What hardware do I need for my PC?

[TSALink]

I am planning on building a computer soon, and I was just wondering what I need to get to do it with. I understand the basics, but I was wondering the exact brands and such that I need.

I want to have a computer capible of playing games like BattleFields 2 and Half Life 2 almost flawlessly, and still have plenty of room for office-like stuff.

So, if you could provide me with a list of the best products for this (such as video and sound cards; processors; and hard drives) that would be great!

And just to let you know, I am not filthy rich, so I am trying to keep my budget down to around the $600 mark (if that is realistic).

 

[devilstar187]

it is possible to build a gaming machine for that but it wont really be that good. i guess you could go with the integrated sound on which ever mobo you get to save money. for graphics hmm you can get a evga geforce 5200 128mb vc for around $50 at newegg.com i think. tigerdirect.com has some decent deals on mobo/cpu combos but for the seperate parts newegg tends to be cheaper. also you can find a decent combo pack at td containing a psu, case, keyboard, mouse, and speakers for $40-$70. at newegg you can get a 120gb hd for around $50 as well. shop around for memory, newegg has some good deals as well as td but it just depends on what you want. its really hard to build a quality gaming machine for that price.

 

[FghtinIrshNvrDi]

600 isn't very realistic if you want flawless gameplay. Do you need a monitor? a copy of windows XP? These will make a big difference in what you can get, because if you need these things, you'll be down to $400.

Ryan

 

[aliasaid]

well if you're not planning on buying monitor/OS/peripherals you could get a decent setup.

general advice:

power supply: its important to get a high quality power supply, usually brands like antec and OCZ make good power supplies. People usually skimp out on this, but its actually one of the most important parts.

motherboard: i don't know much about brands, but get one that has the specs you need, pci-express video interface (newer than AGP), SATA, socket 989 for AMD or LGA 775 for intel (for gaming, AMD is better).

cpu: higher speed = better. some have dual core, but on your budget you won't afford it, and i don't think you'd need it. for gaming, i suggest AMD.

ram: 1 gig (2 * 512 for dual channel is best) is the basic for good performance. DDR400 if you're gonna stick w/ AMD. more expensive rams have lower timings, but you won't worry about that on your budget.

hard drive: 8mb cache is basic these days. 100gb minimum if you're gonna be installing lots of games.

case: pick the one with good air flow, and good looks.

video card: good budget cards these days are the Nvidia 6800gs, or if you know how to overclock, the ATI X800GTO2.

this is the setup i would probably get, although its slightly over your budget (so take off where you think you don't need)

all from newegg

ASUS A8V Socket 939 VIA K8T800 Pro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

$70.99

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz HT Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX - Retail

$166.00


CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - Retail

$67.98

eVGA 256-P2-N386-AX Geforce 6800GS 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
$15.00 Mail-in Rebate

$169.00

Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 SATA NCQ 3Gb/s ST3160812AS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

$83.00

Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-450 ATX12V 450W Power Supply - Retail

$66.99

RAIDMAX Astro ATX-268WB Black 0.7mm Japanese SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

$30.00

total : $653.96

and you'd also have to add tax and shipping.. shipping is around 40 bucks. and you get a $15 mail in rebate for the vid card.

if you need to buy dvd-writer, floppy drive, monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, then you'll have to seriously downgrade from the specs i gave you.. (i'd strive to keep it like that tho..)

if anyone else has better suggestions plz feel free to correct my recomendations.

Good Luck

 

[devilstar187]

here is a decent, not great by any means, case combo with 450w psu, keyboard, and mouse for $50 at http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1717379&CatId=32 something like that would be a definite plus for a build like this. the psu is made by okia and idk if its all that good but the general idea is to look for combo deals. you could get a thermaltake 420w psu at http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1104458&CatId=0 for $50 or an ocz 450w at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104154 for $90 (ocz psu isnt gona be cheap) but as i said before i dont know much about the okia one but so does anyone know if its worth usin that combo pack or one similar for this build?

 

[aliasaid]

that okia power supply isn't great.

http://images.tigerdirect.com/SkuImages/gallery/large/TC3J-1048-d.JPG

as you can see its only got like 19A total on the 12V rail