A simple PC

[nylax4]

Hey I have a budget of $300-400 and want to build a PC for these purposes; Firefox, Photoshop 7.0, MS Word, AIM, and various retro emulators (NES,SNES,N64,Gen), no current games.

Can someone explain to me those micro atx cases on newegg? Are they recommended? I would like it to be as small as possible as well. Another important thing is that its silent.

For processor I want to go with the AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+
case? possibly one of those micro atx's
mobo?
power supply?
hard drive? (160GB would do fine)
CD/DVD burner?
RAM? (I want 1GB)
For now I'll go with onboard video and audio

Its not that I don't understand all the specs on newegg when I'm looking for the parts but its that I don't know whats recommended. With some hobbies, like PC building there are just certain parts that are always recommended because of its value and its reliability. I hope there are some parts you can recommend me that are good and cheap.

[fastrandstrongr]

so i just put together a budget x2 3600 build... here's a few things that i got:

x2 3600 with ecs mobo (combo on newegg) - 106
2gb corsair XMS 667mhz ram - 70
320gb sata 3.0 Maxtor hd - 64 (got it at a fry's though)
Ultra Micro fly MX6 case with 600W XVS PSU - 100ish (amazon.com, but i paid tax)
Sony DVD-RW - 32

the case/psu deal is great because i havent seen anything under 120 for that combo.

anyways, the total is about 375. pretty decent IMO

[nylax4]

fastrandstrongr where did you get 2gb of corsair xms for $70?

I figured out a build that is about $300. BTW I'll be running Win XP, I'm running Vista now and I feel like it's too early for it.

CD/DVD burner - LITE-ON 16X DVD Burner $26
Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM IDE DVD Burner - Retail

Case - COOLER MASTER Centurion 541 RC-541-SKN1 MicroATX Mini Tower $50
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 541 RC-541-SKN1 Black Aluminumm bezel, SECC chassis MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case - Retail

Hard Drive - Western Digital 160GB 7200 RPM $53
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Motherboard - MSI K9VGM-V Socket AM2 VIA K8M890 Micro ATX AMD $49
Newegg.com - MSI K9VGM-V Socket AM2 VIA K8M890 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

RAM - WINTEC AMPO 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR2 800 $40
Newegg.com - WINTEC AMPO 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

CPU - AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ $64
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ Brisbane 1.9GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail

[fastrandstrongr]

its on newegg. actually, they JUST raised the price to 74.99. just search for the xms series, and you will find 2x 1gb of ddr2 675mhz.

Edit: I'd stay away from VIA chipsets. Try getting an nvidia mobo... i think there's a couple of em in the 50 dollar range.

And you're missing a PSU! Fortron 400W would do the trick.

[b1gapl]

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-M61P-S3 w/onboard GeForce 6100 or BIOSTAR TForce 6100 w/onboard(Since you wanted Micro ATX)
CPU - AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ Brisbane
RAM - 1GB G. Skill DDR2-800
Power supply - FSP Group (Fortron Source) 400W
Hard drive - WD 160GB hard drive
Optical drive - Sony NEC Optiarc DVD Burner

These parts come to a total of $316.94, shipping price not inluded. Just choose a case to your liking. Maybe something like this for the case, since you wanted it as small as possible:
Newegg.com - APEVIA X-QPACK-NW-BK/420 Black Aluminum 1.0 w/ ABS plastic front panel MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 420W Power Supply - Retail
With that case, your total would come to $386.93

[fastrandstrongr]

i wouldnt get the qpack cuz i don't think it fits standard size psu's. either that or drop the FSP and use the included microATX psu... which isn't recommended.

[b1gapl]

hmm...I'm not sure...I was looking at the specs sheet, and it says the power supply is ATX.

I was looking at the dimensions for both the FSP and the PSU included with the QPACK case. And the PSU included in the case is smaller. So you're probably right.

[fastrandstrongr]

yeah, i was looking around for a mATX case and i specifically wanted one which could hold a standard size PSU... and the only one i found was the Ultra Microfly.

[vernong1992]

Originally Posted by b1gapl

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-M61P-S3 w/onboard GeForce 6100 or BIOSTAR TForce 6100 w/onboard(Since you wanted Micro ATX)
CPU - AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ Brisbane
RAM - 1GB G. Skill DDR2-800
Power supply - FSP Group (Fortron Source) 400W
Hard drive - WD 160GB hard drive
Optical drive - Sony NEC Optiarc DVD Burner

These parts come to a total of $316.94, shipping price not inluded. Just choose a case to your liking. Maybe something like this for the case, since you wanted it as small as possible:
Newegg.com - APEVIA X-QPACK-NW-BK/420 Black Aluminum 1.0 w/ ABS plastic front panel MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 420W Power Supply - Retail
With that case, your total would come to $386.93

nice system b1gapl... usual bookmarking? hahaha.... but i think it should fit.. i looked at the specs.. but not entirely sure tho....

[nylax4]

Ok whatever about the MicroATX. Full size ATX makes it alot cheaper and gives me better options. What mobo and power supply?

I don't understand anything with the fans and thermal paste. What is recommended to buy with what case?