Need Help Building a PC

naes

naes

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So, I've decided to build my first PC. I'm looking to spend about $600 (give or take). I don't know much about building PCs, but I know that I can build one (with my dad's help).

I'd like anywhere from a 300GB to 500GB HDD, a good video card (looking at a N-Vidia 8800GT or 9600GT), 2-4GB of RAM and a dual core processor. If anyone can tell me which parts to buy I'd be very glad.

Thanks!
 
hate to do this, but check out this guide on SD:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=113938&t=553826&highlight=cpu+cooling

Just from personal experience:
Intel chips are great, just use a Zalman fan and Arctic Silver thermal paste
RAM, go with GeIL
PSU, Antec, get modular cables if you can, you'll need about 500W or so, depending on the rest of your components
Dell monitors are fanfuckingtastic
and finally make sure you properly apply thermal compound. get your dad to do that.
 
Buy as much ram as possible right away. Ram is dirt cheap right now. Once your computer gets older, and DDR3 takes over, DDR RAM will increase in price.
 
I love the P5k Mobo - plenty of options in the BIOS, great over clocker. Should run about 150

CPU: Core 2 Duo 6700 & upwards

GPU: Probably 8800GT - it's just proven to be a winner
 
Well after looking up some parts and such I gotta ask. You do plan on using this for gaming am I correct? I figure this because of the high amount of RAM and the type of video card you have chosen. If so it's going to be extremely hard to build a computer for the 600$ price (gave it an extra 100$ on top of that as well and still was hard) to build the system with just the required parts you have suggested. Especially since I'm going off you have nothing to start off with. So I guess it all depends on what you want to do and run.

The 8800GT will cost about 200$ which is already 1/3 of the amount you want to spend, the 9600 is the same deal.

120$ for a motherboard

50$ for a case

40$ for 2GB's of RAM

75$ for a 320GB Harddrive

170$ for a Processor

30$ for a DVD drive

80$ for a Powersupply

20$ for Misc. parts

If it's a windows based machine 100$ for an OS if you don't already have.

As you can see ... 800$ without an OS ... 900$ with. These prices are pretty accurate .. only a few dollars here or there that will go either way. This isn't including Virus Scans and such as well

That slickdeals page has prices higher then what you can find normally.
 
mobo - 100-150
cpu - 160-220
GPU - 200-250
RAM - 30-50
case - 50-100 (depending on how good you want it)
DVD Burner - 30
PSU - 50-90
HDD - 50-70

My estimates put it at: 760 at the low end, + tax/ship

Yeah, strikeratt is dead on
 
[quote name='invinceable104']mobo - 100-150
cpu - 160-220
GPU - 200-250
RAM - 30-50
case - 50-100 (depending on how good you want it)
DVD Burner - 30
PSU - 50-90
HDD - 50-70

My estimates put it at: 760 at the low end, + tax/ship

Yeah, strikeratt is dead on[/QUOTE]

You can get a great MB for $90. Decent CPU that overclocks like a psycho for $120. GeForce 9600GT for $180. Case and power supply should not cost more than $120 combined for a budget build, a quality 500 watt unit will be plenty to run his stuff. $700 is a good estimate of what he is going to have to spend to get something that can game well.
 
[quote name='UnderwaterMadman']You can get a great MB for $90. Decent CPU that overclocks like a psycho for $120. GeForce 9600GT for $180. Case and power supply should not cost more than $120 combined for a budget build, a quality 500 watt unit will be plenty to run his stuff. $700 is a good estimate of what he is going to have to spend to get something that can game well.[/quote]

A 500w power supply is adaquete ... as in just skimping along with enough power, you do not want this in a PSU. I would suggest a 600w at the least ... and I still wouldn't personally put that in my own rig. I also believe the 8800GT gets better scores than the new 9600GT so out of the two he wants, I'd give him the better one ... though I'm not 100% on that.

To run anything for the next couple of years .. he will need to spend a bit more then that for a MB and CPU. You can easily get a 800MHz - 1066MHz CPU / MB for the cheap. Yet 1333MHz and even higher now are become quite standard. He will need to spend more now so he doesn't have to spend even more in the near future for upgrades he could of avoided. This is taking into consideration good brand names / quality / and reviews from numerous sources as well.

Also since this is obviously his first computer build and figuring his dad just doesn't part it out for him, they are not familiar with how to overclock a computer. Taking that into effect I would never recomend to spend money on a computer to over clock it if on a budget, since major hardware problems can come into play if done wrong.

So yes sure I could build you a build for 600$ easily, but it's gonna run like a three legged dog. If the OP can squeeze a bit more money into it (give us a maximum price no matter what) or tell us what he wants this computer to do then I can give deff. parts and answers. Assuming he wants it for gaming and wants it to be fast though invinceable and my prices are going to be very very accurate.
 
That thread at slickdeals is amazing, IMO. I used that to build my rig. You won't need 4 gb RAM, so stick with 2. There's lots of ways to do it. Build a mock up and post it here.
 
