Help with new build ($300 budget)!

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Jonathan5

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Hi, I know that $300 is laughable, but I'm going to make it work.

So far I got this in my cart looking for a bit more an trying to stay under the 320$ mark... having troubles looking for a card though. Don't know how much I should spend, whats good etc. I think I might dip out on the HD an keep mine for now just to get this thing off the ground. Well here it is, let me know what you think.

Case:
Power Up ATX Mid-Tower Case - Black, Front USB TC3J-4512 at TigerDirect.com
Motherboard:
Asus P5GC-MX1333 Motherboard - Intel 945GC, Socket 775, ATX, Audio, Video, PCI Express, 10100 Ethernet LAN, USB 2.0, Serial ATA P5GC-MX 1333 at TigerDirect.com
Processor:
Intel Pentium Dual Core E2200 Processor HH80557PG0491M - 2.20GHz, 1MB Cache, 800MHz FSB, Allendale, Dual Core, OEM, Socket 775, Processor at TigerDirect.com
Fan:
PowerUp P4 CPU Cooling Fan - Socket 775, Copper Base TC3G-4009 at TigerDirect.com

PSU and Video card pretty much...

Let me know what you think.

*edit*
By the way I'm going to stick with my old monitor/keyboard/mouse/etc.
 
I would suggest you wait for a larger budget, you will be very disapointed in 3 months. But if you want to do this i would go with a 7900gs. Also get the retail version of the cpu and use the stock heatsink and fan if you don't plan on ocing.
 
Prices drop in three months, aye? I'm really noob at this so I'm not sure, but I think thats what you meant. Retail version of the CPU? Since when is buying from stores cheaper than online... I've really been out of this for a long time. What store could I buy a CPU at? I don't recall BestBuy selling CPUs. Thanks.
 
Prices are going to drop some time in April. The retail version means it comes with everything you need to cool it(I'm not sure if it comes with thermal paste though). Buying components from a store isn't cheaper, online is the only way to go to save money.
 
Newegg.com - ECS A780GM-A AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
or
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
with
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ Brisbane 2.1GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
get a stronger CPU if you think is nessary.

aftermarket cooler is not nessary and the case is up to you.
you might also want to buy a new PSU to be safe.
Ram is also a must.

This is what i recommend for your motherboard/cpu/videocard combo at your budget. Your 780G motherboards are very sturdy with a built in HD 2400XT. (renamed HD 3200 with DX 10.1 support) You can get another HD 2400, HD 3450, HD 3470 or HD 3650 for hybrid crossfire.
 
I would take one set of this ram over your 2 kingstons:
Newegg.com - OCZ ATI CrossFire 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

and ECS aint as bad as you think. Junkies like yourself overdramitized the low quality of ECS. If you don't overclock your CPU's 80% you should be fine. Lets say the max on the ECS board is a 6400+ 3.2 ghz, give it some breather room and give it a 2.6 ghz etc. I've got 3 socket a boards, msi, ecs and asus, msi one died first, ecs and asus runnign smoothly even today..
 
ANd yes ECS is as bad as I think because I've had my fair share of boards just crapping out after a week or so. Built a couple rigs for a school computer lab after a parent donated a couple cpu/mobo combos from fry's. By the end of the month every board was dead.

And excuse me, mr. junkie telling him to get random overpriced "ati crossfire" memory when there no need for it.

And yeah, you may have a working socket a board, but that was form another generation buddy.
 
Sorry to break it to ya but my ram is 4 bucks more espensive than 2 sets of your kingstons and much better performing. Thats if your not lazy to send in the mir.

Strangly enough ecs mass produces motherboards for IBM and hp. Their usally quite sturdy.

Um another generation? like that matters a brand's quality should effect every single generation.
 
Your still paying the tax on the original price difference, and your not going to see that money for another 2 months, So if you can afford to pay and wait then sure they usually aren't bad.

IBM doesn't even sell desktop computers anymore, at most Lenovo laptops and high end server equipment.

As for HP, I assure you nobody brags about their superior quality.

As times change so does quality, cost margins decrease so to maintain the same price point lower quality components are used. Inflation is a real beezy isn't it?

Now instead of arguing with me over which kit of memory is going be better suited for his build, why don't you actually post something helpful?
 
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