Need help choosing a processor

Kieth8

New Member
Can you guys give me some suggestions on what cpu to get. The budget for everything is around $700(give or take $50). Budget includes monitor, OS, speakers, keyboard, mouse. I will use it mostly for gaming. I would like for the processor to be around $100 or less. Hoping it could last for a few years. Thanks for any help. and i don't plan on overclocking.
 
This isn't all the parts you need for a system but here is a starter list of components for you to look at:

Phenom II 710 (2.6 gigahertz) Tri-Core Processor - $119
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10010065

GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 Motherboard - $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128378

Patriot 2 gigabytes DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) RAM - $58
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10008533

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320 gigabyte Hard Drive - $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074

GIGABYTE GZ-X6BPD-500 Black SECC Steel Mid Tower Computer Case - $35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233041&Tpk=GIGABYTE GZ-X6BPD-500

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Premium - $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

Samsung Black 22x Model SH-S223F DVD Drive - $25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171

Edit: Found some less expensive RAM:

Patriot Extreme Performance 2 gigabytes DDR3 (PC3 10666) - $41
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220304
 
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I have looked at the phenom 2 triple cores a lot but can't get everything for under 700, it is more like 900 dollars. I was trying to find a way to get 4gb of ram(DDR3 or 2, depends on cpu or mobo), an ati 4870, and a cpu that won't bottleneck all that.
 
if you do 2048mb's route, you can still get a 4870 (some as low as $150-160 now), you can even upgrade to a AMD 720 BE, an amazing chip!
 
In my opinion I would use $700 to assemble your system and use a cheaper monitor. Then I would save money for a few months to buy a state of the art monitor.
 
As far as monitors go i would take a look at this one, i know a few people who have bought it and they just love it:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236032 but it is outta stock at the moment, another good monitor is this one and it has an integrated webcam:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236060

I would help ya out by making you a build list, but atm im in my schools library and in 3min the bell is gonna ring and ill be going to next class:(

Are the speakers in that monitor good enough for games, or should I buy some seperate(I think I will get that monitor). Also, I'm not getting the computer till may 18 so I've got a while.
 
This was the monitor I was looking at: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009127

And how much difference is there betweeen 2gb and 4gb of ram(for games, and opening up internet explorer), should I go with DDR3 or DDR2.

Mitch, what do you mean by the 2048mb's route?

the build that our user, 2048megabytes, picked for you, but i'd get a cheaper monitor and invest in some AMD Phenom II 720 action instead of the 710. Get the DDR3 he picked to. 2gb is more than sufficient, but you might notice a bit of an improvement with 4gb total (especially in vista). i had 2gb of ddr2 800 for the longest time, just upgraded to 4. helps when i load media players (since they have to go through near 20,000 files)
 
Case, Rosewill "Wind Ryder" ($39.99 Free Shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147114

Power Supply, OCZ StealthXstream 500w ($59.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341012

Memory, Kingston HyperX 4gb DDR2-800Mhz: ($47.99 Free Shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104073

Hard Drive, 320gb Western Digital Caviar SE16: ($54.99 Free Shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074

ODD, Asus dvd+/- RW SATA with lightscribe: ($25.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106288

Windows Vista Home Premium x64 ($99.99 Free Shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

Monitor, Asus 19" 1440x900 with integrated 0.3mp Webcam: ($109.99 Free Shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236060

Speakers, Logitech S-220 2.1 Speakers ($22.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121014

keyboard/Mouse:
? Not sure what kinda your lookin for so ill keep it open

GPU, MSI Radeon HD4850 ($109.99 Free Shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127414

Motherboard, AsRock 790 AM2+ DDR2 Motherboard ($94.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157156

CPU, AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core: ($129.00)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103648

This is almost $100 over the budget you specced, but mind it does include monitor, os, keyboard/mouse, and speakers. This should allow you to play pretty much any games out there at the moment at decent settings for awhile.

Total------------------$796.90
Total after rebates$766.90
 
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