First Computer Buils - Tight Budget!

[terrasoft]

I'm going to be building my first computer and was wondering what to put into it. I'm on of a budget of $400, EXACTLY $400! I already have the moniter and the OS covered too, with XP Pro. All i need now is the system; Case, HD, Motherboard, etc. Any suggestions?

[Zero Tolerance]

You should be able to find something within your budget.

Try newegg.com or tigerdirect. Both of those places have pretty decent deals on barebones systems.

YOu are going to be limited to socket 754 or early socket 939 systems if you go with AMD....not sure what to tell you about Intel...Ive never been an Intel person.

[c_frank]

yeah im not much of an intel person either, overpriced pieces of crap.

[mikelbeck]

You should be able to build something within that budget without a problem. Of course, it won't be a screaming machine, but it'll get the job done. Just pick and choose your components carefully, as to maximize your dollar. You can save a couple of bucks if you choose a motherboard that the video, sound & network built in (most new boards do). Make sure you get at least half a gig of RAM, though, anything less and you won't be happy with the performance of XP.

[joeydtx]

I am currently thinking about building a new system sometime soon and need some opinions on the choices I have researched. I am mostly use it to play pc games, more in the direction of WoW and other mmorpgs. This is what I looked up...

Board:
Asus A8N32-SLI-Deluxe NVIDIA Socket 939 ATX Motherboard
181.93

Processor:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester 2000MHz HT 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - Retail
219.00

Video Card:
PNY VCG7600GXPB Geforce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
175.99 x2

Memory:
Crucial Technology Ballistix 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory - Retail
99.99 (second set later)

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
79.99 (second drive later)

Operationg System:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2 - OEM

Case:
COOLER MASTER Mystique 631 RC-631-KWN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
109.99

Power Supply:
ASUS Atlas A-50GA ATX12V 2.0 500W Power Supply - Retail
99.99

DVD/CDR Drive:
SAMSUNG Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache ATA/ATAPI DVD Burner With LightScribe - OEM
32.99

Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech Combo

Monitor:
Acer AL1916W Black 19\\" 8ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 500:1 0.284mm Pixel Pitch - Retail
$186.99

Total: 1,452.84

Any ideas or suggestions?

JD

[Zero Tolerance]

I am currently thinking about building a new system sometime soon and need some opinions on the choices I have researched. I am mostly use it to play pc games, more in the direction of WoW and other mmorpgs. This is what I looked up...

[SIZE="2"][B]Board:
Asus A8N32-SLI-Deluxe NVIDIA Socket 939 ATX Motherboard
181.93

Processor:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester 2000MHz HT 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - Retail
219.00

JD

I am currently running that same board. Be SURE to check the "Qualified Vendors List" for the RAM and any other plug in hardware. Some of the RAM just will not work properly, if at all, with that board.

Also, If you are going to primarily be gaming I would shy away from Dual Core CPU's. Especially if you are playing older games (and I mean games that havent been made in the last few months).

The dual core CPU's are a bitch to get working with certain titles, if at all, unless you do some extreme REG tweaks. I would go with a comparable speed single core CPU...but that is just me.

Goodluck!

[bufordt]

I am currently running that same board. Be SURE to check the "Qualified Vendors List" for the RAM and any other plug in hardware. Some of the RAM just will not work properly, if at all, with that board.

Also, If you are going to primarily be gaming I would shy away from Dual Core CPU's. Especially if you are playing older games (and I mean games that havent been made in the last few months).

The dual core CPU's are a bitch to get working with certain titles, if at all, unless you do some extreme REG tweaks. I would go with a comparable speed single core CPU...but that is just me.

Goodluck!

Dual core machines are great for production machines and video / picture rendering machines, but this is one area where the game makers have dropped the ball. Very few games can take advantage of all thta the Dual Core machines have to offer, and some if not most of the earlier version games will just come to a screeching halt if they load at all. Nice combo that you have listed, but stick with the 64Bit Athlons for gaming for now.