N00B PC - Flex your mind muscle!

[asphyxiation]

Hey, guys:

I've read through these posts for awhile now and feel this shouldn't be taboo or off-limits. I'm a definite n00b at building a PC. I've had my current PC for approximately 5 years until the power supply decided to dump, and I figured I would go with something new.

I was hoping you guys would give me your idea of the best computer hardware I could piece together that fits with my parameters. My budget: $600 or so without monitor. I don't really game much, but I was sort of looking at WoW. It won't be a priority, though, and I can do without.

I mainly surf the internet (email, videos, forum posting, eBay, etc...). I download music and videos, so a large Hard Drive (320GB? 500GB if it's within budget) would be helpful. From what I've heard, I'd be better off going with Intel, as the only games I would play would be simple Flash games or WoW.

Let me know if there's anything else I need to clarify!

 

[porterjw]

Welcome to CF

It all depends on what you A) want to use the system for; and, B) what kind of system you prefer: AMD or Intel. For what you described, personally, I'd go with Intel.

You can build a great system for sub-$600. Are you looking for actual component suggestions from us or just a general 'what to look for'?

 

[lovely?]

well taking into consideration that 600 dollars is actually only likee 470$ after the operating system, i'd have to disagree with you imsati and suggest an amd x2...

 

[daisymtc]

Intel Core 2 Duo E4500
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115031

MSI P31 Neo-F
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130129

Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 PDC22G6400LLK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820220144

HIS Hightech H260XTFZ256DDN-R Radeon HD 2600XT 256MB
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814161176

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822136074

Sony NEC Optiarc 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7190S
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827118002

Rosewill RP500-2
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817182016

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119106

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16832116204

 

[asphyxiation]

Welcome to CF

It all depends on what you A) want to use the system for; and, B) what kind of system you prefer: AMD or Intel. For what you described, personally, I'd go with Intel.

You can build a great system for sub-$600. Are you looking for actual component suggestions from us or just a general 'what to look for'?

I was hoping for specific hardware suggestions. I've been reading around and can see what's suggested a lot, but I don't know if those suggestions really fit my needs. For example, I hear a lot of about the Antec Sonata III case, but I don't know if this is inadequate or overkill.

 

[asphyxiation]

Intel Core 2 Duo E4500
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115031

MSI P31 Neo-F
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130129

Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 PDC22G6400LLK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820220144

HIS Hightech H260XTFZ256DDN-R Radeon HD 2600XT 256MB
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814161176

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822136074

Sony NEC Optiarc 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7190S
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827118002

Rosewill RP500-2
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817182016

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119106

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16832116204

This is great. I was looking at some of these specific items before. A questions I have: the 64-bit version can recognize a much larger amount of RAM, so it's more upgradeable. Although I'd only be putting 2GB right away, I may want to upgrade in the future. The motherboard listed only supports up to 4GB. Is it the general consensus that this would be well enough for a few years without upgrading, or would I be better off paying a bit more for a motherboard that can support more memory?

 

[porterjw]

well taking into consideration that 600 dollars is actually only likee 470$ after the operating system, i'd have to disagree with you imsati and suggest an amd x2...

Disagree all you want No hard feelings!

Nothing the OP mentioned requires a quad-core or crazy-accessorized MoBo, so they will be fine with a C2D circa $180 and a Board circa $80. That's $260 right there, provided they are purchased separately; a combo deal would be slightly lower depending on the package. For argument sake, let's up it by $20 to cover a slight upgrade if desired, so $280. DDR2 is dropping in price almost daily it seems (ok, maybe weekly) so figure $40 for 2 Gigs (up to $320). A 250 GB HDD is +/-$70 (up to $390). Setting aside a modest $120 for an OS brings the current total to $510, and leaves +/-$90 for a case and PSU. Very doable as-is. Edit: Forgot to add an optical drive, but that's only another $20, so no biggie.

However, consider Newegg's Free Shipping on random components for the time-being, combo deals, and rebates, and all of a sudden, you're considerably less than the $600 price limit. Hell, my MoBo is only $60 at TD now - not the newest but still great nonetheless. Drop in an E4500 and you don't even break $200 for the set.

 

[porterjw]

I was hoping for specific hardware suggestions. I've been reading around and can see what's suggested a lot, but I don't know if those suggestions really fit my needs. For example, I hear a lot of about the Antec Sonata III case, but I don't know if this is inadequate or overkill.

Gotcha. As far as fitting your needs, you do not need the newest, baddest-ass, and/or best components. Now, don't take that to mean that your system will run like crap - stuff from 8-12 months ago will still perform excellent for you based on your mentioned-usage.

