Up for a challenge?

[Cordero]

Ok, let me start this off by saying while I've years of experience with computers, I've never actually learned much about the components of them. Sucks on my part.

Now, I graduate in a month, and I was discussing receiving money so I could buy parts for a homemade computer verses buying one way overprice. I'll need one for both gaming and image editing programs because I'll be going to college for graphic design.

What I'd like is for it to be able to run games such as World of Warcraft, League of Legends, and maybe even something as intense as Aion at a decent setting. I've always had to play games on the lowest settings possible, so it doesn't really bother me all that much. I've been using an HP Presario CQ62 Laptop and a cheap eMachine desktop(also integrated graphics card) for the longest, so do your worst.

My budget will probably be around $400 if I subtract the money for purchasing an OS.

I've read through the forums and I've seen so many different builds and I'm just at a loss, I think I'd like one that I could possibly upgrade in the future, if possible.

I have:
17" Monitor
Keyboard/Mouse

Please help, and let me know if you need any other information.

 

[Kreij]

Where are you located, Cordero? That would help a lot with pricing, shipping and deals.
Also, Welcome to TPU

 

[scope54]

so far:
ASUS CM1740-US-2AF Desktop PC A6-Series APU A6-362...

 

[Cordero]

I'm located in Northern Florida, United States.

Thanks, I've been trolling for a while, figured I'd subscribe.

 

[Cordero]

so far:
ASUS CM1740-US-2AF Desktop PC A6-Series APU A6-362...

I thought Quad-core processors were a lot more expensive?

And it also has an integrated wireless chip?
I thought those were only for laptops. o.o

 

[scope54]

well so far my thought process is, getting anything great is hard at 400, so im looking at pre-buyilts with the OS so depending on how much you factored out of your budget for the OS you can get some better. So i look around some more in the 400 to 500 range and also found:

DELL Inspiron i620-1298BK Desktop PC Intel Core i3...
live with the integrated for a while until you save up $100 for something better.
*Here is the Dell $50 cheaper at amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006WYVGC4/?tag=tec06d-20

lenovo IdeaCentre H420 (77525HU) Desktop PC Intel ...
same thing, live with intel integrated but get a great low end cpu

and to answer your question, that one has a meh CPU but a decent integrated gpu. the two that i linked have great cpu's but bleh integrated.

so now to see if I can find parts to build one under $400.

 

[Cordero]

well so far my thought process is, getting anything great is hard at 400, so im looking at pre-buyilts with the OS so depending on how much you factored out of your budget for the OS you can get some better. So i look around some more in the 400 to 500 range and also found:

DELL Inspiron i620-1298BK Desktop PC Intel Core i3...
live with the integrated for a while until you save up $100 for something better.

lenovo IdeaCentre H420 (77525HU) Desktop PC Intel ...
same thing, live with intel integrated but get a great low end cpu

and to answer your question, that one has a meh CPU but a decent integrated gpu. the two that i linked have great cpu's but bleh integrated.

Ah, yes, I understand that. In that case I figure I'd be better off with the ASUS CM1740-US-2AF since it does have the OS and a semi-decent(?) graphics card.

I've had a few friends who have bought Dells and I don't think they've been satisfied with them, but I wouldn't know personally.

For the build I factored out 100 for the OS, and probably less if I settled for WinXP.

EDIT: I realized they all have integrated graphics. :c

 

[Kreij]

Don't settle for WinXP. Get Windows 7

You can get halfway decent prebuilts (Dell, HP, etc), but many times they use proprietary components and severely limit your upgrade potential in the future. Do your homework and make sure you know all the spec if you buy a prebuilt.

 

[Cordero]

Don't settle for WinXP. Get Windows 7

Eh, I use Windows 7 now, and I do love it, but it seems a little more intensive on graphics and there have been a few older games that it hasn't had much backwards compatibility with. :/

 

[scope54]

Here is another AMD one, but again meh CPU
CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra 2120 Desktop PC A6-Series...
IMO if you can't wait for the good graphics card then go with this one over the ASUS, comes with more stuff.

 

[Cordero]

Here is another AMD one, but again meh CPU
CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra 2120 Desktop PC A6-Series...
IMO if you can't wait for the good graphics card then go with this one over the ASUS, comes with more stuff.

I've dealt with two Radeon integrated graphics cards so far, so buying a different computer with the same integrated chip would perform the same wouldn't it?

My laptop specs are:

Hp Presario CQ62 Notebook
Processor: Intel(R) Celeron 2.20 GHZ
RAM: 2 G
Hard drive: 250 G
Video: Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family (sigh. -__-)

I could probably scrounge another 100 dollars up for a graphics card. After all, it is a graduation present. How would that impact the build?

 

[AnomalouS]

I could probably scrounge another 100 dollars up for a graphics card. After all, it is a graduation present. How would that impact the build?

Greatly. If you shop around I am sure you could find a decent used card.

