New build with budget of $1600

[JustinL]

I am completely new with building computers and I'll need a new pc soon, so here is what I'm looking for:

I am a high school student with a rigorous schedule; I have to type upwards of 15 pages per week and I have to research alot.

Also, I like to fool around with photoshop and I use iTunes and store alot of photos on my pc I have now (really interested in photography). I usually multi-task alot and usually run 4 or 5 programs at once. The problem I have now is that my pc is really slow when I multi-task and sometimes it has frozen.

About gaming: I'm not that big into gaming and the games I play aren't demanding as far as vid cards. But I do want a decent vid card in case I do start getting into gaming during the summer or some other time. Right now, I'm just really busy with school.

Again my budget is $1600, give or take.

The things I think I want so far:

Core 2 Duo E6600
Corsair XMS2 2 GB (?)
Antec P180B case


The things I am having trouble with:

-A motherboard (gigabyte GS3 ?)
-CD/DVD drives
-cooling
-power supply
-hard drive (I want 320GB+)
-LCD monitor (I'll be watching movies...17" is fine)
-sound card
-video card

Thanks to those who can help,
Justin

 

[JustinL]

Bump....anyone? I want to figure this out by Tuesday.

 

[darkop16]

case: Antec Performance I P180
motherboard: ASUS P5B Deluxe
graphics card: XFX GeForce 7600GT
PSU: OCZ GameXStream 600W
processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
ram: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB)
HDD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB
DVD burner: SONY Black 16X DVD+R
sound card: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS
cooling: ZALMAN CNPS9500 w/ Arctic Silver 5

total: $1,387.91(w/o shipping)

i was going to suggest this lcd SAMSUNG 740B but it puts you at $1,637.90 (w/o shipping), but maybe someone else will suggest a good lower priced lcd.

The graphics card will be able to handle photoshop and other imaging programs, as well as the lastest games on mid-high settings. Later...say christmas...you could try to get a dx10 card(ati r600 or nvidia g80)if you get into gaming more, but the 7600gt should hold you over say a yr( at most i would say) for gaming purposes.

edit: i just realized you don't have a os either....don't know what you want but i use this Microsoft Windows XP Professional which would bump the price up to $1,527.90 (w/o shipping or lcd monitor)

edit edit: forgot to ask if you plan to oc? If not then stock cooling is plenty and some value ram will be fine.

hope i helped ,
darkop

 

[lancec2c30]

well dark summed it up. If I were you I would go with a 19"lcd instead, not much more money and a lot nicer. I you arent going to OC ( which I dont think you have to) you can go with some cheaper ram and stick with the stock cpu cooler. I would just stick with fans for cooling.

With all that I think you will have a lot of fun with your pc.

 

[UA_Iron]

Lite-On 16x DVD writer

Cooler Master Centurion 5 (I know you wanted the Antec - but you can save some money here)

Seagate 320gig SATA2

BenQ black 19" LCD 2ms

EVGA 7600GT

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2

OCZ 600W PSU

Zalman CNPS 9500

Arctic Silver 5

Corsair DDR2 800 2x1gig

ASUS P5B deluxe Wi/fi

Intel E6600

Around $1,585.61 shipped.

 

[danman12003]

antec case $100.11 shipped.

http://www.pagecomputers.com/store/...s&category_name=7g7c56s2202&product_id=779516

used pricegrabber



ocz 600watt 104.99 15.00 MIR = 89.99

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=316504

 

[JustinL]

Okay, thanks for you help. Here's what I want to get.

Case-Antec P180B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129017

Processor-E6600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115003

Power supply- OCZ 700 watt
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817341002

Memory-Corsair XMS2 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145034

CPU cooler- Zalman
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118223

Sound Card- Creative
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102188

Motherboard-Gigabyte GS3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128012

Hard Drive- Samsung 7200RPM 320GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148140

Mouse-Logitech Laser
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16826104158

Keyboard-Saitek wired
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16823175103

Optical Drive-Samsung combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827151133

Monitor-Samsung 17"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824001070

Video card- XFX GeForce 7600GT
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814150185

With tax, the total comes out to $1908. Any advie for bring it down $300? I wasn't sure on the mouse and keyboard...

 

[maroon1]

get eVGA 7600GT, it is cheaper than XFX 7600GT.

it cost $112.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130062

 

[viperman5000]

I am a high school student with a rigorous schedule; I have to type upwards of 15 pages per week and I have to research alot.

Well, if you are a high school student that types 15+ pages a week, you should've learned that "alot" is two words.

EDIT: You could get the 600W PSU instead. It doesn't seem that you're going to SLi or any of that sort, so the extra wattage wouldn't be needed. Just a tip.

You also don't need that advanced/expensive of a keyboard. Just a simple one should do.

 

[sickness]

Why not get rid of the sound card and get a better video card? Even if you're not a gamer, you could use the money toward something else if not a better video card. The onboard sound should be sufficent.