Personally, for the system/jobs you're looking to do, I'd stick with a lower-end C2D and a MoBo around $70-ish. You could do with 1 Gig of RAM, but if you do a bit of comparing between TD and Newegg, you can almost always find a combo deal (2 x 1 Gig sticks) for either the same price or lower after Rebates. If you find such a deal, grab it, if not, don't worry about only 1 Gig. You don't need a monster PSU - 380-400 watts should be fine. Not at all familiar with that case, but if it appeals to you, go for it - that'll be what everyone sees You mentioned being mildly interested in WoW; I'm assuming you have zero desire to game-otherwise? If that's true, then a low-end video card will be fine, however if you plan to do WoW sporaticaly at best, you may consider starting off without one and seeing how it runs using on-board graphics; you can always add one later if it lags a bit.

Will you be keeping your old monitor? If it's still in good condition, I'd stick with it. Newer LCD's will suck up a large part of that budget.

 

[asphyxiation]

Gotcha. As far as fitting your needs, you do not need the newest, baddest-ass, and/or best components. Now, don't take that to mean that your system will run like crap - stuff from 8-12 months ago will still perform excellent for you based on your mentioned-usage.

Personally, for the system/jobs you're looking to do, I'd stick with a lower-end C2D and a MoBo around $70-ish. You could do with 1 Gig of RAM, but if you do a bit of comparing between TD and Newegg, you can almost always find a combo deal (2 x 1 Gig sticks) for either the same price or lower after Rebates. If you find such a deal, grab it, if not, don't worry about only 1 Gig. You don't need a monster PSU - 380-400 watts should be fine. Not at all familiar with that case, but if it appeals to you, go for it - that'll be what everyone sees You mentioned being mildly interested in WoW; I'm assuming you have zero desire to game-otherwise? If that's true, then a low-end video card will be fine, however if you plan to do WoW sporaticaly at best, you may consider starting off without one and seeing how it runs using on-board graphics; you can always add one later if it lags a bit.

Will you be keeping your old monitor? If it's still in good condition, I'd stick with it. Newer LCD's will suck up a large part of that budget.

Thank you for all of your help! One thing I may want to mention is that this computer will be the main hub of my e-commerce business I run out of my home. Because of this, reliability is a must. Will upgrading to the 500-watt (something included in one of the above suggestions) help in this area? Should I look into extra cooling even though I never plan to OC?

 

[MixedLogik]

Gotcha. As far as fitting your needs, you do not need the newest, baddest-ass, and/or best components. Now, don't take that to mean that your system will run like crap - stuff from 8-12 months ago will still perform excellent for you based on your mentioned-usage.

Personally, for the system/jobs you're looking to do, I'd stick with a lower-end C2D and a MoBo around $70-ish. You could do with 1 Gig of RAM, but if you do a bit of comparing between TD and Newegg, you can almost always find a combo deal (2 x 1 Gig sticks) for either the same price or lower after Rebates. If you find such a deal, grab it, if not, don't worry about only 1 Gig. You don't need a monster PSU - 380-400 watts should be fine. Not at all familiar with that case, but if it appeals to you, go for it - that'll be what everyone sees You mentioned being mildly interested in WoW; I'm assuming you have zero desire to game-otherwise? If that's true, then a low-end video card will be fine, however if you plan to do WoW sporaticaly at best, you may consider starting off without one and seeing how it runs using on-board graphics; you can always add one later if it lags a bit.

Will you be keeping your old monitor? If it's still in good condition, I'd stick with it. Newer LCD's will suck up a large part of that budget.

Isn't that the truth, You said it all

 

[oscaryu1]

Intel Core 2 Duo E4500
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115031

MSI P31 Neo-F
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130129

Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 PDC22G6400LLK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820220144

HIS Hightech H260XTFZ256DDN-R Radeon HD 2600XT 256MB
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814161176

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822136074

Sony NEC Optiarc 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7190S
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827118002

Rosewill RP500-2
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817182016

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119106

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16832116204

That motherboard isn't as good the P31-DS3L... which is only a tiny bit more (or less if open box).

Now, if you used your CURRENT O/S, you could get something like:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115031
E4500

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128062R
P31-DS3L

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590
Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800 2GB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208019
XION Hydraulic ATX Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075
WDC SE 160GB SATAII

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118003
Sony DVD Burner EIDE

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182090
Rosewill Stallion 550W PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161211
HIS Hightech HD3850 ATI PCI-E 2.0 256MB

Total including shipping after rebates: $583.41