Jump to content

Buying a PC, need help.


Daruina

Recommended Posts

I've decided to get myself a computer so I can organize my schoolwork much better than last year :oops: But I also want to be able to play Runescape. I have about $1500 at the moment. Can someone tell me what i should get??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For runescape and school work you do not need to spend $1500, probably could get away with around $900 (Assuming you require a new monitor). I would also assume that you are from the US.

 

 

 

I would assume that you do not plan to Overclock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Motherboard

 

 

 

DFI nForce4 Ultra Infinity

 

 

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813136163

 

 

 

$95.99

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CPU

 

 

 

AMD currently makes the best and cheapest processor for gaming, and most other tasks.

 

 

 

AMD Athlon 64 3200+

 

 

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103535 $160.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memory

 

 

 

Unless you plan on overclocking, there is little point in getting more expensive ram.

 

 

 

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB)

 

 

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145440

 

 

 

$81.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hard Drive

 

 

 

Lots of difference sizes, brands, prices to choose from. Might want to buy two so you can back up onto one....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822144415

 

 

 

$85.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video Card

 

 

 

The most important part for good game preformance. Currently the 7800GT is a excellent card, and at a excellent price.

 

 

 

eVGA Geforce 7800GT

 

 

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130247 ($275.00 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PSU

 

 

 

Although 500W is overkill, it is only a few dollars more. A good quality PSU can result in a much more stable system.

 

 

 

Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 500W Power Supply

 

 

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817103937

 

 

 

$68.99

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Case

 

 

 

Lots of options, I would not suggest spending more then $75. I like the Cooler Master Centurion or Cavalier cases. $45-60.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mouse/keyboard

 

 

 

I like Logitech, Same people like expensive ones but I never have had a problem with my cheapie.

 

 

 

$13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speakers

 

 

 

I like simple speakers (less cords to get tangled), and have never been able to notice "Poor sound quality".... I like Logitech, and these speakers are a good price.

 

 

 

Logitech S-100 BLK 2.0 Speaker - OEM

 

 

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6836121125

 

 

 

$7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Price: $836 (Excluding Monitor)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would allow someone else to suggest monitors, because I do not find them very interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suggested alternatives:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Motherboards:

 

 

 

Chaintech VNF4

 

 

 

Foxconn NF4UK8AA-8EKRS

 

 

 

Epox EP-9NPA+Ultra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memory:

 

 

 

Patriot Signature 2GB (2 x 1GB) $159.99

 

 

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820220079

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) $$169.00

 

 

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231047

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CPU

 

 

 

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ $321.50 (Dual Core)

 

 

 

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ $223

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: A few of the prices are a couple of days old so could be out of date now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When building a computer in Aussie, I suggest hitting aussie pricespy first. This is a good guide for prices of most computer parts from a wide range of stores, and presents it in a simple but brillant format.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://au.pricespy.biz/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be honest, I have never found a aussie store with a good product range.... So I can not list exact prices. I would probably just pick them from pricespy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$1500 AUD buys a lot less then $1500 USD. So forget the above :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CPU

 

 

 

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz Socket 939 $229.00+

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hard Drive

 

 

 

Maxtor 200GB 7200rpm Serial ATA $118.00+

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memory

 

 

 

2x 512MB of Corsair, OCZ, GeIL, Kingston.... Take your pick.

 

 

 

$130.00+

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video Card

 

 

 

GeForce 6800 GS 256MB PCI Express

 

 

 

$315

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Motherboard

 

 

 

ASUS A8N-E $145.00

 

 

 

or

 

 

 

DFI NF4 SLI Infinity nForce4 Sli $195.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PSU

 

 

 

Antec SmartPower 2.0 450W $102

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Case

 

 

 

Cooler Master Centurion $69 (or what you like the look of)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keyboard + mouse

 

 

 

Logitech something: $30.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaker

 

 

 

Logitech something: $35.00+

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CD Drive

 

 

 

Dual Layer DVD Writer $65

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monitor

 

 

 

ChiMei CMV CT-712A 17" LCD $295

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total: $1533 (not including postage)... maybe slightly to expensive, but savings can be made. If need be I would take a longer look tomorow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of the above parts can be brought for a low price from http://www.msy.com.au , I suggest taking a look there. (Site has terrible layout)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (S939) - $242.00 - http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=93_27_29&products_id=11478

 

 

 

Gigabyte GA-K8VT890-9 motherboard - $133.10 - http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=93_36_63&products_id=13944

 

 

 

WD 120Gb 7200 8Mb Cache SATA Hard Disk - $110.00 - http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=93_107_22&products_id=5886

