help me build a $3000-3500 computer

J

jorday

New Member
OK guys, here's my story. I need a new desktop. I have finally been talked into building the system myself, but I need gome guidance since this is my first time. I had ordered a dell xps 700, but I canceled the order just in time. It was about a $3800 system. I would like to spend 3000-3500ish and build myself a much better rig for the money.

There are many things I don't understand, but I want to learn. I need recommendations for every single part of the computer down to even the smallest detail. I will need every single component required to make the system complete. In other words, I'm starting from nothing.

I am completely lost on the mother boards. I have no idea which ones are good/bad and how to go about choosing one.

Computer case...same problem as with mother board.

Video card. I know the nvidia 8800 cards seem to be about the best around right now. I think 1 8800GTS will suffice for me, but why is it when I look on new egg it's like there are 20 different kinds of the same video card?

Hard drive, I require a fast, high quality hard drive, but not a lot of hard drive space. I have no idea what to choose. Would a second hard drive for storage be a good choice?

RAM...Lost again. I don't know what is good ram and what is bad ram, or most importantly, what is best for me.

Optical drives...I want 2 drives so I can quickly and easily copy dvds, etc. Need suggestions here also please.

Processor. I will use the core 2 duo by intel. either E6700 or E6600. I do understand that this will determine my choice of motherboard, but I still don't know which will best suit me.

Power supply. I need some solid suggestions here as well.

I'm sure I'm missing things here so please let me know what they are.

Here's what I want to do with this rig. I play some games. Not a huge amount but some. I want to be able to play around with and edit videos. I also use it for a lot of work for my job which consists mostly of stuff on Word.

I am very impatient. I hate computers that start up slowly and are slow to complete tasks. I want a computer that is very fast for everyday type use. This is extremely important to me.

I would like to try to get all the stuff I need from one place, so I can just order everything at once.

Maybe I am in over my head here...Should I just buy the computer I had originally planned? Help me out.

Thanks,
Jordan

PS. I have read the sticky information, and it does not seem to contain enough information for me.
 
Ku-sama

Ku-sama

banned
Here we go...

Maxtor Atlas 15K II SAS 8K147S0 147GB 15,000 RPM Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) Hard Drive - OEM

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL6D-4GBMQ - Retail

Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2b w/Upgrade Coupon for Vista - OEM

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Kentsfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562QX6700 - Retail

EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Thermaltake toughpower W0117RU ATX12V/ EPS12V 750W Power Supply - Retail

eVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail

LIAN LI PC-60APLUSII W Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology Black IDE Model SH-S182M/BEBN - OEM

slightly over budget, slightly the best PC out there for under 4k :p
 
Emperor_nero

Emperor_nero

New Member
Nice build :) I think some people would say not to go with 4GB of RAM but I say why not, go for it because if you don't need it now you will in a couple of years!:p:D
 
J

jorday

New Member
Hi Ku-Sama,

Thanks a lot for coming up with that list for me so quickly. You must really know your stuff, man. It is much appreciated.

I have a couple more questions for you. That setup may put me slightly over budget because I still need a monitor, etc. Would everything you listed work but with a less expensive processor such as the E6700 or E6600? Or would I need a different motherboard for those CPUs?

Is there any alternative to the hard drive and RAM listed because that stuff is not in stock. I need to get this thing together on or before the first week of January.

Is that stuff really all that is needed? It's really that simple? I thought there was a lot more stuff needed to make it work. What about cooling? Do I need a heatsink or a processor fan or something? Do I need other stuff to hook up the RAM and the video card? I've been told that the system will perform better with two hard drives, one for the system and one for storage, is this true?
 
Emperor_nero

Emperor_nero

New Member
You can use the same motherboard with any of those CPU's you metion just fine, any C2D mobo will work with any C2D CPU as long as it's the same socket.
 
J

jorday

New Member
Emperor_nero said:
You can use the same motherboard with any of those CPU's you metion just fine, any C2D mobo will work with any C2D CPU as long as it's the same socket.
Click to expand...

Understood. I wasn't sure if the quad core CPU needed a special motherboard. Thanks for the reply. :)

Any input on the other stuff I was unsure about?
 
Emperor_nero

Emperor_nero

New Member
Yeah a C2D should work fine in a MOBO that supports quad core. :)

1. Maybe get two of these for RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145575[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220144"]Patriot eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PDC22G6400LLK - Retail [/URL]

And I dont know too much about HDD sorry. :(

2. Yeah it really is that simple , and most CPU's came with a HSF unless it's OEM, and yes having 2 Hard Drives can be a bit faster.

