First Time Building, on a Budget

[Unknown Envy]

Hi all

This is my first time building a computer, and im not sure if im getting the right deal or not.

I want this computer to be able to play today and tomrows games. Im on a little bit of a budget thoe. $1700 to $1800


ANY HELP IS MUCH APPRECIATED



Ok so here it is..


Tower/Case: Thermaltake TSUNAMI - Aluminum with side window


Power Supply: ULTRA 500 WATT - AMD, Intel and SLI Approved


Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-K8N-SLI - Dual SLI, Dual SATA2 RAID


CPU/Processor: AMD 64 Athlon X2 4200+ - 2.2 GHZ with DUAL CORE


Memory: 1.0 GB DDR-400 CORSAIR PC3200 - High Performance


Hard Drive: 250GB Western Digital - SATA-150 and 8mb cache


DVD+/-RW Burner: SONY 16X Dual Layer - Burns DVD'S and CD'S FAST


Floppy Drive: 1.44mb Industry Standard - needed for future updates


Video: 2 Geforce 7800 GT cards /w SLI - Total of 512MB Memory


Audio: 8 Channel DOLBY DIGITAL surround - Integrated on motherboard


Ethernet/LAN: 10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN - Integrated on motherboard


Software/Drivers: All original Drivers, Manual's and video cables included


Operating System: Windows XP HOME edition - Newest version with SP2






Im only 15 so its hard enough to convince my parents to pay for half of this so im trying my hardest to make it as low price as I can. BUT I do want the excellent performance becuase I believe that you get what you pay for and that I dont want to ask my parent for another computer in a year like I did this time....

Thanks


----------Patrick----------

 

[NathanM]

With a 1700-1800 budget, you can get a really high performance PC. First of all, I suggest not going SLI. It's not worth it as 1 7800 GT will suit you fine for a good while and save you a lot of money. Upgrade to 2GB of RAM (2x 1GB sticks for dual channel), get an MSI K8N Neo4-F or a DFI LanParty motherboard, and assuming I'm thinking of the right hard drive (is that one $103?), you can get the same HD with a 16mb cache for 7 dollars more: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701

I don't know if I would go with that PSU either. Not a very familiar brand, which is usually a bad thing. Unless someone else knows otherwise, I'd go with Antec, PC Power & Cooling, or OCZ.

Edit: Typos.

 

[Unknown Envy]

Ok so ditch the sli for future add ins and get a stick of ram while Checking My PSU....Ok thanks Also, if I do ditch the dual Gt's do you suggest getting a GTX? (256) or just a single GT

 

[NathanM]

If you have the money and would like to spend it, go ahead. The performance increase isn't that great though. A 7800GT should give you all the juice you need for any game out right now.

 

[Unknown Envy]

Ok. Also If I buy all my parts from New egg How would I put it together :/ ....Im a little bit lost on that part...and second, is a good sound card worth it cuase I heard BF2 has alot of sounds and you ned a good one to hear em all.

Thanks for your help

 

[thebleakness]

Buiding itself isnt that hard. Just read up on it and you cant really do anything detrimental to your system if you know alittle about it.

Dont get a Ultra psu. Get an antec, ocz, pc&p, enermax.
Get a DFI Ultra-D Lanparty.
Deffinatly 2gb of RAM.
If you have the extra money, get two hdds and then RAID0 or RAID1 them toghether.
You dont really need to get a 7800GTX because it only gives a few more FPS from the GT. Save the money and get another gpu later when new ones come out.

Are you going to be overclocking in the future? If so you might want to change some stuff like better RAM, Opteron, third party HSF.

 

[Ridlyn]

Or what you can do is wait until the socket M2 and the G71 core comes out then you'll really get your moneys worth.

 

[Kitire]

Im on a little bit of a budget thoe. $1700 to $1800

Wow. What a tight budget....


spoilt

 

[newcement]

You might want to get windows xp pro, and with that budget I would think you'd be able to pick up a nice sound card.

edit: oh yeah, about building it. I just completed my first build and putting it all together is really not that hard. Just pick up a building pc book, that'll help walk you through it a little bit. Otherwise, just follow the instructions that came with your hardware and you should be fine.

Also, with that type of budget you'll be able to build a really nice pc. I built mine for around $700 and it's performing pretty well for me.

 

[Unknown Envy]

Ok thanks