I've probably asked like half a million people this already:
 

Ok - I seem to have lost all my research on the computer that I wanted to buy :( So I'll go over what I'm going to use the new computer for. I know I've asked a bunch of people this before, and they were more then helpful - but as I said, I seem to have lost the folder with all of my research on the computer I wanted to buy.

Now - I heard that building a computer yourself is cheaper then buying it pre-made, and I do have experience putting together a computer (my old desktop I put together myself). But I've fallen behind in whats-what of the computing world.

So for starters, I'm looking for everything, motherboard, case, harddrive, ram, cd/dvd drives, video card, sound card, modem, wifi card, monitor, power supply, etc... I'm not by any means a high-end user, and I don't have any need for dual processors. I'm impartial towards Intel or AMD, but I hear that AMD is generally better, and more importanly, cheaper. The most intense processing that I'll be doing is probably playing games, so something that could play today's games smootly with good quailty.

Another key factor as to the components is final price - I'm hoping to get all of this for around $700-$1000 Canadian. So - for all of you computing gurus out there, my next computer is in your hands, please help me!

This is what I've been thinking about for the different components:

Motherboard: Nothing specific in mind, but I've heard that PCI-e is surpassing AGP for video cards, and that SATA2 harddrives are becoming more and more popular.

Processor: AMD Athlon64 3000+ socket 939 is what I've been looking at - all the reviews I've read give it nothing but praise, and it's got a decent pricetag on it for its performance.

Hard Drive: I was looking at a seagate 80gb SATA2 hard drive, but I know nothing of hard drives, it just had good reviews and was for a good price.

Video Card: Again - I'm not really sure what I need, but I was looking at the GeForce 6600GT, my friend just got one, and loves it to death!

RAM: The Corsair 1Gb (2x 512mb) valupack was the best I could find - great reviews, and cheapest one out there.

Sound Card: Uhh... No idea where to start - something that's 5.1 compatible would be nice, and able to hook into my home theater system.

CD/DVD ROM: Not too crucial, I don't need a writer (I have an external dvd burner for my laptop).

Wifi card: again, not too important, but if there's a good one out there for cheap...

Case: Would't know where to start

Power Supply: Don't know what I need

Monitor: LCD would be nice - but I'm not too high and mighty to overlook a cheap CRT (perf. flatscreen), that had good quality, and a decent size :)

If I were to get a computer these days from nothing, I'd get a relatively cheap OEM machine, and add a few things. Sadly, it's often cheaper than building your own these days if you are going for something which is cheap rather than top end.

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/ca...affixedcode=WW

I'd probably get this machine. And grab a used CRT from a local shop for ~40-70 for a 17-19" CRT. Not good, but cheap. Screens are something that I'd either spend very little on, or save to get a very good one.

If you want better graphics, a 6600GT is fine video card. The onboard should have good compatibility, but not enough power for the more shiny games.

If you want better sound something like this: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...3680&CatId=107 or a cheap Creative card will be a step up from the onboard.

I'd try it out for a while, and decide which areas you want to put your money towards. Some people get by with onboard sound, some don't. The advantage you get here is that you get a fully functional machine, and can tweak it after the fact.

I can't say I recommend it, but I'd personally take the machine and put it in an Antec Sonata II case. I feel much better with a known quality power supply (included with case), and it is a much better case for noise reasons.

All the prices I listed and linked to are in Canadian dollars.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...TTR17=&ATTR18=

i'd go with the x800gto, as it's similarly priced but a better performer.

if not that, then

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102688

i mean, this is the best deal i've seen recently-- an x850xt for ~150!

it's out of stock right now, but it should be back in later.

Unfortunately Newegg doesn't ship to Canada.

So, what about this computer?

I couldn't find the 3000+ as an option, so the 3200 had to do.

I don't know about your whole hard drive preferance but my WD 320 SataII has been working great.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136003

for only 20 more bucks you'll actually be getting like...200 more GB.

