Building a new computer from scratch...

FingaLickinBlog · 02-03-2009, 10:29 PM

Hi all, I have already done some looking around and chosen a few things, but I figured it would be best if I got out what I was looking for first.

1. Budget: ~$750

2. Brands: Not specifically, but I don't have that much knowledge

3. Multitasking: A fair amount, but nothing excessive.

4. Gaming: I don't usually go for graphic heavy games, but I do want to be able to play recent games released without the intention of breaking computers (I don't care about it being able to run Crisis...)

5. Calculations: Nope

6. Overclocking: None.

7. Storage: Probably around 100-150GB

8. Legacy Support: No

9. Operating System: Just XP

10. Case: Appearance is semi-important, but I'd prefer usability over aesthetics.

11. Accessories: None.

12. Recycled Components: No.

13. Monitor: Anything bigger then 18"

14. Stores: I would prefer Newegg - their prices are almost $50 under everything else I have seen.

15. Location: Canada.

With that in mind, here is what I have so far.

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813131330

Video Card
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814102814

Case
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16811146025

Processor
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819103253

DVD - ROM drive
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16827106276

Memory
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820231144

Monitor
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16824254005

Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16822136075

Any tips on compatibility or any recommendations of better/cheaper products would be much appreciated. Thanks very much!

**wrench97** · 02-04-2009, 08:52 AM

I would either pick a Quad core Phenom or a Intel dual core over the tricore CPU

What are you looking at for a power supply and operating system?

FingaLickinBlog · 02-04-2009, 09:54 AM

I haven't looked at a power supply yet as I wasn't exactly sure what I'd need..
Is it worth going quad core over dual core for the increase in price?
And I much prefer XP because I've had so many issues with Vista in the past, but never anything with XP. Given, I've only used XP on my desktop and Vsita on my laptop (the thing here is my Laptop has much better specs then my desktop but usually runs at 1/3rd the speed...)

**wrench97** · 02-04-2009, 01:08 PM

I have both and on the 1 desktop which is older spec Pentium D 820 2Gig Vista runs fine, the 1 laptop T7200 2.0 c2d 4Gig is slow when compared to the Laptop I use all the time with a T1300 1.5Gig and XP When comparing Desktop to desktop the second desktop my son games on is a E8400 3.0 with XP it's fast I've built the same setup for clients with both XP and Vista they seem to be about equal other then UAC and the wireless network connection scheme.

There are only a few programs that use all 4 cores mostly high end video and photo editing along with Cad and 3d creation/rendering software, The Intel cpu's though more expensive are considerably faster then the AMD offerings at the moment, While the PhenomII has brought AMD back up to being close it is more expensive then the E8400/E8500, That said for a nongaming reasonably fast PC the X2 6000 or X2 7750 for less then $80 can't be overlooked in a good budget PC when using a decent Quality AMD chipset motherboard like you have.
Another thing to note is that when using DDR2 1066 the AMD AM2+ socket CPU's only support it at 1066 when using 1 dimm per channel otherwise it slows down to DDR2 800, So my theory is just to buy the cheaper DDR2 800 and ship the 1066 Ram.

For a Power Supply One of these two will both be Quiet and power your pc without problems for a long time> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703015
Or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004

FingaLickinBlog · 02-04-2009, 04:40 PM

Thanks so much, I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out :)
I was also wondering, since I'm going to be using this computer mostly for gaming, do I need to get an expensive Intel processor?

**wrench97** · 02-04-2009, 04:43 PM

Let us know how it goes.

FingaLickinBlog · 02-04-2009, 05:07 PM

Also, on the same topic, I am going to be building a computer for my brother as well, this is what I have in mind

CPU: Intel E8400 S775
Motherboard: Gigabyte P35-DS3L
RAM: 2GB Apacer DDR2-800
HDD: Western Digital 320GB 16MB SATAII
GPU: 512MB Gigabyte HD4850
Case: NZXT Apollo Black SECC Steel Chassis ATX
Optical Drive: ASUS 20x BLT-2014 Lightscribe SATA

Am I missing anything here, or would this also be good to go?

mrquick42 · 02-04-2009, 05:18 PM

Your brother's PC would need a power supply. I would reccomend either of the PSU's that Wrech suggested earlier in the thread. Both are made by top notch PSU manufacturers and both would give you guys some room to upgrade components or do some overclocking.

Other than that, I personally would go for 4 gig of memory since it is so cheap right now. Everything else looks very good.

**wrench97** · 02-04-2009, 05:29 PM

For a HD4850 I would want the 650TX.

FingaLickinBlog · 02-04-2009, 06:08 PM

Hmm, thanks. The second one is actually costing a bit more then I thought, is there anything I could get a bit cheaper to bring the cost down without sacrificing too much in the way of gaming?

**wrench97** · 02-05-2009, 01:31 AM

Drop the CPU down to a E7300 or the Video card to a HD4830 or HD4670.

