Help with my Christmas Computer!

[lhccrunner]

Hey guys I currently have a Dell Dimension 3000, (which doesn't have any upgrade ports for a graphics card) and it comes with the crappiest graphics card alive. In short,I want to build my own computer for Christmas. I would like your guy's help (since I have no idea what I need). I would like a dual core processor. And 1-2 gb of ram. Here is a list.

A good case with a built in power supply-about 400-450 watts-nothing over $100

A motherboard with plenty of room to upgrade. I want a few extra ram ports, and an extra pci-e spot or two for graphics card.

A pretty good 256mb graphics card. I basically want to be able to run Medieval 2 Total War pretty smoothly.-if under $200 is possible that is ideal.

I want a dual core processor that has about 4.2ish mhz. I just read a great review for one that was $79.99. I don't know what is though.

I already have an 80gb hard drive, but I'm not sure if I can install that onto this one. It's already on this Dell Dimension. If I can't use it then something like 150 gb.

I already have a good sound card.

I need a good CD/DVD burner that is hopefully $60 or less.I need at least 16x
burn speed for dvds. I am a video editer.

And hopefully two sticks of 1gb ram. If I can get 2 for under $150 that would be sweet. Otherwise I might have to stick with one.

That's about it. I'd like to stay as cheap as possible while getting good performance, and the ability to easily upgrade later.

Thanks!

 

[CrossFire851]

Hi and welcome to techspot.com,

First off YOU NEVER WANT A PSU FROM A CASE

Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131578
ASUS is one of the most respicted brands and it offers SLi for future upgrades

The core2duo are currently the best dual-core CPUS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115005
In modern day and time we no longer work off of a clock speed or (GHz) to represent the speed of the CPU.

PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103937

Video Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150195
it has a mail-in rebate that brings the price down to 200

RAM (memory)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145564
2 512mb moduals are better then 1gb because you can run them in dual-channel for 2x the standard bandwith.

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129017
104 after mail-in rebate

I am awsoming that you are going to use your old moniture, keyboard, mouse and hard drive.

You are going to need an oem version of windows becuase the windows on your old drive won't work with your current setup do to driver conflict.

Also ask any questions ???? :wave:

 

[lhccrunner]

Thanks

Hey man thanks for all the help. It seems that all that stuff is a little pricey! Have you seen that article over at ExtremeTech.com? It is like how to build an $800 gaming rig. I was thinking of shooting towards that price. And that article is pretty old, so I think I can get even better now. Oh and what's oem?

Here is the processor I was talking about-Intel Pentium D 805 only $79.99



CPU Athlon 64 3000+ $110 (check prices) Great for games, but down the line you're going to want to move to a dual-core CPU.

Motherboard eVGA nForce4 SLI (133-K8-NF41) $79 (check prices) Hard to find a better deal on a motherboard than this.

Memory Corsair ValueSelect DDR400 $78 (check prices) Great buy for the price, and we need 1GB for this rig.

Graphics eVGA GeForce 7600 GT CO $179 (check prices) It's hard to get more bang for the buck than this.

optical drive
Optical drive Pioneer DVR-111DBK $45 (check prices) Pretty fast, compatible with lots of formats, and quite inexpensive.

Case Antec Sonata II $91 (check prices) A fine update to the original Sonata; it's a great case at a reasonable price.

 

[nickslick74]

Check out this article on building a $650 gaming rig. If you want to spend a bit more you can go with the dual core option and an ATI 1950Pro gpu.
https://www.techspot.com/article/25-affordable-am2-gaming-system/

Also, I'm not sure if they listed a case, but this one of the few good combos (case/psu) out there.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129155

 

[tifc8lraz]

That cpu is a little outdated, especially since you can buy a better one for cheaper than $100. What website/store are you shopping at?

BTW, the Pentium D 805 is not the greatest for games. Unless you're getting a Core 2 Duo, I would suggest an AMD (although, that's my personal preference).

 

[nickslick74]

Yeah, you can get an Intel E6300 for about $180 or the AMD X2 (AM2 flavor) for about $145. The E6300 will own most of the AMD chips out there and is the cheapest of the Core 2 Duo line.

btw - cfitzarl, shouldn't you be in school?!?!

 

[tifc8lraz]

Yeah, you can get an Intel E6300 for about $180 or the AMD X2 (AM2 flavor) for about $145. The E6300 will own most of the AMD chips out there and is the cheapest of the Core 2 Duo line.

btw - cfitzarl, shouldn't you be in school?!?!

No class...

 

[F1N3ST]

Pentium D@Unstable 4.2Ghz<Core 2 Duo @ 1.86Ghz, and will be less heat use less power, and will make your PC worth WAY more.