I've started and now need professional advice...

[Savisem]

I've been going through this forum and it seems that its the best place to come for advice. Yes, this is another one of those "help me build my pc" threads. My requirements aren't all that much though.

I will be using my PC purely for Pastel, Office and World of Warcraft. My budget is R5k-R7k(less is better for me though) and I will most likely be purchasing within the next 2 to 3 months, as soon as I have saved up to buy the pc cash basically.

I currently only have a laptop at home so I don't have any parts I can salvage apart from software. I won't be doing any overclocking or the like and as my requirements increase I'll just replace parts. Preferably I would thus like to purchase core parts that will last some time while I upgrade the rest as required. My PC will basically always just be standing around at home so I don't care much for looks either, same goes for sound, it will either be earphones or two speakers at most. I've been looking at comx and prophecy for prices and thus far I've built the following at the top end of my budget:

Motherboard -> KDP35DPM -> Intel Dragontail FSB1333
Processor -> BX80557E4500 -> 2.2Ghz Core 2 Duo 800FSB
RAM -> JM800QLJ-1G-> 2x Transcend 1GB
Graphics -> EN8600GT/HTDP/256M -> 8600GT 256Mb DDR3
Power Supply Unit -> PSU600B -> 600Watt
Hard Drive -> ST3160811AS -> Seagate Barracuda 160Gb
DVD Writer -> GSA-H55N -> LG DVD Writer
Case -> EN52078 -> Aerocool I-Cool
Monitor -> GD-1903DPI -> Gigabyte 19" LCD
Total: R 7700

At the lower end but with space to upgrade I'm considering:
Motherboard -> KDP35DPM -> Intel Dragontail FSB1333
Case+PSU -> AB-900B -> AOpen 4in1 Case+400W PSU
Processor -> BX80557E2160 -> Dual Core 1.86ghz 800fsb
RAM -> JM800QLJ-1G-> 2x Transcend 1GB
Graphics -> Something for around R700
Hard Drive -> ST3160811AS -> Seagate Barracuda 160Gb
DVD Writer -> GSA-H55N -> LG DVD Writer
Monitor -> Something for around R700
Total: R5000

I would really appreciate it if anyone could provide any form of critique or advice on how to get the most bang for my buck. I would also really like to know if I'm going overboard/falling short for what I'll be using this pc for and if there are any specific parts I should scrap or improve on.

 

[Dr.G]

Seems Pretty good except for the specified Processor in the First build because of the FSB being 800mhz.

If it was me id'e go for the following:
*Intel Dragontail Peak P35 Motherboard R923
*Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 1333FSB 2.6Ghz R1530
*2x Kingston 1 Gig DDR2 800 Ram R430
*Seagate Barracuda 160gig Sata R465
*Samsung Sata2 DVD writer R199
*19'' LG 5ms lcd monitor R1599
*Nvidia Geforce 8600GT 256mb DDR3 R899
*Antek NSK 1650 Case w/400Watt PSU R549
comes too... R6379 ex vat
Total inc vat R7272
Prices from Pcint.co.za

 

[Dr.G]

Oh and you will be able to play quite a bit more than World of Warcraft

 

[hj2k_x]

Not too sure about the gfx requirements of warcraft but there are much better cards out there than the 8600GT as it is still limited by the 128 bit bus of its predecessor. I'd say go for an HD3650 if you need decent-ish gfx, if not, then option two is better, and any old card will do the job really. I have an 8500GT which is pretty poor specs-wise but I don't game and it gets the job done for me

Where are you getting the quotes from and could you posts some more detailed specs or links? That way we can help you out better

 

[Savisem]

Well I'd prefer to buy from a physical store, but online retailer prices seem to be much better and looks like that's the wy pc purchases are done these days.

I'll be shopping around between www.comx-computers.co.za, www.prophecy.co.za and www.pcint.co.za (thanks greylid) for the parts and basically buy from the one that can give me my system for the cheapest price overall.

As for links to some of my parts, I use sybaritic for links, they give better discriptions:
Motherboard: http://www.sybaritic.co.za/store/product_info.php?products_id=14189
Processor: http://www.sybaritic.co.za/store/product_info.php?products_id=13358
RAM: http://www.sybaritic.co.za/store/product_info.php?products_id=10689
Graphics: http://www.sybaritic.co.za/store/product_info.php?products_id=12226

Some other questions:

As I won't be overclocking and basically just using parts as I get them, would I require additional cooling?
What wattage PSU should I be looking at if I am just running standard parts?

