Need help. First computer build! only 16

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Guest

Guest
Hello,

My name is Nathan. I am only 16, and wanna build my first (!) computer. My home computer recently crashed, and my moms laptop sucks. Right now i dont even have anything to hook up my zune to, or sync new music, or anything.

I DO however, have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and some crappy computer speakers from the old one. So those aren't included in my budget.

I'm trying to get a loan of like.... 600 from my grandma. I have a steady way to make at least 40 a month, plus christmas and my birthday around there, I should have it payed off by around new years. II hope she'll go for it.

My friend, whos a computer nerdish type of person, suggested i build a computer. He built his. He said he could help me put it together once i got the parts, but my job is to research all the parts.

I dont even know where to start. I'm not an IDIOT with computers, but i'm not smart. Ill read here various things, and not understand half of it.

So my budget is 600, and Ill need all the parts, and windows 7.

What I want from it: Just a solid computer. I do watch tv/movies on it, and listen to a ton of music. Ill probably need atleast a 320hdd or 500gb. I don't necassarily plan on playing games, but it would be cool to be able to run some. Not stuff like Crysis or COD, but maybe like halo 2 or 3 and what not. I would prefer 4gb of ram if I can. Thats all I know, i want 4gb ram, and at least 320gb hard drive. I know nothing else about parts.

Where I can buy: doesn't matter. newegg works, or whatever yall suggest.

Any ideas? Thanks.
 
G

Guest

Guest
The bargain ones (from mmy limited knowlegde) seem to suck. And the budge ones are just a wee bit high by like a hundred bucks. I do see threads for "gaming pc under 600" and people recommend some stuff. Are tehse actually any decent?

But to review my needs just again: Videos. Internet. Ill probably install microsoft word. Zune marketplace (downloading TONS of music since i got my zune pass. ) and occasional games (don't require the highest graphic needs). I just need a smooth runnin gsystem, for a non hardcore gaming 16 year old. My nerd friend built his gaming rig for 600 without OS, and plays stuff like assassin's creed, and orange box (this is one, I REALLY wanna play. half life).

Thanks
 
overclocking is hot-rodding your computer. Making it exceed factory clock speeds and voltages to perform faster., at a cost of reducing the maximum lifespan of your parts. (usually, the parts, if well maintained can last 5-10 years (warranty is usually 1-3), but are obsolete and discarded in 2-3 years, making this worth doing)

$600 can get you a decent build, including windows and a monitor.

Athlon II X3 445 ~$78
AS Rock AMD 770 motherboard $60 (you won't need USB 3 and SATA 3, so why pay for it? If you NEED it, $15 more gets you the same board with them)

4 GB of DDR3-1333 RAM, Mushkin: $75

320 GB Spinpoint F4: $43

Rosewill Challenger Case: $45

550W Power Supply: $59

Windows 7: $99

GTX 450: $130

1650x1080 Monitor: $160

DVD burner: $17

this is $767, but with combos from newegg, you can match your 600 budget
 
G

Guest

Guest
I don't need a monitor. Like i said, our last computer crashed, but the monitor works fine. Its a flat screen, maybe 19 inch. I know nothing on resolutions with it, but it works fine.

How do i overclock? Or i read something about "unlocking another core" in it. Any ideas what this means, and for a noobie like me, how its done?

But the rest of that looks good. I guess i just get all the pats, find some tutorials on putting it together, and then snap all the pieces in place. Is it that simple? or?
 

pivotax

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Sep 17, 2010
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I don't need a monitor. Like i said, our last computer crashed, but the monitor works fine. Its a flat screen, maybe 19 inch. I know nothing on resolutions with it, but it works fine.

How do i overclock? Or i read something about "unlocking another core" in it. Any ideas what this means, and for a noobie like me, how its done?

But the rest of that looks good. I guess i just get all the pats, find some tutorials on putting it together, and then snap all the pieces in place. Is it that simple? or?
1. Why do you need to overclock your pc? it will just make it last for less amount of time and make it a bit faster in the meanwhile, but you said your self, you dont need it.

2. Overclocking is kinda complicated if u simply start by not even knowing anything about it..


 
alright, without a monitor, we have this: $593 plus shipping:

Athlon II X3 Rana 445 and Gigabyte 785G Motherboard: $125.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.499639

Rosewill Challenger case and LiteOn DVD burner: $53.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492959

Samsung Spinpoint F3 320 GB Hard drive: $42.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152244

Palit GTX 460 1GB, lightly overclocked. $219.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.455037
Comes with 2 games.

Windows 7 OEM and OCZ 600W Power supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.507050

$592.92.

$17.85 shipping

$610.77 total.

you can drop to a 768MB version of the 460 if you need to drop the cost w/ shipping under $600 (It runs $189.99, so $20 less)
 
G

Guest

Guest
Can anyone else confirm if this looks good? And, are all parts "compatible"?

Lastly, does anyone know of a good guide on how to build it? And what about ram or anything? is this all I need?
 
ok, updated:

Gigabyte AMD 785 Motherboard, Rana 445 X3 processor: $125.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.499639

Western Digital Caviar Black 500 GB Hard drive and OCZ Fatal1ty 550W Modular power supply: $99.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492760


4GB Mushkin Enhanced Essentials RAM: $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146748

Rosewill Challenger Case and Lite-On 22x DVD burner: $53.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492959

Sapphire HD5770 and Windows 7: $224.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.493104
$579.91

$10.79 shipping

$590.90 total.
 
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Guest

Guest


That looks pretty good. Anybody else's thoughts on this? I know NOTHING. What about that one $550 build the other guy suggested? Whcih has better graphics card, or what not?
 

Riku64

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Like you I just completed my first custom PC build, I went overboard and out of your budget.
The build that ScrewySqrl has suggested is perfect for your budget and needs.
The Tri-Core AMD Processor will provide plenty of power for daily work, ATI Graphics are a nice bang for the buck, you will be able to play most of the new games coming out. That motherboard will be able to support AMD Phenom x6 Proccessors if you decide later you want it.

Have fun! :bounce:
 

Atotalnoob

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The two builds being almost the same other then the one from toms has 2 gigs less ram (it is also cheaper so buying more ram is no problem....).. His is slightly better CPU in that one... Shouldn't your "nerd friend" come and help you deicde between the two...?
Also you won't have to worry about putting things together if he helps you... If he doesn't, remember don't do anything if you don't know how to do it. Don't touch anything without being grounded.... Try this tutorial http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/building-pc,511.html

@Pizza.... lol duuuude! when was this? I think I saw you mention comodore 64? =o
 

Atotalnoob

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=o.... how many people brought the computer to your door?
I think high-size HDDs are like 4 TB..... My friend has 8 hard drives -.- I told him to stop at 4.... He has used like .000000000001 of th space
 

RailGun88

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Oct 26, 2009
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Can I suggest this, http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/how_build_awesome_pc_647?

I was looking at this a while ago, and it leaves room for future upgrades. As long as you don't mind the extra $47, it's a solid pc.