First Time Builder

[asutke781]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Used for everything from Internet to Gaming probably not an insane amount of gaming but I would like to be able to get some newer games and play them.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
I am looking to spend no more than 600 with shipping. I am a Marine in Japan right now so shipping to an APO/FPO is fairly expensive.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Online from US

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
No real brand preference

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Monitor and keyboard/mouse I am buying locally to save on shipping

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
yes

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Not sure, possibly I haven't researched it yet.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
Not sure

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
ASAP

I have put some things together through research but I wanted to see if there were any tweaks or adjustments that could be made to it.

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103727

Motherboard: ASUS M4A88TD-M/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131654

PSU: Rosewill RP600V2-S-SL 600W ATX12V v2.01 SLI Ready Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182032

Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147153

HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148697

DVD Drive: LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106289

RAM: G.SKILL Value Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9S-4GBNT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231421

Right now I am at $403 plus $94 shipping so right about $497 and change. I would like to stay under $600 with shipping so I have about $100 dollars to play with. I thought about buying Japanese parts and would but the dollar is pretty shitty right now and it turns out to be more expensive than ordering online.

 

[oynaz]

I think Intel's i3 will give you better performance at roughly the same price.

Consider getting a midrange ~450W PSU instead. 600W is overkill.

You need a video card. Get the best you can squeeze into your budget

 

[asutke781]

I agree with the 600W being overkill but it came in a combo package on Newegg with the case at $45 dollars off so I went with it because it was cost effective.

 

[stargazr]

I agree the Intel i3 would be a better value per dollar. The stuff you picked is older now. AMD has a new line with improved graphics but you do some gaming, so you will need a dedicated card anyway. Look for a CPU/MB combo sale.

If you really think you will get into overclocking, you would need to step up to a i5 2500k, and use either a P67 or Z68 chipset.

I agree with the 600W being overkill but it came in a combo package on Newegg with the case at $45 dollars off so I went with it because it was cost effective.

I would use it for a spare and buy a real PSU like a Seasonic 450 - 500W.

WD or Samsung would be my choice of HDD.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

i would say i5 2400 and a p67, 1 tb samsung hdd, cheapest ddr3-1333 1.5v ram, haf 912, gtx 560?

 

[Patrese]

US$600,48 without shipping, but with a videocard.

BIOSTAR TZ68A+ LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138319

Intel Core i5-2310 Sandy Bridge 2.9GHz (3.2GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52310
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115089

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231427

PowerColor AX6770 1GBD5-H Radeon HD 6770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131434

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152185

Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118039


COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.688295

COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS-500-PCAR-A3-US 500W ATX12V v2.3 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.688295

Case and PSU are in a combo deal for US$78,48. There's also US$30 on mail in rebates that will bring it down to US$570,48 before shipping.

 

[DJK Frank 16]

What about an OS to run on this hardware? Do you already have one? If not better figure that into the budget.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

he could just use lynix, jk

 

[philosofool]

Do you have a monitor? What resolution?

 

[asutke781]

For the OS I have a windows 7 disk already and the monitor is a 21.5" HP 1920 x 1080.

 

[mfenn]

I'm going to assume $100 shipping, which makes the budget for parts $500. Also, I'm not sure if you can use APO addresses for rebates, so I'm going to ignore those. Please correct me if I'm wrong though.

That doesn't leave a whole lot of room to make a decent "gaming rig", but you will at least have some gaming capability.

i3 2100 + Biostar H61MH combo $175
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $50
6770 $115
Samsung F3 1TB $60
LG DVD Burner $19
430CX $45
Rosewill MicroATX case $30
Total: $494 (whew!)

 

[T_Yamamoto]

nice!

 

[Chapbass]

I'm going to assume $100 shipping, which makes the budget for parts $500. Also, I'm not sure if you can use APO addresses for rebates, so I'm going to ignore those. Please correct me if I'm wrong though.

That doesn't leave a whole lot of room to make a decent "gaming rig", but you will at least have some gaming capability.

i3 2100 + Biostar H61MH combo $175
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $50
6770 $115
Samsung F3 1TB $60
LG DVD Burner $19
430CX $45
Rosewill MicroATX case $30
Total: $494 (whew!)

Pretty darn solid build right here.

 

[aphelion02]

From my experience, I doubt $100 in shipping will cover it for a desktop, and you can forget about insurance. Shipping even a 2lb package to Asia is $20 min. I think you are better off buying locally.

 

[asutke781]

Your correct on the estimated 100 dollars shipping every group of parts I have put together comes in at about that much. Its kind of ridiculous that they charge that much being that an APO/FPO address is a stateside address. In my case it ships to CA and then is handled by the military from there on. Most places charge more because they have to physically take it to a USPS Office and fill out a customs form to ship it. Anyway thanks everyone for the build advice I am going to look around and I will post what I end up going with. I have decisions to make.

 

[mfenn]

No prob. Post the build before you order so that we can give it a final pass.

 

[asutke781]

Ok if you see any problems with this let me know.

DVD Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136236

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147120

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139026

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148697

Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131434

SD Card Reader: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820717005

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231311

CPU & MOBO Combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.686641

For the most part I went with mfenn's build but I tweaked it a little because I was able to squeeze some more money with rebates and promos. The build came out to 625 with shipping and with the 30 dollars worth of mail in rebates it ends at 595 with is right under where I wanted to be. Let me know if there are any issues.

 

[mfenn]

I'd say to get the F3 1TB over the Seagate because it's a little faster and more reliable, but looks good otherwise!