I need a cheap rig and have no idea where to start - would love help

D

daedal

Gawd
Joined
May 10, 2005
Messages
686
I've been away from the PC scene for a few years and need to get myself back on the train. My current rig is horribly, horribly slow and it's time for an upgrade.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Primarily gaming (especially World of Warcraft, TF2 and others), but it will also be used for Photoshop and Quark.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around 600$ Canadian ideally, but that can be stretched if it's worth it. Taxes/no taxes, whatever really.

3) Where do you live?
Ottawa (Ontario, Canada).

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU, RAM, Video, Motherboard, primary HDD and PSU

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I'll be re-using my case, DVD-RW drive, keyboard/mouse, monitor, speakers and other accessories. Only need the parts listed above.

6) Will you be overclocking?
No - I need to keep warranties intact this time around.

7) What size monitor do you have or plan to have?
22in Viewsonic, 1680x1050 (already purchased)

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP!

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
No need for raid, firewire or SLI. I'm not sure about HDD SATA support, but ideally, I'd love SATA3 since I assume it's faster than SATA2?

10) Additional comments
Primary hard drive does not need to be large; I would much prefer it to be faster than bigger since I have plenty of storage space available.​

Please let me know if you have any questions. I'm really open to any comments at this time since I don't know where to start.
 
Let’s do this combination from Newegg.ca and NCIX.com purchases:

CPU/Video Card (Combo Deal) - Intel Core 2 E7300(2.66ghz) + Sapphire Radeon HD4830($10 MIR) both for $263.38
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.149117

Mobo - Gigabyte EP43-DS3L for $100
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?affiliateid=4352418&sku=30574

Ram - A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 for $43.00
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211188

HDD - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB for $90
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

PSU - BFG LS-550 for $91.00($10 MIR)
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=29576&vpn=BFGR550WLSPSU&manufacture=BFG Technologies

Total: $587.38 CAD

Merry Xmas man.
 
e5200 is better budget CPU. It can overclock too 4 GHz easy and half the cost of e7300.
 
I thought the e7300 has better temps and has more cache. Wouldnt that be more preferable for OC'ing? But, he is not overclocking so he would be better off w/ the e5200. Agreed.
 
The OP isn't going to O/C so the better stock CPU would probably be best.

The confusion with the SATA II and 3 thing is probably because SATA II supports up to 3Gb/s.
 
gamerx11 said:
Y does he need that much power? Could easily just use Corsair 450w or BFG GS 550w. Probably could just use the 450w for you rig. Everything hardware guru recommended is great 2.
Click to expand...

The GS 550W is a crap quality PSU. Don't bother with that PSU. In addition, you forget that the OP is from CANADA! They pay significantly higher prices than we do and have different pricing structures. The Corsair 450VX you recommended actually costs more than the BFG LS-550 at NCIX.com. Considering that the BFG LS-550 is just as good as the 450VX and offers more power, there's little reason to go with the more expensive Corsair PSU in this case.
 
Uh the bfg ls 550w u linked is $80 AR and the corsair 450w is $60 AR... how is that more?
 
gamerx11 said:
Uh the bfg ls 550w u linked is $80 AR and the corsair 450w is $60 AR... how is that more?
Click to expand...

The BFG HardwareGuru linked (not me) to is from a CANADIAN website where the OP comes from. The Corsair PSU you linked to is from an AMERICAN website where the OP does NOT come from. Newegg.com does not deliver to Canada where the OP is from. See the problem now?

Also, don't factor in rebates until you get that rebate check in your hand. Rebates can still be rejected, lost or ignored even when you do everything right. In addition, the recent collapse of a few rebate companies doesn't make rebates any more guaranteed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top