Help Me Build A PC

R

rdytorave

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 4, 2002
Messages
188
Ok I've got a monitor. I need everything else.

This pc won't be overclocked. I'm looking for value. Something that's not too pricey, but comes with decent performance.

It will be used for some light gaming and lots of multimedia downloads.

Thanks,

r2r
 
No offense dude but people that want to build their own computers should learn how to look around and find the parts they need for the right prices, otherwise stick with pre-builts.

For a value system i would buy the following for starters.

AMD Athlon XP 2500+
Abit NF7
Mushkin Ehanced, Corsair XMS, or Kingston Hyperx PC3200.
ATi Radeon 9600XT or Nvidia 5900SE
Antec case with Antec or Fortron 350w PSU
 
i really really hate it when people post shit like "Help Me Do Something I Should Be Learning and Will Put Little to No Effort What-So-Ever Into and Merely Profit from Your Hard Word and Expense and Your Spent Time" just kinda pisses me off no end if you know what i mean.
so change the:
originally posted by burningrave101. w00t.
No offense dude
Click to expand...
to:
merely putting it in "quote" b/c i like the solid lines

offense, dude.
Click to expand...

</RANT>
 
Go with AMD 2500+ with ABIT NF7, Radeon 9600 XT, 1 gig of dual channel ddr pc3200 ram and a 80 gb hd 7200 rpm by western digital
 
If you're not overclocking then "maybe" save some $$$ with 2 x 512meg pc2700/DDR333 since thats the bus speed a Barton XP2500 runs at (Although the pc3200 is more future proof, you can't lose either choice you make). Kingston's having a really nice sale http://www.shop.kingston.com/0104kvr/default.asp?sls=shop_spcl

I concur with everyone elses system recommendation, but compare the features of the NF7 and NF7-S versions since the NF7-S might have features you need like upgraded sound, firewire and serial ata built onboard.

Try not to go "budget" on your psu so choose one of newegg's Antec case/Antec psu bundles (nice combo price on them).

A 9600 Pro or XT would be perfect for light gaming (slight overkill but more futureproof than a GF4 etc)
 
Give us a budget cap, then we can make a solid recommendation or refer you to the right place.

Resist the temptation to buy a 7000Watt Power supply, just pick up a Forton or a Sparkle 350W and you will be totally and completely fine.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys! This is good stuff!

I can give you a price range. $400-$700.
 
Try this:

Case: Antec LanBoy - $49.00 + $18 Shipping

Power Supply: Antec 300W - Comes with the case.

Motherboard: Abit NF7-S - $101.99 + Free Shipping

Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2500+ - $90.00 + Free Shipping

RAM: 2 sticks of Corsair XMS PC3200 - $120.00 + Free Shipping

Hard Drive: Western Digital 120GB Special Edition - $94.00 + Free Shipping

Video Card: ATI Radeon 9600XT - $189.00 + Free Shipping

Burner: Lite-On 52x32x52 - $38 + Free Shipping

Total: $699.99 <-- Damn, am I good or what? :D

Edit: Doh! I just realized I didn't include a DVD drive for you :p. You might want to take a little extra money and get some more things that you might need, such as that DVD drive, a nice mouse and keyboard, and if you want, a LanBoy with a window and more powerful power supply. That computer should fit your needs, but change the setup to whatever suits you. Hell, it even comes with Half-Life 2, whenever it comes along :D.
 
Athlon 2500+ OEM Barton core - $85
Abit NF7 motherboard - $80
2 x Buffalo Tech. PC3200 256MB - $76
Sapphire Radeon 9600XT - $169
Hitachi 7K250 160GB IDE hard drive - $125
Antec Solution Series with 300W PSU $49
Thermaltake SilentBOOST heatsink - $27
Lite-On LTR-52327 52X burner - $37
$638 and extremely high performance

Your choice of case, mouse & keyboard.
All prices from newegg.com

"No overclocking" completely excludes the need for more expensive RAM. I would use the money to purchase a larger capacity and higher performance hard drive since your friend is into "multimedia downloads".

edit: lol, hitman picked quite similar stuff
 
Lemme guess, most of these *ahem* "multimedia downloads" are all around 10 seconds long? Im using only 10% of my 80GB HDD's space with an adequate amount of games and tons of these clips.
 
I would get Crucial RAM and the 9600Pro if you're on a budget. Make sure you get an Antec 300W or 350W power supply though. Don't skimp on RAM or PSU and you'll be glad in the future.
 
I seriously do not mind when people post these kind of questions. They are basically looking for some sort of an advice. Also, I am sure that they know how much they will be willing to spend, so that in itself is already a starting point.

I say, with people that are actually thankful for the help, then it is okay. Like this guy right here. He said thanks for the help, and that the advice are actually helping him make HIS buying decisions.

I feel bad for the people that get super bashed for asking question like this. Some people seriously do not know much, some might know stuff but are just toooo busy to actually read massive amounts of reviews and actually comparing them to each other competitive hardware instead of just asking people for stuff that actually work wonders, and some do not know where to even start.

I work at a computer store, so I get these type of questions DAILY. So if you do not want to help him, then don't post.

But back to your question:
Basically, I would go with what Leukotriene stated. However, I would get 1 stick of 512 instead of 2x256MB. If you do not need the 160GB HD space, you can downgrade to an 80GB. Western Digital, Samsung, Hitachi, and Seagate makes some good and quite ones for a reasonable price.

But try to snatch a case with a nice PSU. Stick with an Antec case. I purchased a 3700AMB w 350Watt PSU from Newegg and I love it!

O yeah, if you were not planning to OC then get the retail version of the 2500+, only cost $5 bucks extra compared to the OEM and it comes with a HSF. That way you don't have chump out the extra $30 bucks or so for a nicer HSF.

That should be a pretty nice system for that budget. Can even spit out some cash for a nice Keyboard/Mice setup. Do go with a Logitech set if you have no clue on which to get. They are worth every penny IMO.

Alex
 
Hey, you know what guys? These budget system are ALL looking alike, lol. Just a trip because I was reading at everyone's advice and they are quite similar. Starts off with the 2500+ and the Abit NF-7, hahaha.
 
Hey Chelica you mentioned that, if not OCing, get the retail. Do the retail versions have limits or something built in that keep it from being overclocked? Unfortunate if so since it does sound a lot easier to install the retail ones.
 
Nope, the difference between the retail and OEM is that the OEM does not come with the HSF. This is for the people that does not want to use the stock HSF because they have some nice ass HSF that they have already purchased or planned on purchasing for this beast of a CPU.

I say go for the retail. $5 bucks for a HSF is pretty good. Even if you were to use it for 2 months and then you plan on OCing, then purchase yourself a nicer HSF. Breaks down to only $2.50 a month for 2 months. Can't go wrong there.

And from what I have heard, the stock HSF for the AMD 2500+ is not that bad.

We were extremely happy to see that AMD has dramatically improved the HSF's that are bundled with their retail processors. It seems as if they really listen to the end user complaints. Ask anyone who bought a retail boxed Athlon processor in the past and you'll no doubt hear about how they'd need to buy another HSF to replace the stock retail one.
Click to expand...

Got that from a Google search which bumped me to PCStats.com

I think all of the 2500+ now are all locked so that will be the only thing preventing you from mad OCing it.

Alex
 
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