A friend of mine has a LiteON burner that hasn't failed him yet and that'll save you around 20 bucks


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106014

In all honesty, if you have friends that live down here or something you should see if you can ship the stuff to them and have them send it to you cause newegg will probably save you alot of money.

I can see a few oddities with your parts selections.

First off, it's a really bad idea to trust any computer to a shonky $25 power supply. NCIX sells a decent 400 watt Fortron/Sparkle PSU for $43, and it'll pay for itself many times when it doesn't blow up and kill your shiny Athlon 64.

The Seagate 7200.7 line is very quiet and very reliable, unlike Seagate's crappy new drives, but the 120GB model has a lousy price:capacity ratio, and it's a bit outdated. This 160GB Samsung is cheaper and larger than the Seagate, has SATA 2 support, and shares the 7200.7's low noise and good reliability.

The Asrock board is a surprisingly good performer, but it's a bit of an odd choice if you don't need an AGP slot. I like the Chaintech VNF4/Ultra, since it's cheap, fast, and capable of stupidly high (350+ HTT speed) overclocks if you know what you're doing. If you're sure that you don't want to overclock, the Asrock board is probably a better overall choice thanks to the lovely ULi chipset.

so this is a bit better then?

http://secure.ncix.com/pcbuilder/ind...325728&subid=2

I don't really know the joy of AsRock but I would probably go with this board

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=ASUS

since if you're planning on going with a PCI-E there is no purpose for getting one with an AGP slot.

Plus you'll get an SLI ready board if you ever decide to jump onto the lands of the 1000 dollar (estamate) SLI configuration.

First of all, I havn't said it - but thanks to everybody who's helped me out thus far! It's very much appreciated!

I just have to work out the financing (my parents will be paying for it up front, and then I'll be up to me to pay my parents back with interest), and then I'll get around to ordering everything. I'll probably have a couple more posts in here asking questions though :P

Thanks again to everybody!

Try a 300 dollar (US) emachine or hp (after rebate) from best buy or office depo. They are on sale every week.

It will have the 80 or 100 gb hard drive.

Ok, so this is what the machine is going to look like, any final suggestions before I buy?

Woo! So I've worked out the finances with my parents, and I'll be getting a new computer as soon as I order it :)

But I've been given the option to upgrade one item listed there - any suggestions? I was thinking RAM maybe to 2GB:

http://search.ncix.com/displayproduc...acture=CORSAIR

Or maybe the CPU to a 3700:
http://search.ncix.com/displayproduc...anufacture=AMD


And Then I'll order it... Woo :) Just to make sure I'm not forgetting anything, all I'll need to get is a monitor, right?

Double Post:
Anybody?

So, this is most likely the final version of the computer - i'm just letting it sit overnight so my parents can OK it.

Woo :)

So this is the computer I finally bought:
Coolermaster RC-532 Centurion 532 ATX Tower Case

BenQ DW1650 Black DVD+-RW 16X Dual Layer DVD Writer OEM

Seagate Barracuda 300GB 7200.9 16MB 11MS SATA2 NCQ RoHS Hard Drive

BenQ X-TOUCH 805 Wireless Keyboard Mouse PS/2 Combo Black

Corsair Value Select PC3200 1GB 2X512MB DDR400 184PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit

ASUS A8N-E Motherboard ATX S939 NFORCE4 Ultra DDR PCI-E16 PCI-E4 2PCI-E1 3PCI SATA RAID Sound GBLAN

Fortron Sparkle FSP/SPI ATX-400PN 400W ATX12V 20/24PIN Power Supply W/ 120MM Fan P4 AMD Ready OEM

EVGA E-GEFORCE 7600 GT CO 580MHZ PCI-E 256MB 128BIT 1.5GHZ GDDR3 Dual DVI HDTV Out Video Card

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ Processor S939 San Diego 2.2GHZ 1MB L2 Cache 90NM Retail Box

Samsung 940B-HAS 19IN Pivot Black LCD Monitor 1280X1024 700:1 8MS Adjustable Stand VGA DVI W/ Cables