I've decided I'm gunna get out of the laptop scene and go back to desktop for more of my music, movies, and light gaming. I'm interested in getting a motherboard capable of HDMI, and preferable a quality blu ray drive because I've been seeing a decent drop in prices for desktop internals. Could you guys steer me in the direction of a good build in the range of less than $750.
Help with computer build
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Hydro2Oxide
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Have you considered building your own computer? If so, check out Newegg, I just ordered all the parts for my next computer.
PraiseChaos
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Here's a few basic guidelines to help you. Also, Google is your best friend here. I'd go with Newegg on these purchases.
You'll more or less need the following items to build a full desktop:
1) You'll want to look in the video card section to make sure that the card you buy has HDMI and is PCI-Express. You shouldn't need an expensive one. Make sure your motherboard also supports PCI-Express.
2) Look under optical drives for Blu-ray drives. IDE or SATA should work fine (make sure the motherboard you buy works for both.)
3) Make sure your motherboard supports the RAM type and speed (ex. DDR2 1066 RAM needs a motherboard with DDR2 slots that can use it.)
4) Make sure your CPU is the same socket type as your motherboard.
5) Some cases come with power supply units, but they aren't always good quality power supply units. A lot of people skimp on their power supplies, but it's not a good idea.
I'm missing quite a bit there, but it's not particlarly easy to tell you how to build a computer in a forum thread without telling you what to get. That should get you started. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
You'll more or less need the following items to build a full desktop:
- Motherboard
- Video Card
- RAM
- Processor (Retail box with cooler is probably what you want)
- Hard Drive
- Case
- Power supply
- Optical Drive (DVD, Cd, Blu-ray drive)
1) You'll want to look in the video card section to make sure that the card you buy has HDMI and is PCI-Express. You shouldn't need an expensive one. Make sure your motherboard also supports PCI-Express.
2) Look under optical drives for Blu-ray drives. IDE or SATA should work fine (make sure the motherboard you buy works for both.)
3) Make sure your motherboard supports the RAM type and speed (ex. DDR2 1066 RAM needs a motherboard with DDR2 slots that can use it.)
4) Make sure your CPU is the same socket type as your motherboard.
5) Some cases come with power supply units, but they aren't always good quality power supply units. A lot of people skimp on their power supplies, but it's not a good idea.
I'm missing quite a bit there, but it's not particlarly easy to tell you how to build a computer in a forum thread without telling you what to get. That should get you started. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
ryanflucas
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If you don't necessarily want to build, but would like to buy custom built, there are online stores with fairly decent pricing:
http://www.ibuypower.com/AMD-DDR3/amd-phenom-2-ddr3.asp
http://www.ibuypower.com/INTEL-i7/INTEL-i7.asp
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/landingpages/intel/i7/
http://www.ibuypower.com/AMD-DDR3/amd-phenom-2-ddr3.asp
http://www.ibuypower.com/INTEL-i7/INTEL-i7.asp
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/landingpages/intel/i7/
I actually fairly recently did a build that had everything you wanted but the Blu-Ray drive for around $600. Also your term light gaming is somewhat objective, what is the newest game you would want to play on it?
Here is my build with links to Newegg and listings of prices I paid. Prices vary all the time and you can get combo deals. I also got lucky enough and everything I got had free shipping.
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H - $69.99 (discontinued, comparable board: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H - Currently $79.99) *They both have built-in HDMI and are based off of the ATI HD3200 chipset*
Antec 300 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower - $69.99 (got combo deal with power supply of $40 off total of both)
Antec 650W ATX12V - $99.99 (got combo deal with case of $40 off total of both)
AMD Athlon 64X2 5000 2.6ghz 65W Dual Core Processor - $59.99 (discontinued, comparable processor: AMD Athlon 64X2 5200 2.7ghz 65w Dual Core - Currently $56.99)
G.Skill 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2 800 Memory - $49.99 (you would need with the alternate board listed above: G.Skill 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2 1066 - Currently $44.99)
Western Digital 320GB SATA II Drive - $49.99
LG Black 22X SATA DVD Burner - $24.99 (Fry's currently has a Blu-Ray drive for $99.99)
EVGA GTX 260 896MB PCI Express X16 2.0 - $199.99 (With this and everything else in the PC I can run Crysis at around 30-45fps on medium-high settings)
Nippon Labs 0.5M Right Angle SATA II Cable (Qty 4) - $17.96 (I had to get these because of the design of the board the video card covers 3 of the SATA ports but 4 of them curve the same way and these fixed that issue no problems)
After total and discounts - $602.88
I didn't have to buy an OS because I got a few Windows Vista Ultimate keys from TechNet events I've went to for my company but that will run you around $100 or so. I've also put in a two Seagate 1TB Hard Drives and a Seagate 1.5TB hard drive, also another 4GB of memory)
Here is my build with links to Newegg and listings of prices I paid. Prices vary all the time and you can get combo deals. I also got lucky enough and everything I got had free shipping.