02-03-2009, 10:29 PM	#1 (permalink)
FingaLickinBlog Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Windows Vista	Building a new computer from scratch... Hi all, I have already done some looking around and chosen a few things, but I figured it would be best if I got out what I was looking for first. 1. Budget: ~$750 2. Brands: Not specifically, but I don't have that much knowledge 3. Multitasking: A fair amount, but nothing excessive. 4. Gaming: I don't usually go for graphic heavy games, but I do want to be able to play recent games released without the intention of breaking computers (I don't care about it being able to run Crisis...) 5. Calculations: Nope 6. Overclocking: None. 7. Storage: Probably around 100-150GB 8. Legacy Support: No 9. Operating System: Just XP 10. Case: Appearance is semi-important, but I'd prefer usability over aesthetics. 11. Accessories: None. 12. Recycled Components: No. 13. Monitor: Anything bigger then 18" 14. Stores: I would prefer Newegg - their prices are almost $50 under everything else I have seen. 15. Location: Canada. With that in mind, here is what I have so far. Motherboard http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813131330 Video Card http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814102814 Case http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16811146025 Processor http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819103253 DVD - ROM drive http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16827106276 Memory http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820231144 Monitor http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16824254005 Hard Drive http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16822136075 Any tips on compatibility or any recommendations of better/cheaper products would be much appreciated. Thanks very much!

02-04-2009, 08:52 AM	#2 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,607 OS: Win7	Re: Building a new computer from scratch... I would either pick a Quad core Phenom or a Intel dual core over the tricore CPU What are you looking at for a power supply and operating system? __________________ Power Supply and Selection

02-04-2009, 09:54 AM	#3 (permalink)
FingaLickinBlog Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Windows Vista	Re: Building a new computer from scratch... I haven't looked at a power supply yet as I wasn't exactly sure what I'd need.. Is it worth going quad core over dual core for the increase in price? And I much prefer XP because I've had so many issues with Vista in the past, but never anything with XP. Given, I've only used XP on my desktop and Vsita on my laptop (the thing here is my Laptop has much better specs then my desktop but usually runs at 1/3rd the speed...)

02-04-2009, 01:08 PM	#4 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,607 OS: Win7	Re: Building a new computer from scratch... I have both and on the 1 desktop which is older spec Pentium D 820 2Gig Vista runs fine, the 1 laptop T7200 2.0 c2d 4Gig is slow when compared to the Laptop I use all the time with a T1300 1.5Gig and XP When comparing Desktop to desktop the second desktop my son games on is a E8400 3.0 with XP it's fast I've built the same setup for clients with both XP and Vista they seem to be about equal other then UAC and the wireless network connection scheme. There are only a few programs that use all 4 cores mostly high end video and photo editing along with Cad and 3d creation/rendering software, The Intel cpu's though more expensive are considerably faster then the AMD offerings at the moment, While the PhenomII has brought AMD back up to being close it is more expensive then the E8400/E8500, That said for a nongaming reasonably fast PC the X2 6000 or X2 7750 for less then $80 can't be overlooked in a good budget PC when using a decent Quality AMD chipset motherboard like you have. Another thing to note is that when using DDR2 1066 the AMD AM2+ socket CPU's only support it at 1066 when using 1 dimm per channel otherwise it slows down to DDR2 800, So my theory is just to buy the cheaper DDR2 800 and ship the 1066 Ram. For a Power Supply One of these two will both be Quiet and power your pc without problems for a long time> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703015 Or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004 __________________ Power Supply and Selection

02-04-2009, 04:40 PM	#5 (permalink)
FingaLickinBlog Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Windows Vista	Re: Building a new computer from scratch... Thanks so much, I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out :) I was also wondering, since I'm going to be using this computer mostly for gaming, do I need to get an expensive Intel processor? Last edited by FingaLickinBlog; 02-04-2009 at 04:50 PM.

02-04-2009, 04:43 PM	#6 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,607 OS: Win7	Re: Building a new computer from scratch... Let us know how it goes. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

02-04-2009, 05:07 PM	#7 (permalink)
FingaLickinBlog Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Windows Vista	Re: Building a new computer from scratch... Also, on the same topic, I am going to be building a computer for my brother as well, this is what I have in mind CPU: Intel E8400 S775 Motherboard: Gigabyte P35-DS3L RAM: 2GB Apacer DDR2-800 HDD: Western Digital 320GB 16MB SATAII GPU: 512MB Gigabyte HD4850 Case: NZXT Apollo Black SECC Steel Chassis ATX Optical Drive: ASUS 20x BLT-2014 Lightscribe SATA Am I missing anything here, or would this also be good to go?

02-04-2009, 05:18 PM	#8 (permalink)
mrquick42 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 27 OS: Vista Home Premium SP 1	Re: Building a new computer from scratch... Your brother's PC would need a power supply. I would reccomend either of the PSU's that Wrech suggested earlier in the thread. Both are made by top notch PSU manufacturers and both would give you guys some room to upgrade components or do some overclocking. Other than that, I personally would go for 4 gig of memory since it is so cheap right now. Everything else looks very good. Last edited by mrquick42; 02-04-2009 at 05:19 PM.

02-04-2009, 05:29 PM	#9 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,607 OS: Win7	Re: Building a new computer from scratch... For a HD4850 I would want the 650TX. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

02-04-2009, 06:08 PM	#10 (permalink)
FingaLickinBlog Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Windows Vista	Re: Building a new computer from scratch... Hmm, thanks. The second one is actually costing a bit more then I thought, is there anything I could get a bit cheaper to bring the cost down without sacrificing too much in the way of gaming?

02-05-2009, 01:31 AM	#11 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,607 OS: Win7	Re: Building a new computer from scratch... Drop the CPU down to a E7300 or the Video card to a HD4830 or HD4670. __________________ Power Supply and Selection