 

[scope54]

ok so my recommendation, if you can get the other $100 is:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006WYVGC4/?tag=tec06d-20

and this:
PowerColor AX6790 1GBD5-DH Radeon HD 6790 1GB 256-...

and this because the dell doesnt look like it even has an extra connectors from the powersupply and it's shitty
SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 1...

total: around $635.96

 

[OneMoar]

SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+...
NZXT Source 210 S210-001 Black “Aluminum Bru...
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD2500AAKX 250GB 7200 ...
ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3....
XFX HD-677X-ZNLC Radeon HD 6770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 ...
SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 1...
SAMSUNG 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600...
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz So...
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - Oper...
TOTAL 640.75 SHIPPED (to me at least) a bit over budget it but its buildt to last
specs
AMD Phenom II X4 BE
4GB DDR3 1600
250GB Hard drive
AMD 6770 1GB GPU
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 (lawl)
520WAT PSU Crossfire ready
`free dirt 3 game
this rig should EAT pretty much anything you are planing on throwing at it and maby somethings you arent planing on throwing at it :>
and for the love of hardware don't buy some overpriced OEM system
spend the extra money and do it right because you don't wanna be kicking your self later >_> when you try and do something and it chokes

 

[eidairaman1]

To learn on id spend way cheaply on a machine and tear it apart and put it back together and make it work even. Then build a machine you want to keep

Ok, let me start this off by saying while I've years of experience with computers, I've never actually learned much about the components of them. Sucks on my part.

Now, I graduate in a month, and I was discussing receiving money so I could buy parts for a homemade computer verses buying one way overprice. I'll need one for both gaming and image editing programs because I'll be going to college for graphic design.

What I'd like is for it to be able to run games such as World of Warcraft, League of Legends, and maybe even something as intense as Aion at a decent setting. I've always had to play games on the lowest settings possible, so it doesn't really bother me all that much. I've been using an HP Presario CQ62 Laptop and a cheap eMachine desktop(also integrated graphics card) for the longest, so do your worst.

My budget will probably be around $400 if I subtract the money for purchasing an OS.

I've read through the forums and I've seen so many different builds and I'm just at a loss, I think I'd like one that I could possibly upgrade in the future, if possible.

I have:
17" Monitor
Keyboard/Mouse

Please help, and let me know if you need any other information.

 

[Cordero]

Would it be better to buy two sticks of 2GB ram or one 4GB so I have more space for expanding later on?

 

[OneMoar]

Would it be better to buy two sticks of 2GB ram or one 4GB so I have more space for expanding later on?

personally the less sticks the better if you are considering some overclocking down the road
but if you go with one stick you don't get dual channel mode and thats slower'ish

 

[scope54]

Soo, imo with mine you get a better CPU, a slightly better graphics card, same PSU, more hard drive space, and more RAM, for $5 less

 

[OneMoar]

Soo, imo with mine you get a better CPU, a slightly better graphics card, same PSU, more hard drive space, and more RAM, for $5 less

Last I checked a Phenom II x4 was faster then a core i3 >_>

 

[Cordero]

Soo, imo with mine you get a better CPU, a slightly better graphics card, same PSU, more hard drive space, and more RAM, for $5 less

You mean between you and the one suggested by OneMoar?

I'm so torn. I know I'll have decide between one but it's so overwhelming.

 

[streetfighter 2]

Just a thought but I'd recommend buying something that you can hackintosh. You did say graphic design didn't you?

You don't want to be the only freshman that looks like this guy, do you?

Also, the artist's boxes we have at work have 64GB of RAM. 'nuff said.

 

[JrRacinFan]

Last I checked a Phenom II x4 was faster then a core i3 >_>

In a heavy multi-threading environment yes, in gaming no not by a longshot.

 

[OneMoar]

In a heavy multi-threading environment yes, in gaming no not by a longshot.

I dispute that claim not paired with a 6790 or 6770 anyway also the AMD setup has a better upgrade path for example he could upgrade to Pile-driver later where as the prepackaged dell has a crappy OEM motherboard with a locked down bios and probably isnt even upgradeble to a 2500k god knows if you can even get a slandered ATX psu in there anyway
and for what he is planing on doing 4GB vrs 6GB there is not gonna be a difference anyway

 

[Cordero]

Just a thought but I'd recommend buying something that you can hackintosh. You did say graphic design didn't you?

You don't want to be the only freshman that looks like this guy, do you?
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/5402/hodgman.jpg

Also, the artist's boxes we have at work have 64GB of RAM. 'nuff said.

I'm really only interested in running Windows unless I buy an Apple Laptop somewhere down the line..

 

[JrRacinFan]

I dispute that claim not paired with a 6790 or 6770 anyway also the AMD setup has a better upgrade path for example he could upgrade to Pile-driver later where as the prepackaged dell has a crappy OEM motherboard with a locked down bios and probably isnt even upgradeble to a 2500k
and for what he is planing on doing 4GB vrs 6GB there is not gonna be a difference anyway

In the OP's case, if building around the i3 instead of going prebuilt it would be more worth it.

**Sorry was editing my above post to include this information