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H - $69.99 (discontinued, comparable board: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H - Currently $79.99) *They both have built-in HDMI and are based off of the ATI HD3200 chipset*
Antec 300 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower - $69.99 (got combo deal with power supply of $40 off total of both)
Antec 650W ATX12V - $99.99 (got combo deal with case of $40 off total of both)
AMD Athlon 64X2 5000 2.6ghz 65W Dual Core Processor - $59.99 (discontinued, comparable processor: AMD Athlon 64X2 5200 2.7ghz 65w Dual Core - Currently $56.99)
G.Skill 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2 800 Memory - $49.99 (you would need with the alternate board listed above: G.Skill 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2 1066 - Currently $44.99)
Western Digital 320GB SATA II Drive - $49.99
LG Black 22X SATA DVD Burner - $24.99 (Fry's currently has a Blu-Ray drive for $99.99)
EVGA GTX 260 896MB PCI Express X16 2.0 - $199.99 (With this and everything else in the PC I can run Crysis at around 30-45fps on medium-high settings)
Nippon Labs 0.5M Right Angle SATA II Cable (Qty 4) - $17.96 (I had to get these because of the design of the board the video card covers 3 of the SATA ports but 4 of them curve the same way and these fixed that issue no problems)
After total and discounts - $602.88
I didn't have to buy an OS because I got a few Windows Vista Ultimate keys from TechNet events I've went to for my company but that will run you around $100 or so. I've also put in a two Seagate 1TB Hard Drives and a Seagate 1.5TB hard drive, also another 4GB of memory)
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NamelessMC
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Let's see. In no particular order:
1) Gigabyte P45-DS3L $90 & Intel E5200 $70
2) 4gb DDR2 ram kit $40
3) LG Blu-ray DVDRW combo drive $100
4) WD 640gb HDD $80
5) Radeon HD4830 $85
6) PSU - Good brand low cost, probably Corsair VX550 $70
7) Any case you want, your choice $50-100
If you want, you can upgrade the motherboard to the EP45-UD3P, that depends on what type of surround sound you have. If you're getting an HDMI audio receiver, then get the DS3L for the price. If you're going to use a optical based surround sound, spend the extra $20 or so on the UD3P, because it converts 5.1 to Dolby 5.1 over optical out. If you get the DS3L/R or UD3R, you don't get 5.1 over optical unless it's bitstream (so downloaded videos with 5.1 are only 2.1).
1) Gigabyte P45-DS3L $90 & Intel E5200 $70
2) 4gb DDR2 ram kit $40
3) LG Blu-ray DVDRW combo drive $100
4) WD 640gb HDD $80
5) Radeon HD4830 $85
6) PSU - Good brand low cost, probably Corsair VX550 $70
7) Any case you want, your choice $50-100
If you want, you can upgrade the motherboard to the EP45-UD3P, that depends on what type of surround sound you have. If you're getting an HDMI audio receiver, then get the DS3L for the price. If you're going to use a optical based surround sound, spend the extra $20 or so on the UD3P, because it converts 5.1 to Dolby 5.1 over optical out. If you get the DS3L/R or UD3R, you don't get 5.1 over optical unless it's bitstream (so downloaded videos with 5.1 are only 2.1).
techstar25
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If you don't want the hassle of building it yourself, check out the Systemax desktops from TigerDirect. Systemax is basically the TigerDirect in-house brand.
Here is a monster for $699 for example:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4181367&CatId=2629
Edit: it doesn't look like these come with Blu-Ray players, though, so you might just want to buy a cheaper one and then get the BD drive separately .
Here is a monster for $699 for example:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4181367&CatId=2629
Edit: it doesn't look like these come with Blu-Ray players, though, so you might just want to buy a cheaper one and then get the BD drive separately .
[quote name='ryanflucas']If you don't necessarily want to build, but would like to buy custom built, there are online stores with fairly decent pricing:
http://www.ibuypower.com/AMD-DDR3/amd-phenom-2-ddr3.asp
http://www.ibuypower.com/INTEL-i7/INTEL-i7.asp
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/landingpages/intel/i7/[/quote]
have people had good experiences with these companies?
http://www.ibuypower.com/AMD-DDR3/amd-phenom-2-ddr3.asp
http://www.ibuypower.com/INTEL-i7/INTEL-i7.asp
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/landingpages/intel/i7/[/quote]
have people had good experiences with these companies?
Hydro2Oxide
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ibuypower was a mess for me, I'd steer clear. They had decent customer support but their hardware is a C-
bigdaddybruce44
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IBuyPower and CyberPowerPC have horrible reputations. I use to read horror stories all the time about people getting the wrong configurations, hardware that wasn't installed properly in the system, bad service, etc.
bread's done