First Build, ALL advice is welcome!

[JazzmanSA80]

I've been intending for sometime to build my own PC, and when my fossil of a Gateway toasted a couple weeks ago, I could finally justify it. Here is the hardware I picked out:

CASE: COOLER MASTER Ammo 533 RC-533-SWN1 Black/Silver Aluminum ($64.99)
CPU: Intel Pentium D 945 Presler 3.4GHz 2 x 2MB L2 Cache ($168.00)
MB: Intel BOXDG965WHMKR Socket T (LGA 775) ($129.99)
MEM: Kingston ValueRAM 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) ($114.49)
HD: Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s ($69.99) X2 = ($139.98)

I'm really in the dark about picking out a PSU and I'd like to get a better graphics card soon, but again, I'm not sure what would fit this system.

Also, as far as CD/DVD/Floppy drives, I'm installing some I already have so I don't need to buy any. Graphics and audio are integrated into the board, and to save money for now, I'm going to use that but I am looking to upgrade the video. As you can see, I'm trying to build a budget system, so please keep that in mind on your PSU and Graphics suggestions. All help is appreciated!

 

[purdueguy]

Can you give your estimated budget? This would help out a lot.

As far as CPU/Mobo is concerned. I'd go with the Core 2 Duo E6300 with the Gigabyte GA-965P-S3. You'll spend a little more on the CPU but a little less on the mobo.

I'd personally get a 1GB stick of memory and then get another 1GB later one when 2GB will be necessary whenever you plan on upgrading to Vista.

For the HDD, I'd just go with one for the time being. Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB perpendicular drive. Has 16MB of cache and is SATA 3.0GB/s.

For the graphics card, get the BFG 7600GT for $114 at Newegg.

For the PSU, the FSP Group 450W, here for only $62 will even power the new 8800GTX's.

Hope this helps.

 

[sprite]

Can you give your estimated budget? This would help out a lot.

As far as CPU/Mobo is concerned. I'd go with the Core 2 Duo E6300 with the Gigabyte GA-965P-S3. You'll spend a little more on the CPU but a little less on the mobo.

I'd personally get a 1GB stick of memory and then get another 1GB later one when 2GB will be necessary whenever you plan on upgrading to Vista.

For the HDD, I'd just go with one for the time being. Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB perpendicular drive. Has 16MB of cache and is SATA 3.0GB/s.

For the graphics card, get the BFG 7600GT for $114 at Newegg.

For the PSU, the FSP Group 450W, here for only $62 will even power the new 8800GTX's.

Hope this helps.

Agreed, definitely try and cut that Pentium D out.

 

[JazzmanSA80]

well i was trying to keep it at or under $700. Between the Core 2 Duo, a gig stick of ram, and a larger HD, the cost jumps closer to a thousand, which is why I cut the core 2 duo out and went to the pentium D. I know the D doesnt stack up to the duo, but from what I've read, its still a good chip at 3.4 ghz.

Will the core 2 duo 1.86 ghz stack up to the pentium D I chose without overclocking? I don't know how it compares.

 

[purdueguy]

Do you need everything? Operating System, mouse, monitor, keyboard, etc.

If you only need the core system, you can get the C2D system and keep it under $700.

The stuff I listed earlier is below $700. If you include XP Home it'll just go over $700.

 

[JazzmanSA80]

Can you give your estimated budget? This would help out a lot.

As far as CPU/Mobo is concerned. I'd go with the Core 2 Duo E6300 with the Gigabyte GA-965P-S3. You'll spend a little more on the CPU but a little less on the mobo.

I'd personally get a 1GB stick of memory and then get another 1GB later one when 2GB will be necessary whenever you plan on upgrading to Vista.

For the HDD, I'd just go with one for the time being. Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB perpendicular drive. Has 16MB of cache and is SATA 3.0GB/s.

For the graphics card, get the BFG 7600GT for $114 at Newegg.

For the PSU, the FSP Group 450W, here for only $62 will even power the new 8800GTX's.

Hope this helps.

I built that system on newegg, and it came out $4 cheaper, but I went with a Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive instead of the Seagate to save a few bucks. I have some external storage so for now, 250 gig is plenty for me, and I can always toss in another drive if I need it.

Also, I have all the stuff I need as far as OS, keyboard, monitor, etc. I'm just building the core system. I just want to be sure about that Mobo and processor.

The only thing is that I can't add in the graphics card and keep to my budget, and the board doesn't have graphics built in.

 

[purdueguy]

I can say the E6300 is better than that P4 945 you picked earlier. I went over to Tom's CPU charts. Unfortunately they did not have the e6300 or 945, so I compared the E6400 and 950, here.

The E6300 will naturally run slower than the E6400 but I can safely say that it's performance won't fall below that of the 950 which in turn would mean it would be better than the 945.

The Gigabyte board is the economic version of these mobo's, there's the DS3 & DQ6. It's a good board. You won't go wrong.

 

[JazzmanSA80]

Awesome, everything looks great! I can't fit the GFX card into my budget unfortunately, so I'll toss in an old card until I have a few bucks to upgrade. It will hurt me inside, I know, but I can deal with it for a couple weeks.

Thanks for the help!

 

[billdcat4]

I just built a DIY machine for my buddy a week ago. He was on a very strict budget but wanted to be able to play games. I had never built a pc before either. We used the Pentium D 805 CPU which is only 95 dollars and dual core. Another good choice is the Pentium D 820 which has dropped in price since then to $101. The Pentium D is easily overclocked to 3.6ghz on air and 4ghz on water. We used the Anandtech recommended Biostar T-force 4 U mobo for LGA775 socket. We also picked the Antec Sonata 2 case with an included 450watt PSU for 60 (after MIR, but now its 100.) One good thing about the mobo is that its got 4 PCI slots so its got a lot of room for expansion. The Newest Nvidia boards only have 2.

If you arent going to game you dont need a GPU, however if you do you should get the EVGA 7600gt for $110 on newegg. A cheaper choice would be to find a cheap 6600gt.

If you want to get quality sound get a sound card. My friend opted out for this but its a good idea. Creative has a regular card priced at $27 a good choice would be the cheapest Xfi for $65.

Got the Adata Vitesta 1gb 667mhz ddr2 for 114 but now its 107.

We got the hard drive that you originally suggested.
A good screen is the Rosewill 19 inch 4ms LCD that we got for 180 but i see an Viewsonic 17 inch 8ms for 130 on the egg now.

Heck you can get a great pc with the Pentium D 805 95
biostar mobo 90
1gb ram adata 107
hd 250gb westerndigital SE 70
integrated sound and video
no dvd drives (u got)
nice rosewill 400watt midtower case for 45
if u want to OC you can get a arctic freezer 7 for 30

no screen total- $407
with gpu and audio and cooler- 612

you dont have to get a core 2 duo to get a good pc, it does have an very low power consuption adn the Pentium D has a high one. I dont think that its worth 85 dollars for that though.

Enjoy your new budget system.