280$ Budget PC Build

[JRyan]

Well okay, I have about $280 USD to work with and I already have a DVD Drive & HDD + Case. I would like to only use newegg as I have only had experience with them in the past so I am comfortable with purchasing from them. I need a decent video card to hold me over on gaming until I can get extra cash for a nicer card. Here is what I came up with, suggestions welcomed!

Mobo & CPU I LOVE This Combo Good Find daveybrat!
Video Card Decent?
PSU Enough Watts?
RAM (I Will Buy More Later)

Total: $269.95 / $280.00 Budget

 

[daveybrat]

Here's a much more powerful pc than the parts you picked out for your budget:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...7&AID=10440897

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-274-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-046-_-Product

I come up with $222 for the cpu, motherboard, ram, and power supply.

This is without a video card, but the onboard video should be adequate for you, and you get DVI and HDMI outputs as well.

Also with my combo you get a much better motherboard, a faster Triple-Core cpu, and 4GB of ram instead of the weak 1GB stick you picked.

This combo will run circles around what you picked. Hope this helps!

 

[JRyan]

Well, I game and need a video card.. But maybe I can hold out a month to get a nice 200$ video card.. Hmm

 

[Blain]

* Tell us how you intend to use this PC.
* You only have 1GB of memory linked. Are you going to run a Linux distro or some version of Windows?
I would collect some aluminum cans to come up with the extra cash to buy 2 x 1GB DIMMs to run in dual channel mode.
* The total for your linked parts comes to about $217 shipped. I would count on the rebate and bump up to the Corsair 400W PS.

 

[JRyan]

* Tell us how you intend to use this PC.
* You only have 1GB of memory linked. Are you going to run a Linux distro or some version of Windows?
I would collect some aluminum cans to come up with the extra cash to buy 2 x 1GB DIMMs to run in dual channel mode.
* The total for your linked parts comes to about $217 shipped. I would count on the rebate and bump up to the Corsair 400W PS.

Windows XP... New build is for gaming.

my plan is to spend ~230$ this month and in another month or so buy better parts... it might seem kind of strange but.. well I am impatient lol -_-" I'm running a Socket A AthlonXP GeForce 4 MX440 & 768 DDR on XPSP3. Sad, I know... this pc is 10 years+ old and still runs LOL.

 

[JRyan]

Well I have decided to go with the following:
Mobo & Proc
Power Supply
RAM
Video Card
Total: $269.95 USD w/ Shipping Included / $280 Budget

but I am not sure if 460 watts is enough for this rig, is it?

 

[jaydee]

$225 total:

Corsair 400W $30 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139008

Biostar AM3 mobo + Radeon HD 5450 for $25 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...255&SID=145220

AMD Athlon II X4 630 for $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103704

Patriot 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800 for $70 AR
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...255&SID=143070

 

[JRyan]

JayDee I apologize in advance for not being more specific... but DDR2 + 64 Bit Video = :thumbsdown: heh. I got a better result now I think after taking previous posts into consideration and trying to fit a decent video card for gaming into the picture.

Mobo & CPU I LOVE This Combo Good Find!
Video Card Decent?
PSU Enough Watts?
RAM (I Will Buy More Later)

Total: $269.95 / $280.00 Budget

 

[TemjinGold]

Wait, you've put up with it for TEN YEARS and can't wait another month to have a bigger budget for a better machine?

 

[JRyan]

Wait, you've put up with it for TEN YEARS and can't wait another month to have a bigger budget for a better machine?

Sigh, I've built about 3/4 PC's now.. 1 mine 2-3 for other people.. I sold my last PC to pay an electric bill and now I am building a new one The one I use now is just the community pc of sorts, ya know wudimean?

 

[TemjinGold]

In any case, I would highly recommend the Corsair 400w over that PSU you picked. If you have to get only 1 stick of ram for now, I would do a 2gb stick if at all possible. That 1gb is going to choke your system bad if you plan on gaming at all.