 

[killadoob]

[P5KPL-VM] - ASUS Intel G31, LGA775, 1333(OC)FSB, 2xDual DDR2, 1x PCI-x16, On Board VGA, 1xPCIx1, 2xPCI, 1xATA100, 4xSATAII, Gbe Lan, 6ch-Sound, Max 8xUSB, Micro ATX R 621
good board good chipset for a non overclockers and it does OC a bit

2GB DDRII-800 R 349
u buy the 2 gig so your can upgrade to 4 gig on that mobo

Geforce 8800GS 384MB DDR3 DUAL DVI TV-Out R 1,499
Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2Ghz (800FSB 2MB) R 975

this is what i would do on a budget
sacrifice the mobo for a better vga card

u could even get the e8200 if you buy the cheaper mobo

pcint.co.za

to give you another option

replace the mobo and cpu with

[M2N-SLI-DLX] - ASUS AMD Socket AM2, nForce 570 SLI, 2000MT/s, 4xDual DDRII, 2xPCIx16, 2xPCIx1, 3xPCI, 1xATA133, 6xSATAII(Raid 0,1 0+1,5), Dual Gbe Lan, 8ch-Sound, Max 10xUSB, 2xIEEE1394, ATX R 1,095


Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (PIB) 2.5Ghz, 2x1MB L2 Cache Dual Core, HT2000 R 753

amd may not have the performance but the mobo's are super cheap and packed fulla features, this would also be a great for gaming and normal pc work

if your not an overclocker this setup is better than the intel for the price i feel

this will run pastel office and world of warcraft really well

 

[Dr.G]

As I won't be overclocking and basically just using parts as I get them, would I require additional cooling?
What wattage PSU should I be looking at if I am just running standard parts?

Just make sure you get the processor with the HSF that comes with itand a generic 400 watt PSU wil be fine( although a Name Branded Psu will be best...The Antec Case that i gave in my first post has a desent silent cool 400w Psu that comes with it

 

[Savisem]

Thanks for all the advice thus far.

On the motherboard, I'd currently prefer to spend a bit more there as it seems to be the core of my future ability to upgrade. The dragontail can go up to 8GB(should I want to punish myself and install Vista) in ram as well as support quad core processors.

Am I right then in assuming that as long as I get the standard fans that are supplied with my parts I should be fine provided I don't overclock and that the larger PSU would only be required if I start adding additional drives?

 

[Glordit]

[P5KPL-VM] - ASUS Intel G31, LGA775, 1333(OC)FSB, 2xDual DDR2, 1x PCI-x16, On Board VGA, 1xPCIx1, 2xPCI, 1xATA100, 4xSATAII, Gbe Lan, 6ch-Sound, Max 8xUSB, Micro ATX R 621
good board good chipset for a non overclockers and it does OC a bit

2GB DDRII-800 R 349
u buy the 2 gig so your can upgrade to 4 gig on that mobo

Geforce 8800GS 384MB DDR3 DUAL DVI TV-Out R 1,499
Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2Ghz (800FSB 2MB) R 975

this is what i would do on a budget
sacrifice the mobo for a better vga card

u could even get the e8200 if you buy the cheaper mobo

pcint.co.za

to give you another option

replace the mobo and cpu with

[M2N-SLI-DLX] - ASUS AMD Socket AM2, nForce 570 SLI, 2000MT/s, 4xDual DDRII, 2xPCIx16, 2xPCIx1, 3xPCI, 1xATA133, 6xSATAII(Raid 0,1 0+1,5), Dual Gbe Lan, 8ch-Sound, Max 10xUSB, 2xIEEE1394, ATX R 1,095


Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (PIB) 2.5Ghz, 2x1MB L2 Cache Dual Core, HT2000 R 753

amd may not have the performance but the mobo's are super cheap and packed fulla features, this would also be a great for gaming and normal pc work

if your not an overclocker this setup is better than the intel for the price i feel

this will run pastel office and world of warcraft really well

btw 8800GS is re-named to a 9600GSO... they will be avalible by June! so if you gona get a GS rather wait for the re-release

Also if you are going intel try to get a mobo with a 1333fsb with support for intels 45Nm CPU's then you are safe when the CPU get's abit old

 

[Dr.G]

Also if you are going intel try to get a mobo with a 1333fsb with support for intels 45Nm CPU's then you are safe when the CPU get's abit old

Yup, That'd be a P35 Chipset
Cooler is better so you could go and get 1 or 2 Fans just to improve airflowThey Cheap
And yup 400w is more than enough if your just sticking with like a 8600GT and a few drive's, hdd's

 

[Savisem]

That seems to take care of the details then...now I just need to start shopping around for prices I guess and see where I can get the parts/whole as the cheapest. Zones seems to have decent prices but I take the they don't ship to Jhb?

 

[cyberarmy]

Apparently someone mentioned that they do ship to JHB.

 

[Savisem]

Thanks cyberarmy, I'll drop them a mail and enquire.

 

[realbigdreamer]

Does anyone have any experience with Comx? They have a huge range of hardware and their prices are good. Do they only deliver to certain areas?