Help Me Build A New Computer

[:||Breakneck||:]

This stuff is easy for you gaming geniuses, but I have to focus on graduate school and my new assistantship. All I'm looking for is recommendations from the top down. I need to know everything I should buy...hardware, software, etc. Some guidelines:

1. It must also be a functional home computer. (i.e. I gotta have Microsoft Office, etc)

2. It should be good enough to run CSS, L4D, etc...not high-end games but lately my machine is getting 50+ choke everywhere on CSS and L4D crashes my system, despite barely being over the minimum requirements.

3. (Optional) It should be pretty...I like glowing lights/LEDs.

4. I would like to make it cost under $1000. If you don't think that's possible, just say. :P

Thanks in advance for the help. :D

[&&toasties]

http://www.newegg.com

That's all you need, Josh.

^^

[I LIKE TURTLES]

This stuff is easy for you gaming geniuses, but I have to focus on graduate school and my new assistantship. All I'm looking for is recommendations from the top down. I need to know everything I should buy...hardware, software, etc. Some guidelines:

1. It must also be a functional home computer. (i.e. I gotta have Microsoft Office, etc)

2. It should be good enough to run CSS, L4D, etc...not high-end games but lately my machine is getting 50+ choke everywhere on CSS and L4D crashes my system, despite barely being over the minimum requirements.

3. (Optional) It should be pretty...I like glowing lights/LEDs.

4. I would like to make it cost under $1000. If you don't think that's possible, just say. :P

Thanks in advance for the help. :D

If you're just looking to build a 'functional' PC, why not just buy a pre-built one? Newegg has a lot of variety when it comes to pre-built systems... only psychos like myself hand pick each individual part we want inside the computer, but it's NOT necessary at all. Here's a random pc i found searching for "i7". you can just pick and choose... biggest variable tends to be the video card. Plus, if you don't know how to actually build a computer from scratch, it makes it that much easier.
As far as software (office)... I go down the torrent route, saves me money to put towards hardware :)

[:||Breakneck||:]

http://www.newegg.com

That's all you need, Josh.

^^

I know...but newegg doesn't help me choose which things to put in the computer. My luck, I'd buy a power source that ends up frying everything. :/


If you're just looking to build a 'functional' PC, why not just buy a pre-built one? Newegg has a lot of variety when it comes to pre-built systems... only psychos like myself hand pick each individual part we want inside the computer, but it's NOT necessary at all. Here's just a random pc i found just searching for "i7". you can just pick and choose... biggest variable tends to be the video card. Plus, if you don't know how to actually build a computer from scratch, it makes it that much easier.
As far as software (office)... I go down the torrent route, saves me money to put towards hardware :)

Can't you get more computer (i.e. a better system) by buying individually and building it yourself? I'm not simply looking for functional, but I also don't want fuxing-supa-awesome-mecha-CPU-w/-buttkicking-action.

Thanks for the quick replies Chelsea and Turtles. :D

[&&toasties]

I know...but newegg doesn't help me choose which things to put in the computer. My luck, I'd buy a power source that ends up frying everything. :/



Can't you get more computer (i.e. a better system) by buying individually and building it yourself? I'm not simply looking for functional, but I also don't want fuxing-supa-awesome-mecha-CPU-w/-buttkicking-action.

Thanks for the quick replies Chelsea and Turtles. :D

True, I'm trying to build one myself.

As I've said in a previous thread, a friend is sending me his old computer, from-scratch build, and I'll just upgrade it from there.

It's annoying...but I wanna do et.

Because I want a completely-ridiculous-awesome-asskicking-shoveitinyourpiehole computer too.

But right now, with my laptop being a shithead...I'd settle for anything that will allow me to play CSS...

FUCK ME SIDEWAYS ITS NOT FAIRRRRRRRRR

;_;!!!!!!!!!

[&&toasties]

Thanks for the quick replies Chelsea and Turtles. :D

Oh, and no problem, hun.

I stalk you, so I saw the thread instantlly!

:D

[XxMastagunzxX]

A friend of mine recently built a new pc.

His budget was $1000 and for that he got a core i7 and I think an ati 4850? He also has like 6gb of ram and a nice antec 900. Plus all the other stuff he got which is very good for $1000.

[JigSaW]

i built my computer for a little more then 1000 a few years ago, it can run pretty much anything pretty well still.
Here is my rig:
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/8905/asdffx.th.jpg (http://img38.imageshack.us/i/asdffx.jpg/)

You could prolly get the same stuff for under 600-700 bucks now.

[I LIKE TURTLES]

Sorry, I realized i didn't even include the link.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229092

It all depends break... if you can build it yourself (or have someone who will build it for you) you can def pick better parts than those that would be included in a pre-packed PC. It just saves the hassle and gives you decent parts at the same time.

[walterbrunswick]

Building my tower in Aug '07.

http://walterbrunswick.com/walter/pictures/computers/newrig04.jpg

I dropped ~$3k altogether for it. Incl. hard drives, display monitor, etc.

Most parts from TigerDirect but also from local wholesale places.

[I LIKE TURTLES]

Building my tower in Aug '07.

http://walterbrunswick.com/walter/pictures/computers/newrig04.jpg

I dropped ~$3k altogether for it. Incl. hard drives, display monitor, etc.

Most parts from TigerDirect but also from local wholesale places.

HAHA 3K on that ugly POS.
Well at least it was in August of 07, that makes some sense. :icon_mrgreen:

[walterbrunswick]

HAHA 3K on that ugly POS.
Well at least it was in August of 07, that makes some sense. :icon_mrgreen:

Wtf? That's a SilverStone case!

