[Charliee03]

Right now im trying to spend as little as possible
So I want to know whats good to start out with
but stil leaving room for upgrades

Im going to use the computer for my music, editing pictures, & playing dvds

Im looking for a Hard Drive of 150-160 Gig

I want to have a lot of room left for upgrades

Im not that great at computer parts but have a general idea of how everything runs
and a friend I went to school with last year told me I would save Hundreds of dollars building it myself

Im planning on using Windows Vista when it comes out
and just want a supper fast computer

So basically Im wondering whats some good parts to get me started
and best priced website I can find it at

Thanks for reading

Edited by Charliee03, 09 September 2006 - 02:15 PM.

[Advertisements]

Right now im trying to spend as little as possible
So I want to know whats good to start out with
but stil leaving room for upgrades

Im going to use the computer for my music, editing pictures, & playing dvds

Im looking for a Hard Drive of 150-160 Gig

I want to have a lot of room left for upgrades

Im not that great at computer parts but have a general idea of how everything runs
and a friend I went to school with last year told me I would save Hundreds of dollars building it myself

Im planning on using Windows Vista when it comes out
and just want a supper fast computer

So basically Im wondering whats some good parts to get me started
and best priced website I can find it at

Thanks for reading

Right now im trying to spend as little as possible
So I want to know whats good to start out with
but stil leaving room for upgrades

Im going to use the computer for my music, editing pictures, & playing dvds

Im looking for a Hard Drive of 150-160 Gig

I want to have a lot of room left for upgrades

Im not that great at computer parts but have a general idea of how everything runs
and a friend I went to school with last year told me I would save Hundreds of dollars building it myself

Im planning on using Windows Vista when it comes out
and just want a supper fast computer

So basically Im wondering whats some good parts to get me started
and best priced website I can find it at

Thanks for reading

If you will be building the pc yourself or a friend then goto http://www.newegg.com for all pc parts.. That site is for the USA, I dont know where you live because you didnt list it on your profile..

Anyway newegg.com has the best prices on pc stuff generally on everything. Sometimes you might find just 1 part cheaper somewhere else.

Look into getting an Intel Conroe Core 2 Duo system depending on your price range and all I would get the E6600 or the E6700 cpu from them.

The E6600 is 2.4ghz and is $339.00 at newegg.com and the E6700 is $539.00 at 2.66ghz. If you didnt know, The Intel conroe chip the E6600 and the E6700 versions will beat an amd fx-62 at pretty much every single benchmark including gaming. The e6600 is close to 1/3rd the price of an amd fx-62 would be and the E6600 is faster so its common since to go for the Intel Conroe series because you get great performance for your money.

I would also get 1gb of ram minimum or 2gb of ram preferred. Just look at all the motherboards and look at the reviews for them and select one that you like and its features. For a video card look into an ati or nvidia that you like the looks of just look at reviews and such. You should end up getting a pretty decent video card atleast $200 or alittle more. I wouldnt go all out right now and spend $400+ on a video card because soon it will be outdated because directx10 is coming soon. Directx10 will only work on directx10 compatable video cards which arent even out yet. None of the CURRENT video cards will support dx10. You can play dx10 games coming in the near future with an older dx9 video card but the video card will be forced to play in dx9 mode and you will loose abit of performance and eyecandy... Anyway, that plus a 3gb/sec sata harddrive and you will be set. If you get that system you will be very pleased.

[jrm20]

Right now im trying to spend as little as possible
So I want to know whats good to start out with
but stil leaving room for upgrades

Im going to use the computer for my music, editing pictures, & playing dvds

Im looking for a Hard Drive of 150-160 Gig

I want to have a lot of room left for upgrades

Im not that great at computer parts but have a general idea of how everything runs
and a friend I went to school with last year told me I would save Hundreds of dollars building it myself

Im planning on using Windows Vista when it comes out
and just want a supper fast computer

So basically Im wondering whats some good parts to get me started
and best priced website I can find it at

Thanks for reading

Right now im trying to spend as little as possible
So I want to know whats good to start out with
but stil leaving room for upgrades

Im going to use the computer for my music, editing pictures, & playing dvds

Im looking for a Hard Drive of 150-160 Gig

I want to have a lot of room left for upgrades

Im not that great at computer parts but have a general idea of how everything runs
and a friend I went to school with last year told me I would save Hundreds of dollars building it myself

Im planning on using Windows Vista when it comes out
and just want a supper fast computer

So basically Im wondering whats some good parts to get me started
and best priced website I can find it at

Thanks for reading

If you will be building the pc yourself or a friend then goto http://www.newegg.com for all pc parts.. That site is for the USA, I dont know where you live because you didnt list it on your profile..

Anyway newegg.com has the best prices on pc stuff generally on everything. Sometimes you might find just 1 part cheaper somewhere else.

Look into getting an Intel Conroe Core 2 Duo system depending on your price range and all I would get the E6600 or the E6700 cpu from them.

The E6600 is 2.4ghz and is $339.00 at newegg.com and the E6700 is $539.00 at 2.66ghz. If you didnt know, The Intel conroe chip the E6600 and the E6700 versions will beat an amd fx-62 at pretty much every single benchmark including gaming. The e6600 is close to 1/3rd the price of an amd fx-62 would be and the E6600 is faster so its common since to go for the Intel Conroe series because you get great performance for your money.

