Getting a New Rig Soon

[philipV]

I will finally buy a computer after about 4 years of using a laptop which sucks horribly (was good for the first like year and a half after my video card burning out due to Oblivion.) The price limit for this rig is $850, you can go through newegg (newegg.com) or microcenter (www.microcenter.com). Price limit does not include: keyboard, mouse, operating system, monitor, etc. I mainly use design software such as Photoshop, AutoCAD and Flash. I also will be playing some high graphical games and MMORPGs. Here is my current system I plan on buying, improve where you see fit.


Build 1:
Trashed

Build 2:

Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042
$55

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017 (awesome benchmark results for what I want to do, easily overclockable to 3.0GHz+, great reviews, 5x winner of customer choice awards on newegg
$215

RAM & Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.180968
$155 ($15 Mail-In-Rebate) = $140

Graphics Card & PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.179670
$270 ($40 Mail-In-Rebate) = $230

Hard Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074 (I have a 750GB usb hard drive so I don't need a big hard drive unless of course there is a sale or a good combo deal.)
$55


Fans (red to replace the blue on the Antec):
3 x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998123
$7 x 2 = $15

Heatsink (will need because I will overclock):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029
$40

Paste:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020

Operating System:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488
$100


Looking for the following combo deals:
Hard Drive + Case
Hard Drive + CPU
CPU + Case

$905 ($55 Mail-In-Rebate) = $860

 

[philipV]

I dont know why but I can't edit the post.. well I forgot to include that the look is not important and I don't need a big hard disk (I have a 8GB flash drive and a 750GB usb hard drive).

 

[Outlander_04]

I thought the New Zealand dollar sucked because we need two of ours for 1 US dollar , but 50 MKD is huge.

Just to confirm it looks like an e7400 is 8032.30 MKD or about $161 US dollars?

 

[philipV]

Haha and add the fact that factory workers get paid about 8000 MKD which is only 160$, pretty much like China except its much cheaper to live in China. I can talk about currency all day - and yes 8000 Mkd is about 160 usd. Oh and I was doing some research, the lowest amount of currency is the Zimbabwe dollar. 1 US Dollar = 4,672,634,610 ZWD

 

[Proximon]

Sounds like fun!

Look ma, I'm shoppin' in Cyrillic! Weeeee

Too bad you don't have the new AMD 7750. That's a good value chip.

6211 CPU Intel 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo (E7300) 7,703.13
6443 MB BIOSTAR P43-A7 Intel P43 3,840.82
4443 Case CoolerMaster Centurion 534 Light 2,812.56
6378 RAM 2 GB DDRII 800 SuperTalent 1,469.19 Is this a single stick?


PSU:
Find an Antec Earthwatts, at least a 500W. Other options would be Corsair, Seasonic. See what you can find that is not Cooler Master, then ask us. Don't skimp here.

5732 VGA Evga GeForce 9600 GT 5,816.52
DVD-RW Sony DRU-860S x22 , NERO8, SATA, 1,252.69

I didn't see any hard drives. Any Western Digital Caviar will do.

Looks like it might be close to your limit with the PSU. You do not need a sound card, and you can wait on the cooler.

 

[philipV]

Haha that was weird I was reading your thread on choosing parts when I got the email of a new reply. Okay well the hard drives are on the right side of the parts list. And sorry but I can't find anymore websites with a good parts list. So if you want you can go newegg and get the parts, I'll find them somewhere =P. Thanks for the help btw! Oh and about the 2 GB ram - I'm pretty sure it's a single stick.

 

[Proximon]

PSUs are hard to find in some countries. Let me at least pick an EU site:
Corsair 450W
OCZ 500W SXS
Arctic Cooling Fusion 550W
Antec EA500 (euro edition)

 

[philipV]

Hey those are noted but is there anything wrong with CoolerMaster CPUs? I'm just curious.

 

[Proximon]

Yeah CM PSUs come in two flavors - overpriced and junk. A quality PSU is very important to your build. I might go for a CM PSU if you really had no other choices, but you can usually find some.

 

[philipV]

Hmm alright, hey I got a new build, I'm ignoring my price range and going up to 700-800$.


