First build, need to know all the parts I'll need, already over budget.

Hey, everybody. It's me, Jkyr12. I'm new here. I want a new computer, and heard that building one from scratch is cheaper than getting one prebuilt. I really want to build my first PC, and I have a ton of questions. I need to know all the parts I'll need. I am trying to make this thing for less than $500 though....I have some minimum specs I want, so if you could give me part suggestions, it would be great. So here's what I want:

-At least 320GB hard drive. I really don't care about SATA, mostly because I don't know what it is.
-At least 3 GB of RAM. Whatever is the best value, in terms of DDR, DDR2, whatever.
-At least 1GB graphics chip.
-At least 2.4MHz processor, or whatever will let me do a bunch of multitasking.
-I don't really care about audio, whatever's clver.
-I need a CD reader/writer, DVD if possible for my budget.
-I need a media card reader. SD and memory stick at least.
-A motherboard that has enough ports for my graphics, and expansion for sound if I get to it.
-A power supply that will give me all this, and enough to expand.

Like I said, I need to stay under $500, less if possible. I also need to know if I'll need any special tools, and where I can get an ESD bracelet/mat.

 

1)Google SATA. Its the standard these days.

2)RAM - The different types, ddr,ddr2,ddr3 depend on your cpu. Some will run DDR2 and DDR3, for example, but some do not benefit from DDR3. A Core2Quad, for example, does not benfit much from DDR3 memory. Theres a small gain but in terms or price to performance DDR2 is best.

3)GPU(graphics chip) - Do not be fooled by memory alone.

4)CPUs today are measuered in GHz(gigahertz) not MHz(Megahertz)

5)If super high quality audio isnt important, most motherboards have built in audio capabilities that will do just fine.

6)DVD Writers are pretty much standard these days. Its almost unheard of not to have a DVD writer in your computer.

7) Why do you need a card reader?

8) You only need one port, which will be a PC Express x16 2.0 slot for your video card. A mobo that has a second PCI slot to run a second GPU will cost more, and generally by the time you were to add a second card, it would probably be better just to get a single card to replace the original with. The original will be outdated, most likley, and a newer single card could match the performance of your dual card set up. Most mobos have PCI slots on them as well which will be sufficient for a sound card down the line.

9)Not all power supply are created equal. Dont be fooled by wattage. A cheap 800 wat PSU wont be able to out put as much power on a continues basis as an expensive 500 watt psu, and maybe 400 watt psu.

For a $500 budget you can build a descent Core i5 Machine. Intel makes the best CPUs at the moment, but AMD has new CPUs on the way next year, so that could change.

For a mobo, find an ATX mobo. It should be a Gigabyte,MSI, or Biostar with a P55 chipset and Socket 1156.

RAM, you will need DDR3 for a core i5. Corsair,G.Skill and Patriot are the best performers imo.

GPU, a 5750 should work in your budget, possibly a 5770. Both are made by ATI.

PSU, get a 550 watt corsair, this will give you some head room to grow. You could go with a 400 watt Corsair and get by, but best to buy big now.

That should give you a pretty good starting point, and Im sure Sam will be along soon to throw in some other pointers and point out anything I missed.

 

Thanks for all the help.....forgot about the CPU, and didn't think to look. You've helped me out a ton. Now it's just a matter of getting the pieces and getting them to fit. Other than how much stuff you can put in the front (CD drives, etc.) is there anything important to look for in a case? And what site do you recommend? Tigerdirect? Newegg?

 

I like newegg and amazon...but newegg is better for browsing parts. If you go over to newegg, you will find about 500 cases. You want something with good airflow, that is built well. You can get this rather cheap...just read the reviews before you buy, as many cheap cases have serious problems that might not be obvious from the pictures. Also, make sure you get a ATX or larger case...even if you get a microATX mainboard.

 

Thanks.

 

Having just put together a $500 machine, I say you cannot build a $500 i5 based machine. Already you have $200 for the i5 and $130 for the 5770 Gpu. $330 spent and you have many more parts to go.
I think your specs need to be a little lower.

 

I think you mean 5750 not 5770, but an i5 could be done, but corners would have to be cut. I guess I wasnt paying attention.

 

It doesn't matter. i3 is still vastly superior to my 256MB RAM, 65 GB HD, 256 MB GPU, 1.66 GHZ CPU, AMD Sempron comp I'm currently stuck with.

