Discussion Forums > Technology

help me buy a new comp

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Freedom Kira:
Don't worry, it's pretty easy, or should I say straightforward... Just need some basic tech knowledge and some common sense. And patience - if something doesn't fit, don't force it.

Chalk it up to a good learning experience.

Nyking754:
so just a few questions-
how much would it cost build the comp,
i have an estimate correct me if im wrong-
casing- 50
mother board- 100(no idea what to buy here but saw that most motherboards costs around that)
intel i7 processor- 300
good video card- 200
power supply- 30
fans and cooling- idk but guessing around 20
dvd drive- 20
2 tb hd- 100
is a sound card nessesary for playing sounds? and if so how mouch do they cost?
monitor- 200

Lupin:
Another one of those threads  :(

INB4 a barrage of builds.

Things to consider:

AMD's processors are underwhelming but they work well for budget builds. The motherboards have more features compared to an equally priced intel one as well. Money you save on the processor can be used on other hardware. Most games are GPU limited anyways. AMD is good enough.

Intel's platform is better performing but also more expensive. If you're on a tight budget, this might become a limitation.

Both platforms (AMD's AM3+ and Intel's 1155) are not really upgradable. Ivy Bridge is said to be compatible with 1155 but Intel's track record with compatibilty is not good. AM3+ may be the last of the AMx series. I think AMD will go with a pin incompatible socket after Bulldozer.


--- Quote from: Nyking754 on July 18, 2011, 05:07:13 AM ---hi my comp just broke :'( and ive decided to throw out everything and buy a new one including a monitor, headsets, speakers, and preferably wireless mouse and keyboard. im not so good with computers so please help me chose a good comp TY

--- End quote ---
You threw out everything ??? You didn't even check what's still salvageable from the old one? Get a Mac.

datora:
.
Read this topic:

> Technology > Help with building a tower

You will see exactly how I and another member here walked through a lot of options to build ~$800 computers with very serious computing power.  I'm trying to come in closer to ~$750, the other guy expanded his budget to go closer to $900.

The system I'm building is intended to overclock an AMD 965 Black Edition x4 processor from its rated 3.4 GHz up to ~4 GHz, and maybe 4.2.  With the proper motherboard, it's trivial these days.

As you noticed, there are hundreds thousands of videos and help sites to walk you through a build.  Essentially, the main box is 7 parts that need to be assembled carefully; everything else is peripherals.  Once you have the box budgeted (say: ~$900), then you decide how much you want to spend on monitor+mouse+keyboard & (maybe) external storage or other goodies (say: ~$300).  If $1200 is too much (which would be a mad state-of-the-art rig), then decide where to cut back a bit.


So, seriously, please read that topic.  It will answer many of your basic questions; a whole lot of your homework has already been done there.  There are also about ten other fairly recent topics here on the last ~8 pages or so that discuss other build options (including Intel CPU/mobo combinations).

If you're still uncomfortable with a build-your-own for some reason after that, just mention it and it won't be hard to point you at some newegg deals and suggest Good Things and Bad Things about them so you can decide where to make your compromises.

Some minor adjustments:


--- Quote from: Nyking754 on July 18, 2011, 06:56:05 AM ---so just a few questions-
how much would it cost build the comp,
i have an estimate correct me if im wrong-
casing- 50 - that's good; look at the one I got
mother board- 100 - more like $150, maybe $180; Intel, maybe $220
intel i7 processor- 300 - Intel, yes; AMD ~$180 x6 core @3.4 GHz, overclock to 4 GHz
good video card- 200 - can start ~$160-180 for very solid card, up to $250 without getting silly
power supply- 30 - $40 minimum; probably closer to $60; your rig will probably want 700-750 watts
fans and cooling- idk but guessing around 20 - look at the one I got: $24 after rebate; otherwise: $40-70
dvd drive- 20 - ASUS on special: $20 delivered
2 tb hd- 100 - Samsung F4 Spinpoint goes on special regularly for $60-70

DO NOT use this as your system install drive!  Get a Western Digital Caviar Black 640 or 750 GB SATA III or similar - OR - consider 64-90 GB SSD for extreme speed, if your budget will handle it.

is a sound card nessesary for playing sounds? and if so how mouch do they cost? - most boards come with very adequate to excellent sound for games: the Realtek ALC892 chipset is common & very solid

monitor- 200 - that'll get you a very nice one; you can drop down to ~$150 or go up to ~$300 depending on budget & quality you need
--- End quote ---


[ EDIT:  Oh, by the way -- if you are anywhere near Philadelphia, PM me and I'll take your broken old rig off your hands.  I'm in desperate need of parts to fix some systems and out of money.  Otherwise, tell us "HOW broken," and what parts are in it ... you can probably salvage a number of them.

EDIT^2: @Freedom Kira's reminder about RAM below: you can get an 8 GB matched dual channel set for ~$70 (got mine for $60; very unusual low price right now) ... look for 1600 or 1800/1833 speed; wasted money to go for 2000 or faster.  It's been getting ridiculously cheap.  G.SKILL is definitely the way to go; look for 9-9-9-24 timings on 1600 MHz RAM as a standard minimum. ]

Freedom Kira:
$50 will get you one of the cheapest cases available. As you're going for some juice in your hardware, you may want to up your budget to $75-100 for the case.

$100 is like above, but not quite as exaggerated. $120-150 will get you a decent board.

$300 will get you a mid-grade i7. You'll probably be fine with an i5 (save around $100 with that), but if you want the i7, go for it. Also, make sure your CPU matches your motherboard's socket. For Intel desktop CPUs, look for LGA. Around now, the newest stuff is LGA1155, which will fit all of the 4-digit models of i3/i5/i7, for example i7 2600K (Sandy Bridge). Don't mix it up with LGA1156, which 1155 supersedes. If you're shopping on Newegg, you can search by socket. This should be true for most other sites too.
But of course, like Lupin said, consider AMD's stuff since your budget isn't huge.

$200 will get a video card that's between mid- and high-end, if I'm not mistaken. I'm not very well-versed in graphics.

$30 would probably be a PSU that's around 300-400W. That's probably not enough. You're probably looking at closer to $50.

If you don't plan to do a whole lot of overclocking on your system, the CPU's stock fan should be good enough. If you insist, though, $20 sounds about right for a decent CPU fan and heatsink.

You may be able to get down to $15 for a DVD burner. Not going to go with Blu-ray?

You can probably find a 2TB HDD for as low as $80, or $70 on sale. Definitely look for 7200RPM drives. WD Caviar Black have an excellent reputation for performance but cost a couple tens more. Caviar Green are easier on the wallet and the electric bill, but are fairly slow in comparison. Hitachi and Samsung are pretty solid brands too. Stay away from Seagate for drives over 1TB.

In general, a sound card isn't needed for decent sound; I've always gone with onboard sound myself. If you're an audiophile, though, you may want to invest up to $100 in a sound card.

Monitor seems about right for 20+ inches, assuming you're going with the more mainstream LCD/LED panels. The really top-end stuff with resolutions like 1600p cost way more than $200.

You forgot the RAM. You'll need some DDR3 (204-pin DIMM). A set of 8GB (or two sets of 4GB) should be around $100-150; haven't checked in a while.

So, sounds like you've got a decent ~$1100 build (~$900 without monitor), though you won't know for sure until you actually decide what you want. Since you have a bit left, try investing in an SSD. It alone will be the biggest performance booster for your system.

Anyway, people usually spend more time shopping for parts than actually building the system. Be prepared to spend a lot of time checking reviews and comparing products, if you want your build to really last.

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