Cheap ,Clean,Not a Dream

[Tesaga]

I'm finally doing it!
I have long dreamt of this moment,and I have thought about it constantly. I'm finally going to build my own computer,none of that customize is online and have them build it for you stuff I was originally going with earlier. I'm building a super budget PC,with room for upgrade in the near future. I'm using my old desktop as a salvage for mostly RAM and it's 500 GB HD. These are the main questions I have.
1)Will I have to buy a new windows even though I'm using my old HD? If so, I heard there was a $50 version of windows for newly built computers,is this true?
2)Will my RAM be compatible? I cant find the specs to my old PC but it game with 4GBs of 1GB RAM,this is important because it lowers the cost quite a bit.
3)HD on my old HP's HD is surrounded by this metal BOX,i'm not sure what to unscrew for I fear that I might unscrew something off the actual HD.I will post pictures as soon as I can find my camera. For now,heres an old one.

Harf Frive TOP LEFT

PARTS I PLAN ON USING(Typing this Off hte top of my head,I have the real specs somewhere):
AMD x6000 3.0h\GHZ
nVidia GT220
450 watt PSU
Generic Case(Reccomendations?)
(cant remember MOBO,get back to you on that)
SALVAGING:
500 GB HD
4GBS DDR2 RAM SAMSUNG

 

[wiinippongamer]

How much are you willing to spend? with less than 500$ you could get a pretty good gaming PC, there's no point to upgrade to an already obsolete technology that you won't be able to upgrade later.

This is what I'd recommend:

BIOSTAR A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138283&cm_re=880g-_-13-138-283-_-Product

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808&cm_re=phenom_ii_955-_-19-103-808-_-Product

GIGABYTE GV-R567OC-1GI Rev2.0 Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125339&cm_re=5670_1gb-_-14-125-339-_-Product

Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035&cm_re=500w-_-17-371-035-_-Product

Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118039&cm_re=optiarc_24x-_-27-118-039-_-Product

Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996586
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146748&cm_re=4gb_1333-_-20-146-748-_-Product

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042&cm_re=antec_300-_-11-129-042-_-Product

TOTAL --- $460 after rebates, that'll gt you playing the latest games at highish settings and smooth framerates, and will be more than 50x better than you were planning.

About buying the OS, it's a personal decition wether to "Buy" it or not, if you know what I mean, but here you go:

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754&cm_re=win_7_oem-_-32-116-754-_-Product

And it'd be $550 total.


About the HDD screws, just unscrew them and take the drive out, have no fear.

 

[Mrsh4dy]

To add (with little knowledge I have)
Those cheap windows versions are all OEM's meaning for system builders (one time use) this is to cheapen the cost for those manufacturers like dell etc.
So when installing your cheap OS (read OEM) you'll link that windows product key with your motherboard meaning you switch your MB you have to buy a new Windows version.
Seeing as you have had a pre built machine my guess is that the windows version installed on that hdd is an oem version making it useless on a new system.

Other than that go with what wiinippongamer has advised you it will save you headaches and allot of incompatibility errors. I would also advise reading as much about the parts as possible before making your own system, it will avoid you the same troubles I had (regardless of how much I learned some things are too expensive to break).
Also try looking up some tutorials it might help if you run into anything.

greets

 

[Tesaga]

Will the motherboard fit into the Case? It's a micro, which worries me... also,the HD is compatible rite? Its been used on my old Desktop.

 

[wiinippongamer]

The mobo I listed is m-ATX, so it will fit your current case, but you should really at least buy a decent case for your new rig, I've skimped on the case several times before and it's one of the worst things I could have done, specially because of ventilation, the phenom ii 955 and 5670 will produce alot more heat than your current setup.

 

[stingstang]

It'll fit into the case. The HDD with windows installed SHOULD be useable in the new system. Also, the box the HDD is in should be able to be separated. It's hard to unscrew the actual HDD. The screws holding it in the box should all be on the sides.
One last thing. Get either a GTX 460, or HD 5770. Whichever you can find for cheaper.