 

What chipset do I need for an i3? And will DDR2 work fine with i3, or is DDR3 still recommended?

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...00280 1070650781 107173338&name=Intel H55/H57

Any of these mobos will work for an i3 but Id stick with Gigabyte,MSI or Biostar.

As for RAM, you have no choice but to use DDR3.

As I said above, I would go with an ATX mobo, but doesnt look like there are any AT, only mico ATX for the core i3s. But its a starting point none the less and will enable you to still do some upgading to the CPU in the future, but a Core i3 isnt going to give you quite the performance you asked for in the original post. Have you considered maybe holding off and trying to save about an extra $200 for a Core i5?

 

It's only about $75-80 on newegg, and I can get up to 3.33 660 for that. It's another $80 for a 3.46 670, and the operating frequency is the only difference. Wondering if I should go for a quad core 750 with 2.66 and twice the cache of the others. They are dual core. Which is best in your opinion?

And besides matching up with the case, what is the difference between ATX and Micro ATX?

 

Just looked at tigerdirect, and they have a 750 packed with 4GB of DDR3... http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...?EdpNo=5532354&csid=ITD&body=MAIN#detailspecs

 

Slow DDR3 though. It will work fine, but it's not optimal performance stuff.
At newegg you can get:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215&cm_re=i5_750-_-19-115-215-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=4GB_Corsair_PC3_12800-_-20-145-260-_-Product

Spending $35 less and getting faster RAM.
That's $295, however $205 for all the other components is very tight.
You need a case (I never advise spending less than $40), a motherboard (At least $75+) a Power supply (Should never be less than $50), a graphics card of some kind (If you only watch video and browse the web you needn't spend more than $30, but if you want to play games, an HD5750 is a recommended buy for good performance, and they cost $140!), a hard disk (At least $50, more for big storage) and a CDROM drive.
For bare basic with the i5 750 and 4GB of DDR3, you could build a system for about $550-$580. If you wanted a graphics card capable of playing games though, you're looking at $620-$700.

 

-I'll have to settle for i3 then...is it worth $20 extra for a 540 and .13 extra GHz, or would a 530, with 2.96, play decent games like Spore and EVE?
-Will that RAM work with an i3?
-Is a 500GB Western Digital HD for $55 a good deal?
-I already chose a power supply...Corsair 550W for $80.
-Still working on mother board. Is microATX a big difference than ATX, besides size and fitting in case? Will there be any performance issues?
-Gonna pick everything else first, then choose case. If I have to, I'll use my old one.
-Is there a cable that will allow me to plug in my old ribbon-wire HD into a SATA port on a MOBO? I'm looking for an alternative to rewriting it onto my new HD.
-On the video card, I'll buy what I can get after I choose everything else, then upgrade later if possible. Might sell parts from my old PC to fund it....Not like any of it is worth anything.
-Do DVD Readers/Burners also read/write CDs?

 

dvd burners read and write cd's

If you have not bought the power supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008 the 400 watt corsair is $49 free shipping $10 rebate.

your new motherboard should have an ide slot for you to hook up your old hard drive.

 

-I'll have to settle for i3 then...is it worth $20 extra for a 540 and .13 extra GHz, or would a 530, with 2.96, play decent games like Spore and EVE? - Id say no. Chances are that .13 ghz will make very little difference if any, unless the cache sizes are larger on the 540.

-Will that RAM work with an i3? - Any DDR3 memory will work with a Core i3/5/7 cpu.

-Is a 500GB Western Digital HD for $55 a good deal? - Froogle around if you like. Id say thats an average price off the top of my hand.

-Still working on mother board. Is microATX a big difference than ATX, besides size and fitting in case? Will there be any performance issues? - No the main difference, more or less, is simply room. A micro ATX is smaller so obviously things have to be cramped a bit to all fit into a smaller space.

-Gonna pick everything else first, then choose case. If I have to, I'll use my old one. - Your prebuilt case? Probably not going to work unless you do some custom modding.

-Is there a cable that will allow me to plug in my old ribbon-wire HD into a SATA port on a MOBO? I'm looking for an alternative to rewriting it onto my new HD. - Yes but dont bother, there will be an PATA/IDE port on the mobo that will allow you to plug the so called ribbon cable in to.

