First PC Build - help with componet selection

[ymsbrocks]

Ok guys taking the plunge and going to build my first PC. This PC will be used primarily for music, photo/video editing, Office apps and maybe some light gaming. I will put XP Pro on it for now but would like to upgrade to Vista in the next year or so. My budget was $500.00, and as you can see i have exceeded that a little. Anyway how do these components look?

CASE: Rosewill R230-P-BK Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $17.99
Newegg.com - Rosewill R230-P-BK Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

PSU: FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX400-PN, RoHS, 12cm FAN, version 2.2, 2 SATA, 20+ 4 pin, PCI Express, 400W Power Supply $43.99 Newegg.com - FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX400-PN, RoHS, 12cm FAN, version 2.2, 2 SATA, 20+ 4 pin, PCI Express, 400W Power Supply - Retail

MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 (rev. 1.3) LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard $99.99
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 (rev. 1.3) LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

VIDEO CARD:GIGABYTE GV-NX73T256P-RH GeForce 7300GT 256MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card $76.99
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-NX73T256P-RH GeForce 7300GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6420 $189.00
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Conroe 2.13GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ $85.99
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Total: $513.95

I will also pull an old 250G HDD and CDR from my current system. Any concerns? Any substitutions so i can get this under $500? Thanks!

 

[gurusan]

Looks good...

However, I would strongly consider overclocking as you can save some money this way.

Get a e6320..it will do 2.8+ on the stock cooler.

Also I strongly recommend getting a different power supply...a cheap but good manufacturer is FSP group or Sparkle.

Also that video card isn't very good at all...if you are going to be doing gaming I suggest at least a 7600GT or something like this
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100199L Radeon X1950GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
which is 120 after rebate...

 

[veg1992]

wow... not the best build:

change ur vid card and PSU (morely the PSU, apevia are rebranded aspires) sora was here he would tell u on a budget like that to get something like this:

X2 Brisbane 3600+
G SKill 2GB Memory Kit
Arctic Freezer 7
Biostar Tforce 550
7900 GS (8800 gts bottlenecking may occur if u don't get this to 2.5 ghz min, but these can easily hit 3.0 ghz, 2.5 ghz should be no issue, but this would mean ur budget be 800$)
CoolerMaster Centurion 5
Xclio Goodpower PSU

 

[ymsbrocks]

ok so i separated out the case+PSU. look better? Is it really worth it to upgrade the video card? Only for gaming? Will i need a better card for Vista apps?

 

[gurusan]

if he wont be overclocking then AMD isnt a very good choice as a stock 3600 isnt the best for gaming. And if he is overclocking I would still go for c2d as they clock better.

 

[gurusan]

ok so i separated out the case+PSU. look better? Is it really worth it to upgrade the video card? Only for gaming? Will i need a better card for Vista apps?

the 7300GT just really isnt up for playing games. What kind of games do you play normally?

 

[ymsbrocks]

the 7300GT just really isnt up for playing games. What kind of games do you play normally?

actually none so far. Never had the capapbilities and to be honest i doubt i will really get into gaming too much. I am more concerned with Vista or future apps needing a 256 vid card. I am definitely more concerned about having a computer that will still run everying smoothly/quickly for a few (many?) years then having peak performance now.

 

[maroon1]

You can get 7600GS for the same price
Newegg.com - EVGA 256-P2-N541-T2 GeForce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

 

[ymsbrocks]

You can get 7600GS for the same price
Newegg.com - EVGA 256-P2-N541-T2 GeForce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

yikes..all those complaints about the LOUD fan have me scared off that one.

 

[siddanth3]

heres what i would suggest. considering ur budget is 500$, i put together a rig for u. its not the best, but i think for ur budget, this is a good system..
the one that i have suggested below, the total comes to 492+ shipping.
this is a good mid range gaming system,but the gpu is not very powerfull compared to the ones right now, but if u plan to do very little gaming then u should be fine. i put in an artic after market cooler for ur cpu because i am assuming that u may overclock it. this cpu is a great overclocker and the cooler will help it reach a good overclock. even if u dont plan to overclock, it is still a great mid range system for the money.
If u wanna save some money, u could go with amd 3600+ and a biostar mobo, but in this case, u should overclock it as much as possible, because i dont think the amd3600+ is worth the money if u dont overclock and u wont get very good performance compared to a factory setting intel e4300.
if u wanna go with amd, then just substitute the cpu and mobo below with these ones and replace the cpu cooler with another one that would fit the am2 socket, and the total would come to about $391+shipping+an after market cpu cooler.
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ Brisbane 1.9GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail
and
Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TFORCE 550 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

heres a cheap conroe build
total=492+shipping
the case that u choose
Newegg.com - Rosewill R230-P-BK Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
e4300
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Allendale 1.8GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
mobo
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 (rev. 1.3) LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
memory
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
power supply
Newegg.com - Rosewill RP550-2 ATX 2.01 550W Power Supply 115/230 V CSA, CB, TUV, FCC, UL - Retail
video card
Newegg.com - EVGA 256-P2-N541-T2 GeForce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
after market cooler for cpu
Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail