Help building Budget PC within $650

[venkatesh]

Hello people.

I want to purchase a new PC within $650(cannot exceed the price range)

What i mainly want to know is about MOBO and PROCESSOR !!

I dont mind AMD or INTEL... i want as much performance i can get

My HDD requirements are : 120 GB (nothing more than that)

and need 17in' or 19 in' LCD monitor

RAM: 1 GB

graphics card : 128MB will be fine .. But if i can afford 256MB within the price, then fine

DVD writer already decided keep $50 for it

Dont care for speakers or keyboard or mouse .. anything that i am comfortable with (So around $20 --> already decided)


I am heavy MULTI-TASKING USER .. Not at all GAMING USER !

I need boost to Browsing experience, Video Encoding and Fast response of my application.

Should really be Vista compatible. Kindly be more descriptive about the hardware you want to suggest me


Kindly Suggest me

MOBO,

PROCESSOR,

Graphics CARD

and other stuff which sums up to $650 .. Need to get performance for every dollar


i live in INDIA... anyways give me the config details

Thanks a lot in Advance

 

[twite]

That lcd monitor realy limits you. A pentium D 820, and a this mobo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813121035

and a this vid card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143054

 

[venkatesh]

thanks ... video card i need 128MB .. not 256 MB

 

[twite]

I was going to reccomend a 128, but is was actually more expensive then the 256 so..

 

[venkatesh]

So will Pentium D 820 enough? what about Core Duo 2 .. Will the performance vary a lot?

 

[twite]

The core 2 duo is 10x better then the pentium D, but to build a core 2 duo system for under $450 (because the lcd monitor will cost around 200) is alsmost imossable. Just the cpu is $200, the mobo is 120, and the ram is 60. Just there its $400.

 

[Sharkfood]

As with the previous posters, $650 may cover a Core 2 Duo system, but not if you want to add a monitor as well.

The closest I've been able to come up with would be a compromise system that would be around $685 + tax + shipping. This would also have integrated video (decent Intel though) and as you're not a gamer, this would be fine.

You can get this system within your budget if you simply switch-out the CPU for a Pentium D vs. the Core 2 Duo:
------------------------------------
Antec Sonata-II Case + 450 Watt Power Supply - $99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811129155

Asus P5L-MX Motherboard - $75.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131041

Intel Core 2 Duo 6300 - $183.50
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115005

Corsair 2x512mb DDR2-667 - $102.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145568

WD SATA 80GIG drive - $43.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822135106

SamSung DVD R/W combo drive - $29.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827151133
(yes, I know you said you had one picked out, but beggers cant
be choosers to spend $50 on $29 drive when you're already picking
pennies)

X2GEN 17" LCD/8ms monitor - $146.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16824222016
=================
Grand Total $683.44 (there are rebates above too so slightly less)

You'd still need to get your choice of OS & Keyboard, but if you're in India,
I doubt that is an issue.

 

[venkatesh]

^^ thanks a lot ... But which VIDEO card do you suggest me to BUY?


Thanks very much for HELP .. But, can any-1 suggest me AMD Options.. want to see that too .. and also Pros and cons will be useful ..


Kindly gimme AMD options too !

 

[F1N3ST]

Intel>AMD Right now, easy enough?

 

[twite]

But if he cannot afford the core 2 then the x2's are better then pentium D's.

 

[F1N3ST]

The X2 is 20$ Less, a no-brainer.

 

[Sharkfood]

The system quoted above doesn't need a videocard. It has an Intel GMA 950 integrated video right on the motherboard. As you stated you are not playing games, this will be fine for non-gaming use.

The motherboard also has a PCI-Express x 16 slot, so should you decide you DO want to play games down the road, you can add a true 3D gaming videocard and simply disable the on-board video.

This is your best $650-ish solution if you wish to go with a Core 2 Duo system.

As another poster added, if you are not going to raise your budget a bit, then an AMD solution or going to a Pentium D processor above would save money to get back to the $650 area.

 

[venkatesh]

^^^ Thanks a lot very much..


And kindly do tell me which AMD processor and which AMD motherboard will be best suited for me.


Yeh, i know right now Intel > AMD, But as i am going for Budget PC. I want the best performance i can get.


Thanks a lot again, you people really helped me a lot.


So all i want to know now is

1. Which AMD X2 processor?

2. Which AMD compatible MOBO?


and one more quick question

But wont i need 128MB memory for Windows VISTA? So if that Board has 128 MB then sure, i wont need more than that and Onboard graphics always compromises with performance, as it shares the RAM.

edit: i found dat the memory is extendable up2 224MB, which should be pretty good for me.

Thanks again !