EPThttp://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?id=138750
Computer Build Resource Thread - Page 12
| Forum Index > Tech Support |
When using this resource, please read FragKrag's opening post. The Tech Support forum regulars have helped create countless of desktop systems without any compensation. The least you can do is provide all of the information required for them to help you properly. | ||
|
akevin
Canada120 Posts
http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?id=138750 | ||
|
1312020
United States28 Posts
My cousin is looking to build a budget computer. I'd like to keep it under 500 dollars if possible. His main purpose is going to be playing Starcraft 2 on it, with some other gaming possibly. I put this together in about 20 minutes on Newegg and would like it if you guys could rip it apart. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103818 ($80) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125327 ($145 after rebate) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131619 ($65) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016 ($65) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148316 ($45) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121035 ($30) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103062 ($20 for 2) Total: 450 before tax/shipping Sorry for not posting what the items are and just throwing a bunch of links at you guys, I'm kind of in a rush right now. Thanks in advance for any help you guys can offer. | ||
|
maleorderbride
United States2916 Posts
http://twitter.com/NeweggHotDeals/status/19686608425 | ||
|
Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
a) 64-bit Windows since the minimum RAM configuration is 4 GB b) i5-520M is plenty good for not doing anything CPU intensive c) 1600x900 is a high enough resolution for a 15.6" laptop, and there are sometimes drawbacks to larger resolutions; granted, $37 is not much for 1920x1080; also, most laptop screens are not great anyway so there's a "why bother?" argument to consider too d) probably there's a mistake in the system to list it as an "upgrade" e) probably no need to upgrade the wireless adapter + Show Spoiler [long version] + Some campuses have not upgraded to 802.11n, some have. Probably those that have not, might do so in a couple years. If you don't have 802.11n routers to use on campus, there's not going to be a difference between the three devices. The 6200 and 6250 both have two antennas for handling two spatial streams of 802.11n with max data link rate of 300 Mb/s achievable in optimal circumstances. The 6300 has three antennas and can handle three spatial streams so the max is 450 Mb/s. More antennas can be used to improve range and reliability over two antennas from a theoretical perspective, but that depends on the actual implementation. But all that is probably moot, given medium access contention and the fact that you're not going to be getting those speeds to anywhere on the Internet outside of campus. The only time you would be able to experience a difference (50% difference) is if you were on a remote part of campus right next to a router, downloading a file from a server on campus. The 6250 also has WiMax (a particular type of broadband access) that you as a student wouldn't have subscription to. So that feature is useless to you, most likely. g) Is the battery not under the general warranty? It's probably not worth it regardless. You can always buy a new battery if you actually end up needing one. h) How long do you plan on using the laptop? Extra warranty is probably not worth it. i) not sure of possible disadvantages; never used them 1312020: Isn't that a CPU without a cooler? (Do you have a cooler to use?) Also, I seem to recall some scandal about the high failure rate of the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11, or maybe it was a particular model or batch? Maybe you can save money on a cheaper PSU, as 550W is a lot for a barebones gaming system. Did you forget RAM, or do you already have RAM? With a cheaper PSU you can stick in 2 GB DDR3 and stay under budget. Anyhow, somebody else can probably take a better look than I can at those parts. | ||
|
R04R
United States1631 Posts
![[image loading]](http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/8691/neweggcomonceyouknowyou.png) This one's for 1312020. Getting this all for $500 was hard, but I think I did it with reasonable parts. CPU: Phenom II x2 550 GPU: Sapphire 5770 Vapor-X 1gb 128-bit gddr5 $236 ASUS Motherboard: M4A785TD-M EVO Micro ATX Case + PSU: Cooler Master Elite RC-310 Mid Tower Case with 460w Cooler Master Elite Power Supply $130 RAM: Patriot 2gb DDR3 1333mhz PC3 10600 $43 Western Digital Caviar Blue 500gb 7200 RPM 16mb Cache $56 - $16 with EMCYVNP29 promo code ends 7/29 = $40 LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner -OEM $18 Subtotal: $482.93 Tax: $38.52 Shipping: $2.90 Promo Code: -$16.00 Grand Total: $508.35 Mail-in Rebate: -$15.00 (Sapphire 5770 Vapor-X) Fake Grand Total: $493.35 | ||
|
haduken
Australia8267 Posts