I would also get 1gb of ram minimum or 2gb of ram preferred. Just look at all the motherboards and look at the reviews for them and select one that you like and its features. For a video card look into an ati or nvidia that you like the looks of just look at reviews and such. You should end up getting a pretty decent video card atleast $200 or alittle more. I wouldnt go all out right now and spend $400+ on a video card because soon it will be outdated because directx10 is coming soon. Directx10 will only work on directx10 compatable video cards which arent even out yet. None of the CURRENT video cards will support dx10. You can play dx10 games coming in the near future with an older dx9 video card but the video card will be forced to play in dx9 mode and you will loose abit of performance and eyecandy... Anyway, that plus a 3gb/sec sata harddrive and you will be set. If you get that system you will be very pleased.

[jrm20]

It looks like you edited your post after I started answering it.

If you would tell us what your budget range is it would be alot easier to answer the questions.

If you are on a lower budget the conroe has the lowest end cpu for $185..

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115005

[kidnova]

Give us an idea of your budget and we will be be able to give you much more specific advice as to what to look for. It sounds like you are looking to build a decent system for as little as possible. If that is the case, then you might want to look at an AMD socket AM2 system. Currently the 3800+ AM2 processor is going for $109 on Newegg.

Edited by kidnova, 09 September 2006 - 04:38 PM.

[Charliee03]

Give us an idea of your budget and we will be be able to give you much more specific advice as to what to look for. It sounds like you are looking to build a decent system for as little as possible. If that is the case, then you might want to look at an AMD socket AM2 system. Currently the 3800+ AM2 processor is going for $109 on Newegg.

Yep...but I want there to be a lot of room for upgrading. So that when I have more money to spend I can always upgrade parts, add on memory ect.


I have about $500-600 to spend w/o monitor

I need to choose a case, power, cooling fan evverrything

Im considering

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor

as my proccessor

[jrm20]

Ok I made a list a newegg.com and I barely made it under the $600 limit. You will have to reuse your old Ide harddrive and you will need to get ahold of a windows xp operating system which you should already have. Yes the Dell xp that came with your pc will work but you will need a product key that will work. It was kindof hard getting a conroe system under $600 without going over the price. You will have to pay the shipping Fee of course so you didnt say anything about that. Your not going to find these parts parts cheaper anywhere else and its best to buy all the items at one site. The parts are all quality parts and your not going to find better parts for any cheaper, I wouldnt go any cheaper on some of the parts like the mobo because if you go any cheaper than the current mobo I selected its gonna be a Cheapo brand. $90ish for a conroe mobo is really really good and its by Gigabyte and they make quality boards with all the bells and whistles.

I had to choose the ati x1600xt its a great video card for the money and the performance you get from it. You do not need a $400 card and you cannot afford it anyway with your budget.. I like the nvidia 7600gt better by bfg but its $144 and you will be over your budget. The x1600xt will do just fine for what you are wanting to do.

I chose the antec case with the powersupply included because its all you need and they make quality parts. The included 450w powersupply is a truepower power supply so you do not have to worry about a cheapo psu going out on you. You lacked the funds in getting a psu and case seperate because they run more money if you get them seperate. Nothing to worry about on this case.



Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply - Retail $89.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811129155


SAPPHIRE 100146L Radeon X1600XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $111.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814102657


CORSAIR VALUE SELECT 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) System Memory Model VS1GBKIT667D2 - Retail $119.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820145568

GIGABYTE GA-945P-S3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 945P ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $90.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813128015

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300 - Retail $185.00
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115005

Subtotal: $597.96

shipping shouldnt be over $30 with the 3day by ups..just guessing.

anyway thats all that you need, remember that you will have to reuse your old harddrive in your old system and you will need to get an operating system. Remember that almost all of the newer conroe boards only has 1 ide controller so you can only hook up 2 ide devices. One for your ide harddrive and one for a cd rom or dvd burner etc.. The mobo has 4 serial ata hookups for future upgrades of harddrives.. Everything is going towards serial ata now that is why they only put 1 ide controller.

A processor fan is already included with the processor.
If you want more case fans just look on newegg they are really cheap.

[Charliee03]

Wow thanks alott for your hellp,



Il post back when I eventually get everything

The only thing is I might wait a little while to get a little bigger case & cooling fan.

[Sierra54]

Another way to save alot of $ is to check out the university library. I was able to get XP Pro and XP office free because of a contract they had with Microsoft. Some high schools also offer discounted software.

[SRX660]

I have had great fun helping some friends build their own computers with this kit from tiger direct. Now its not top of the line and really is rather simple but can't be beat for getting experience building a computer. The good thing is that you can sell it for close to the money you have in it when you move on to a better build.

http://www.tigerdire...e...832&CatId=0

The total price after the rebates was $176 or so( $10 tiger direct tax + about $30 shipping).

Add a NEC DVD-RW($30), a cheap hard drive($45), and a 512 stick of memory($40), and you have a decent running computer for about $290.

The best part of doing it this way was they learned how to build a computer and can still recoup most of the cost when they sell it.

It's just a thought.

SRX660