Building Low budget Computer

That's around what I started with!

PC Before...
AMD Athlon 64X2 4000+
ASUS M2A-VM
1GB Corsair Value Select (Not as good as your ram :haha
Stock Fan
Sapphire Radeon X1250 Integrated 256MB
420w Stock Turbolink
Sigma Shark ATX mid tower (Mines has 2 120mm fans)

Good luck with the build, hope it works a lot better than what you have now!

That looks like a nice build. Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.

ok will do!! Thanks!!

First off, it doesn't matter if the CPU is "good to overclock". You're not a gamer. There wouldn't be much point in overclocking. Personally, I've never been into it myself. I don't see much point. It's just one of those things that people do, like buying rims for their car.

You don't need to buy a heat sink and fan for your processor. The stock fan will do. Others will tell you otherwise, but why spend an average of $40-50 on a heat sink and fan when the honest truth is the stock fan does actually do the job?

You're right, 1GB will do if you're not a gamer or into video editing and such.

Well, actually, that AMD 3800+ he bought doesn't come with the stock fan. That's probably why it was so cheap.

Well agreed im not going to overclock. That has already been disucssed. The fan i am going to get is 14$. and its quiter that the stock fan with better cooling.

Though the stock fan is good IMO, as I am using the stock fan from my 4000+ with my new AMD 5000+ Black Edition.

Why are we promoting the stock fan again?

He currently doesn't have the stock fan, and therefore needs one. Might as well get an aftermarket one, since the stock one probably will cost him that $14 bux, or the trouble to track it down from somewhere anyway.

Besides, one of the greatest things about a low-power computer is the silence... No noisy fans cooling stove tops here.... If you can get it quieter with a cheap aftermarket product, and you can afford to buy it, go for it!

In that case .

If he is buying a fan all I really recommend is to pay attention to the amount of air the fan pushes (listed in CFM which is cubic feet per minute) and try to see which fan he is getting a better deal for. Look at a lot of the fans that are provided, see the specifications for each one and buy based on CFM output and price compared to the others.

I just don't recommend spending $50+ on a heat sink as it is almost always overkill. Those who overclock would definitely want a good HS and fan to protect their investment (assuming they don't destroy their CPU in the process like most probably do).

Thermal paste isn't that expensive. You could always buy a small tube and use it for an extra 1-2 degrees of protection. For the price it doesn't hurt. Then again, I've always used what was on the stock heat sink and never had a problem.

If it make you feel better this is the CPU Cooler i am buying. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2604150&sku=T925-1168

Well Wat do you know that coolmax power supply i ordered DOA well worked for a bout 30 seconds. So now what is a good power supply? You were right Rage_3K_Moiz!

Corsair, Enermax, etc.

There is a list somewhere and Enermax ended up on the second list as a "second best" I guess you would call it. Corsair was in the first list. In the past I always used Enermax, but now I use Corsair. They are supposed to be some of the best power supplies you can buy today. Though either of these brands will run you normally $75-150 for the power that most people require.

I haven't kept up much the last few years, so I can't tell you what a good "cheap" power supply will cost, but the reality of it is the less you pay, the less reliable you get. I'd just suggest everyone stay out of the < $45 range for power supplies.

This isn't the same site I saw the list on, but this looks to be practically the same exact list.

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/101922.aspx

what about thermaltake or ultra?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1389575&CatId=1078

This was the only one I could find at the price point you want at Tigerdirect. But it's made by thermaltake, so it probably is more reliable.

Personally, as far as I know, Thermaltake is a good brand for it's market in heatsinks and power supplies. I've used a Thermaltake PSU myself and recently gave one I used to have to my parent's to use in an upgraded system. I never had any trouble out of it. I also had a large copper heat sink from Thermaltake, years ago that cost me about $50.

I've never heard anything bad about Thermaltake, but if you had an 8800 GT or equivalent or higher video card, most of them would in my assumption not be sufficient.

Thermaltake is on the list I linked in my post above, so their up there in quality, but it just looks to depend on what type of power supply you buy from them. How much power it has (if it's in the 600W range for example). And as far as video card's and some other hardware it's all about amps provided.

They're probably one of the "trusted" power supplies manufacturers, which is one of the most important things. Because you ask yourself, "can I trust this company to tell me the truth about how much power it's power supply provides and does it do it reliably". As far as Thermaltake, probably, for the most part (but I'm not an expert).

ok i was looking at that to. Do u think i should get it the thermaltake?

That Thermaltake PSU is a little on the weak side, but that's expected for the price it's selling at. However, I'd recommend this as a much better option since it provides 30A on the +12V rails combined for the same price as the Thermaltake PSU after the rebate, which is enough for your system and also for future upgrades. Also, Antec can be trusted to honor the rebate, so no worries about that.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.

At this point, I think it would make more sense that you buy the antec from newegg, as they honor the rebate and I can't seem to find this PSU on zipzoomfly or tigerdirect. (Well, I tried.)

I'd recommend searching Google for the make and model of the power supply you're thinking of buying. I'm sure you would find plenty of reviews.

Although let me say this about reviews. Take them lightly. There aren't many power supply reviewers out there that one, know what their doing and two, have the equipment to even do it.

Well guys thanks soo much for your help!!! It is greatly appreciated!! Well i guess i'll think i might get that PSU. It will cost me 70$ including tax. What bout this one? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2143207&CatId=106
or this one? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3401866&CatId=106