Advice on a New computer

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
-Some Gaming, and everything else.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
-550$ Tax and shipping not included (already got a basic case)

3) Where do you live?
-Canada

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
- The Case

6) Will you be overclocking?
-No

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
-1024x768 CRT 17" (16")

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
- In a week or so.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
-Integrated GFX

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
-Yes
 
WhDemon said:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
-Some Gaming, and everything else.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
-Integrated GFX
Click to expand...
Why is your friend waiting to buy a card? If he intends to use this for gaming, I would recommend scaling back on some other components in order to fit in a decent video card from the start. At 1024x768 he won't need much, but he'll need more than onboard GFX. Go with an E7400 instead of the E8400 ($40 saved). Get a cheaper case for another $50 saved. That should give him enough to get an HD4830 or similar on sale.
 
Itchyeyes said:
Why is your friend waiting to buy a card? If he intends to use this for gaming, I would recommend scaling back on some other components in order to fit in a decent video card from the start. At 1024x768 he won't need much, but he'll need more than onboard GFX. Go with an E7400 instead of the E8400 ($40 saved). Get a cheaper case for another $50 saved. That should give him enough to get an HD4830 or similar on sale.
Click to expand...

Yes, starting to be more interesting,
what do you think about adding the 4850 @ 181$CAD ?


and for the motherboard, is the P45 chipset a huge difference vs G31 ?
 
The P45 chipset offers more features (namely, dual x8 CrossFire, RAID, and PCI-E 2.0 support) over the G31 chipset, but it's not a necessity for a low-budget gaming build. Additionally, all PCI-E 2.0 cards are backwards compatible with the PCI-E 1.1 bus (used by the G31) so you won't notice much difference (if any, performance-wise) between the two boards.

The HD4830 is a good choice, but the HD4850 is a bit overkill for the resolution that you(r friend) plan(s) on using.
 
tiraides said:
The P45 chipset offers more features (namely, dual x8 CrossFire, RAID, and PCI-E 2.0 support) over the G31 chipset, but it's not a necessity for a low-budget gaming build. Additionally, all PCI-E 2.0 cards are backwards compatible with the PCI-E 1.1 bus (used by the G31) so you won't notice much difference (if any, performance-wise) between the two boards.

The HD4830 is a good choice, but the HD4850 is a bit overkill for the resolution that you(r friend) plan(s) on using.
Click to expand...

alright, if I use the e7400 + HD 4850

Which PSU Should I get ?
 
I think you could get away with using a 3870 for what he wants to do. They cant be that expensive anymore.
 
Red_Star said:
I think you could get away with using a 3870 for what he wants to do. They cant be that expensive anymore.
Click to expand...

Well the reason why Im thinking he could get the 4850, it will last longer, and if a day, he want to change his monitor ?
 
WhDemon said:
alright, if I use the e7400 + HD 4850

Which PSU Should I get ?
Click to expand...
The Antec Earthwatts 430 and 500 are solid budget PSU's and regularly go on sale for <$50 here in the US, although they seem to be a bit pricey on the Newegg.ca site. You might want to look around and see if you can find a good deal.
 
WhDemon said:
Well the reason why Im thinking he could get the 4850, it will last longer, and if a day, he want to change his monitor ?
Click to expand...
Buy for what you need now and upgrade when it no longer fits your needs. 9 times out of 10 it will be more cost effective than trying to "future proof" a system.
 
If he has the money, go for the 4850. But the 4830 is noticeably cheaper and performs very well.
 
but if your not doing any kind of gaming, or light gaming, there is no reason to spend the money on something your not going to use.
 
e5200 for $73, to save money, or if he's not going to open the case for the next 3 years, get a quad, like the Dell deal on q6600 or something.
 
Just a thought...
I have the G31 chipset on my motherboard, and if he doesn't get a video card right away, he's going to be severely disappointed with the integrated x3100 video. It gets about 7 fps in team fortress 2 on low and 1024 x 768.
 
Cschill1290 said:
Just a thought...
I have the G31 chipset on my motherboard, and if he doesn't get a video card right away, he's going to be severely disappointed with the integrated x3100 video. It gets about 7 fps in team fortress 2 on low and 1024 x 768.
Click to expand...

We're not recommending the Gigabyte G31M-ES2L because of its onboard video, but because it is a cheap motherboard that the OP (and his friend) could use. The OP has enough money for a complete build including the video card.

WhDemon said:
Danny Bui said:
Good budget alternative:
Antec Neopower 430W PSU - $63 CAD
Click to expand...
Seems good but alot of "Bad" comments on it.
Click to expand...

Don't rely on solely NewEgg reviews, as the majority of them were written by people who have no clue. Check out some reviews from hardware sites and forums, like this one.

But if you're still reluctant to go with the NeoPower, the Earthwatts series are good choices.
 
WhDemon said:
as I look, will 430Watt be enough ? Seems on the borderline.
Click to expand...

A good quality 430W with 30A should be enough. So the Neopower 430 will be enough. In fact, it's the only decent budget PSU available on Newegg Canada AFAIK.
 
tiraides said:
Here's a better question....



WhDemon, is your friend planning to max out the visual setting of these games? Use AA/AF? Would he mind playing them at medium or low visual settings?
Click to expand...

He said higher the better, so probably High.
 
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