First time build, ~$800

Ditch the cpu cooler if you don't overclock. Use the savings to upgrade to a good psu like Antec/Corsair 500W which is enough for even HD 4870, unless you're dead sure you won't upgrade the gpu.

no psu listed. i wouldn't use a case provided psu unless it was the antec that comes with the sonata that proximon recommended that is abou the only good psu that comes with a case. most are junk.

+1 to not getting sli board and ati card. but before recommendations need to know:

1. what are you using the computer for
2. if gaming what kind of games
3. what is the resolution of your monitor

First of all thank you very much for the responses.

Well I was thinking of making a setup for the upcoming game, 'Warhammer Online.' Obviously I'd like to extend the life of this computer as long as possible. My current computer is 10 years old with a 1.7 processor and a geforce 2 and it still played world of warcraft without any real hiccups (obviously on reduced settings).

My current monitor is running in 1280x1024(max). Though within the next year I'll probably try to upgrade to something a little nicer, but still reasonable for a dorm room.

I had a power source, I'm not sure why I omitted it. But I changed to the case/psu combo for the $99. I also eliminated the cpu cooler. I don't believe you need to overclock the setting I have.

I was looking at that 9800 gtx card. Would it really be better to switch to that, or would I be okay for now with the card I have chosen? After reading reviews, it seems that the HD 4850 is the best value.


My build

CASE+PSU - Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply $99

CPU - AMD Phenom 9850 BLACK EDITION 2.5GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor $273.99

BOARD - BIOSTAR TPower N750 AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard bundled with ^

GSU - ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 $182.99
HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

RAM - CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit $91.99
Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5

TOOLS - Rosewill RTK-015 15 Piece Standard Computer Tool Kit bundled with ^

HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $59.99

FAN - Thermaltake A1357 80mm Case Fan $8.49

KEY/MOUSE - Logitech Black Deluxe 250 Desktop $12.99

Total: $730.43 not including an extra $50 in mail in rebates which just about negates shipping

oh and probably best to get the 4850 which will kick rear on your current monitor and not worry about what you may upgrade to in monitor. if you were buying new monitor right away it would be different. but in a year or more who knows what monitor you will want, what other gpus will be out, what prices will be on stuff. so best to get a card perfect for your current set up and then worry about if you need to upgrade with the time comes to get that monitor. advice would be different if you were buying a new monitor soon, like month or two.

right now for strictly gaming most games don't utilize quads. most people think that will change but we don't know when. the q6600 is a great cpu and easy to overclock when you need more out of it. when you look at my thread a few above it came to $713. You could go from e8500 to q6600 for no price change or maybe even a drop of $10 or so. Really you are going to have to make the call. At the same price point you can get a higher clock rate on the dual core (3.16ghz vs 2.66ghz on quad). For single threaded apps which is a lot of games right now you are going to get more benefit from the higher clock rate where as multi-threaded apps will take advantage of the 4 cores and spread the wealth. HOWEVER, GPU drives performance much more in games then CPU and you have a great GPU for your resolution. So I personally don't think you will see a drop off having the lower clock on the quad and you will have the benefit of better multitasking and better prepared for any multithreaded apps and games that come out. But that is my personal opinion you may want to get some more scoop.

totally agree with 4850. once i saw your resolution that is plenty for sure. and by the time you upgrad there will probably be a better gpu anyhow.

okay basically this is what i did. first you must get some experience because it would suck to ruin or kill one of the parts. instead of killing 800 dollars save a little more up and by a better system. first salvage parts. get experience putting those together. once you know what you are doing and do a lot of reading on forums like these and books go get a 1.5k computer that will last you a lot longer and your upgrades most likely wont be anymore than memory and GPU and processor over 3 yrs. if however u are sticking to a 800 dollar build than go for a dual core maybe and wait for a cheaper quad core. also i dont like amd much they are much worse wen it comes to quality compared to intel. however ati is better than nvidia for now. also try getting a lanparty mobo cause they come with lots of goodies or an asus.