New build ideas for a home desktktop

[ahaHWCnks]

I have a pretty old desktop (P4 1.7GHz) and is planning to build a new one myself to replace it and maybe gain a little experience for my next build. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

1. Purpose: Not for heavy gaming, supports dual monitor (22 inch), may run all day long, (so hopefully low power and quiet), ready to run win7 smoothly. Kind of a home server.

2. The budget is less than $1000 and the less the better (actually don't have an idea right now).

3. Will buy parts in Canada unless it's quite cheaper in US.

4. I prefer intel CPU (low power consumption and better performance since core 2 duo (as I read)?), no preference on GPU.

5. Parts to keep: one 22 inch LCD (samsung 2253lw), key board, mouse, speaker.

6. Read similar threads? Didn't find any. Most of the discussions here seem to be about gaming machines.

7. Overclocking or not: Yes, but won't push it.

8. WHEN to build: asap.

[Steve0]

I am in the same boat as you, I am in the process of upgrading my P4 1.8 GHZ PC. I just ordered parts for a build that came to $908 with taxes and shipping. I ordered from NCIX and price matched everything to the lowest price I could find (using Price Compare & Shopbot)

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail ($78.10)

Corsair TX650W 650W Atx 12V 52A 24PIN Atx Power Supply Active Pfc 120MM Fan ($90.42)

Intel Core i5 750 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.66GHZ 8MB Cache Retail Box ($219.00)

ASUS P7P55D LE LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI Crossfire GBLAN 6SATA IDE Motherboard ($138.07)

G.SKILL F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH Ripjaws PC3-12800 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL7-7-7-24 Core I5 Memory Kit ($101.99)

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM ($73.52)

XFX Radeon HD 4850 1GB DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out Video Card ($129.79)

Samsung SH-S223B/BEBE 22X DVD+-RW SATA DVD Writer Black OEM ($26.59)

The graphics card I got was a last minute decision (I was looking at a Gigabyte 4850 for around $90). Also the DVD writer does not have light scribe (does anybody use lightscribe?).

This is my first build, I did alot of research on it. I am not really a PC gamer (I usually play on the Xbox 360), but if I decide to play games on it, it definately will play them. It will mostly be used for extreme multi tasking, windows media center, converting video formats, burning DVD's ect...

It is probably more than I need right now, but I like that, and want this PC to last several years. I eventually will get an after market cooler for it and over clock it as much as I can.

Hope this helps ya out!

[Sushi Warrior]

I would the same build as above but with a 4670 or GT220 and a Lian Li V351 and mATX mobo. Maybe the Gigabyte UD4m.

[ahaHWCnks]

Originally Posted by Steve0

Hope this helps ya out!

Thank you Steve0, that helps a lot.

[ahaHWCnks]

Originally Posted by Sushi Warrior

I would the same build as above but with a 4670 or GT220 and a Lian Li V351 and mATX mobo. Maybe the Gigabyte UD4m.

Thank you Sushi Warrior, I will check them out and come back if I have more questions.

[rjbarker]

If yuor planning on gmaing on that Rig..go with:
GTX 260 Core 216, GTX 275 or ATI 5850 / 5870...you won't be dissapointed....you will be with the others...