TBG got me thinking--Help Me Build a Desktop

[doomy3]

Well, TBG got me thinking with his thread, and so I want to build a desktop. I have never done this before and have always just bought a computer in a B&M store. I don't play any games, so it doesn't need to be able to do that. Here is what I need it for:

-Browsing the internet--want it to be fast

-Basic document applications like Microsoft Office, etc.

-Photoshop photo editing

-POSSIBLY some video editing

-Needs to work on a dual monitor setup

-Needs to work with the following parts, which I have already bought:

LITE-ON Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 CD/DVD Burners (RW Drives)

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

I also already have Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit that I will be installing.

I do have a Microcenter close, so I would be able to buy there if it makes sense, or Newegg or any other retailer. Would like to keep the amount around $400 if possible since I already have the Hard Drive and DVD Burner.

Thanks for any help or suggestions on a build!

[doomy3]

Originally Posted by Metrolike

Which build are you talking about?

Either the one that Dirk posted, or something similar to the one that you built last week, or if there is a better option available now. I just know next to nothing about this stuff.

[Pants]

Originally Posted by doomy3

Either the one that Dirk posted, or something similar to the one that you built last week, or if there is a better option available now. I just know next to nothing about this stuff.

What are you looking for? If you're not going to game and are willing to not go with the best/latest stuff, it's going to be pretty cheap. TBG started suffering from the overbudget syndrome and ended up with a pretty beastly computer. What's your price range?

[doomy3]

Originally Posted by Metrolike

What are you looking for? If you're not going to game and are willing to not go with the best/latest stuff, it's going to be pretty cheap. TBG started suffering from the overbudget syndrome and ended up with a pretty beastly computer. What's your price range?

Not gaming at all.

Want it to be fast for browsing the internet, I'll be doing basic applications like Microsoft office, etc. Photo Editing with Photoshop.

Needs to be able to run a 2 monitor setup (I have 2 20" LCD monitors already)

I have a 1 TB hard drive and a DVD burner as listed in the thread starter already.

Price range I would love to keep it around $400 or so, but could go up to probably $500. Like I said, I already have the hard drive and DVD burner.

Thoughts?

[Pants]

Originally Posted by doomy3

Not gaming at all.

Want it to be fast for browsing the internet, I'll be doing basic applications like Microsoft office, etc. Photo Editing with Photoshop.

Needs to be able to run a 2 monitor setup (I have 2 20" LCD monitors already)

I have a 1 TB hard drive and a DVD burner as listed in the thread starter already.

Price range I would love to keep it around $400 or so, but could go up to probably $500. Like I said, I already have the hard drive and DVD burner.

Thoughts?

You really don't need much for that at all. Are you going to be playing with HD video?

[doomy3]

Originally Posted by Metrolike

You really don't need much for that at all. Are you going to be playing with HD video?

Nope, not planning on it.

[Pants]

Originally Posted by doomy3

Nope, not planning on it.

I can post you a build later this evening once I get home from work. dd's build is completely fine except you might want to get a more powerful PSU. TBG's 550w PSU didn't have enough juice to run his.

You are going to end up having a lot of unused computing power with that rig, though, but that's a good thing.

[doomy3]

Originally Posted by Metrolike

I can post you a build later this evening once I get home from work. dd's build is completely fine except you might want to get a more powerful PSU. TBG's 550w PSU didn't have enough juice to run his.

You are going to end up having a lot of unused computing power with that rig, though, but that's a good thing.

What would you cut down on in that build? I'm definitely open to less... Just want something fast and with a pretty decent memory capacity.

[Pants]

Originally Posted by doomy3

What would you cut down on in that build? I'm definitely open to less... Just want something fast and with a pretty decent memory capacity.

4 gigs will be plenty. I know you pretty much NEEDED 4 gigs to run Vista properly, I'm not sure how much of a hog Windows 7 is. Someone else on here will surely know. You might be fine with just 2 gigs of RAM.

[dirk digler]

One thing you have to consider Doomy is that if you plan to use Photoshop alot especially if you have the new version it will take alot of memory and is fairly CPU intensive.

Also my recommendation is if you are going to run Windows 7 64-bit 4GB RAM should be the minimum otherwise it doesn't make much sense to run a 64-bit OS.

The reason why is 32-bit OS's can only use up to 4GB of RAM while 64-bit Windows 7 can use up to 8TB. Windows 7 64-bit requires 2GB just for the OS.

If you have run the 32-bit version of Photoshop CS4/CS5 with a 32-bit Windows OS, you've probably noticed that the maximum RAM Photoshop will use is approximately 1.7GB. This will be the case, whether you have 3GB or 4GB of RAM.

Run the 32-bit version of Photoshop CS4/CS5 under 64-bit Windows Vista or Windows 7 and Photoshop can access almost twice as much RAM. Approximately 3.2GB.

When you use the 64-bit version of Photoshop together with a 64-bit version of Windows Vista or Windows 7, Photoshop can use as much RAM as you can load on your machine.

http://windows.microsoft.com/systemrequirements

If you want to run Windows 7 on your PC, here's what it takes:

• 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

[The Bad Guy]

Originally Posted by Metrolike

I can post you a build later this evening once I get home from work. dd's build is completely fine except you might want to get a more powerful PSU. TBG's 550w PSU didn't have enough juice to run his.

You are going to end up having a lot of unused computing power with that rig, though, but that's a good thing.

Hey, I'm moving on up. 650W. FTW!!!!!!!!!

[Pants]

Here you go, trying to watch the game, so a nice, quick build for you:

1	OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W Power Supply Item #:N82E16817341022 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		-$20.00 Instant $15.00 Mail-in Rebate Card	$84.99 $64.99
1	GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3 ATX AMD Motherboard Item #:N82E16813128451 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy			$78.99
1	COOLER MASTER DK9-7E52A-0L-GP CPU Cooler Item #:N82E16835103087 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy			$10.99
1	OCZ Special Ops Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Item #:N82E16820227558 Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy		-$25.00 Instant $20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card	$109.99 $84.99
1	AMD Athlon II X3 440 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor Item #:N82E16819103843 Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy			$76.99
1	GIGABYTE gz-ph1a3 Black Computer Case Item #:N82E16811233061 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		-$22.00 Instant	$39.99 $17.99
1	XFX Radeon HD 4650 HD-465X-ZDF2 Video Card Item #:N82E16814150396 Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy		-$5.00 Instant	$64.99 $59.99
Grand Total:				$394.93