Current Build Plan:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3GHz
Biostart P43
2 x 2GB DDR2 800 Kingmax
Coolermaster Centurion 534 Light
Evga GeForce 9600GT (Is this a good graphics card? It's 100$ and I will pay more if it's not that good) [Anyone think I should pay more for a better graphics card?]
Wester Digital 320 GB Hard Drive
PSU - Looking into this.

 

[Proximon]

it's fine. I'm not familiar with Kingmax RAM, but if you are getting it from a local shop it's fine. You only need 1066 RAM if you plan to overclock beyond a 400MHz Front Side Bus (FSB). I have to say that the motherboard doesn't look like a good overclocker. Most P43/P45 boards have more serious heatsinks on them, but I figured for the price it was a good choice.

So, since there is no overclocking, less expensive 800Mhz RAM will work just as well. Intel C2D builds do not benefit from increased RAM frequencies like AMD builds do.

Currently here in the US, the ATI 4830 and 4850 are the better choices for video cards becuase of price/performance. The 4850 is tops in this regard. If you can find one of those you'll be a bit better off, but the 9600GT is worth what you are paying.

 

[philipV]

Ill look out for that ATI graphics card and will go with 800MHz. Also now you said that the evga is good for the price, lets forget about the price - would it be better to get a better graphics card (without spending more then another 100$)

 

[Proximon]

Sure. Depends on what resolution your monitor supports though.

For a smaller monitor, 4850 is about as much as you need.

For a 22" 1680x1050 monitor, a 4870 or GTX 260 is a good choice.

 

[philipV]

I plan on getting a 2-3 22 inch monitors (will start with one then eventually get 2 more), here is the one I plan on getting:
Monitor Samsung 22" 2243NW (1680x1050) Wide black,5ms,8000:1
The cheapest 260 GTX is about 350$. I can try getting that but if I can't is there a somewhat cheaper graphics card you can recommend? Also thanks again for all the help! (also I don't see a 4870 anything [or your talking about ati, okay, xD])

 

[Proximon]

That's pretty much your list, in order:
9600GT
4830
4850
9800GT/8800GT
GTS 250
4870
GTX 260

You can get a 4870 here for around US $160.

 

[philipV]

My stupid email is not telling me I'm getting a new reply (would of replied MUCH quicker). I can try and get a GTX 260 but if it's not possible which of these two would you pick:

VGA Evga GeForce 9800 GTX 1GB-DDR3* (256bit) PCI-E,DX10,HDTV-DVIx2
VGA Evga GeForce 9800 GTX 512MB-DDR3* (256bit) PCI-E,DX10,HDTV-DVIx2,HDMI+

Newer hardware is much more expensive here, but old hardware is a lot cheaper. I lived in the US my whole life - but I really like it here, may move back when I finish high school, 4 more years.

 

[Proximon]

I have heard it's a nice country.

If the 1GB is the same price it's probably the better choice, but otherwise just get the less expensive one. The extra memory probably won't be a big factor unless you have a 24" monitor or larger.

 

[philipV]

Yeah it's really nice here, especially in the summer. The 1GB one is only about $2 more so I'll go with that, no more questions, and thanks for helping me out!

 

[philipV]

I can't beleive I didn't mention this earlier - my dad is getting me this pc, and he is coming from the US for vacation when he is going to get it. This is perfect, he can buy US parts! So guys please find some parts in the US - it would be better if you could go through stores like Microcenter. (www.microcenter.com). Budget is 700-800 (not including monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc)

Current build:


Processor - AMD® Boxed Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 7750 Black Edition - $60
Motherboard - M4A78T-E 790GX AM3 ATX Motherboard - $170 [Good choice?]
RAM - IPSG 2GB DDR2-667/800 (PC-5300/6700) Memory Module - $20 x 2 = $40
Graphics Card - EVGA e-GeForce GTX 260 SSC 896MB GDDR3 PCIe 2.0 Graphics Card (Core 216) - $240 [Good choice?]
Antec EarthWatts 650 Watt ATX 12V Power Supply - $100
Case will be bought here.
Hard drive will be bought here.

