an EVGA video card to save a couple bucks.

hatake19

your 32 bit OS wouldnt recognize the whole 4 GB of ram.. try switching to a 64 bit version..

1 g0t 0wn3d

the will still get like 3.5 of it and a 32 bit program can use only 2gb in a 64 bit os anyway. (if your programs you use are compatable do change to the 64 bit)

Robosexual

Well, since I already own a copy of XP pro, I was toying with the possibility of dual booting XP and Vista-64, which I imagine would eliminate the problem of software compatibility and would allow me to utilize all of my ram - in vista at least. Of course, this is another thing I've never done and I have no idea how difficult it is or what kinds of complications can arise from it.

carn3rd

u can boost ram on vista via a usb thumbdrive, if that helps.

1 g0t 0wn3d

Thats always an option (very much so with larger harddrives.)