 

[darkewaffle]

Two other possible mobo/gpu combos.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...D=1909457&SID=

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...D=1909457&SID=

MSI 9400 + Biostar mobo for about $30 after rebates. You'd have to check to see how a 9400 would handle whatever gaming you're after though.

Also I'd say take a look at the open box offers on Newegg, they change pretty often but they're very well priced.

And +1 for the corsair 400watter, you missed on the $10 off promo code but it's still a great power supply for $30 + free shipping and you'll easily be able to take it with you to the next build as long as you mind your GPU's power consumption.

 

[fatpat268]

In any case, I would highly recommend the Corsair 400w over that PSU you picked. If you have to get only 1 stick of ram for now, I would do a 2gb stick if at all possible. That 1gb is going to choke your system bad if you plan on gaming at all.

Yea, you're not going to get any (modern) gaming done with the 1gb ram.

Seriously, wait a little longer till you have the extra cash, and buy all the correct parts the first go around. Buying parts now and upgrading a month later is a HUGE waste of money, and from the sounds of it, there's not much to go around.

So wait another month and do it right.

 

[Firsttime]

Buy a used video card. I'm sure you can pick up a 4850 for much cheaper then $100 if you look used. You need more then 1 gig of Ram. No way around it. 3 gigs minimum if you want to do any of gaming. I had a 3x1gig set up and a gig went bad on me, I spent a while with only 2, there was an extreme drop in performance. One gig would be unusable. Or buy used in general if you're on a budget that tight.

 

[Swivelguy2]

Stepping in with some life-advice:

If you just had to sell a PC to pay YOUR BILLS of all things, I don't see you can afford a PC at all. Build up some sort of emergency savings before you go spending cash on toys.

 

[jaydee]

JayDee I apologize in advance for not being more specific... but DDR2 + 64 Bit Video = :thumbsdown: heh. I got a better result now I think after taking previous posts into consideration and trying to fit a decent video card for gaming into the picture.

Mobo & CPU I LOVE This Combo Good Find!
Video Card Decent?
PSU Enough Watts?
RAM (I Will Buy More Later)

Total: $269.95 / $280.00 Budget

Let me get this straight. 1GB of DDR3 is a go, but 4GB of DDR2 is not. Your budget just magically changed from $230 to $280. And you're looking to upgrade in one month. You sold your last PC to pay off utility bills.

It's my opinion that you need to think this one through some more before proceding.

 

[mfenn]

JayDee I apologize in advance for not being more specific... but DDR2 + 64 Bit Video = :thumbsdown: heh. I got a better result now I think after taking previous posts into consideration and trying to fit a decent video card for gaming into the picture.

Mobo & CPU I LOVE This Combo Good Find!
Video Card Decent?
PSU Enough Watts?
RAM (I Will Buy More Later)

Total: $269.95 / $280.00 Budget

Holy crap dude. Please listen to everyone in this thread. 1GB is not enough. 2GB is the absolute minimum.

 

[Sp12]

DDR2 vs DDR3 is pretty irrelevent to gaming.

I think a 4850 for 100$ is probably the best bang/buck you're going to get for video, but I would not go for less than 2GB of ram, 4 would be preferable.

Honestly, if you were to wait and get 280 again next month for 560 total you would be able to get a much better system. Anything you buy for 280 would pretty much be a dead end once you got more cash.

 

[RaistlinZ]

How are you going to pay next month's utility bill?

I can't believe you sold your PC. Sell sperm, sell blood, sell crack.... NOT your PC.

 

[Swivelguy2]

How are you going to pay next month's utility bill?

You mean they're going to charge me for my electricity again?? I already paid for it!

 

[schenley101]

Stepping in with some life-advice:

If you just had to sell a PC to pay YOUR BILLS of all things, I don't see you can afford a PC at all. Build up some sort of emergency savings before you go spending cash on toys.

Listen to intelligence. Getting the lights turned off is worse than people think