New build newbiee

I want to build a new system. I currently just use a laptop. No games, just office and internet. I use work computers but now I want to have a desktop at home. I am starting from scratch.

I want to spend no more than $1200. Including operating system and monitor. I dont care for Intel i7 or AMD phenom. The usage would be editing basic home videos. No High definition. Ocassional gaming. If i get 40 - 80 FPS on a game I am satisfied. Ive read that in general an intel setup cost about 200 dlls more than its equivalent in AMD.

I also read that intels memory is more pricey. I do would like to have dual boot windows 7 64 bit and windows vista 32 bit. I do have the license of the vista, and probably do need to buy the license for the win 7.

What do you guys suggest? I want about 2 gigs of ram. I dont think I need more. I do would like to overclock the CPU (I dont know how to do so, but i can learn). So if you could please even suggest a cooler and a good case that has good ventilation.

Since I probably am not so of a hard core user, could i probably save some money and just go AMD? or since I am starting from scratch, should i just spend more money on intel and just add more ram or update hardware as it gets old? what makes more sense.

Thank you for your suggestions.

Going Intel doesn't mean it really cost more. The issue is simply that Intel has higher end CPU's that do cost more. So going for a budget build won't change the cost much between AMD or Intel.

Here is a quick build that will give you good performance and overclocking flexibility.


CPU:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Yorkfield 2.66GHz - $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115057

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-EP45T-UD3LR - $99.99 ($84.19 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128371

RAM:
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 - $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145251

PSU:
Corsair CMPSU-550VX 550W - $89.99 ($79.99 after rebae)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139004

GPU:
Sapphire HD 5770 - $144.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102859

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar Black SATA 640GB - $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136319

Case:
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower - $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129066

Monitor:
LG W2242T-BF Black 22" 5ms 1680 x 1050 - $159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824005132

Speakers:
Logitech X-540 70 watts 5.1 Speakers - $83.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6836121006
OR
Logitech X-240 25 Watts 2.1 Speakers - $48.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6836121010

Windows 7:
Windows 7 Pro 64 bit - $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116758


Total:
5.1 speakers - $1,143.90
2.1 speakers - $1,108.90

Just buy AMD and for a lot less than what you are looking to spend.

Go with an X4 620 cpu and an HD 5770 graphics card, with a 785G mobo and 4gb of cheap RAM.

If you want to spend a bit more, get an SSD and a larger LCD - both of which you will notice a lot more than a faster cpu and probably the same goes for graphics if you are just an ocassional gamer.

The i5 would also easily cope with your needs but I don't see any good reason to pay more (a lot more too) for a machine you don't really need when something a little less powerful and a lot less expensive will do nearly as good a job.

Thank you guys very much