Want to build new computer- Need advice 20$ reward possible!

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swensoch

New Member
What I want to do: To build a computer on a budget for less than 320$ buying parts used and new off ebay, tigerdirect, newegg ect. I already have a sound card, harddrive, power supply, LCD monitors, fans, mouse, key board, cd/dvd drives and case material. I am making my own computer case(this is my favorite part).

What I want the computer to do: I want it to be able to run 2-3 monitors at a time so that I can have streaming news on one and stock updates on the other. (day trading type stuff). I dont really play games but being able to play basic old stuff like counterstrike would be nice.

Other: I would also like the computer to run DDR3 ram which seems like i wont have to upgrade for a while and I have seen it go pretty cheap now. Also is quad core necessary at this point? I heard there are some issues with it but I am not sure. Do I need 2 video cards? I would like to video card to be cheaper than 45$ if I have to buy 2. I already have a sound card, harddrive, and powersupply as I said above. I am impartial to intel or AMD. I have heard AMD offers more bang for the buck but Im not sure what to go with.

How you can help: Envision that you are me and have the same needs as I. What would you put inside it given my budget. (You can go over a little). Please explain why you chose each component and how it will help me.

I can see this taking someone who knows what there talking about 15 minutes or less to come up with a computer and to make it worth your while I will transfer 20$ to the poster I take the most advice from. I will PM the winner and they can respond with their paypal email.

Basically i just need a motherboard, processor, video card and memory that work well together, will last, and do what I want.

Thanks in advance!!
 
kazkepox

kazkepox

New Member
i have one answer and one question

answer: no it is not necessary to get a quad core, there are dual cores and triple cores that are cheaper and better than a quad core.

quesiton: are you saying you have 320$ left to spend? or 320$ overall, because it would be kind of hard with that budget...
 
S

swensoch

New Member
I have more than 320$ left to spend but I would like to spend 320$ more on what else I need. Thanks for the input.
 
bomberboysk

bomberboysk

Active Member
swensoch said:
What I want to do: To build a computer on a budget for less than 320$ buying parts used and new off ebay, tigerdirect, newegg ect. I already have a sound card, harddrive, power supply, LCD monitors, fans, mouse, key board, cd/dvd drives and case material. I am making my own computer case(this is my favorite part).

What I want the computer to do: I want it to be able to run 2-3 monitors at a time so that I can have streaming news on one and stock updates on the other. (day trading type stuff). I dont really play games but being able to play basic old stuff like counterstrike would be nice.

Other: I would also like the computer to run DDR3 ram which seems like i wont have to upgrade for a while and I have seen it go pretty cheap now. Also is quad core necessary at this point? I heard there are some issues with it but I am not sure. Do I need 2 video cards? I would like to video card to be cheaper than 45$ if I have to buy 2. I already have a sound card, harddrive, and powersupply as I said above. I am impartial to intel or AMD. I have heard AMD offers more bang for the buck but Im not sure what to go with.

How you can help: Envision that you are me and have the same needs as I. What would you put inside it given my budget. (You can go over a little). Please explain why you chose each component and how it will help me.

I can see this taking someone who knows what there talking about 15 minutes or less to come up with a computer and to make it worth your while I will transfer 20$ to the poster I take the most advice from. I will PM the winner and they can respond with their paypal email.

Basically i just need a motherboard, processor, video card and memory that work well together, will last, and do what I want.

Thanks in advance!!
Click to expand...
We dont want your money;) If you have $20 extra, use it towards building yourself a better pc. If possible, model numbers and/or newegg links to your current components so we can see what all you have, and if you can use it alongside new components in a build?
 
S

swensoch

New Member
bomberboysk said:
We dont want your money;) If you have $20 extra, use it towards building yourself a better pc. If possible, model numbers and/or newegg links to your current components to see what all you have, and if you can use it alongside new components in a build?
Click to expand...

I have so many parts around my house that it will be whatever parts fit with a set up that someone comes up with. Multiple harddrives, cd drives, and sound cards ect. Probably going to use a creative 5.1 surround sound video card. Thanks:good:
 
bomberboysk

bomberboysk

Active Member
swensoch said:
I have so many parts around my house that it will be whatever parts fit with a set up that someone comes up with. Multiple harddrives, cd drives, and sound cards ect. Probably going to use a creative 5.1 surround sound video card. Thanks:good:
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Sata? IDE? If you need speed, older hard drives can somewhat slow down responsiveness of the overall system. What sorts of power supplies do you have, could you list model number/wattage/manufacturer? Because a quality 500W from say, seasonic/antec/corsair/pcp&c/etc are going to be alot different as far as components they can handle over say, a chinese off brand one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166
 
