ajsellaroli :
Hey everyone. I'm new here, my name is AJ, I'm from California, nice to meet you all.
I am going to have $600 to build my own system (that is for the actual computer itself, I already have XP and a monitor/mouse/keyboard). That is all that I have right now, but I will be able to upgrade it in a few months (maybe as much as a year). What would you buy if you only had $600? I think its important to note here that I have never built a computer before, but am extremely interested in doing so.
I'm torn between buying a high quality motherboard, and buying an ok motherboard and great other stuff. Wait - I think for you guys to best help me, I should tell you what I want to use this computer for.
I want to use this computer first and foremost as a photo and video editor. My video editor is Sony vegas 7, my photo editor is photoshop cs2.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to need alot of ram and a fast processor for this stuff. I would also love a large hard drive. I have an older laptop now with 60 gb hd, and a desktop with an 80 gb hd, both of which are full.
I would like a dvd burner, firewire (for photos and external hard drives) and at least 2 gb of ram.
Now here's the big question: can I get this stuff, and have it be a powerful photo and video editing machine for only $600? Or should I buy high quality parts where it really matters (motherboard, processor, case, etc) and get low quality parts for now, expecting to upgrade them later (things like Ram, video card, power supply).
I would really appreciate your help, thank you alot.
First off, Welcome to the forums
Hopefully we can help you and not confuse you too much. Alot of people here are very helpful and love to help people, I for one am one
Here is what I'm proposing. I know I'm going to get bashed for my choices, but I think this will 1) fit the budget easily 2) give you what you need within the budget 3) get you Firewire on the mobo
!!!
CPU - $160 shipped! Nice solid CPU, not the best, but definately not the weakest. No OC'ing needed, but can be a little, but not the idea here.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103773
Mobo - $83 shipped! Has Firewire, HDMI, Hi-Def Audio, 16gig DDR2 capable, etc. Probably one of the most feature rich mobo's for the $
GIGABYTE GA-MA69GM-S2H AM2 AMD 690G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128056
Memory $55 - $15 MIR = $40 shipped! Solid and fast DDR2 800mHz, CAS4!! Hard to beat at this price/speed.
A-DATA Extreme Edition 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211174
GPU - $110 - $20 MIR = $90! Hard to beat for the $, plus can decode HD/Blu Ray DVD's! Plenty of power for video and some gaming!
HIS Hightech H260XTF512DDN-R Radeon HD 2600XT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161178
Case - $45 - $15 MIR = $30!! Hard to beat for a decent quality case. Has external firewire port too!!
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UB Black /Blue Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119047
PSU - $70 - $30 MIR = $40 More than enough for what you want to do. Can handle bigger GPU's, if needed.
Antec earthwatts EA430 ATX12V v2.0 430W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, CB, C-tick, CCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371006
DVD Burner - $36 shipped! Is retail version, so software is included! Also is a SATA drive, so you don't need EIDE connection to the mobo!!!
ASUS Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135146
Total ~$555 - $80 in MIR's = $475!!! Now that is one cheap Dual core setup with NO OC'ing needed!! Yes you could go with Intel build (e6550) and get a p35 mobo to work with it, but you'd spend about $20-30 more for it. Yes the 6550 would OC much better than the x2 6000, but if the OP doesn't want to OC he doesn't have too. Oh, and the Intel build wouldn't have Firewire or HDMI included with the mobo, which is about $30-$40 for both options on top of the $20-$30 price difference. This than inflates the price to $50-$70 more. Not sure if that is really an issue, but thought I'd point that out.
If you decided to go the Intel route and could afford the initial up front cost and wait for the MIR's, you could get a quad with these options:
CPU - $280
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
Mobo - $90
GIGABYTE Intel® P35 + ICH9 Chipset DDR2 1066 ATX GA-P35-DS3L Motherboard Retail
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006307
New total ~$686 - 80 in MIR's = $606!!! Now that would be nice!! Only thing is you lose Firewire on the mobo, but definately get multitasking bonus'!!!
You can decide which way to go, but for the $, the AMD build is cheaper and pretty equal to a comparable C2D in this price range.
I'm just showing the OP other options to consider, so please don't bash me too hard for showing him an AMD system.