I'm gonna finally attempt to build my own computer.. but only have minimal knowledge. I'll probably have a lot of random questions so I figured this would be a good way to get advice on top of the research I do.

So far I have a case and a 500W power supply.

Next up is choosing a CPU & motherboard. Budget is an issue so I thought this looked like a good deal:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2509778

thoughts?


Also I read that AMD processors generally perform better (I think because of their BUS speed). To what extent is that true? How would this CPU fare in comparison:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1959170


Oh, and the Intel Processor seems to be a great deal on here cuz pricegrabber has far higher prices:


http://www.pricegrabber.com/p__Intel_Pentium_D_840_3_2GHz_Dual_Core_Processor,__9328452


Thanks for all the future help

[Edited on October 25, 2006 at 11:37 PM. Reason : pricegrabber]

10/25/2006 11:34:14 PM

CONROE OR YOU'RE A SELLOUT

10/25/2006 11:37:40 PM

^aka Intel?

10/25/2006 11:41:52 PM

Most AMD Athlon X2 processors will perform better than that pentium D, but not the Core 2 duos. The Athlon 64 3200+ doesn't bench as well as the Pentium D 840 in most productivity benchmarks though. Tom's Hardware has some good benchmarks if you want to compare things:

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html


There's a reason that pentium D w/mobo combo is so cheap. Pentium D's are really awful compared to the core 2 duos (in pretty much every measureable criterion except price.) If you can afford spending 200-300 more I would strongly suggest you get a core 2 duo and a motherboard with an intel 975x chipset. If you get a 2.13ghz, it's going to perform about twice as fast with about 60% the power consumption of that pentium D.

one of these bundles is a good idea, you could probably get the board and cpu cheaper off of some place like zip zoom fly though.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2368077&CatId=2406

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2368078&CatId=2406

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2368076&CatId=2406

Yes these are all about twice what you were going to spend before rebate, but it's worth it. Really though, if you just want to put a box together and can't spend more than 210 or so before rebate, then that combo should be fine. Just put 1-2 gigs of ram in (unless you're doing lots of adobe shit, 1 should be plenty) and don't expect to do TOO much gaming on it.

[Edited on October 26, 2006 at 12:23 AM. Reason : ]

10/26/2006 12:16:27 AM

1) What kind of power supply did you get? It's probably not worth 25 cents.

2) The reason those tigerdirect bundles are so cheap is because you wont EVER see that rebate. Not to mention they are OEM Processors, aka 90 day warranty instead of 3 years.

3) Don't get your shit from tigerdirect.

4) Go to Newegg.com

10/26/2006 1:44:29 AM

aight so I've been looking into it for a couple weeks, and money is pretty tight so I want to try to get a mobo/cpu combo for about $150 or less. I would love a Core 2 duo but I just cant afford that.. especially for my first computer build.

I was thinking one of these combos looks like the best deal:

http://tinyurl.com/yz8rpy

anyone know of a better mobo/cpu for ~$150 or less?


Thanks

11/5/2006 5:38:25 PM

bttt

11/6/2006 3:31:16 PM

bttt

11/6/2006 7:17:45 PM

Quote :

"aight so I've been looking into it for a couple weeks, and money is pretty tight"

If money is pretty tight you don't need a new computer.

Just keep what you have until you have real disposable income.

11/6/2006 8:15:46 PM

http://beta.slickdeals.net/?permadeal=8371#direct_deal_8371

What you guys think about this...thinking about biting.

11/8/2006 8:38:13 PM

i might end up biting on that one too... only $73 for a decent cpu/mobo sounds good to me

11/8/2006 8:47:40 PM