Hey guys, so I'm building a new computer, I'm 15 and I don't know much about this sort of stuff, I'm replacing my 6 year comp finally, I have a Zotac GTX560 1GB 256BIT DDR5 video card already, but that's about all I want to keep from my current PC. So I have $980 total to cover all of the parts, tax, shipping (I'm in Canada) and I was wondering if you guys could help me out, I don't want 1 part way better than the other, I'd like to have something that's about equal power with everything. Please help me out guys! Thanks! - Mix

P.S. I have a monitor, keyboard (kinda crappy keyboard) a good mouse, and speakers. So I just need parts. I'll be building this PC with my brother.

Newegg.com

tigerdirect.com

So you can browse, soon someone will post what they think is best setup. But always best for you to go look and do some research when making that kind of investment.

Thanks man, I know. Kinda scared to spend that much money haha, but it's needed cuz I love video games.

Oh, and Quizzical is really helpful here, if he posts what parts to get I'm gonna listen to him I think lol.

Processor:  $210

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=70541&vpn=BX80637I53570K&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1033

Motherboard:  $155 before a $30 rebate

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=69234&vpn=Z77A%2DGD65&manufacture=MSI%2FMicroStar&promoid=1033

Power supply:  $80 before a $15 rebate

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=59617&vpn=P1750SNLB9&manufacture=XFX&promoid=1033

Memory:  $60 before a $10 rebate

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=76335&vpn=CMX16GX3M2A1600C11&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1033

CPU heatsink:  $19

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=41337&vpn=RR%2DB10%2D212P%2DG1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER&promoid=1033

Case:  $80

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=65171&vpn=ELEVEN%20HUNDRED&manufacture=Others&promoid=1033

Optical drive:  $15

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=76258&vpn=SH%2D224BB%2FBEBE&manufacture=Samsung&promoid=1033

SSD:  $150

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=71916&vpn=AGT4%2D25SAT3%2D256G&manufacture=OCZ%20Technology&promoid=1033

Hard drive:  $60

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=58746&vpn=ST31000524AS&manufacture=Seagate&promoid=1033

Operating system:  $85

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=77180&vpn=WN7%2D00404&manufacture=Microsoft&promoid=1033

Total:  $914 before $55 in rebates.

I'm not sure how much NCIX will charge for shipping, but those prices are all in Canadian dollars, and they're based in Canada.  If you need to cut back a bit to fit a strict $980 budget (and I'm guessing it's a strict budget, or else you'd have said $1000), a cheaper motherboard is probably the best place to cut back.  Depending on how much capacity you need, with a 240 GB SSD, you might be able to skip the hard drive entirely.

If you get this, then you plan on upgrading the video card in the future whenever you decide that it isn't good enough anymore.  That might take you a few years, but the rest of the system should still be decent then.

I'm also assuming that you already have a surge protector, since you have the rest of the normal peripherals.  If you don't, then you'll need one.

Also, if you dislike your keyboard, it's cheap to get a different one.  You probably don't need anything fancy, and most desktop keyboards will work fine.  Laptop keyboards are dicier, but that's due to the form factor.

Oh, and I have Windows 8 already, so -$85 and keeping the Harddrive, that should be enough to cover $980 right?

Originally posted by EvilMix
Wow thanks a lot, again Quiz. I have a 750g harddrive that came with my Emachine that I kept, could I just use that and skip by the harddrive entirely by using the one I already have?

Originally posted by EvilMix

Oh, and I have Windows 8 already, so -$85 and keeping the Harddrive, that should be enough to cover $980 right?

Originally posted by Souldrainer

Originally posted by EvilMix
Wow thanks a lot, again Quiz. I have a 750g harddrive that came with my Emachine that I kept, could I just use that and skip by the harddrive entirely by using the one I already have?

 

How many RPMs is it? You might be able to skip the HDD if the old one meets specs, be definitely go for an SSD, preferably one with high IOPS (120,000 if possible).