On July 27 2010 10:45 johanngrunt wrote: I've been doing quite a bit of transcoding from Xvid to x264 using Handbrake, but I agree that the 860 is just so expensive...... I'm probably going to get the 760 because the price is not much more than that of the 750, but I don't know if it will be better binned and better for overclocking. Will it be the same as the i7 920 to 930? Will it just be a toss up and all down to luck whether I get a good piece of silicon? And for a monitor, I've decided to go with a Benq G2420 HD.... sigh, not 16:10 but... oh well. any opinions? it costs about 1390 HKD, which is 178 USD. EDIT: OMG!!!!! It's the 27th!!!! YAY!!!! I have 2 benq G2420HD, one have a dead bar across the top right corner too weeks into usage. The quality is so so, nothing special about them except their price. Remember, if you want to play the original brood war, you must go into menu and change the aspect ratio. Personally I suggest BX2440 from samsung but it looks like you are shopping on the cheap. | ||
|
johanngrunt
Hong Kong1555 Posts
On July 28 2010 10:00 haduken wrote: I have 2 benq G2420HD, one have a dead bar across the top right corner too weeks into usage. The quality is so so, nothing special about them except their price. Remember, if you want to play the original brood war, you must go into menu and change the aspect ratio. Personally I suggest BX2440 from samsung but it looks like you are shopping on the cheap. Yup shopping on the cheap the BX2440 costs about 1690 HKD which is about 217 USD, do you think the step up in quality is worth the increase in price over the G2420HD? | ||
|
haduken
Australia8267 Posts
| ||
|
darkponcho
United States262 Posts
So I finally decided to start building this new computer. So far I have the case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133086 Now, before you go "lololol I'd buy that case if I were 13 years old", I got it with the sc2 combo, so I basically got SC2 plus that case for 80 dollars, with bing cash back. And I'm planning to make this build AMD/ATI as I hear these are better budget systems. Microcenter is running a deal now where I can get http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727&T http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130278 for $200 dollars tax included. Is this a good deal? I know the processor is decent, but I've never really heard of the motherboard. So basically, I'm looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133086 ($80 + sc2) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130278 (both cpu and mobo for $200) Coming to a total of $280, where i still need to buy 4 GB ram, a graphics card, a HD, and a power supply, and a DVD burner. My total budget is ~800 dollars... Should I scrap that motherboard/cpu and get something better? I'm using this for gaming on a 1920x1080 monitor. For $800 should I stick to AMD/ATI or go to Intel/Nvidia? I don't plan to overclock or crossfire, I plan to build the PC in August, I want this thing to last me for at least 3-4 years. No OS needed. I can buy from Microcenter and newegg. Thanks. | ||
|
johanngrunt
Hong Kong1555 Posts
On July 28 2010 11:36 darkponcho wrote: Sup guys. So I finally decided to start building this new computer. So far I have the case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133086 Now, before you go "lololol I'd buy that case if I were 13 years old", I got it with the sc2 combo, so I basically got SC2 plus that case for 80 dollars, with bing cash back. And I'm planning to make this build AMD/ATI as I hear these are better budget systems. Microcenter is running a deal now where I can get http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727&T http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130278 for $200 dollars tax included. Is this a good deal? I know the processor is decent, but I've never really heard of the motherboard. So basically, I'm looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133086 ($80 + sc2) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130278 (both cpu and mobo for $200) Coming to a total of $280, where i still need to buy 4 GB ram, a graphics card, a HD, and a power supply, and a DVD burner. My total budget is ~800 dollars... Should I scrap that motherboard/cpu and get something better? I'm using this for gaming on a 1920x1080 monitor. For $800 should I stick to AMD/ATI or go to Intel/Nvidia? I don't plan to overclock or crossfire, I plan to build the PC in August, I want this thing to last me for at least 3-4 years. No OS needed. I can buy from Microcenter and newegg. Thanks. Those prices are really really attractive, and I doubt you can find anything better for the money. an Intel chip like the i5 750 costs about 200, not including the motherboard. I'd kill for prices and discounts you get in the states. electronics are not cheap here in Hong Kong. | ||
|
R04R
United States1631 Posts
On July 28 2010 11:41 johanngrunt wrote:+ Show Spoiler + On July 28 2010 11:36 darkponcho wrote: Sup guys. So I finally decided to start building this new computer. So far I have the case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133086 Now, before you go "lololol I'd buy that case if I were 13 years old", I got it with the sc2 combo, so I basically got SC2 plus that case for 80 dollars, with bing cash back. And I'm planning to make this build AMD/ATI as I hear these are better budget systems. Microcenter is running a deal now where I can get http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727&T http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130278 for $200 dollars tax included. Is this a good deal? I know the processor is decent, but I've never really heard of the motherboard. So basically, I'm looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133086 ($80 + sc2) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130278 (both cpu and mobo for $200) Coming to a total of $280, where i still need to buy 4 GB ram, a graphics card, a HD, and a power supply, and