Looking to build a PC (UPDATED)

[yerxa]

Hey guys,

 

 

 

I'm looking to build my first PC and was looking for some direction/recommendations. I've got a pretty tight budget, and I'm looking to get the best bang for my buck. I'm fairly good with electronics, but any useful guides would be great. But if you guys could give me a list of hardware I should buy, that would be fantastic!

 

 

 

What I need from the computer:

 

 

 

Basic Word/Excel type work, fast internet browsing, simple gaming (RuneScape type games), movie watching, and maybe the occasional high-end game.

 

 

 

What I'd like to see:

 

 

 

A big hard drive (at least 250 GB), at least 2GB of RAM, and a DVD writer are my only MUST haves. Would like to see a good size monitor too. I hate waiting on load time, so the faster the better.

 

 

 

The budget:

 

 

 

$1000 which includes case, all hardware, OS (Vista or XP), speakers, keyboard, LCD monitor, and shipping.

 

 

 

Where I'm buying:

 

 

 

Preferably Tiger Direct (http://www.tigerdirect.com), or similar company which ships within Canada (I don't want to pay additional fees for shipping internationally). Calculate shipping to Postal Code: B3K 4N5.

 

 

 

Would also like reasons why you recommend a particular product (brand name, personal experience, etc.). Reason I ask is because I don't really want to put a large amount of money into someone blindly picking things for no reason.

 

 

 

If you need any more information let me know.

 

 

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

EDIT:

 

 

 

Alright, so after a day of looking around this is what I'm currently thinking:

 

 

 

Monitor/Speakers - I-Inc AG-191DPB 19" LCD Monitor - 8ms, 700:1, SXGA 1280x1024, DVI, VGA, Black, 300 cd/mÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâò, Built-In Speakers

 

 

 

Case/PSU/Case Fans - Ultra Grid ATX Mid-Tower Case with Front USB and Audio Ports and Ultra V-Series 500-Watt Power Supply w/ 2-120mm Fans

 

 

 

Motherbaord - XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard, NVIDIA, Socket 775, ATX, Audio, PCI Express, SLI Ready, Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, USB 2.0 & Firewire, Serial ATA, RAID

 

 

 

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Processor BX80557E4500 - 2.20GHz, 2MB Cache, 800MHz FSB, Allendale, Dual Core, Retail, Socket 775, Processor with Fan

 

 

 

RAM - Corsair XMS2 DHX 2048MB Dual Channel PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB)

 

 

 

Video Card - EVGA GeForce 8600 GTS Video Card - FREE Enemy Territory: Quake Wars PC Game, 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express, SLI Ready, Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card

 

 

 

DVD Burner - Samsung SH-S183L SATA LightScribe OEM Burner - 18x DVDÃÆââ¬Å¡ÃâñR, 8x DVDÃÆââ¬Å¡ÃâñR Dual Layer, 12x DVD-RAM, 48x40 CD-R, 32x40 CD-RW, Black

 

 

 

Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM

 

 

 

OS - Windows Vista Home Prem 64-bit DSP OEM DVD

 

 

 

Keyboard - Logitech Internet 350 USB Keyboard (OEM) Black

 

 

 

So, please let me know if there are cheaper/better options out there, or if what I picked out is crap. I'm still a couple hundred over budget, which really isn't a good thing.

[das1330]

tigerdirect is based in Florida :D

 

 

 

Anyway, here it goes:

 

 

 

Motherboard - A board made by XFX and based off the Nvidia 680i LT chipset. This is a very fast board, and for the price it can't be beat.

 

 

 

DVD drive - A samsung drive. This is a SATA drive, as opposed to an IDE drive, so the cables are the nice clean looking thin red ones, as opposed to ugly grey ribbon cables.

 

 

 

Processor - The cheapest core 2 duo processor out there. All of the core 2 duo processors are physically identical inside, Intel just uses a software lock on them to change the speeds, so overclocking is VERY easy.

 

 

 

Hard drive - A 320 gig Seagate model. Its really hard to go wrong with a Seagate or Western Digital branded drive, so just hunt for the best price. If you are looking for absolute speed, the Western Digital drives with model numbers ending in "akks" are the newest, fastest drives.

