$500 Desktop?

tagerrung

tagerrung

New Member
hey guys, i have a friend who wants me to build a computer for him. He doesnt really know what he wants so he just told me he likes to use it to watch movies, listen to music, and to browsing and alot of multi-tasking.

I figured he would want a Pentium D since he multi-tasks, but if you could recommend me a good AMD processor im all ears (just explain me why :))

So the total price should be around $500 and he said he might want to get a monitor too (this will be excluded from the total price) so if you could, maybe recommend me the cheapest CRT and cheapest LCD?
 
diduknowthat said:
You should be able to fit in the C2D E6300, as his "watch movies, listen to music, and to browsing and alot of multi-tasking" doesn't require much of a graphics card. I dont have time to configure an entire rig right now. But that processor along with 1 gig of ram and a low/mid range graphics card should be achievable.

edit:



link doesn't go anywhere
Click to expand...

yup, thats what i was lookin at, he needs to be vista ready too, so im not exactly sure of what kind of Graphics card to get, i was thinking of the Radeon X-1600XT, but that might cost a lil' too much, so what other cheap graphics card would work fine?
 
If he just needs something that will work, but not play much games, a 7300LE would do. But, if he wants any gaming at all, a 7600GS would serve well for the budget, it's only about $90.
 
megalowmaniac said:
kk

Case:
Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply - Retail

mobo:
MSI K8N Neo4-F Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Processor:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103533

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820220030

HDD:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148149 160GB

video card:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814143068

I left the build at around $470 cause you might want to get him a nice sound card and speakers

Why would he need to be vista ready? My pc which i think is decent LAGS LIKE HELL in VISTA. You can always go CORE2DUO but a 64 3500 should be mroe than enough for what he does and he could use the extra money for a sound card and speakers what the point of having " new technology" when his music sounds like shit =/
Click to expand...

ummm because Vista is comnig out soon and he only gets a PC like once every 4-6 years
i just want onboard sound....and no it wont sound like shit with onboard sound because he doesnt have great speakers anyways
 
I am running VISTA right now, and its nothing special... It does more harm then good if anything as of now i went from 80FPS in Counter-Strik Source to 45 FPS =/. And if hes a fan of MUSIC and games why not get him nice speakers?
 
• Ampo 1GB DDR400 ram ($75)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820161679
• MSI 761GM2-V Socket 939 micro-ATX motherboard ($47)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130541
• AMD Athlon X2 3800+ 1.8Ghz Venice ($150)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103735
• RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($23)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811156053
• HITACHI 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive ($53)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822145088
• Rosewill 400W 27 amps on dual 12v+ rail Power Supply ($29)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817182021
• MadDog black DVD/CD Burner ($29)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152074
• 3D Fuzion Geforce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card ($89)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143054
Total: $495

The graphics card actually has a rebate that drops it to $68. The X2 3800+ should be able to handle the multasking. The 7600GS should play most games he wants. If he wants to go C2D, he'll have to downgrade the graphics card down a bit.


edit: woahh, my bad, i linked to the X2 3800+ AM2. I dont have time right now to change it, but the X2 3800+ for 939 is 25 bucks more. But you can probably grab an Am2 board and DDR2 ram for about the same price, maybe a tad bit more.
 
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diduknowthat said:
• Ampo 1GB DDR400 ram ($75)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820161679
• MSI 761GM2-V Socket 939 micro-ATX motherboard ($47)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130541
• AMD Athlon X2 3800+ 1.8Ghz Venice ($150)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103735
• RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($23)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811156053
• HITACHI 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive ($53)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822145088
• Rosewill 400W 27 amps on dual 12v+ rail Power Supply ($29)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817182021
• MadDog black DVD/CD Burner ($29)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152074
• 3D Fuzion Geforce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card ($89)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143054
Total: $495
Click to expand...

DAMN, you can get a PC like that for $500 now a days? Thats an awesome build!
 
megalowmaniac said:
I am running VISTA right now, and its nothing special... It does more harm then good if anything as of now i went from 80FPS in Counter-Strik Source to 45 FPS =/. And if hes a fan of MUSIC and games why not get him nice speakers?
Click to expand...

