Hello, I am interested in building my first computer. I am considering upgrading from my computer from 2004 (P4 3Ghz) and want to build a powerful and quick computer in the $490-$600 range. Location is Midwest USA.
USE
90% of the time I will be using it for Internet and other light uses, so I want the computer to be nearly silent, web pages should scroll well, files should load quickly off the HD, and windows should load quickly and be very responsive.
10% of the time it will be used for 3D computer games. I want it to be powerful enough to play most modern 3D games quickly and fluidly on the higher settings (current screen 1280x1024). I want the parts to be powerful enough to be able to "run" most games that will come out in 2-3 years, if possible for the price range. Not for "intense" all-day gaming, but good performance for weekends.
Also, I tend to hold onto my stuff for a while, so I would like to use parts that tend to be reliable and powerful enough to not become obsolete quickly.
PROPOSED PARTS
I need help in picking out the parts, so that everything will be compatible, will fit in the case, will run quiet, to avoid wasting money on features I won't ever use, and that will fit the budget.
CPU
AMD FX-8350.........~$192 (I want to try to build around this CPU if possible)
CPU fan
I need a suggestion on this one. Should cool the computer well without having to rev up frequently (Coolermaster maybe??)
Motherboard
ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard....~$100 (Need a MB that works well/quickly with this CPU and other parts, Optical audio out, PCIe, good expansion/upgrade capability, shouldn't get obsolete too quickly)
Memory
Crucial 1GB (1 x 1GB) DDR3-1333 Memory....$9/ea (I don't know what to choose really, I want 3-4GB RAM total, should be cheap and work well)
Storage
Samsung 840 Series 120GB Solid State Disk....~$91 (I think I want to stay with a SSD since they are supposedly much faster)
GPU
Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB.....~$100 (I think this should play most 3D games at high settings, they appear to be good value, are the MSIs quiet?)
Case
I'm thinking of these 3:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GIGABYTE-GZ-ZA1-Black-ABS-0-6mm-SGCC-ATX-Mid-Tower-Computer-Case-/380658218822?pt=US_Computer_Cases&hash=item58a0ff7746
http://www.outletpc.com/iz3282-apex-sk-393-c-atx-mid-tower-computer-case-black.html?utm_source=iz3282-apex-sk-393-c-atx-mid-tower-computer-case-black&utm_medium=shopping%2Bengine&utm_campaign=pcpartpicker&utm_content=Apex%2B-%2BCases%20%3E%20Desktop%20Cases%20%3E%20ATX%20Cases
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MSI-S-8810-10-Bay-ATX-Mid-Tower-Computer-Case-No-PSU-Black-/151049607606?pt=US_Computer_Cases&hash=item232b4219b6
Power Supply
Need advice, should run quiet, be reliable, and not be too expensive. I may or may not want to use crossfire someday, it depends on future GPU prices.
Optical Drive
Just a standard cheap DVD writer like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Internal-SATA-24x-DVD-CD-RW-DL-Disc-Burner-Re-Writer-Drive-OEM-Bulk-/400328806924?pt=US_CD_DVD_Blu_Ray_Drives&hash=item5d3574d20c
I want the computer to be able to run Windows XP but also the newer versions of Windows if I ever need to.
Will be using existing monitor, keyboard, etc.
Hopefully this is enough info to get some help
Thanks
USE
90% of the time I will be using it for Internet and other light uses, so I want the computer to be nearly silent, web pages should scroll well, files should load quickly off the HD, and windows should load quickly and be very responsive.
10% of the time it will be used for 3D computer games. I want it to be powerful enough to play most modern 3D games quickly and fluidly on the higher settings (current screen 1280x1024). I want the parts to be powerful enough to be able to "run" most games that will come out in 2-3 years, if possible for the price range. Not for "intense" all-day gaming, but good performance for weekends.
Also, I tend to hold onto my stuff for a while, so I would like to use parts that tend to be reliable and powerful enough to not become obsolete quickly.
PROPOSED PARTS
I need help in picking out the parts, so that everything will be compatible, will fit in the case, will run quiet, to avoid wasting money on features I won't ever use, and that will fit the budget.
CPU
AMD FX-8350.........~$192 (I want to try to build around this CPU if possible)
CPU fan
I need a suggestion on this one. Should cool the computer well without having to rev up frequently (Coolermaster maybe??)
Motherboard
ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard....~$100 (Need a MB that works well/quickly with this CPU and other parts, Optical audio out, PCIe, good expansion/upgrade capability, shouldn't get obsolete too quickly)
Memory
Crucial 1GB (1 x 1GB) DDR3-1333 Memory....$9/ea (I don't know what to choose really, I want 3-4GB RAM total, should be cheap and work well)
Storage
Samsung 840 Series 120GB Solid State Disk....~$91 (I think I want to stay with a SSD since they are supposedly much faster)
GPU
Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB.....~$100 (I think this should play most 3D games at high settings, they appear to be good value, are the MSIs quiet?)
Case
I'm thinking of these 3:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GIGABYTE-GZ-ZA1-Black-ABS-0-6mm-SGCC-ATX-Mid-Tower-Computer-Case-/380658218822?pt=US_Computer_Cases&hash=item58a0ff7746
http://www.outletpc.com/iz3282-apex-sk-393-c-atx-mid-tower-computer-case-black.html?utm_source=iz3282-apex-sk-393-c-atx-mid-tower-computer-case-black&utm_medium=shopping%2Bengine&utm_campaign=pcpartpicker&utm_content=Apex%2B-%2BCases%20%3E%20Desktop%20Cases%20%3E%20ATX%20Cases
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MSI-S-8810-10-Bay-ATX-Mid-Tower-Computer-Case-No-PSU-Black-/151049607606?pt=US_Computer_Cases&hash=item232b4219b6
Power Supply
Need advice, should run quiet, be reliable, and not be too expensive. I may or may not want to use crossfire someday, it depends on future GPU prices.
Optical Drive
Just a standard cheap DVD writer like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Internal-SATA-24x-DVD-CD-RW-DL-Disc-Burner-Re-Writer-Drive-OEM-Bulk-/400328806924?pt=US_CD_DVD_Blu_Ray_Drives&hash=item5d3574d20c
I want the computer to be able to run Windows XP but also the newer versions of Windows if I ever need to.
Will be using existing monitor, keyboard, etc.
Hopefully this is enough info to get some help
Thanks
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