Building a new computer

[elmer]

So, I think I am happy with what I have picked out, but feel free to offer your opinions. I am trying to stay under $450, to make way for a monitor purchase.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819103751

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827135157

Newegg.com - ASUS Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822148261

Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131172

Newegg.com - ASUS M2A-VM AM2 AMD 690G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231098

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811154050

Newegg.com - APEX TX-346 Black/Silver Steel ATX Mini Tower Computer Case ATX12V 300W Intel & AMD Listed Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814150185

Newegg.com - XFX PVT73GUGF3 GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

I am pretty sure these will all interface, but are there any problems? It will be running XP Pro SP2, not Vista.

It has: a dual core 2.4 GHz AMD processor, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB HD, DVD Burner w/ Lightscribe, 256 MB video card, and 802.11g wireless. Judging by the raw specs, it should be able to run Call of Duty 4, the entire Battlefield series, and the Orange Box, but that seems weird, because it's really inexpensive. Is there something I am overlooking?

[VaKo]

Intel has more bang for buck currently.

[elmer]

Really? OK, I'll look into that. This would require a motherboard change. Expect an edit soon.

EDIT: How do Pentium D's and Core 2 Duo's compare to the 64X2's?

It seems that the Intel route would actually be more expensive.

[abusetheforce]

Really? OK, I'll look into that.  This would require a motherboard change.  Expect an edit soon.

EDIT: How do Pentium D's and Core 2 Duo's compare to the 64X2's?

PentiumD < X2 < C2D

As a general rule. 

Also just as a suggestion I'd think of getting a bigger hdd.  You're paying $65 for 250GB where as you can usually find 500GB drives for under $100.  That's an extra $30 to double your drive space, just thinking in terms of bang/buck.  If you don't really need the drive space and are just trying to keep costs as low as possible then disregard.

[VaKo]

Really? OK, I'll look into that. This would require a motherboard change. Expect an edit soon.

EDIT: How do Pentium D's and Core 2 Duo's compare to the 64X2's?

It seems that the Intel route would actually be more expensive.

Unless you overclock, which with a C2D is damn easy even with stock cooling.

[elmer]

@abusetheforce:

While I am trying to keep costs down, I just found a 300GB for $5 more than the 250GB I found. It's located here. I think I am going to get that instead. Also, all of my data, including laptop, external HD, thumb drives, etc. is only about 200-250GB.

@VaKo:

I don't plan on overclocking. At all. I really don't want to accidentally break anything, that'd be bad.

[metatron]

Computers should be designed for there intended use. I see people pissing away money on high end hardware when all they do is look at porn and do general tasks. Make a list of things you need it to do and buy the hardware which is most suited in your budget.

[abusetheforce]

@abusetheforce:

While I am trying to keep costs down, I just found a 300GB for $5 more than the 250GB I found. It's located here. I think I am going to get that instead. Also, all of my data, including laptop, external HD, thumb drives, etc. is only about 200-250GB.

@VaKo:

I don't plan on overclocking. At all. I really don't want to accidentally break anything, that'd be bad.

Yeah, $5 more for an additional 50GB is a no brainer.

As for overclocking I can somewhat understand concern but it's really not risky. Especially with the new processors and motherboards. My desktop(which is rather old and dated) runs an AtholonXP 2500+ which stock is 1.83GHz but mine's been running at 2.3GHz for almost 4 years now. I've never had any problems with it. It has also become incredibly easy since most modern motherboards offer some sort of software overclocking application.

If you want a little more info on budget builds Patrick Norton actually revived his infamous "$500 PC" segment on the Tekzilla podcast last week.

[elmer]

I will be playing a few games, such as Call of Duty 4 and Orange Box

I will (of course) be surfing the net

I will be using an office suite

I will be running XP Pro

That's pretty much it, though. I believe these components will suit me well, as they can (I think) do what I want them to do and are in my budget range.

* elmer goes to tekzilla

* elmer is waiting 15 minutes for the download

EDIT: Dang. AVI file is broken.

EDIT 2: Just watched the small quicktime. His was nice, but I like mine better.