a DVD burner. My total budget is ~800 dollars... Should I scrap that motherboard/cpu and get something better? I'm using this for gaming on a 1920x1080 monitor. For $800 should I stick to AMD/ATI or go to Intel/Nvidia? I don't plan to overclock or crossfire, I plan to build the PC in August, I want this thing to last me for at least 3-4 years. No OS needed. I can buy from Microcenter and newegg. Thanks. Those prices are really really attractive, and I doubt you can find anything better for the money. an Intel chip like the i5 750 costs about 200, not including the motherboard. I'd kill for prices and discounts you get in the states. electronics are not cheap here in Hong Kong. Yeah the CPU/Mobo Case/SC2 look solid. You won't be able to crossfire since you only have 1 PCIE 16.0 lane but if you're not going to that's fine. So you have a $500 budget for the rest of the components? Let me try and put something together. GPU: GIGABYTE GTX 460 Fermi 1gb GDDR5 715 Mhz $230 RAM: G-Skill 2x2gb DDR3 1600mhz PC3 12800 $99 HD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1tb 7200 rpm 32mb cache SATA Cable: Nippon Labs 1.64ft 1 Right-Angle Connector $72 PSU: OCZ ModxStream Pro 600w 80 Plus certified modular cabling Optical Drive: LITE-ON DVD/CD Burner $68 Subtotal: $469.94 Tax: $37.95 Shipping: $1.93 Promo Code: -$10.00 EMCYVNP52 (For G-Skill RAM expires 7/29) Grand Total: $499.82 Mail-in Rebate -$20.00 (ModxStream Pro PSU) Fake Grand Total $479.82 | ||
|
darkponcho
United States262 Posts
On July 28 2010 13:01 R04R wrote: Yeah the CPU/Mobo Case/SC2 look solid. You won't be able to crossfire since you only have 1 PCIE 16.0 lane but if you're not going to that's fine. So you have a $500 budget for the rest of the components? Let me try and put something together. GPU: GIGABYTE GTX 460 Fermi 1gb GDDR5 715 Mhz $230 RAM: G-Skill 2x2gb DDR3 1600mhz PC3 12800 $99 HD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1tb 7200 rpm 32mb cache SATA Cable: Nippon Labs 1.64ft 1 Right-Angle Connector $72 PSU: OCZ ModxStream Pro 600w 80 Plus certified modular cabling Optical Drive: LITE-ON DVD/CD Burner $68 Subtotal: $469.94 Tax: $37.95 Shipping: $1.93 Promo Code: -$10.00 EMCYVNP52 (For G-Skill RAM expires 7/29) Grand Total: $499.82 Mail-in Rebate -$20.00 (ModxStream Pro PSU) Fake Grand Total $479.82 Thanks man, I think im going to get the PSU/dvd burner/HD you suggested, and I was already looking at that RAM so I think I'll get that. Which leaves me with the graphics card... Actually I am able to increase my budget up to 1000, so I'm wondering if it's worth it for me to get a top-of-the-line graphics card (like a Radeon 5870). Also, since AMD acquired ATI, would it be better to get an ATI card as I think the would be optimized for each other? Also, I live in Virginia so there would be no sales tax, and I think newegg is going to do another bing cashback promo tomorrow so I may be able to save an additional 10%. My main fear is that if I get a top-of-the-line graphics card, it would be bottlenecked by my CPU... But I'm not sure. Basically if a $400 dollar graphics card can run without being bottlenecked by any other part of my setup, I'm willing to shell out the money. | ||
|
Rho_
United States971 Posts
The vid card fan is spinning, and the computer seems to be booting... Gonna try some stuff, but do any of you have any ideas? | ||
|
darkponcho
United States262 Posts
On July 28 2010 14:42 Rho_ wrote: Balls. I put my kit together, but I can't get input to the monitor... The vid card fan is spinning, and the computer seems to be booting... Gonna try some stuff, but do any of you have any ideas? Does your setup have an onboard vid chip? Maybe try plugging it into there first, see if that works, then install drivers for your card and switch to your card. | ||
|
R04R
United States1631 Posts
If you're going to increase your budget and spend more on a GPU, I'd get a more reliable PSU. I picked that PSU because it was the best moderately reliable PSU I could fit in at that price point. I think a $300-350~ card and a better PSU should be just about right for $1000 budget. Let me find some stuff... | ||
|
Rho_
United States971 Posts
On July 28 2010 14:43 darkponcho wrote: Does your setup have an onboard vid chip? Maybe try plugging it into there first, see if that works, then install drivers for your card and switch to your card. I will try this and report back. Edit: It does not appear that the mobo has a built in video chip... Edit 2: How long does POST take? | ||
|
FragKrag
United States11552 Posts
| ||
|
Rho_
United States971 Posts
On July 28 2010 14:54 FragKrag wrote: Post should be almost instant. You should get a message about a boot drive or something similar. Ok, it's taking longer than that. Why would the system apparently have power to everything/be booting normally but not show on the monitor? Edit: the light under the watch battery is blinking red, does that mean anything? | ||
|
FragKrag
United States11552 Posts
System would work like you would expect to, except the monitor would only show that you need to plug in a boot device. | ||
|
Rho_
United States971 Posts
Would that light relate to the watch battery? Is it possible that I need to replace it? That is the only light blinking. Bah, this manual is so bare bones. Edit: The debug led is indicating Power on and first initialize CPU. The CPU phase LED is 0/4, does that mean anything? Edit 2: Balls, I can't figure out what this light means. Seems to be the HDD LED? Edit 3: FML FML FML I WANNA PLAY SC2  | ||
| ||