-Do DVD Readers/Burners also read/write CDs? - Yes, same for Blu Ray burners. They burn Blu-Ray,DVD and CDs.

 

-I'll have to settle for i3 then...is it worth $20 extra for a 540 and .13 extra GHz, or would a 530, with 2.96, play decent games like Spore and EVE? - Id say no. Chances are that .13 ghz will make very little difference if any, unless the cache sizes are larger on the 540._______Caches are the same.

-Will that RAM work with an i3? - Any DDR3 memory will work with a Core i3/5/7 cpu.______Cool. I picked the RAM that other guy said.

-Is a 500GB Western Digital HD for $55 a good deal? - Froogle around if you like. Id say thats an average price off the top of my hand._____I'll look around.

-Still working on mother board. Is microATX a big difference than ATX, besides size and fitting in case? Will there be any performance issues? - No the main difference, more or less, is simply room. A micro ATX is smaller so obviously things have to be cramped a bit to all fit into a smaller space._______I can work with cramped....Not a big deal to me.

-Gonna pick everything else first, then choose case. If I have to, I'll use my old one. - Your prebuilt case? Probably not going to work unless you do some custom modding._____I'll take a look when I get a chance.

-Is there a cable that will allow me to plug in my old ribbon-wire HD into a SATA port on a MOBO? I'm looking for an alternative to rewriting it onto my new HD. - Yes but dont bother, there will be an PATA/IDE port on the mobo that will allow you to plug the so called ribbon cable in to._____Cool. That will keep me from having to deal with installing an OS from BIOS, which I have no idea how to do.

-Do DVD Readers/Burners also read/write CDs? - Yes, same for Blu Ray burners. They burn Blu-Ray,DVD and CDs____Well, I only need DVD.

And that other guys said 400 watt corsair. Would that still work with what I'm trying to do?

EDIT: Found a mobo..... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130256 Will PCIExpress 2.0 x16 work with this? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125302

EDIT 2: Checked my comp....my current mobo is about the size of that one I have linked to...seems like it will work.

 

An i3 530 could play Spore and Eve flawlessly. If those are the only games you play, you wouldn't need a Quad core for gaming purposes.
Yes, the memory I posted will work with i3 CPUs.
500GB for $55 is not exemplary, but it is relatively standard for a such sized hard drive.
The Corsair 550W VX unit is powerful, but over the top for such a system. If you are using a dual core CPU, the 400W CX unit will be ample, even if you fit a powerful graphics card. Hero8675 has already linked to this unit.
MicroATX is designed for tiny cases, there is no reason to buy them unless you want a compact system. Buying a MicroATX board limits the number of devices you can plug in and sometimes even how much memory can be installed. Generally, unless you need a compact system, a normal ATX motherboard and case are a better option. I strongly advise putting new PC builds in old cases unless they include sufficient cooling. Most old cases people have lying around have almost no cooling whatsoever.
New motherboards still ship with one IDE port, capable of running up to 2 IDE devices. If you have any more than 2 IDE devices you wish to use, you will have to purchase an IDE to S-ATA adapter.
Yes, DVD burners also record CDs.
I would recommend this motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...406&cm_re=Gigabyte_P55-_-13-128-406-_-Product

 

-Then I'll go with the 400.
-That was the only mobo I could find with support for i3 that had PATA. But if it doesn't list i3, will it still work?
-Again, only one I could see.
-I already picked a disk drive out.

This is everything I've already picked out. I'm already over budget, but still, better than what it would cost for a something prebuilt, right?

Motherboard-
Gigabyte,MSI,Biostar-
1156 Socket, built in audio,PCI Express 2.0 x16, PCI-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130256
$100
Processor-
Core i3 530-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115222
$125
Hard Drive-
SATA-
320GB+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136358
$55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16812189156
$2.39
RAM-
DDR3
4GB Corsair
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=4GB_Corsair_PC3_12800-_-20-145-260-_-Product
$95GPU-
1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125302
$145
Power-
Corsair 400 Watt-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008
$45
External Disk Drive-
DVD-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827140042
$29
Case Fan-
Scythe, 120mm-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185006
$17

Total is 611. What else do I need, and what do you recommend? I'm aware of case and CPU cooler. Or could the stock cooler work?