Computer Building Help and a Task

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Rinaldi363

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Alright... so heres me deal. My family has had this computer for years, and over the time i have been throwing in some basic upgrades for it to keep up, but now its just to old. Just for fun, its a:
Compaq Presario (year 2000 i think)
384 MB Ram
901 MHz
64 MB ATI Video Card
80 gig + 40 gig hard drive, with XP.
(That should cover the basics)
And if you know anything about WoW, none of that meets system requirments haha. So you cna jsut imagine.
So I'm in grade twelve now, and starting to think about the future. Soon I'm going to need a computer for myself. Most computers you can jsut buy are over priced, and have things that i dont need or don't have things I want, so I want to build my own computer.
I am Canadian so buying from america is sort of a bad idea because of shipping and etc. so I found a trust worthy canadian site... www.tigerdirect.ca . I was looking for things that I could use in a computer, but I jsut dont know what the difference is between a 512 stick of ram worth 50 bucks and a 512 stick of ram worth 100 bucks. So this is where I need your guys help. Maybe, using the site I gave you, you could find me a build that would be good for gaming. Things I DONT need are a hard drive, OS, or anything external, like monitor, mouse, etc. Pretty much jsut need a mothercard, cpu, video card, ram, case, cd drive, all that stuff.
First I was thinking about getting a laptop, because I love typing notes, but I would also want to play video games on it (Such as WoW and etc.), but I think it would be too expensive to find a gaming laptop that could do this. If you guys had any suggestions that would be awesome. I would pick a laptop over a desktop if you guys could find one. Even if theres good deals in america, let me know.
My price range is around 500-600ish MAX. I know its not a lot, but I am pretty cheap and not well off, and its all my own money I'm buying it with.
Please help...

Thanks!
-Rinaldi

Edit: That NewEgg website looks decent enough in pricing, if you guys would want to use that.
 
Motherboard and CPU Combo:
MachSpeed X-Caliber PT88BS Pro Via Socket 775 ATX Motherboard and an Intel Pentium 4 541 3.20GHz OEM Processor
LINK:http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2604779&CatId=1632

RAM:
US Modular 512MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz Memory
LINK: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=710866&CatId=0

Video Card:
EVGA GeForce 7600 GS / 256MB GDDR2 / AGP 8x / DVI / VGA / HDTV / Video Card
LINK:http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=2484227&sku=E145-7904

DVD Burner:
NEC ND3550 / 16x8x16x DVD+R/RW / 16x6x16x DVD-R/RW / 8x +R DL / 6x -R DL / 48x32x48x CD-RW / Beige / DVD Burner with Software - OEM
LINK:http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=2271188&sku=N27-1894

Case:
Diablo Black and Silver ATX Mid-Tower Case with Front USB Ports and 400-Watt Power Supply
LINK:http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=1366574&sku=D15-1042

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL (After Rebates): $503.95


** The motherboard has onboard audio, so I didn't include a sound card to save money.**
 
Man thats awesome! Thanks so much. So, with all that, and the hard drive I have, I will be able to hook it all up and everything should be fine? And one last thing, since you some how found great stuff, I was looking to maybe cut the cost of the video card by like 50 bucks. I was thinking of this.

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2467313&Tab=2&NoMapp=0

I don't know much about video cards but people tell me to look at the memory clock.

The total would be
$592.40
- Rebates
$542.40

I still I wish I could get it under 500 with the total...
 
How about this:

RAM:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=586829&sku=ULT30215

Motherboard + CPU:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2552457&sku=MBM-KN8-3700

Video Card:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2412163&sku=P450-7868

Case:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1366574&sku=D15-1042

DVD Burner:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2271188&sku=N27-1894

I kind of jsut mixed your ideas together. Wondering though, how much better is the 3.2Ghz that was mentioned then the other 2.2?

Anyways this comes out to...
$615.20 Total
-$145.00 Rebates
________
$470.20 Total

Just one quest. How do rebated work? do I buy the product with a credit card. Then print the form out and mail it to someone, and then send me money back? And who do I mail it to, and does it have to be there before the rebate is done, or do I jsut have to buy the product before the rebate is done, because the ram I found is like 100 bucks but its 70 dollars rebate, but its done tomorrow, so I could buy tomorrow but I don't know if the mail would make it there in time.
 
The 3.2 GHz is much better than the 2.2, but you have to make sure the motherboard and processor are compatible. I.E: you can't get an intel cpu with a amd style mobo.

Rebates work like so:

You get the product, then you go to a web page, print it off, and follow the instructions from the rebate form. Usually, you send the reciept you recieved in the mail with the original barcode on the package. Yes, you do purchase with a cc, and then they send you a check for the amount of the rebate.

As far as the RAM goes, it's doubtful you would get the rebate(don't hold me to this answer, however) because you wouldn't get the product in time. The only way you would get the rebate is if you sent the original receipt showing that you purchased within the rebate period-- even then the company offering the rebate might not accept it.


If you really want to know about the rebate on each product, just click on the link that says "Click here for Rebate TERMS AND CONDITIONS"



FINALLY: You don't really need one gig of RAM right away, because you aren't doing much system hogging applications. 512 MB is good for the light gaming you will do, and you can always update as you get more money down the road.
 
Alright so if I got the motherboard you suggested, is there possibly a cheaper video card that you could reccomend. Around the low hundreads? Because the only game I play is WoW, well atleast thats the most graphicly based game. Or is the one you suggested like amazing and a great deal? Thanks for all the help guys! Oh, and the case you suggested, it will fit any mobo right? Especially the 3.4GHz one you suggested? Thanks again.
 
Personally, I would get the mobo I suggested, just cause it has a much better processor.

Here is an awesome Graphics card for an even better price:
BFG GeForce 7300 GT OC / 256MB GDDR2 / SLI / PCI Express / DVI / VGA / HDTV / Video Card

$102.99

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2367969&CatId=0

As far as the case goes:

If the case is ATX Mid Tower, then both of the motherboards will fit. Make sure that if you go w/ a diff. mobo, that its an ATX Motherboard, and it will fit with any Mid Tower Case.
 
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