New Rig +/-800$

[T.t74)Rocky]

I'm trying to make a new computer and I need a heads up ^^
Figured you guys are probably the best out there in Canada so why no asking? :)

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Work, internet, MOVIES, some games, not too fancy
I will be using the computer for casual gaming but i would really like to try out some of the new games comming out. I got bored playing starcraft, its only been what 10 years now? :D haha ^^ Lets just say i'll drop my old games and try new things. Everyone talking about crysis made me want to try it out...


2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
around ~800$ would be nice, maybe more

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.


4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.
I like Intel alot, but anything fits best..!

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
I dont have much... if anything at all but a nice dvd driver..
Depending on what you guys will tell me, i might have some parts from close friends

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
In fact i did but its like chineese to me, i dont understand much xD

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
I know what it is, i dont know how to do it

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Now

So, like i said, i dont need anything too fancy

I dont need a 500gb HDD, a 60gb HDD with more speed (7200rpm+) is great for me.
(I have a 80g 7200rpm right now but its fairly old)

A 22" monitor is really way too much, a 15" to 19" is enought

This only looked fairly nice for the price
Canadian Prices: Acer - Acer X183HB 18.5 Widescreen LCD Monitor - 5ms, 1000:1, Black - ET.XX3WP.001
or maybe not... ^^

I need something that will last many years ^^

So if you guys can make me a nice build and then help me out when i receive the parts it would be really, really nice. I might even invite you to a BBQ!! xD

thanks ^^

[Lpfan4ever]

I highly suggest going with something of the 4:3 ratio, or something a bit bigger for widescreen, because my school has 18.5 inch widescreens and they are horrible to use for anything except text editing or something like that.

[Eagle Eye]

T.t74,

I am happy to spend the time putting a list of parts together I just need to know a few more things and also wanted to add some comments.

Do you need a new mouse and keyboard?

Do you need a new case and powersupply?

Purchasing a larger drive would make more sense economically since the price per gig would be ultimately cheaper and the cost difference is marginal in comparison.

I agree with Ip its best to shy away from the non-standard screen sizes, but honestly I would consider a 22" its the best choice between a 19" and a 24" not to small but not to large.

P.S. There is always StarcraftII to consider given that there's lots to choose from the pc market right now.

[Mr. Gruntsworthy]

I'm just going to fill you in on a bit, to help you in your quest for building a new computer.


1) The size of the hard drive has little impact on speed; actually, one could say that hard drives with larger data capacities have faster access times (number of disk platters notwithstanding), as data is stored in a more dense state. Plus, hard drives are so rediculously cheap, you can pick up a 500GB drive for less than eighty bucks.

2) Future proofing for computers is not possible. As the technologies change very quickly, what is top-of-the-line this year could become redundant next year. The best you can do is build the most powerful machine you can for your budget.

3) In the near future, the Nehalem Core i7 platform is coming out. Save your money (and amass more while you're at it), and build yourself a nice i7 computer instead, because the core 2 series will become redundant (much like the pentium 4 is now). The core 2 series will still hold preference for overclocks though.

[Moneyless]

You say you don't need a 500GB drive now, but wait until you start hoarding loads of stuff on your drive. These days 500GB is pretty much what everyone should at least have, and you can get Seagate's 500GB 7200.11 drive for $70-75 each which is a great price.

With the price of hardware these days you can get a pretty decent rig for $800.

[Mr. Gruntsworthy]

getting the 500 gig drive is the best thing i ever did, short of building the computer to begin with. I use it for storing all my media, recording raw video, everything!

Then i have my trusty (albeit noisy) seagate 160gb drive for OS and apps...

[Kayen]

Lol, i'm kinda chugging along with a single 160gb hd right now x_x.
Anyways for $800 he could get a pretty good build out of that for what he wants.
And perhaps get a 4850 in there and he could keep it longer.

[T.t74)Rocky]

@ Eagle_eye

Do you need a new mouse and keyboard?

No!!!! I just saved 30 bucks! dang! Thats a good start!

Do you need a new case and powersupply?

I have 2-3 empty old cases i can try to fit the parts in, if it dosnt work, i'll buy one

Edit: just checked my powersupply its full of dust and spiderwebs
Can't even read the brand name..
So i'll think need a new one...


Thanks for the help everyone, i really appreciate!
BBQ AND STARCRAFT FOR EVERYONE!!

[Moneyless]

Starcraft rocks.

Now where are my Starcraft CD's?...

I could put a build together for you in an hour or so, I'm a but busy at the moment though.

[Eagle Eye]

Okay here's what I have come up with and the important thing we have here is a list of components we can work with and swap out for better or cheaper

Monitor: Acer X193WB Black 19IN Widescreen LCD Monitor 1440X900 2000:1 5MS VGA - DirectCanada

Monitor 2: Acer X223WBD Black 22IN Widescreen LCD Monitor 1680X1050 2500:1 5MS VGA DVI HDCP - DirectCanada

Case and Powersupply: Antec Sonata III Black ATX 16IN Mid Tower Quiet Case 3X5.25 2X3.5 4X3.5IN 500W 120MM Fan - DirectCanada

Stand Alone PSU: Antec Neopower 500 High Efficiency 500W ATX12V V2.2 20/24PIN Active PFC 80MM Fan Power Supply - DirectCanada

Motherboard: Asus P5Q Pro Atx LGA775 P45 DDR2 2PCI-E16 Crossfire 3PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Sound Gblan Esata Motherboard - DirectCanada

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Dual Core Processor LGA775 3.0GHZ Wolfdale 1333FSB 6MB Retail - DirectCanada

Memory: Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X2048-6400 2GB 2X1GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 5-5-5-18 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory - DirectCanada

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 3.5IN 500GB SATA2 8.5MS 7200RPM 32MB Cache Ncq Hard Drive Oem - DirectCanada

Video: EVGA E-GEFORCE 9800GT 600MHZ 512MB 1.8GHZ 256BIT DDR3 2XDVI HDCP HDTV Out Video Card 512-P3-N971-TR - DirectCanada

After taxes insurance and free shipping total is $960.80, but thats a number we can work with.

Configuration with monitor 2 and stand alone PSU no case is $941.31

Regards,

EE