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S

swensoch

New Member
I have a 450w power supply. Trying to find the number. Then an seagate harddrive 7200 rpm. IDE. If I need to replace either one in order to not sacrifice quality in the other components I will. the 320$ is my budget for the motherboard, video card(S), processor, and ram. I have quite a bit of money saved up just not trying to blow it all. Im really just looking for reliable components because I have tried to look for the number one voted parts all over the net but their are so many to choose from and I am lost at what to get.
 
bomberboysk

bomberboysk

Active Member
Now, considering if your power supply is up to par and a decent manufacturer, this is about the best you'll get at $320 for memory, motherboard, cpu, and gpu:

AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black edition cpu, great bang for the buck. The black edition has an unlocked multiplier so it makes overclocking easier: $119
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649

4gb(2x2gb) Mushkin ddr3 1600mhz, 7-7-7-20 timings which for the price, are the lowest your going to get and great performance. Mushkin is one of my favorite memory manufacturers, and when overclocking the can get some really nice speeds: $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146871

For the gpu, a 4650 with gddr3 offers the best price to performance ratio, and it by itself will support up to two displays:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102838

GA-MA770T-UD3P , cheapest AM3(ddr3) motherboard available at the moment, but in the sub $100 range of am3 motherboards the best. Gigabyte is probably the best manufacturer when concering bios updates to support new cpu's, so future upgradeability you shouldnt need to worry about: $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392




Now..with that said about that motherboard, if you plan on running two video cards in the future to support 4 displays, then you would need to think about two options:
1. Spend the extra money for this board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128378

Or 2. Drop down to ddr2, and get this motherboard+memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166



For the hard drive, IDE drives are going to lower performance, and being ide it will be probably an 8mb cache model. For the price, you cannot beat this 7200.12 for speed and storage space for the price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395


On the power supply side of things, even just the manufacturer would be helpful to know, if it doesnt have any sort of manufacturer data, then its probably an off brand that i wouldnt trust to power a lightbulb, let alone a decent rig. These are some of the best power supplies for their price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817189014
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016(Great price after rebate, and modular)
 
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S

swensoch

New Member
wow thanks a lot. It is going to take me a bit to go through all that information. My power supply is a "works power" brand. Says it has built in protection but maybe since its 7 or so years old its time to get a new one. What would you suggest for a power supply?
 
bomberboysk

bomberboysk

Active Member
swensoch said:
wow thanks a lot. It is going to take me a bit to go through all that information. My power supply is a "works power" brand. Says it has built in protection but maybe since its 7 or so years old its time to get a new one. What would you suggest for a power supply?
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I added in a few suggestions at the bottom of my last post, sounds to me like an off brand. Never heard of works power, so i would definately suggest in upgrading to one of a decent brand. Your electricity bill would also probably say thanks due to them being pretty effecient, much more so than power supplies 5+ years old.
 
S

swensoch

New Member
bomberboysk said:
I added in a few suggestions at the bottom of my last post, sounds to me like an off brand. Never heard of works power, so i would definately suggest in upgrading to one of a decent brand. Your electricity bill would also probably say thanks due to them being pretty effecient, much more so than power supplies 5+ years old.
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ok cool thanks. Also Im not sure I need 500 GB harddrive. Is there something in the 160gb range with same specs but cheaper is this just an insane deal on a harddrive that I should get?
 
bomberboysk

bomberboysk

Active Member
swensoch said:
ok cool thanks. Also Im not sure I need 500 GB harddrive. Is there something in the 160gb range with same specs but cheaper is this just an insane deal on a harddrive that I should get?
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THats a great price for the drive,and one of the fastest drives out there. This drive is a few bucks cheaper, but 320gb(smallest 7200.12 drive available):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148469

Or this one, which is slower than the 7200.12's:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136113
 
bomberboysk

bomberboysk

Active Member
Well, with tigerdirect rebates suck, you have a better chance winning the lottery then getting your rebate back from them imo. Plus, ocz is the last place i would look for ddr3, ive regretted my purchase since the day i bought them almost 2 years ago(it was all i could afford because back then, it was $250 just for this stuff i have now). OCZ Makes great ddr2, their ddr3 has gone down the drain.. Except for the blade series, thats good quality memory but crazy expensive.
 
S

swensoch

New Member
Ok thanks. Send me a pm with your paypal info and I will send you your reward tomorrow. how is hercules for power supply?
 
604action

604action

New Member
I guess no more $20 reward *sad face*
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kazkepox

kazkepox

New Member
also notice newegg you will save even more money than you think if you go through with mail-in rebates i saved another 60$ off my build and the build was barely at 600$
 
bomberboysk

bomberboysk

Active Member
swensoch said:
Ok thanks. Send me a pm with your paypal info and I will send you your reward tomorrow. how is hercules for power supply?
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Dont want your money, i wouldnt trust a brand "hercules" for power supply. Look for corsair/ocz/pcpower&cooling/Xclio/Antec/BFG/Zalman.
 
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