Hi all,
This will be my first build. Nothing fancy at all. My current computer is a six-year old Dell laptop with 512mb of ram, so anything even remotely better will blow me out of the water with its newness. I want to run win 7 64-bit pro, which I get for free through my school, and Ubuntu.
Basically, I'm looking to maximize value. Cheap, but still with good name brands, good warranties, decent quality, etc.
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: hopefully by June 11, 2010.
BUDGET RANGE: $300-$400 for the system after MAD rebates.
don't really have a budget for keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, etc, although I'll need those as well.
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Internet, I take a lot of classes online, word processing and MS Visual Studio, maybe streaming movies (no blu-ray), light photo editing. The only gaming I might do is some old-school point-and-click adventure games.
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: discrete graphics card, OS (Win 7 Pro 64-bit and Ubuntu)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: whatever's cheap and not a complete scam. newegg.com, frys (b&m or .com) zipzoomfly although I know they suck)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US
PARTS PREFERENCES: quality brands, decent warranties, not COMPLETELY obsolete, small size case (I prefer desktop to tower)
OVERCLOCKING: Yes, for fun and education
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: LOL...No.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: eventually I'd like to get a 24" HD monitor, but I will probably go with a free craigslist CRT for now and wait till black friday to get a nice 24" LCD on the cheap.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I may want to use some of the parts from this build as an HTPC in the future, whenever my old TV dies and I break down and buy an HDTV. So I'd be willing to spend a bit more on parts that are good for an HTPC.
What I've purchased so far (but can still return if needed):
CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply ($29.09 A/R)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008&Tpk=corsair%20400w
LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS-324-98 ($19.99 A/R)
http://www.frys.com/product/6050558?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
WESTERN DIGITAL Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s 7200 RPM 32MB Buffer Hard Drive Bulk ($48.79 A/R)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10010083&prodlist=search
4GB DDR2 (2X2GB) PC6400 DUAL / CORSAIR TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX ($69.99 A/R)
http://www.frys.com/product/5269577?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
Total spent so far: $167.86
What I'm considering buying:
Bgears BG01176 b-Envi Aluminum/Plastic Mini Tower Case Black Retail ($38.99 A/R)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10012039&prodlist=search
Athlon II X3-440 and ???? motherboard
(fry's usually offers the Athlon X3 as one of their super-cheap cpu-mobo combos (the combo will probably be <$90), but I can't decide if I should go with that or if I should actually shell out cash for a better/more current/more feature-rich motherboard. The combo motherboards would probably have only 2 ram slots, an older chipset, and low-end onboard graphics.) This is the key decision that will make or break my ideal sub-$300 budget. If I have to actually pay for a motherboard, my budget will be in the $350 range. Also, I don't want a mobo that is too new, because the price of DDR3 will raise my costs way too high.
THANKS!!!
This will be my first build. Nothing fancy at all. My current computer is a six-year old Dell laptop with 512mb of ram, so anything even remotely better will blow me out of the water with its newness. I want to run win 7 64-bit pro, which I get for free through my school, and Ubuntu.
Basically, I'm looking to maximize value. Cheap, but still with good name brands, good warranties, decent quality, etc.
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: hopefully by June 11, 2010.
BUDGET RANGE: $300-$400 for the system after MAD rebates.
don't really have a budget for keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, etc, although I'll need those as well.
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Internet, I take a lot of classes online, word processing and MS Visual Studio, maybe streaming movies (no blu-ray), light photo editing. The only gaming I might do is some old-school point-and-click adventure games.
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: discrete graphics card, OS (Win 7 Pro 64-bit and Ubuntu)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: whatever's cheap and not a complete scam. newegg.com, frys (b&m or .com) zipzoomfly although I know they suck)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US
PARTS PREFERENCES: quality brands, decent warranties, not COMPLETELY obsolete, small size case (I prefer desktop to tower)
OVERCLOCKING: Yes, for fun and education
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: LOL...No.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: eventually I'd like to get a 24" HD monitor, but I will probably go with a free craigslist CRT for now and wait till black friday to get a nice 24" LCD on the cheap.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I may want to use some of the parts from this build as an HTPC in the future, whenever my old TV dies and I break down and buy an HDTV. So I'd be willing to spend a bit more on parts that are good for an HTPC.
What I've purchased so far (but can still return if needed):
CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply ($29.09 A/R)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008&Tpk=corsair%20400w
LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS-324-98 ($19.99 A/R)
http://www.frys.com/product/6050558?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
WESTERN DIGITAL Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s 7200 RPM 32MB Buffer Hard Drive Bulk ($48.79 A/R)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10010083&prodlist=search
4GB DDR2 (2X2GB) PC6400 DUAL / CORSAIR TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX ($69.99 A/R)
http://www.frys.com/product/5269577?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
Total spent so far: $167.86
What I'm considering buying:
Bgears BG01176 b-Envi Aluminum/Plastic Mini Tower Case Black Retail ($38.99 A/R)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10012039&prodlist=search
Athlon II X3-440 and ???? motherboard
(fry's usually offers the Athlon X3 as one of their super-cheap cpu-mobo combos (the combo will probably be <$90), but I can't decide if I should go with that or if I should actually shell out cash for a better/more current/more feature-rich motherboard. The combo motherboards would probably have only 2 ram slots, an older chipset, and low-end onboard graphics.) This is the key decision that will make or break my ideal sub-$300 budget. If I have to actually pay for a motherboard, my budget will be in the $350 range. Also, I don't want a mobo that is too new, because the price of DDR3 will raise my costs way too high.
THANKS!!!