 

 

 

Memory - 2 Gigs of Corsair memory. The latencies are low on this memory, and after the mail in rebate its only 60 bucks.

 

 

 

PSU - A 500 watt Cooler Master model. for the price, this is a very good deal. Cooler master products tend to be reliable.

 

 

 

Case - I have not had any personal experience with this company, but a case is a case - either it works or it doesent. This appears to be a solid case that will do it's job just fine.

 

 

 

Vista - some don't like it, but for new games it's the only way to go. The only difference between the OEM edition and retail edition is the lack of a Manual included in the OEM edition.

 

 

 

Processor cooling fan - This one looks like it's based off the Intel reference design. Unless you are doing a lot of overclocking, a large cooler isnt needed - processors based on the Core microarchitecture run very cool anyway.

 

 

 

Video card - An 8600 GTS card. The manufacturer of this card, EVGA, is known to have much better warranties and customer support then other graphics card manufacturers.

 

 

 

Thermal grease - This is a thermally conductive paste that is applied between the processor and its heatsink to improve heat transfer and lower the temperature of the CPU. My personal choice is a type of grease known as Arctic Silver 5, but it was not available on Tigerdirect's Canadian website.

 

 

 

Speakers - Some inexpensive Logitech speakers. Logitech is one of the few brands that ive NEVER had problems with. (The keyboard, mouse and speakers I am using right now were all made by Logitech)

 

 

 

Keyboard and mouse - Again, inexpensive, cordless and made by Logitech.

 

 

 

As far as monitors go, Look for one that fits in to your price range. I don't know much about monitors, but if it helps, I am currently running 3 Samsung 24" monitors that work great.

 

 

 

And a few final notes. First, I know you said you did not want to buy parts off a non Canadian website, but if you have a relative living in the United States that can send the parts to you, I would HIGHLY recommend it. The parts website I usually recommend, Newegg.com, has these same parts for about 200$ less. Even with international shipping, it should come out as cheaper. As far as Tiger direct shipping to you, look at the shipping options closely - they are labeled as "worldship" - The parts are being shipped internationally anyway.

[Nadril]

Looks like a good build sniper, a lot like my PC except with an 8660GT 512mb and vista.

 

 

 

 

 

For the OP's info mine is pretty much almost the same PC as yours and it runs games great. Stuff such as Call of Duty 4 runs perfectly on all high details. :thumbsup:

 

 

 

 

 

For a monitor this is pretty decent if you have the money. I my self use a 22" Acer monitor and it works great, pretty good price as well.

[yerxa]

tigerdirect is based in Florida :D

 

 

 

And a few final notes. First, I know you said you did not want to buy parts off a non Canadian website, but if you have a relative living in the United States that can send the parts to you, I would HIGHLY recommend it. The parts website I usually recommend, Newegg.com, has these same parts for about 200$ less. Even with international shipping, it should come out as cheaper. As far as Tiger direct shipping to you, look at the shipping options closely - they are labeled as "worldship" - The parts are being shipped internationally anyway.

 

 

 

My bad, they have warehouses in Canada though, so the parts ship through them. I've bought from them before. No relatives in the US, but I will compare with newegg to see which works out cheaper. Thanks for the advice.

 

 

 

Worked out to around $1400 with a change in case, a couple fans, and a monitor.

 

 

 

Sill looking for other options, so if anyone has any ideas let me know. Thanks again.

[yerxa]

Alright, so after a day of looking around this is what I'm currently thinking:

 

 

 

Monitor/Speakers - I-Inc AG-191DPB 19" LCD Monitor - 8ms, 700:1, SXGA 1280x1024, DVI, VGA, Black, 300 cd/mÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâò, Built-In Speakers

 

 

 

Case/PSU/Case Fans - Ultra Grid ATX Mid-Tower Case with Front USB and Audio Ports and Ultra V-Series 500-Watt Power Supply w/ 2-120mm Fans

 

 

 

Motherbaord - XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard, NVIDIA, Socket 775, ATX, Audio, PCI Express, SLI Ready, Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, USB 2.0 & Firewire, Serial ATA, RAID

 

 

 