3. No you don't need any thing else to hook up the compoents except some scews that should came with it and a Philleps screw driver.
 
J

jorday

New Member
Emperor_nero said:
Yeah a C2D should work fine in a MOBO that supports quad core. :)

1. Maybe get two of these for RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145575[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220144"]Patriot eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PDC22G6400LLK - Retail [/URL]

And I dont know too much about HDD sorry. :(

2. Yeah it really is that simple , and most CPU's came with a HSF unless it's OEM, and yes having 2 Hard Drives can be a bit faster.

3. No you don't need any thing else to hook up the compoents except some scews that should came with it and a Philleps screw driver.
Click to expand...

Thanks man. I thought it was going to be way more complicated than this. I thought I had to buy and assemble some kind of crazy elaborate cooling system or something. This should about do it once I come up with an alternative for a hard drive. Now, I just need to pick out a monitor and speakers.
 
maroon1

maroon1

New Member
Here is a good build for a good price

CORSAIR XMS2 DOMINATOR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Western Digital Caviar RE2 WD5000YS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor

EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Thermaltake toughpower W0117RU ATX12V/ EPS12V 750W Power Supply - Retail

eVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail

LIAN LI PC-60APLUSII W Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology Black IDE Model SH-S182M/BEBN - OEM
 
J

jorday

New Member
Thanks for the recommendation. Is the RPM of the hard drive the biggest factor in determining its speed/performance, or are there other factors to consider?

I may go with the E6700 CPU since it's less than half the cost of the QX6700. I still need to have some cash left for a new monitor. :)

That's some expensive RAM, is that even better stuff than what the G.Skill?

Looks like the other components chosen are all the same.
 
Cromewell

Cromewell

Administrator
Staff member
RPM is the biggest difference maker. The cache is also a minor factor. A 7200RPM drive should be plenty fast for you, you don't need a 15k RPM scsi drive.
 
maroon1

maroon1

New Member
jorday said:
Thanks for the recommendation. Is the RPM of the hard drive the biggest factor in determining its speed/performance, or are there other factors to consider?
Click to expand...

The RPM is the biggest factor, but more cashe memory also helps a lot.

Also, having a SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive is better than having SATA 1.5Gb/s

That's some expensive RAM, is that even better stuff than what the G.Skill?
Click to expand...

The CORSAIR has better timing than G.Skill.
 
S

Sirius_GTO

New Member
I know this guy has 4K to spend and all, but realistically, I don't think he needs anything more than 2Gigs of RAM or an E6600. I'm sure he really couldn't utilize the full potential of the Quad core, and I don't think he needs 4G or ram as of right now. But that's just my opinion.

You could save 1K by switching to an E6600 and 2G or ddr2 ram.

kthxbai
 
Cromewell

Cromewell

Administrator
Staff member
Those benches only show gains when using very small files that are being read from cache. Those are entirely 'paper' results, in real use there's no difference. This was shown in a thread omega started in the hard drive section. Omega and myself had identicle drives (well as identicle as they can be) and ran the same bench and both drives finished with almos the same results.
 
Jet

Jet

VIP Member
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
ASUS P5W DH Deluxe/WIFI
Corsair 2GB XMS Dominator DDR2 800
Western Digital RaptorX 10,000 RPM 150GB (SATA/16MB)
eVGA 88800GTS
Creative Labs X-Fi Extreme Gamer
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610 610W Continuous @ 40°C Power Supply
Antec P180B Case
LITE-ON 16X DVD Burner (SATA)
ACER 24" Widescreen LCD (6ms)
Logitech diNuvo Cordless Desktop
Logitech Z-5450 5.1 Digital Speakers

Grand Total before Mail-in-rebates: $3079.52 (with Shipping)
After MIR: $2824.52

That computer will hold you for a while, as well as being a whole lot of fun to use. The monitor was just a random choice, you can always spend more than $700 on a monitor.
 
Cromewell

Cromewell

Administrator
Staff member
Given that they said they don't play many games I'd drop the 8800GTs for a 7900/x1900 or one of their derivitives.
 
J

jorday

New Member
Thanks for the replies everybody. I am going to save some money by going with probably the E6600.

I'm starting to understand a little bit more on the hard drives. So, the western digital raptorX 10k hard drive be kind of a nice balance between cost and performance since it is 10k rather than 7.2k or 15k?

Jet, I forgot about a sound card. Will the computer have had no sound without it?

If I want 2 hard drives, should I just order 2 of the same one, or get a cheaper second hard drive. Or is it really not worth it?
 
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