 

 

 

Generic 1Gb PC3200 DDR Ram - $115.50 - http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=93_23&products_id=16855

 

 

 

GIGABYTE GEFORCE 6600GT, 128MB, PCIEX16 - $229.90 - http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=93_26&products_id=14687

 

 

 

Zalman ZM400B-APS Noise-free 400W PSU - $121.00 - http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=93_74&products_id=11905

 

 

 

Proview 17" LCD Monitor - $299.00 - http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=93_25&products_id=16770

 

 

 

Antec SLK1650B Black Tower - $99.00 - http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=93_60&products_id=13662

 

 

 

Pioneer DVR-110 DVD Re-Writer (16x/8x Dual Layer Black) - $69.30 - http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=93_49&products_id=16766

 

 

 

Logitech X-230 2.1 Speakers (32 Watts) - $69.30 - http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=96_61&products_id=11897

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total - $1488.10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just came in under your budget. Theres a list of parts that might interest you, they are all reasonably good parts and should be fine for the uses you listed.

1264cc30.gif
Link to comment
Share on other sites

All prices from MSY....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Motherboard:

 

 

 

Asus A8N-E Nforce 4 Ultra $145

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CPU:

 

 

 

AMD 3200+ $241

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memory:

 

 

 

1G(2x512M) Corsair Value $130 (Save $15 if you buy generic)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hard Drive:

 

 

 

Maxtor 200GB 8MB Cache SATA ATA133 7200rpm Hard Drive Hard Drive

 

 

 

$118.00

 

 

 

or

 

 

 

Western Digital WD 80GB 8MB Cache SATA ATA100 7200rpm Hard Drive

 

 

 

$74.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video Card:

 

 

 

Gigabyte GeForce 6800GS DVI PCI-Express $315.00 (reccomended)

 

 

 

or

 

 

 

Sapphire ATI Radeon X800GT $218

 

 

 

or

 

 

 

Forsa GeForce 6600GT DVI PCI-Express $170

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PSU

 

 

 

AcBel 450Watt Pure-Intelligent Power $95.00

 

 

 

(Would prefer Antec or Enermax but MSY does not stock them at a reasonable price, although AcBel is still a good brand)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Case:

 

 

 

Cooler Master Centurion $69 (or what you like the look of)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monitor:

 

 

 

ChiMei CMV CT-712A 17" LCD $295.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Optical Drive:

 

 

 

Pioneer 110 OEM Beige DL 16x DVD RW with DVD-RAM $63

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keyboard:

 

 

 

Logitech Keyboard + Optical Mouse: $40.00

 

 

 

or

 

 

 

Gigabyte Keyboard + Optical Mouse: $20.00

 

 

 

(Cheap keyboards still operate fine....)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaker:

 

 

 

Altec Lansing 120I Speaker $25

 

 

 

(Dunno about sound quality but they are cheap)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total: 1536

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheap option: $1312

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By the way, if your just getting a PC for schoolwork/rs (not planning to play any graphical intensive games) than just get a decent pre-built PC. It will cost maybe $500, come with a monitor, and work fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also forgot to include the cost of a Operating system into my builds...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the way, if your just getting a PC for schoolwork/rs (not planning to play any graphical intensive games) than just get a decent pre-built PC. It will cost maybe $500, come with a monitor, and work fine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For $500 you would be pushing it.... That might be possible with a 2nd hand CRT.... I suspect a prebuilt system with 17" LCD monitor would be approaching $1000.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although I did not look very hard this is the cheapest pre-built system I could find.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.skycomp.com.au/product_info. ... ccfea580f3

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks again for finding this stuff for me. So what you suggest, purchasing a pre-built system or building it myself? I want it to last at least until I finish school so I want it to be of nice quality. Also I want it so that it doesn't just play RS, but better games too, seeing as though I may tire from RS at sometime down the track.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks guys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Stuart G, I live in Victoria.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Building a computer yourself is worth it because you know exactly what parts are in it and what brand they are.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But have a good look at CentreCom. Reasonably good prices because compared to the other sites ive looked at, they have usually had the cheapest prices out of the ones i compared. Victoria based business too, so they should have no problem shipping to you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not to blow my own horn, but the parts i chose would be fairly alright for your needs. Decent amount of ram, plenty of hard drive space, good processor and the 6600GT is an excellent card.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Only thing im unsure of is the power supply because im not sure if its got a 20 or 24 pin plug for the mother board. Perhaps someone could find that out?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auspcmarket may be another place to have a look at as well as Global Group Im unsure if they ship to victoria though, so you may have to find that out.

1264cc30.gif
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.