If you're just going to use it for bulk data while putting everything that is performance-sensitive on the SSD, then it doesn't really matter how slow the hard drive is.  I don't think there are any recent models that are especially failure-prone, so reusing the hard drive should be fine if it's fairly recent.  If it's five years old already, then it should probably be replaced.

As for SSD IOPS numbers, once you're into the tens of thousands, adding more doesn't matter for consumer use.

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As for Windows 8, if you already have a legal Windows 8 license that hasn't previously been used in some other computer, then sure, use that.  But you can't just take a Windows 8 license from an old computer and use it in a new one.

Originally posted by Souldrainer

Originally posted by EvilMix

Oh, and I have Windows 8 already, so -$85 and keeping the Harddrive, that should be enough to cover $980 right?

 

I'd advise you to dump Win 8. While it is technically sound, a lot of game devs refuse to support it.

If a game runs on Windows 7, then it should run on Windows 8.  Most game developers probably aren't going to use Metro, and online game developers will never or essentially never use Metro, but you can still run games just fine without it, and without developers doing anything special to support it.

As you're new to computer building, I would suggest to first familiarize yourself with technology each part represents. If you're not reading any computer related magazines, just go to review/comparison pages for the parts that you're interested in buying (google 'em sites), read it all and if you don't understand what something means, try looking for wikipedia articles.

For example many novice people would just go for the best and priciest parts without knowing how much performance boost they'll really receive while using the applications (programs/games) they usually do. Imo getting a 2% performance boost while paying an extra $100 isn't very smart.

And always remember, as soon as you unwrap those parts, their resell value plummets, so invest with care.

Cheers.

Originally posted by Quizzical

As for Windows 8, if you already have a legal Windows 8 license that hasn't previously been used in some other computer, then sure, use that.  But you can't just take a Windows 8 license from an old computer and use it in a new one.

They changed the terms for windows 8 to not be as restrictive as 7 and the previous OS's were. They let you move the license over to a new computer now, just don't let you run it on multiples.

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-2x8GB-Desktop-Memory-CMX16GX3M2A1333C9/dp/B0085IZVKI/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1356810689&sr=1-3

If you're just going for cheap ram, then yeah, corsair XMS or equivalent is fine.

Like many others in this threat, I suggest you do some of your own research before jumping to buy some things someone else has linked for you. You should know more about how a computer works and what the specs of the items you are buying affect it before blowing all your cash.

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Originally posted by Kabaal

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Originally posted by Quizzical As for Windows 8, if you already have a legal Windows 8 license that hasn't previously been used in some other computer, then sure, use that.  But you can't just take a Windows 8 license from an old computer and use it in a new one.

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They changed the terms for windows 8 to not be as restrictive as 7 and the previous OS's were. They let you move the license over to a new computer now, just don't let you run it on multiples.

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It is less restrictive, but most of the same rules apply:

* A Retail copy can be moved or virtualized, Vista can only be transfered once, all other OSes can be transfered multiple times

* An OEM copy cannot be moved and must run as the host OS

* An Upgrade license has the same rules from whichever of the two editions the upgraded OS was

No consumer licenses can be run on multiple computers (only enterprise licenses, which would be like a large school or company)

Most copies are OEM copies or Upgrade copies which are ultimately based on OEM licenses - if it came pre-installed on a computer (like an eMachines), it's almost certainly an OEM copy. Retail copies are very expensive, and most people don't buy them, and they almost never come pre-installed on machines. Most people building their own computer tend to get an OEM license (even though it technically doesn't cover). Most people upgrading from one OS to the next will get the Upgrade license, because it's usually about $100 cheaper, and the Upgrade license then is based on whatever root OS you upgraded from (Retail or OEM).

Windows 8 does add a new System Builder license, which let's you virtualize (OEM does not), but still locks you to a single computer (like the OEM does now). Rumor has it that MS may drop the Retail edition of Windows 8 in favor of System Builder editions, which have just recently become available; the System Builder license is cheaper than Retail, but it would legally prevent you from transferring the license to a new computer.