The 1000W PSU in my tower is probably worth more than your entire machine.

I did my research, and I bought QUALITY.

[:||Breakneck||:]

@ Turtles: I was actually looking at that one just a second ago. Only thing I don't really know is the graphics card...going to look up some product reviews. NVIDIA GeForce GTS250 512MB PCI Express Video Card All of my friends tell me I could build it by myself as they say that's pretty easy...I'm just not savy enough to see which pieces to put together (ex: So does this power source and motherboard support RAM X,Y,Z...etc)

@ Chelsea: So the laptop is still down? Lamed.

@ Walter: $3K?!? Damn...can your computer turn water into wine? As in, it uses a water cooling system, but with the tap of a button, it turns it into wine that you have on tap. :D Seems like a great get up. EDIT: What monitor do you have? Because I could drop a good chunk of money on a monitor if you know what I mean.

The only things I really care about for the new system are getting lots of RAM (6 is more than double what I have right now and its fine for the most part) and staying away from ATI. It may not be their fault, but not supporting my X300 with new drivers for the L4D-problem is lame. :/

[I LIKE TURTLES]

Wtf? That's a SilverStone case!

The 1000W PSU in my tower is probably worth more than your entire machine.

I did my research, and I bought QUALITY.

Silverstone smilverstone. It's still uggggggly haha!
I'm not saying anything about quality considering I don't know what kind of parts you put into that ugly case :)

[walterbrunswick]

@ :||Breakneck||: I have a Samsung SyncMaster 940BW. It's a 19" widescreen. I got it for a good price at a local wholesale place. It's a nice view, but I would buy no smaller than 22" from now on. Again, depends on how much you want to spend.

And yeah, it definitely helps if you know your computer electronics before assembling a machine :P

QUICK!
Q: What are the wire functions/voltages on a 4-pin Molex connector?
A: Connector; Yellow +12 V, Black Ground, Black Ground, Red +5 V.

@ I LIKE TURTLES Good parts.

[I LIKE TURTLES]

Walter,

Please change the picture of yourself back to the topless one, your hair is so cute.

[mastercheff]

all my computer is a school laptop i tired to play l4d on it lets say it was lag fest 09

[Vladninja]

This is a new build I just finished a few days ago from Newegg.com

There are a few things I could have cut back on to save some money. I figured it was smarter to drop a little more up front than have to spend more money on it in a year.

1x Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower
Item #: N82E16811129025 $144.99

2x XFX PVT96OZDFU GeForce 9600 GSO 1GB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814150340 $159.98 ($79.99 ea)

1x ZALMAN ZM-CS4A Socket 1366 Clip Support Kit for CNPS9500/9700
Item #: N82E16835118045 $7.99

1x Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822136317 $89.99

1x G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8TU-6GBPI
Item #: N82E16820231247 $99.99

1x Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400
Item #: N82E16819115037 $159.99

1x Antec TruePower New TP-650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE
Item #: N82E16817371021 $109.95

1x Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116493 $174.99

1x ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
Item #: N82E16835118019 $48.98

1x XFX MBN790IUL9 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813141009 $169.99

Subtotal $1,158.85
Tax $108.02
UPS 3 DAYS $5.99
Rush Processing $2.99

Order Total $1,275.85
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d99/Vladninja/DSC01032.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d99/Vladninja/DSC01038.jpg

On a side note I havent checked my fps in game... but when I ran the video stress test I was getting 186 frames per scond.

[I LIKE TURTLES]

This is a new build I just finished a few days ago from Newegg.com

There are a few things I could have cut back on to save some money. I figured it was smarter to drop a little more up front than have to spend more money on it in a year.

1x Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower
Item #: N82E16811129025 $144.99

2x XFX PVT96OZDFU GeForce 9600 GSO 1GB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814150340 $159.98 ($79.99 ea)

1x ZALMAN ZM-CS4A Socket 1366 Clip Support Kit for CNPS9500/9700
Item #: N82E16835118045 $7.99

1x Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822136317 $89.99

1x G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8TU-6GBPI
Item #: N82E16820231247 $99.99

1x Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400
Item #: N82E16819115037 $159.99

1x Antec TruePower New TP-650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE
Item #: N82E16817371021 $109.95

1x Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116493 $174.99

1x ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
Item #: N82E16835118019 $48.98

1x XFX MBN790IUL9 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813141009 $169.99

Subtotal $1,158.85
Tax $108.02
UPS 3 DAYS $5.99
Rush Processing $2.99

Order Total $1,275.85
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d99/Vladninja/DSC01032.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d99/Vladninja/DSC01038.jpg

On a side note I havent checked my fps in game... but when I ran the video stress test I was getting 186 frames per scond.

Ouch... Vista OEM is $175? Holyyy shiet....
I'm glad i d/l that shit :)

I avg 297 fps for stress test. But in all honesty, it doesn't really matter. We'll see how it handles when D3/SC2 comes out.

[walterbrunswick]

Ouch... Vista OEM is $175? Holyyy shiet....
I'm glad i d/l that shit :)

I avg 297 fps for stress test. But in all honesty, it doesn't really matter. We'll see how it handles when D3/SC2 comes out.

I considered getting another nVidia 8800GTX for $250 to put in SLI mode.

But then I thought about how much liquor that could buy me, and was like fuck that...

[Vladninja]

Ya I know everyone will have there thoughts about... how I could have built it better or cheaper... but for not having done a build in 5 years I am really happy with how it turned out.

Either way I hope this gives anyone out looking to do a new build some idea of what your looking at getting into... Also keep an eye out for deals of the week at new egg.

[&&toasties]

I'm so lost, lmao.