[quote name='strikeratt']A 500w power supply is adaquete ... as in just skimping along with enough power, you do not want this in a PSU. I would suggest a 600w at the least ... and I still wouldn't personally put that in my own rig. I also believe the 8800GT gets better scores than the new 9600GT so out of the two he wants, I'd give him the better one ... though I'm not 100% on that.

To run anything for the next couple of years .. he will need to spend a bit more then that for a MB and CPU. You can easily get a 800MHz - 1066MHz CPU / MB for the cheap. Yet 1333MHz and even higher now are become quite standard. He will need to spend more now so he doesn't have to spend even more in the near future for upgrades he could of avoided. This is taking into consideration good brand names / quality / and reviews from numerous sources as well.

Also since this is obviously his first computer build and figuring his dad just doesn't part it out for him, they are not familiar with how to overclock a computer. Taking that into effect I would never recomend to spend money on a computer to over clock it if on a budget, since major hardware problems can come into play if done wrong.

So yes sure I could build you a build for 600$ easily, but it's gonna run like a three legged dog. If the OP can squeeze a bit more money into it (give us a maximum price no matter what) or tell us what he wants this computer to do then I can give deff. parts and answers. Assuming he wants it for gaming and wants it to be fast though invinceable and my prices are going to be very very accurate.[/QUOTE]

$90 - Supports 1333 FSB - Overall the best value MB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059

Nothing wrong with the 9600GT if you are on a budget and need to cut the fat somewhere.

500w is more that sufficient for this system. He isn't running multiple video cards, hard drives, etc.... I am not suggesting that he go out and buy a cheap POS power supply but he should not go over board and buy a ps that is beefier than he needs. Save money on the initial purchase and the electric bill!

Check this out if you need help figuring out your power needs:

http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html

You should not be building a computer if you can't use the MB's bios. Overclocking on this motherboard is as simple as changing one or two settings. You don't have to mess around with the voltage and good 500 - 700 mhz overclocks can be achieved with the stock cooler and more than reasonable temps.
 
[quote name='UnderwaterMadman']$90 - Supports 1333 FSB - Overall the best value MB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059

Nothing wrong with the 9600GT if you are on a budget and need to cut the fat somewhere.

500w is more that sufficient for this system. He isn't running multiple video cards, hard drives, etc.... I am not suggesting that he go out and buy a cheap POS power supply but he should not go over board and buy a ps that is beefier than he needs. Save money on the initial purchase and the electric bill!

Check this out if you need help figuring out your power needs:

http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html

You should not be building a computer if you can't use the MB's bios. Overclocking on this motherboard is as simple as changing one or two settings. You don't have to mess around with the voltage and good 500 - 700 mhz overclocks can be achieved with the stock cooler and more than reasonable temps.[/quote]

Very good find on the motherboard ... I must of skipped over it for some reason. I will add it to the dummy build I'll make for him.

The 8800GT is more then likely the best choice for him if he can spare the money, in the end we should simply just say the 8800GT is better, but 20$ more in cost then the 9600 .. then it'll be up to him if he can afford it. The 8800GT does do better by at least 10+ FPS then the 9600GT though.

Overclocking is very dangerous even if you know how to use your MB's bios. One wrong setting can seriously damage components. Sure mess around with it at first and get a small amount of overclocks with no voltage change, but that still takes research on how to do it and can be confusing for some if not most no matter how basic it can get. Even if the user has done a ton of research, I wouldn't recomend overclocking. Then again, I would never recomend overclocking to anyone due to the fact I don't want someone to hold me accountable for their mistake.

That PSU calculator comes dangerously close to that 500w mark

Core 2 Duo CPU
High End Desktop Motherboard
8800GTS
1GB DDR2 RAM x2
1x Optical Drive
1x Hard Drive at 7200 RPM

This comes out to 432w ... Subtract about 10w for the GT so around 422w would be recomended. These numbers do not include case fans, USB devices (such as an MP3 player, mice, and keyboard), a CPU cooler (which I'd recomend, especially if overclocking), or any other devices that plug into the computer. So a lowball amount of about 430w in the end with all of the extras. Leaving only 70w for future upgrades, such as more RAM, another hard drive for more space, and other possibilities, like overclocking. So yes, you can say a 500w PSU is good enough, yet it's getting dangerously close. Lack of power can cause heat and hardware issues, the two leading causes to early PC death. Plus in my build, he's getting a 600w PSU and a case for only 10$ more then your estimate. Leaving him safe for upgrades and future tweaking.

I would also like to mention my prices were a bit highballed because I didn't want to under price something for the OP. I will list the parts later on, the OP can sort through them if he wants. I will use newegg as a site just for information. Where he buys them will be a different story, it should give him an accurate price in the end though.
 
I am pretty sure the calculator does not tell you the amount of power the systems will use but does in fact add a good amount of wattage onto that value. Newegg would not suggest to a customer that they should buy a PSU that barely meets the needs of their customers or they would be dealing with an abnormal amount of PSU returns based on the results of their calculator.