 

[Proximon]

Ahh... soo much easier.

Will there be any problems with customs?


Case and PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.178072
Antec ninehundred and EA650

MB and CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.181191
UD3R and E7400

Asus 4850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121272

Corsair 800Mhz 4GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

That's a start. Do you need to include an OS in the price?

 

[philipV]

@customs
I hope not, when I came with my mom we brought a lot of new stuff, they did charge us a bit. When I went there and came back alone they didn't charge me anything and I again took new things, especially a lot of tech stuff, so I have no idea.

At the case & psu: How much does that case weigh and how large is it? If you have traveled before you know the stupid restrictions they love giving us. (got the info - 31lb, kind of a lot, I'll ask)


Also would you mind going through microcenter.com? It's just that it's a local store and it'll be much easier to get the parts. (asking because they don't seem to have that processor) OS not included. (Also would be cool if you can find a small form factor case, makes it easier to bring here unless of course they are bad for some reason, xD)

Edit2: He might not be coming, if not he will send us via boat or plane, so yeah, I might be able to take that case now.

Edit3: Here's a build I came up with..

Processor - Intel® Boxed Core 2 Duo Processor E7400 - $100
Motherboard - P5Q SE2 P45 775 ATX Motherboard - $95
PSU - EarthWatts 650 Watt ATX 12V Power Supply - $100
RAM - IPSG 2GB DDR2-667/800 (PC-5300/6700) Memory Module x 2 - $20 x 2 = $40
Hard drive - Western Digital Caviar SE 320GB 7,200RPM Serial ATA-300 Hard Drive OEM - $50
Graphics card - EVGA e-GeForce GTX 260 Superclocked Edition 896MB GDDR3 PCIe 2.0 Graphics Card - $200
Case - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $100

Would do you think of it? Still trying to figure out about the graphics card.

 

[Proximon]

I'm not familiar with the RAM. What are the timings and voltage?

If that's a single PCI-E board, you can get by with a bit less PSU, which in turn will be a bit lighter. It was only included in that combo because of price and quality.

 

[philipV]

Here are the links to all the stuff!

Processor: http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0301964
Motherboard: http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0301083
PSU: http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0281688
Ram: http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0289512
Hard Drive: http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0259041
Graphics card: http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0292272
Case: Is the 2nd version of 900 any better? It weighs 6 pounds less which is why I am asking.

Ram was the cheapest I could fine, xD, feel free to recommend any better. Really it's not the PSU weight, you can take up to 50LB in one bag it was just the case which weighs 31 pounds. Yeah I'm cool with newegg, but going to the store will just be easier.

 

[Proximon]

Yep the Antec 900 V2 is as good or better. I imagine the Antec 300 would weigh even less.

Are you sure you can't order through newegg? You would save around 100 dollars.

The graphics card you picked is the OLD GTX 260. It's a bit slow, and a 4870 512MB would be just as fast and cost less.

The memory needs to be changed:
http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0274412
The voltage and timings are at least listed with this RAM and are acceptable.

newegg would deliver in 3-5 days, and you would be way ahead. You could have a better motherboard as well as a better GPU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.178069
Antec 300 and EA 500 -125

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434
EVGA GTX 260 core 216 -200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.181191
MB &CPU -220

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074
WD 320GB - 55

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020
Cooler and paste - If you can afford it.

Extra case fans:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200049
Cheap, blue, there's others if these aren't right.

 

[philipV]

Yea I'll go with newegg, just a question about this combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.178072
Does the Antec 900 come with all the fans or do I need to get those separate? Also how does this work: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020
Do you put it on some part of your computer?

Oh and here is a build I mixed with your first and second, I though about the antec three hundred, but for an extra $25 I got a much cooler case, and i dont think weighing 6 pounds less is worththe extra $60 for the antec 900 2.

Read first post for build because I am updating it alot.

Oh and the REAL price LIMIT is $850, a little over is fine, improve where you see fit, I read reviews about that graphics card and the quad processor and they have gotten great rating, which is why I picked them.)

Also updated first post to make it easier, come on people Proximon is the only helping me, I actually am starting to feel bad because I keep asking questions and taking up his time.