Check out this bad ass rig I'm building... It's been too damn long without a good computer... My parents sold mine back in November, and it's time I got a new one. I've already got a Case (It's an old, shitty looking Full Tower ATX with four 80mm Fans... It's gotta look like *** so my dumb ass parents think it's old and crappy and don't sell it...) and a CD Drive, so I saved about $80. Once I move on in about a year and a half, I'll swap it into like an NZXT Zero or something... Anyway, here's the specs... I'll have her in just a few weeks time, I've got $397 now and only need to get to $485 (Plus the $10 that needs to be in my Account.)

MoBo: Gigabyte GA-EP43-DSL3

CPU: Intel E7200 (Wolfdale) OC'd to about 4.33GHz

PSU: Rosewill RP500-2 ATX12V v2.01 500W Power Supply

GPU: nVidia GeForce 7300GT (By Zotac.) I know it's *** for gaming, but it's just holding me over until I can a 4850 or 9800GTX.

Wireless: Gigabyte GN-WP01GS PCI Wireless Adapter

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Memory: Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)

With Shipping and Handling, it's about $475.52

She'll be one hell of a PC once I get that good graphics card in there a few weeks after I buy it. Now, if there's any suggestions you guys have regarding parts, like the RAM (I'm not sure if I made a good choice.) , then PLEASE let me know! Thanks!

Please watch your language when posting -- I know it bleeps the horrendous things out but just for your sake I'd recommend it.

Second, definitely invest in a better PSU -- you don't want cheap-unstable rails to take your your mobo or CPU or dramatically shorten the life of them.....Go with a known good brand with great efficiency rating as IMO a PSU is probably the 2nd most important piece in a rig besides the mobo.

Think of it this way: you wouldn't buy a brand new sports car with a 10yr old alternator and 5yr old battery would you? Ultimately the car would run like crap in a very short time.....

 EDIT:

Another future rec. for you -- go with the 4850 or the 4870 as they are a much better bang-buck factor right now (that's if you plan on buying a GFX card in the next 2-3 months. The RAM is fine no fault there -- everything else looks nice

ice91785:

go with the 4850 or the 4870 as they are a much better bang-buck

IMO they both represent some of the best values in GFX cards in a very long while... way to put pressure on Nvidia again Ati!!!

BTW: Try THIS psu if you want quality without spending over a c-note or THIS 1 if you can afford more.

BTW2: I found THIS ram and think it's pretty awesome all around_2 x 2gb for under 100 bux, 5 4 4 12 timings on only 1.8v and really nice looking heat spreaders... just a suggestion.

Good luck on whatever you decide!!!

Hi All

I agree with everything Ice & Recovering said.

Hmmm... Ya, I'm on a very strict budget as of now... The price I have there is all I can spend right now. Unless I get more hours at work, that is. I'm 16 and work at Subway so I'm not exactly getting the big money. I would if they would give me more than like 9 hours a week... In fact I'd have more but my step Mom didn't let me know they called, lol. I'm actually going to invest in things like Second Life or Project Entropia for money and such.

Then I would suggest save up for another paycheck or two man -- no sense in short-changing yourself just because you want itNOW NOW NOW!! haha.

Trust me, it will be worth it and your pocketbook will thank you in the LONG run

indeed dont shortchange yourself when you can just wait a bit longer to get an awsome rig... It took me 2 years to get the one i currently have

Wow jtm... I just noticed you got a 4870!

How does it stack up against the GTX you had? 

Hi All,

I'm able to run 2560x1600 with all the eye candy turned on. In addition it appears to me at least that the image quality is better.That could be from me upgrading my Monitor though. In Call of Duty 4 I'm running  2560x1600 with 4xAA & am averaging about 50 fps. Again for me the image quality seems better. All in all I'm very pleased with the card.

Ya, like I said, if I can get more hours, I'll spend more money. But that's iffy so... :( We'll see though!

 trust me, wait as long as you possibly can stand.  buyers remorse is the worst, especially dealing with pc parts that get outdated as soon as they hit the shelf.

Iain:

CPU: Intel E7200 (Wolfdale) OC'd to about 4.33GHz

I had brain surgery so forgive if Im missing something is 4.3 Ghz an achieavble clock on a 7200 thats rated at 2.5ghz?

Not if he doesn't slow down and stop trying to kill his new hardware.

bob_on_the_cob:

Not if he doesn't slow down and stop trying to kill his new hardware.

 Well Im saying if he can get that 7200 to 4.3 Im certainly interrested and would no doubt be impressed!

bob_on_the_cob:

Not if he doesn't slow down and stop trying to kill his new hardware.

Give him a break, he's a youngster. No offense lain, but there are no guarentees with OC'ing. It seems as though you have lofty expectations which may lead to disappointment, especially if you fry something. Just because 1 person can hit a certain speed doesn't mean you'll be able to get your chip up there. Variances in OC'ability can be as much as 1ghz or even more so take it slow and realize that you may need to be content with a lower clock speed than you're shooting for.

BTW: Like I said lain no offense callin you a youngster, but I think I'm about twice your age and I remember when I was your age I had almost no patience and always wanted instant gratification. Now I realize that some things are worth waiting for and realistically a person has to learn how to settle and/or make compromises.

sorry reading that back it did sound kinda mean. I don't mean to offend. Sorry lain.

In this regard I think he did need to be reinforeced to slow down a little. This is the reason people absolutely must read and understand the overclocking how to before going at it. It does point out that your mileage may vary. Looking out for some 1 and their hardware by saying hold up your gonna break it shouldn't be rude...should it? Am I too old to understand these things clearly?