I'm planning to build a mid-range all-round/gaming system with a budget of about $700. I'm a casual gamer and a casual user. I don't do hardcore video editing or play Crysis at super high resolution, so I figure the budget should suit me just fine as long as it constitutes a major upgrade from my 4 year old system. In fact, I'm reusing my old 15in LCD monitor at 1024x768 resolution. I'll also be recycling speakers, keyboard, mouse and other basic peripherals.
I've been doing my research and came up with this system, prices are taken from newegg. I hope you guys can help me trim the budget as much as possible while maximizing performance. In other words, feel free to replace or remove whatever items you feel unnecessary. I'd also purchase the system around next month so prices should drop quite a bit. I also hope this build can last me at least 2-3 years. Thanks in advance.
Power Supply ~$40
500W ATX
I have no idea how much power I need, but if my old 400W works fine on this build, I can save around $40.
Motherboard ~$110
ASUS P5K PRO LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX
Had a bit of trouble deciding on one. It must be able to support the processor (LGA 775, 1333MHz) as well as memory (1066 DDR2). This looks like a good deal, given its price.
Processor ~$190
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz 65W
This should be a major upgrade from my P4, greatly boosting performance in all my computing experience.
RAM ~$50
2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1066 Dual Channel
I'll be running XP, so this should be sufficient for most tasks.
Hard Drive ~$50
160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
My current hard drive is also a 160GB but it's nearly full at the moment, though perhaps I can shave off a further 40GB or so, I think another hard drive is a good investment.
Optical Drive ~$30
LG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA
My current optical drive can only read DVDs, so this should be a good upgrade.
Video Card ~$120
GeForce 9600 GT 512MB
I used to use GeForce 8400GS as my video card. I'm not sure if I should upgrade to the more powerful 9600GT or maybe even a 9800GTX+. The games I play tend to be quite demanding (BioShock, Simcity 4, Oblivion and the likes) but since I play on a relatively low resolution, I'm not sure if I should keep the 8400GS. With this card, I tend to settle on the mid-quality with AA off to get playable fps. However, it may also be my old P4 that's being a bottleneck, hence the indecision.
Sound Card ~$30
Creative Sound Blaster, PCI
I heard they improve gaming performance and produce a much higher audio quality than onboard sound cards. At a reasonable price, it sounds like a good deal.
Fan ~$10
Scythe Case Fan 120mm 1900 RPM
I use the PC in the living room near an open window, and I live in a tropical country, so I think this is necessary, although my current build works fine without any additional fan.
Casing ~$40
Also, I won't be shopping online so it'll be difficult for me to purchase very specific models (I'm in SE Asia), except for popular parts like the processor, video cards, etc. All in all, they amount to around $700. For a comparison, this is my old system:
P4 3.0GHz
ASUS P5GZ-MX
GeForce 8400GS
1GB (2x 512MB) RAM
400W PSU
Here's the above system summarized:
Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz
ASUS P5K PRO Intel P35
GeForce 9600GT
2GB (2x 1GB) RAM
500W PSU
I've been doing my research and came up with this system, prices are taken from newegg. I hope you guys can help me trim the budget as much as possible while maximizing performance. In other words, feel free to replace or remove whatever items you feel unnecessary. I'd also purchase the system around next month so prices should drop quite a bit. I also hope this build can last me at least 2-3 years. Thanks in advance.
Power Supply ~$40
500W ATX
I have no idea how much power I need, but if my old 400W works fine on this build, I can save around $40.
Motherboard ~$110
ASUS P5K PRO LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX
Had a bit of trouble deciding on one. It must be able to support the processor (LGA 775, 1333MHz) as well as memory (1066 DDR2). This looks like a good deal, given its price.
Processor ~$190
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz 65W
This should be a major upgrade from my P4, greatly boosting performance in all my computing experience.
RAM ~$50
2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1066 Dual Channel
I'll be running XP, so this should be sufficient for most tasks.
Hard Drive ~$50
160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
My current hard drive is also a 160GB but it's nearly full at the moment, though perhaps I can shave off a further 40GB or so, I think another hard drive is a good investment.
Optical Drive ~$30
LG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA
My current optical drive can only read DVDs, so this should be a good upgrade.
Video Card ~$120
GeForce 9600 GT 512MB
I used to use GeForce 8400GS as my video card. I'm not sure if I should upgrade to the more powerful 9600GT or maybe even a 9800GTX+. The games I play tend to be quite demanding (BioShock, Simcity 4, Oblivion and the likes) but since I play on a relatively low resolution, I'm not sure if I should keep the 8400GS. With this card, I tend to settle on the mid-quality with AA off to get playable fps. However, it may also be my old P4 that's being a bottleneck, hence the indecision.
Sound Card ~$30
Creative Sound Blaster, PCI
I heard they improve gaming performance and produce a much higher audio quality than onboard sound cards. At a reasonable price, it sounds like a good deal.
Fan ~$10
Scythe Case Fan 120mm 1900 RPM
I use the PC in the living room near an open window, and I live in a tropical country, so I think this is necessary, although my current build works fine without any additional fan.
Casing ~$40
Also, I won't be shopping online so it'll be difficult for me to purchase very specific models (I'm in SE Asia), except for popular parts like the processor, video cards, etc. All in all, they amount to around $700. For a comparison, this is my old system:
P4 3.0GHz
ASUS P5GZ-MX
GeForce 8400GS
1GB (2x 512MB) RAM
400W PSU
Here's the above system summarized:
Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz
ASUS P5K PRO Intel P35
GeForce 9600GT
2GB (2x 1GB) RAM
500W PSU