BECAUSE he doesnt want speakers, he already HAS some, im talking bout a PC and a Monitor, no offense, but i dont need you to tell me what he should buy outside of what i asked
 
i think im gonna go with the core 2 Duo
heres my list so far

Case: Mid-Towers might be a little too hard to work on so I'm just going to go with the Full Tower.....Here, look around and then we'll check back later or at stores cuz these are all way too shitty for way too much. $60 (guess)

Processor: Intel Pentium D 930 or Intel Core 2 Duo (people are sayin' they're better and it's 64-bit, so the extra 20 bucks should be worth it) $180

Graphics Card: GeForce 7600GS $89 or Radeon X-1300 PRO $80

Motherboard:

Hard Drive: Seagate 160 Gig $57

DVD Drive: NEC DVD Burner $30

Ram:

Total Price:

and ill give links when im done, too much work right now...and i would want DDR2 RAM wouldn't I?
 
tagerrung said:
Case: Mid-Towers might be a little too hard to work on so I'm just going to go with the Full Tower.....Here, look around and then we'll check back later or at stores cuz these are all way too shitty for way too much. $60 (guess)
Click to expand...
The cheapest full tower on newegg is $82. Going with a full tower for this build is a waste of money. This is a simple build with minimal parts, there is more than enough room in a mid tower case.

Processor: Intel Pentium D 930 or Intel Core 2 Duo (people are sayin' they're better and it's 64-bit, so the extra 20 bucks should be worth it) $180
Click to expand...
Definetly worth the extra $20.

Graphics Card: GeForce 7600GS $89 or Radeon X-1300 PRO $80
Click to expand...

7600GS is much better than the x1300pro

I believe this will exceed the $500 budget, especially if you want to go with a full tower case.
 
diduknowthat said:
The cheapest full tower on newegg is $82. Going with a full tower for this build is a waste of money. This is a simple build with minimal parts, there is more than enough room in a mid tower case.


Definetly worth the extra $20.



7600GS is much better than the x1300pro

I believe this will exceed the $500 budget, especially if you want to go with a full tower case.
Click to expand...

aight, ill get a mid tower, thanks for clearin that up...ill go with the GS....i dont mind exceeding the limit a little
now i need one of you guys to recommend me a mobo
 
Athlon X2 3800 (Socket AM2) - $150
1GB DDR2 Memory - $80
MSI K9VGM-V AM2 Motherboard - $55
250GB SATA Hard Drive - $70
XP Home - $88
Case with 450W PSU - $25

Oh bum. It all comes to $468 before a graphics card gets thrown into the mix. I've gotta go, so someone else can squeeze one in.

EDIT:

I'm assuming that he won't be gaming, so an nvidia GeForce 6200 will suffice. This is $33, bringing the total cost to $501

This thread shows ALL the cards that will be comptaible with Windows Vista, if you want to make sure.

If he does plan on gaming, then I would suggest a Radeon X1600 PRO for $85, bringing the total cost to $553.

For the monitor, a CRT will be cheaper, but TFT/LCD's are, well, flat, use less power, and are MUCH easier on the eyes. I have 2 19" LCD's, and can say that a 17" monitor (CRT OR TFT/LCD) is FINE.
 
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ok guys, here it is, my final setup, now please, tell me what you would like me to change and what you think i should change...and im sorry if i didnt choose AMD, but no one told me why its better and from what ive been told, Intel is good for budget systems.

Also, his price was actually around like $500-$600 so yea

Also, i went on here and they were saying that the X 800 GTO would be my best bet...but i cant find a 128 mb, only 256....do you think it would be better than the graphix card im lookin at right now?

Case: Mid-Tower, you can check some of them out here, This is a pretty Schweet one. Heres the one i got, its quiet cuz of the 120 mm fans

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo $180

Graphics Card: GeForce 7600GS $89

Motherboard: Biostar 945P $80

Hard Drive: SAMSUNG SpinPoint P Series $70

DVD Drive: NEC DVD Burner $30

Ram: SUPER TALENT 1GB $100

Total Price: $609

in order to lower the price (because he might have to) i was wondering (i kno im a noob) if you can use something like a DDR2 400 if i have to, also, i couldnt find it on the mobo, but does it matter if its PC2 5300 or 5400?
 
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