Build Guide for Teens

[shozzking]

the second ones better, it has a smaller hard drive but better graphics card

 

[culexor]

That wireless card sucks. I had one while it was fine for browsing, it would lag out constantly while gaming. Maybe this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833130111

 

[Mutant Corn]

I've got a much better build here. It uses socket AM3 and DDR3 RAM, which are current. Older AM2/AM2+ processors and DDR2 RAM, like VINMAN's builds use, are obsolete now, and aren't worth it on a new build.

CPU- Athlon II x4 620 ($99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16819103706

Mobo- Gigabyte mATX board ($85)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128397

RAM- Kingston 2x1GB, DDR3 1066 ($47) (ZZF is a good site...no worries)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10007851

Hard Drive- Western Digital Caviar 600GB 16M ($56) (you won't need the heat pipes)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101259

PSU- Thermaltake Purepower 500W ($64) ($20 rebate)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10005886

Case- NZXT Gamma ($30) (This is an excellent case)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146061

DVD burner- Samsung SH-S223C ($35) ($15 rebate)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10011470

Everything has free shipping

Total cost: $413, and so far is better than anything else posted.
($378 if you catch the rebates in time...they expire soon!)

A possible RAM upgrade is this 4Gb OCZ kit:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10011080
Brings the total to $463, or $403 after all rebates. If you order in time, do this.

This is as good as you'll get for the price, IMO.

If you don't catch the RAM I tacked on, then that should be the first thing you upgrade on this. 4GB is pretty standard now, as are the 64-bit operating systems needed to use it. 2Gb will be fine for now though. If you install windows7 64 bit(you should), 4Gb will be much better.

Zipzoomfly has some great 4gb options that are out of stock, so check there before you get the RAM. I'll edit in some ones to watch in a minute. edit: If any of these are in stock when you buy, they're a better option. It would really be better to go for 4gb from the get-go.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10008511
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10008744
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10008949
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10008739
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10007830
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10008530
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10008568
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10008742

 

[worshipme]

A challenger appears?

 

[culexor]

Mutant Corn, may I also suggest going with the Phenom II X2 550 BE. I understand it's only two cores, but if it's a budget build, you aren't going to need 4 cores. But if you want, you can unlock the other two cores on the 550 making it a quad (has about a 75% success rate, and you ARE capable of doing that with the motherboard you recommended). More reasons can be read here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/267089-28-phenom-athlon#t1986101

Also, it costs the same.

 

[Mutant Corn]

Actually, now that i think about it, a core i3 would be better than either of them. I'll update that when i get home...i'm on a cell phone now.

 

[shozzking]

why a core i3? you cant unlock it and make it a quad core, the core i3 is incredibly overpriced.

 

[Mutant Corn]

$99 for a hyperthreading dual core that can top 3.5 ghz on the stock cooler doesn't sound overpriced to me.

 

[nickelodeonn]

why a core i3? you cant unlock it and make it a quad core, the core i3 is incredibly overpriced.

$99 for a hyperthreading dual core that can top 3.5 ghz on the stock cooler doesn't sound overpriced to me.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Right now, I'm reading up and studying as much as possible! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I am trying to find all different combos for:

CPU (I don't know how many cores vs. speed - which is more important and I don't want it to be overpriced -- for me)

DDR2 vs. DDR3 (It seems like I can stay with what I'm at with a good deal and 4GB of DDR2 memory at 800Mhz, which I don't know if that's any good in the first place)

Motherboard (I need a socket AM3 for my motherboard if I'm going to stick with my CPU that I already have. The clarity on whether or not the one that I already has, has a socket AM3, is very confusing. (Just like that sentence I just wrote ) The motherboard and CPU I am talking about is listed at the bottom of this post. If you could let me know what you think, that would be great. Because, well, it says "AM3 CPU ready", but in the description, it says it's AM2+...?!!?

I am still confused on whether or not I need a graphics card. I am barely going to be playing hard-core video games, most likely just old time-y games at the most. and If I will want to play hardcore games in the future, then I'll get a graphics card. But do I need one to start off with?

And, while I was researching, it seems like the computer "beeps" at you when you boot it for the first time (and every time after that), but that doesn't make any sense if you have no speakers, right??

Fill me in on the conversation, please and if you have ANY suggestions for my problems listed above, let me know!


CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor - $62
Motherboard: Gigabyte MA785GM-US2H Motherboard - $80
RAM: OCZ 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 Memory - $70

OH and I'm having trouble trying to figure out if this is still a good deal... what do you think?

Case: Cooler Master Elite 330 Black ATX Mid-Tower Case - Part of Bundle ($80)

Or should I buy them seperately, drop the fan, and get a better case? I mean, that case is all right for me. And, do I need a static wristband/what are the extra crap I need? I was reading a book and the author said all I need to do is "ground" myself by touching some metal.. true or false?

 

[Mutant Corn]

Trust me dude, the rig i listed is of much higher quality than that.

You don't want ddr2. It's a dead format. DDR3 is the standard now, and is much faster.

You'll want a socket am3 mobo if you go AMD. That one is socket am2+, which is also a dead format. You can put any current am3 cpu into an am2+ motherboard, but you'll likely have issues with future upgrades.

The case and psu i listed were better than the cooler master set. The psu is the one component you really don't want to cheap out on.