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Processor BX80557E4500 - 2.20GHz, 2MB Cache, 800MHz FSB, Allendale, Dual Core, Retail, Socket 775, Processor with Fan

 

 

 

RAM (2) - Ultra 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667MHz Memory

 

 

 

Video Card - EVGA GeForce 8600 GTS Video Card - FREE Enemy Territory: Quake Wars PC Game, 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express, SLI Ready, Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card

 

 

 

DVD Burner - Samsung SH-S183L SATA LightScribe OEM Burner - 18x DVDÃÆââ¬Å¡ÃâñR, 8x DVDÃÆââ¬Å¡ÃâñR Dual Layer, 12x DVD-RAM, 48x40 CD-R, 32x40 CD-RW, Black

 

 

 

Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM

 

 

 

OS - Windows Vista Home Prem 64-bit DSP OEM DVD

 

 

 

Keyboard - Logitech Internet 350 USB Keyboard (OEM) Black

 

 

 

So, please let me know if there are cheaper/better options out there, or if what I picked out is crap. I'm still a couple hundred over budget, which really isn't a good thing.

[das1330]

Alright, so after a day of looking around this is what I'm currently thinking:

 

 

 

Monitor/Speakers - I-Inc AG-191DPB 19" LCD Monitor - 8ms, 700:1, SXGA 1280x1024, DVI, VGA, Black, 300 cd/mÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâò, Built-In Speakers

 

 

 

Case/PSU/Case Fans - Ultra Grid ATX Mid-Tower Case with Front USB and Audio Ports and Ultra V-Series 500-Watt Power Supply w/ 2-120mm Fans

 

 

 

Motherbaord - XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard, NVIDIA, Socket 775, ATX, Audio, PCI Express, SLI Ready, Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, USB 2.0 & Firewire, Serial ATA, RAID

 

 

 

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Processor BX80557E4500 - 2.20GHz, 2MB Cache, 800MHz FSB, Allendale, Dual Core, Retail, Socket 775, Processor with Fan

 

 

 

RAM (2) - Ultra 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667MHz Memory

 

 

 

Video Card - EVGA GeForce 8600 GTS Video Card - FREE Enemy Territory: Quake Wars PC Game, 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express, SLI Ready, Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card

 

 

 

DVD Burner - Samsung SH-S183L SATA LightScribe OEM Burner - 18x DVDÃÆââ¬Å¡ÃâñR, 8x DVDÃÆââ¬Å¡ÃâñR Dual Layer, 12x DVD-RAM, 48x40 CD-R, 32x40 CD-RW, Black

 

 

 

Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM

 

 

 

OS - Windows Vista Home Prem 64-bit DSP OEM DVD

 

 

 

Keyboard - Logitech Internet 350 USB Keyboard (OEM) Black

 

 

 

So, please let me know if there are cheaper/better options out there, or if what I picked out is crap. I'm still a couple hundred over budget, which really isn't a good thing.

 

 

 

That memory is not very good. This memory is both faster and cheaper.

[yerxa]

 

 

 

That memory is not very good. This memory is both faster and cheaper.

 

 

 

My mistake, I missed the rebate earlier. Does everything else look good?

[AlexTeHowneR]

Stay away from 64-Bit OS. They tend to be very buggy and are not utilized fully yet. The only real upgrade is that you get to use more memory.

[l0l0lpur3]

8600gts's are overpriced for their speed, not sure what to get instead though. 680i motherboards are overpriced, and 680i is a bad chipset for vista, nvidia's chipset drivers are HORRIBLE, p35 motherboards have better performance + better drivers + more compatiblity, and are cheaper. nothing wrong with 64-bit vista, nearly everything works on it, and you can use more ram, i dont have vista at all yet but if i got it id get 64-bit.

[blade995]

Stay away from 64-Bit OS. They tend to be very buggy and are not utilized fully yet. The only real upgrade is that you get to use more memory.

 

 

 

Have you used a 64bit OS? There is nothing wrong with it. Games that are coded for 64bit actually run faster (crysis) and there is no speed decrease if you use 32bit apps. The 64bit driver issue is not a problem anymore because even new piece of hardware has drivers for it.