Help a brother buy/build a new PC w/ my Amazon credit!

Don Chubo

Don Chubo

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1st off - if this is wrong forum, please move.

Okay, so here it is - I have $600 in Amazon.com credit. I want a new PC. I can either buy or build, but I want the most bang for my buck. Unfortunately, you cannot use Amazon Payments with Amazon.com credit, so all components must be from Amazon.com.

Here's one I am looking at to buy for $600:

http://www.amazon.com/Gateway-DX435...2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1301615938&sr=1-2

Do you see any other worthy PCs for $600 or less?

I can/may build, so here are some guidelines to consider:

1. All components must be from Amazon.
2. I need an OS, so figure in Windows XP or Windows 7 in the cost - I want my PC all legal, no bootleg OS, please. I would consider buying XP/Windows 7 from another source with cash if I can get a good deal.
3. I'm not going to do any really heavy gaming, maybe TF2 and the like - so I don't need/want a $300 video card.
4. I will not need anything other than onboard sound.
5. I would like a Lightscribe burner that will burn DL media.
6. I do not want a case with lights or any bling. I'm over 15.

Please post your suggestions for a PC buy/build.
 
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You know, what i would do is have your bro look if at all possible.. get a nice Mother board with good options tech, And get the low end components for it... gives you lots of upgrade options for the future...

Feeling a little slow.. add new ram... ect... running out of space second hard drive.. all that jazz.. you can't really do that with a pre-made from gateway or dell.
 
It may be helpful to explain if you have any computer parts already such as monitor, mouse, harddrive, or etc that way you can save money on parts. =]

If you are going to buy from Amazon, search for the parts on Newegg.com then order the parts on Amazon.
 
[quote name='kiyomasa']It may be helpful to explain if you have any computer parts already such as monitor, mouse, harddrive, or etc that way you can save money on parts. =]

If you are going to buy from Amazon, search for the parts on Newegg.com then order the parts on Amazon.[/QUOTE]

You're right, that would be helpful. I don't need a monitor, mouse, or keyboard, just what's in the case.

I ask for suggestions on components since I am so far out of the loop anymore - of course I want the best price/performance I can get for the $$. AMD or Intel, Seagate or Western Digital, MSI or Gigabyte, I don't care - not brand loyal to any component.
 
I'd suggest going with an AMD 840 X4:
http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Phenom-So...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1303565120&sr=1-2
4 GB RAM:
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-CT2CP...ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1303563975&sr=1-3
A cheaper case:
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master...ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1303564014&sr=1-5
380 W PSU:
http://www.amazon.com/Antec-EA-380D...R17Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303563769&sr=8-1
Windows 7 System Builder Edition:
http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Premu...JO4M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1303563834&sr=8-2
Light Scribe Burner:
http://www.amazon.com/Lite-LightScribe-Layer-Drive-IHAS424-98/dp/B002SIMPXM/ref=pd_cp_e_3
AMD 5770 Graphics Card:
http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Rade...ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1303564601&sr=1-1
ASRock 770 AM3 Motherboard:
http://www.amazon.com/ASRock-proces...9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1303564683&sr=1-9
Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500 GB:
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1303565260&sr=1-3
 
[quote name='fullmetalfan720']I'd suggest going with an AMD 840 X4:
http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Phenom-So...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1303565120&sr=1-2
4 GB RAM:
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-CT2CP...ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1303563975&sr=1-3
A cheaper case:
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master...ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1303564014&sr=1-5
380 W PSU:
http://www.amazon.com/Antec-EA-380D...R17Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303563769&sr=8-1
Windows 7 System Builder Edition:
http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Premu...JO4M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1303563834&sr=8-2
Light Scribe Burner:
http://www.amazon.com/Lite-LightScribe-Layer-Drive-IHAS424-98/dp/B002SIMPXM/ref=pd_cp_e_3
AMD 5770 Graphics Card:
http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Rade...ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1303564601&sr=1-1
ASRock 770 AM3 Motherboard:
http://www.amazon.com/ASRock-proces...9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1303564683&sr=1-9
Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500 GB:
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1303565260&sr=1-3[/QUOTE]

The first thing i noticed was the videocard requires a more powerfull PSu that you suggested.
But everything else seems good.
 
