Need some advice on building my 1st Computer

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ir0nli0nzi0n

Hey all,
I am a young man who is looking to build my 1st computer. I am currently a flight simulator tech, so I work on a wide variety of computer systems a electronics, so the actual labor shouldn't be a problem. Finding the right parts seems to be a bit different. I am looking for a complete desktop that should be able to handle a wide variety of tasks, from word processing and web browsing, to casual gaming (Fallout 3, Oblivion, etc.) What would be the best bet for me to buy, without breaking the bank? (I'm trying to keep it relatively cheap, i.e. less than 800.)

Thanks in advance
 
You could get good 22" LCD monitors for $100-$180, and a keyb/Mouse combo shouldn't cost you above $40 (if you're not looking for fancy keyboards & mice). Ritwik's suggestion is a good place to start :)
 
do you guys like dfi boards i havent heard good things about them and i wouldnt recommend them.
 
My friend had a DFI board, it stopped working just like that one day. It took him 2 months to get a RMA number and form. Nothing but hassle and trouble, he just got a new board, Gigabyte this time, works better then the DFI from what he tells me and overclocks better. As soon as he gets the new board back hes selling it.

I'll add fourths to the Ritwik build but not for the motherboard, go Gigabyte or Asus
 
well I for one am a huge fan of DFI boards. I use them very frequently in my builds and in builds for others. read some reviews on them, they are high build quality and one of the top OC boards out there :)
 
Ritwik7 said:
Here goes:

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz - $119.00
DFI LP DK 790FXB-M3H5 - $139.99
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM - $79.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W - $69.99
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4870 1GB - $154.99
COOLER MASTER RC-690 - $69.99
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB - $74.99

Grand Total - $708.94

This leaves you with enough to select a decent DVD burner and be done within $800. However, I've assumed that you are not considering a monitor / keyboard / mouse within this budget. :)
Click to expand...

only thing i see here is the psu there are better choices for the same price imo. like this imo it will allow for more upgrades and future proofing.
 
red1776 said:
dont get me wrong the only three boards i will use (given a choice) is Asus,Gigabyte, and DFI.
Click to expand...

ok red i was just wondering because ive never used DFI just heard bad stories about them :( i also had a foxconn board that actually wasnt bad.
 
klepto12 said:
ok red i was just wondering because ive never used DFI just heard bad stories about them :( i also had a foxconn board that actually wasnt bad.
Click to expand...

yeah, you notice I said" when i didn't have a choice", I have used foxconn a few times and had nothing but success with them, after reading some unflattering things. :)
 
red1776 said:
yeah, you notice I said" when i didn't have a choice", I have used foxconn a few times and had nothing but success with them, after reading some unflattering things. :)
Click to expand...
lol i saw that same here my good man my wife is always like wtf why do you want to spend more money on that computer lol i just look at here and say cause i want to and it never ends the way i like lol.
 
I recommended the DFI as it was the only 790FX board at that price point. The 790FX is the best chipset for OCing.
 
only thing i see here is the psu there are better choices for the same price imo. like this imo it will allow for more upgrades and future proofing.
Click to expand...
Between the corsair 450 and the OCZ 600, I would choose the corsair, I think. Not much of a difference.
 
The Corsair 450VX is a good choice for a "casual" gamer (the OP). It will run the HD 4870 just fine. Anyway, the card is a very powerful one and unless the OP plans to play Crysis at resolutions above 1680x1050 with all settings maxed out he should do fine. So for a casual gamer he is quite future proof. :)
 
I spent 801$ on this rig, the first rig I ever built, however I used my old dvd drive, power supply, keyboard, mouse, monitor(my brothers) and I do not have a floppy disc.
Link to rig
https://www.techspot.com/vb/topic135092.html

+ I bought a 3$ back fan. Just some food for thought(also I like to mention my new rig whenever I can)

My mobo\cpu combo is 300$, but you get a quadcore 3.2 cpu. Pretty nice upgrade for a mere 40$. I can run crisis age of conan on 1920x1080 res max settings. Well that is most likely do to the video card but anywho goodluck with your rig :).
 
Thanks for the advice

Thank you all for your advice. I think I will use the build as suggested, with an ASUS motherboard, as I have some experience with Asus (they make some of the parts for our simulator, and I have an Asus laptop that has treated me well so far...) I have been looking on Newegg and Tigerdirect, any other recommendations that any of you have? Thanks again
 
@ treetops - The OP wanted to keep his system under $800. I presume that would be with the PSU included.

Note: The DFI board is now listed as $169.99 on newegg. That is $30 more on the system. So no price advantage with the DFI.

@ir0nli0nzi0n - Since you would prefer ASUS you could go with either of the two boards:
1. ASUS M4A79T Deluxe - More expensive. Better overclocking capability. $178.99
2. ASUS M4A79XTD EVO - Cheaper. Would suit you fine with your requirements. $119.99

With the first board your system cost increases to $747.94.
With the second, it decreases to $688.94.

Now, your choice.

You also haven't mentioned anything about your monitor / mouse / keyboard.
 
Messing around on newegg and reading reviews I came upon this build:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core... - Retail

MSI COMPUTER 790FX-GD70

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDC... - Retail

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Chann... - Retail

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" In... - OEM

SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L LightScribe Support - OEM

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLU... - Retail


Minus the tower, what else would I need? is this all compatible? Is any of it underpower/over-kill? Thanks guys
 
Also, have numerous keyboards/mice/ monitors...might upgrade to a lcd, but not sure yet, also, I'm dropping the MSI for the Asus Deluxe you suggested Rit.
 
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLU... - Retail
Click to expand...
Did you see that someone provided a Corsair 450 link with the 4870 above?
The 450 is enough power, you don't need such an expensive power supply.

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDC... - Retail
Click to expand...
On the other hand, yum ^^.

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Chann... - Retail
Click to expand...
More expensive than you need, but you might as well keep it unless your budget gets tight. I'm not exactly sure but what you mentioned above seems to go to at least $800.
Personally, I would cut $20 from that RAM and throw in a $180 4890 1gb instead. Maybe even a vapor-X at $190.
 
Thanks for the advice

Thanks again all of you. I think I will take your later suggestion using an Asus Deluxe motherboard and an AMD 955 processor. Along with the Sapphire video card, the G. Skill Ram, this power supply:

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail

The Cooler Master Tower, 1 TB HD @7200, and an OS, I think I'm good to go. I have plenty of mice/keyboards/monitors/ etc. (I might upgrade to a bigger LCD monitor) but I think everything should be good. Just to check, will all of this work well, and is any of it under-powered/over-kill?

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

OR

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

ASUS M4A79T Deluxe AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ955FBGIBOX - Retail

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ - Retail

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail

SAPPHIRE 100279-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives - OEM

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM

Any thoughts?
 
@ ir0nli0nzi0n - The build you mentioned above (with the ASUS board) exceeds $860 without a case. I thought you were keeping it below the $800 price point. At around the $900+ price point you would be better off building a Core i5 system instead.

The Corsair 750TX is overkill for you. Like I said before, if you're a casual gamer you won't need anything better than what I recommended. Even a 790FX chipset is not required if you don't plan on very high OCing. The 790X should OC decently anyway. I have the ASUS M4A78T-E based on the 790GX chipset and I can OC my X3 720 to 3.6GHz on it.

What games do you intend to play on your PC and at what resolutions? And what is your final budget for the build?
 
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