8800gt sure go for it.

I really don't understand why people like you try to scare someone away from overclocking. If you can assemble all of the components of a PC and install and configure an OS you most certainly can perform a mild 500 - 700 mhz overclock on a cheap Intel CPU.
 
[quote name='UnderwaterMadman']
I really don't understand why people like you try to scare someone away from overclocking. If you can assemble all of the components of a PC and install and configure an OS you most certainly can perform a mild 500 - 700 mhz overclock on a cheap Intel CPU.[/quote]

Yeah, I have a stock cooler and 6420 and I pushed it from 2.1 to 2.6 just by changing a number. I'm not completely sure about other motherboards, but the P5k automatically shuts down and reverts to default settings if an overclock fails preventing damage. I don't mess with the volts or anything, but it's as simple as changing a number to get the 500 mhz (not sure which Intel chip has 2.6, but yeah).
 
[quote name='invinceable104']Yeah, I have a stock cooler and 6420 and I pushed it from 2.1 to 2.6 just by changing a number. I'm not completely sure about other motherboards, but the P5k automatically shuts down and reverts to default settings if an overclock fails preventing damage. I don't mess with the volts or anything, but it's as simple as changing a number to get the 500 mhz (not sure which Intel chip has 2.6, but yeah).[/quote]

I've overclocked my e6600 up about 1000mhz and while the temps went up quite a bit under load I never really noticed anything being faster than it was at stock. Maybe its just the games I play or maybe I am limited by my vid card I dunno I just never saw the point in overclocking.

Anyway about the comp I would go with the 9600GT if you are trying to keep the price down. Its about $178 on newegg right now which is really nice for a card that good.
 
Here's a reasonable motherboard for only $60 AR:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127031
And here's the video card I went with (8800gt with passive cooling for ~$200 AR):
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134035


It should be fairly easy to find 2gb of PC-6400 ram for around $30. You can buy cheap dvd burners off newegg for around $25 shipped and a 300-500gb hard drive should run you around $60-$100. After that just look for a cheap ATX case and a ~500 watt power supply. Then after buying a processor you should be set.
 
[quote name='Oktoberfest']I personally would not go with a passively cooled 8800GT...

an 8400GS, maybe, but not an 8800GT[/QUOTE]
Well the one I linked to also has low speed fans you can optionally attach (and I may depending on the temps I get to help over clock). Generally though the cooler on that card without fans should keep it at a lower temperature than the stock cooler thanks to it's ridiculous size (at least that's what I got from reviews).
 
[quote name='naes']So, I've decided to build my first PC. I'm looking to spend about $600 (give or take). I don't know much about building PCs, but I know that I can build one (with my dad's help).

I'd like anywhere from a 300GB to 500GB HDD, a good video card (looking at a N-Vidia 8800GT or 9600GT), 2-4GB of RAM and a dual core processor. If anyone can tell me which parts to buy I'd be very glad.

Thanks![/quote]

You should look into maybe buying a quad core processor to be more future proof. It's only $250 at Newegg and has very, very good ratings. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

It won't help you play games, really, at this current juncture, but I believe it will be very helpful if you ever decide to take math or science courses which call for rigorous software, or if you want to be more compatibile to take advantage of future games which are sure to require hefty CPUs.

I honestly don't know anything about good video cards -- it's a very confusing world to me. I would recommend going by recommended graphics cards on the boxes of games like Crysis and other modern games, and then comparing between ATI and NVIDIA for the best price. I've never used an NVIDIA, but I know they're usually considered "better" than ATI by most enthusiasts (but who knows for sure, I've had some great (and some not so great) ATI boards).

Invest in a good case. There are ones where you don't have to mess with screw and everything is slide and snap. I would get one of those.

Harddrives are very cheap. I would use sites like TigerDirect to figure out the model names and numbers, and then use NewEgg to find the best prices. Newegg has restocking fees which sucks, but they have the best prices.

Memory, I'm not really sure (same as the video cards...) but more is certainly better. I would recommend 3 gigs -- 2 minimum. I have two right now with windows basic and just running Aero and a web brower and anti-virus takes up half the memory!!!

I'm not sure about motherboards either -- MAKE SURE THE SOCKET MATCHES YOUR CPU SOCKET! If you're getting a big case (it'll say what size it is), you'll use an ATX, but if you get a small tower you'll need mini-ATX. You can use mini-ATX inside of an ATX case if you wish.

Make sure to get atleast 500 watts for your power supply. A good name brand power supply is very important -- don't skimp!

That's all my advice, sorry I don't know as much as others -- these are just some things I've learned in my research that're important :). Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!
 
The AMD/ATI Radeon HD 3870 512 has a great price/performance ratio unless you can get a nvidia 8800GT 512 for less than $200.

All intel desktop processors are socket LGA775 and its AM2(+) on the AMD side.

Dont skimp on the PSU, Corsair makes great PSU for a good price. A VX450 will do.
 
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