[quote name='Ivanhoe']The first thing i noticed was the videocard requires a more powerfull PSu that you suggested.
But everything else seems good.[/QUOTE]

Got a suggestion for a PS? I'm getting ready to buy.
 
Finally getting ready to buy - would I need a CPU cooler, or will the one that comes with the AMD processor work okay? If I need a different one, suggestions for an easy-to-install one?
 
[quote name='Don Chubo']Finally getting ready to buy - would I need a CPU cooler, or will the one that comes with the AMD processor work okay? If I need a different one, suggestions for an easy-to-install one?[/QUOTE]

If you intend to run at stock speed, the cooling that comes in the box is fine.
 
[quote name='reddjoey']If you or your brother are a student, you can pickup Windows 7 for around $30. OF course you will need an XP install, but you might have an old one laying around

https://www.microsoft.com/student/en/us/windows/buynow/default.aspx[/QUOTE]

No you don't. Do a clean install the first time and don't punch in your Product Key when asked for. Once you install it, do it again, but this time "upgrade" from Windows 7 to Windows 7. Punch in your product key and you have a fully functioning Windows 7. That's what I did and it worked fine.
 
[quote name='DarkRider23']No you don't. Do a clean install the first time and don't punch in your Product Key when asked for. Once you install it, do it again, but this time "upgrade" from Windows 7 to Windows 7. Punch in your product key and you have a fully functioning Windows 7. That's what I did and it worked fine.[/QUOTE]

You can install without inputting a product code?
 
[quote name='Don Chubo']You can install without inputting a product code?[/QUOTE]

I just built a PC and used the 30 dollar student upgrade to install on a new machine. Install once, then upgrade, put in serial - done.
 
First of all, I would like to thank everyone that gave me suggestions with this.

I ended up blowing the Amazon credit on books, and I was still in the market for a PC, so I went back and forth between buying a pre-built and building my own.

I did buy a low-end CyberPower PC from Wal-Mart (not a monster, but under $400), but sent it back because I could not activate Windows 7...and also because it was a really flimsy PC.

I got an email from Newegg featuring bundles, so I added a couple of things and bit the bullet:

1. AMD Phenom II X6 1035T Thuban 2.6GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT35TWFK6DGR - OEM

2. ASUS M4A88T-M AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

3. Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

4. 2 of G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL

5. Thermaltake A4022 92mm CPU Cooler

6. LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support

7. Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - OEM - Didn't want this one, it was in the combo.

8. Rosewill RCR-IC002 74-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port / Extra silver face plate - 8 bucks!

9. Sapphire Radeon HD 5570 - 1 GB DDR3 HDMI/DVI-I/VGA PCI-Express Graphics Card 100293L - Bought for $50 from Amazon. Really low power requirements, and is a good enough card to suit me for now.

10. COOLER MASTER Elite RC-310-OWR460 Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case RS-460-PSAR-J3, Elite 460W Power Supply - Orange front - different, but kinda cool.

11. And the best part.......Windows 7 Professional 64-bit upgrade w/install DVD...for $13 since my kid is in college. And you guys were right, install and upgrade worked like a charm.

I got a free Kingston 4GB MicroSD card with adapter (not sure why) and an AMD Patriot 4GB USB thumb drive with the combo.

All told, I spent about $525.

I hadn't put a PC together from scratch for quite a few years (used to do it all of the time), so I was a bit cautious starting out, but then it was old hat and I had it up and running in under an hour.

I am really happy with it so far, it's fast, plays Brink at a nice framerate with most detail settings at High, and it's super quiet.

Thanks again to all for your help - it was a big help to get ideas on price/spec. I hadn't built a PC in ages, so I was definitely not current on this stuff.
 
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