Build me a computer

minirhyder

Hello! I'm looking to build myself a PC. But being that I've been out of touch with desktop hardware for the past three years due to owning a laptop, I'm completely clueless as to what I need.

I'm not a "hardcore" gamer and I have an Xbox, so I don't need ridiculous specs. I mostly play MMOs (right now I play World of Tanks and America's Army, and I'm looking to get into The Old Republic in the near future), as well as some older games like Half Life 2, and Sims 2 & 3.
I'd like to stay under $600 (if this isn't possible, I'm willing to up the budget a bit) for this, and I have a preference for Intel processors and Nvidia graphics cards. Those are my only constraints.

So please help me build a system

Esh

There's a whole stickied thread for this in the Technology sub-forum.

http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/150453/computer-build-thread-amd-disappoints-and-other-obvious-statements

Or, go to this link...

http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/2562-Dragon-Soul-Encounters-Class-Balance-Follow-Up-Poll-Setup-of-the-Month

Scroll down to the builds of the month. The Puppy option is just under $600. Do you need a monitor as well?

minirhyder

The only thing I currently have that would be of use is a mouse. So yeah I need pretty much everything.

Edit: And thanks for those links, I didn't know there was a whole thread dedicated to PC building, I'll definitely check both out extensively.

Effef

Are you really a stickler for Intel processors? AMD destroys the price/performance ratio in that price range right now and their processors are very capable, especially for the price. Nothing wrong with them at all.

minirhyder

Not really. They've just served me well in the past. I don't think I've ever had a machine with an AMD processor actually, that's why I'm a little unsure about them. But it's not set in stone, so I'm definitely willing to consider them.

Althusser

The Pentium G620/G840s are well cheap and seem to beat AMD for your price range (if you're including a monitor in your budget. Unless you're doing anything that requires more threads (the only game that does right now would be Battlefield, I think), the performance, power consumption, and price of the Pentium is better:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/121?vs=406

I think it will give you better upgrade options, too, since the new AMD architecture was kind of a dud.

Effef

Wow yeah that Pentium G620 is actually very competitive, though you can build a full AMD FX4100 quad core system for around 600 with a nice motherboard, decent graphics and RAM, and a nice power supply for 600-ish.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147061
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130620
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161387
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703034
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103996
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151233

You could get a lower end motherboard than that to save a bit, I just didn't. I also didn't include a storage drive, because it is an absolutely awful time to buy a hard drive right now because of all that flooding in Thailand.

The AMD FX series isn't bad per say, just people expected them to bring AMD back into the performance war with Intel and it just didn't happen. They are still quite impressive for how much they cost.

Grimm

Does anyone have any good websites to explain what to look for in hardware and why? I've been reading over all the PC build threads but people just seem to suggest parts based on a price range. I want to be able to look at two video cards for example and be able to tell which one is better regardless of price.

Foomy

http://www.tomshardware.com/ and it's benchmarks/reviews are a great source for figuring out what to chose for hardware.

the best X for the money articles in particular are really good.