Building a PC ~ $850 (1 Viewer)

[RIZAL]

Hi guys, i'm after a new PC and am going to spend around $850. I already have a Sony LCD monitor and a good sound system. I will be purchasing the computer from Fluidtek (do they put the computers together for a fee?)

These are my requirements in descending order:
1. Must be VERY resistant to crashing.
2. Must be QUIET.
3. Must be suitable for non-serious gaming. (I play network games like CS and Quake 3 every now and then).

So how about:

Motherboard - GIGABYTE (AMD-939) K8N Pro–SLI Motherboard - $159
Ram - 1 GB (2X512) Dual Channel PQI DDR2 - $155
Case - X Blade with 400w PSU - $49 (when packaged with PQI)
Hard Drive - 250GB 8MB Western Digital SATA Hard Disk - $159
VGA - 128MB ATI 9550 “AGP” VGA Card - $60
Pioneer 110d 16x DVD Writer - $65
CPU - seeking recommendations. (leaning toward a p4 3.0 but i am ignorant as to whether the AMD processors are good for what i'll be doing - i.e. mostly studying/surfing net and not gaming)

anyway, without the CPU, the total is $647 leaving about $200 for the processor and anything i've forgotton. Any input will be greatly appreciated.

 

[AsyLum]

Quiet-ness is usually associated with your cooling setup rather than your hardware components.

Crashing wise, its really a trial and error thing, unless you buy from Dell etc, due to the nature of taking various different parts and combining them, you may or may not have a problem in compatibility.

If you're looking at last-gen games, i run Q3 and CS with 2x AA and AS @ 1024 @ constant 85 fps (limited due to monitor refresh rate) and thats with an Asus GF4ti4200 8x 128mb. So that should pose no problems in running it.

P4 = more $$$ considering you're a non-heavy user, AMD would be better.

 

[equiski]

P4s run much hotter than equivalent AMD processors, meaning they need better cooling (AKA more noise).


That said, the AMDs are better value for money anyway, go the 64.

 

[RIZAL]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

OK, so I add AMD Althon64-939 Venice Core 3000+ Boxed CPU $199 and I hit my budget exactly. Any other recommendations?

 

[AsyLum]

Not too sure, but make sure the mobo can handle the new dual cores (im pretty sure it can)

 

[equiski]

Not too sure, but make sure the mobo can handle the new dual cores (im pretty sure it can)

1 Yes it does.
2 What does that have to do with anything?

 

[Templar]

You're buying DDR2 RAM for an AMD system. AMD only takes DDR.

You're buying an AGP video card for a PCIe motherboard.

 

[RIZAL]

OK i'm a bit confused now.

can someone recommend a good motherboard/ram/video card/cpu combo for this price range? I thought they were all compatible with each other (yes i'm a noob).

 

[AsyLum]

1 Yes it does.
2 What does that have to do with anything?

It saves him buying a new motherboard IF he decides to purchase the next batch

 

[AntiHyper]

Questions about what the mboard can hold?
Check the product specifications.

A dual-channelled ddr400 is apparently more expensive than a ddr2: 512MB Corsair DDR 400 Ram ~$98. You specified you need 2 so it gets to ~$196 (you can get your price quotes maybe cheaper)

About the graphics card, I believe it's a waste to buy a "SLI Ready" PCI express mboard when you're only getting an agp card. Never the less, it's good to have just in case you wish to upgrade to a PCIe gfx card.

 

[RIZAL]

Ok how bout:

CPU: AMD Sempron 3000+ S754 $115
MOBO: Gigabyte AMD 754 All In One M/B $75
RAM: PQI DDR 1GB(2x512)PC3200 400MHz $155
FDD: None
HDD: 120gig 8mb Seagate 7200rpm SATA $115
OPTICAL: Samsung 16x DVD RW Dual Layer $58
VIDEO: recommendations? ~ $83
SOUND: Onboard 5.1
NETWORK: Onboard 10/100
CASE: Thermaltake Soprano Case w PSU $99 (when bundled with PQI RAM)
TOTAL: $700

 

[withoutaface]

I wouldn't bother with 1gb of ram, and get a generic case. Then spend your video card budget on a vanilla 6600 (~$150)

 

[bscienceboi]

Are you quoting MSY? Cause that would explain all the PQI bundles :|

If you don't plan on playing much new games than 512 RAM is sufficient.

HDD should be cheaper.

$100 gets you a second hand 9800pro

Generic case will do.

Geil Dual Channel RAM is roughtly the same price.

 

[RIZAL]

Thanks for all the advice guys. This is the setup I've decided on:

CPU: AMD Sempron 3000+ S754 $115
MOBO: Gigabyte AMD 754 All In One M/B $59 (Geil RAM bundle price)
RAM: Geil DDR 1GB(2x512) DDR400 $145
FDD: None
HDD: 200GB 8MB Maxtor SATA Hard Disk Drive $115
OPTICAL: Samsung 16x DVD RW Dual Layer $53
VIDEO: 9800 Pro 128mb AGP $125
SOUND: Onboard 5.1
NETWORK: Onboard 10/100
CASE: Generic black case with PSU $25
KEYBOARD AND MOUSE: $20
TOTAL: $657

I'll be getting the computer from Fluditek (www.fluidtek.com). Well that's if they reply to my countless emails!

 

[withoutaface]

Dude most cases cool fine, and it doesn't sound like the threadstarter intends to overclock it by huge amounts.