New computer help

[flem615]

i found an Intel Q8300 Quad Core Custom Barebones computer system, and it comes with the processor and the case. its cheap and im thinking of getting it and adding the other required parts. i think this is all i need to add, but correct me if im wrong.

Needed parts:
Operating system (need help)
Primary Drive (need help, no idea what this is/means)
Memory (RAM)
Hard Drive
Graphics card

im not a computer geek so dont post crazy names with numbers and stuff, cause i wont understand them. links are always good. i need some help in general with this one, but it looks like, if this works the way ive set it up, i can get a good rig for pretty cheap.

my basic understanding is that i get the Intel Q8300, add the parts i listed as needed, and it should be good to go.

Note: I know there could be some compatability problems. if you see any off the bat tell me, but dont warn me about "maybe not." also i aleady have a monitor, mouse, keyboard, sound card (could be upgraded but not a priority) speakers and RAM

any and all help is greatly appreciated. just try to keep the criticism down, cause like i said im not techy and i dont know too much about this stuff.
thanks!

P.S Heres the specs for the Intel Q8300 rocessor:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 4000K 45nm 1333 FSB
CPU Fan: Intel Duty Cooling Fan With Heat Sink
Motherboard: Biostar P43D2-A7 1600FSB
Memory: not included ( Support up to 8 GB DDR2 533/667/800/1066)
Video: not included 16xPCI Express slot for advance 3D card
IDE/SATA: Support up to 4 SATA and 2 IDE drives
Slots: 16X PCI Express, 3 PCI, 2 1X PCI express
Sound: AC 97 Full duplex digital sound
Network: 10/100/1000 RJ45 onboard network (Ethernet, cable or DSL)
Ports: Six USB 2.0 ports, 1 microphone jack
Case: Black Neon Mid Tower front USB and side window
Power Supply: ATX 400W
Case Bays: 4 x 5.25" external, 2 x 3.5" external, 4 x 3.5" internal
Case Fans: two tri color LED 80MM
Software: All driver disks and manuals are included.
Operating systems: This System does not include an Operating System.

[LT Harrison=ORA=]

Umm, you power supply looks way to small unless your using onboard video and sound.

heres a list:

Case
Power supply (must have enough power for all components)
Motherboard
CPU
Graphics card
RAM
Hard drive
CD-ROM
Operating system

Not all components are created equal, and with computer parts, you get what you pay for.

Heat is you biggest enemy, a tight case with no circulation will kill your GPU/CPU/RAM.

Whats your budget?

[flem615]

i think the farthest i can push it is 700$ USD
and what do you mean by onboard video and sound? if you mean having internal sound and video cards then im set.

[LT Harrison=ORA=]

i think the farthest i can push it is 700$ USD
and what do you mean by onboard video and sound? if you mean having internal sound and video cards then im set.

I mean where the video and sound are ON the motherboard, which is not good. 400watts is too small for any system worth anything today. Check out this build I put together for anuther user and see what I mean. It's about $100 more than your budget but is a kick *** machine and will play ANYTHING out today. Just keep in mind the case you put it in will determine the life expectancy of your components as heat will build up and kill em. Also, processing cores on your video card are the most important number you need to watch for.

What are you building this rig for? Gaming? If so, what kind of games? And what video card do you have for it?

[LT Harrison=ORA=]

BTW, the mobo you have listed only has 1 PCI-e 16x slot and 1 1x slot so if you ever plan to SLI in the futute, you will need a better mobo because that 1x slot will be a waste of money for a 2nd GPU.

Oh, and on the operating system, go with a 64bit system if you ever plan on using more than 3gb of RAM. A 32 bit system will see 3gb max but will only give you 2.64gb where as a 64bit will see 16gb max and give you every drop.

And as far as compatability issues, we need to know which parts you already have to use with the new build, this info needs to be specific like ...
RAM=OCZ Gold DDR2 800mhz PC6400

So if you dont mind, list specifics of these parts in particular, this is where the conflicts will come in if any:

Motherboard=Biostar P43D2-A7 1600FSB
CPU=Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 4000K 45nm 1333 FSB
Graphics card=
Power supply=ATX 400W
RAM=
Case= (need this info for internal size, just post a link for the case here)


Must sleep now... been up since 4am cst o.O

[flem615]

thanks guys. i found a better packaged deal, and was wondering if you guys could look it over for me.

Specs:
2.7GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor 7750
GeForce 7025/nForce 630a chipset
19" diagonal LCD monitor
2GB DDR2 memory
320GB 7200 RPM SATA hard drive
DVD /-RW drive
Integrated programmable Shader 3.0 DirectX 9 graphics processor
Six-channel high-definition audio
Two premium speakers
10/100 LAN
Desktop keyboard
Optical mouse
19-in-1 memory card reader
Six USB 2.0 ports
Two PS/2 ports
VGA port
COM port
RJ-45 port
Six channel audio input/output
PCI slots
Genuine Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, 32-bit
Norton Internet Security 2009, 90-day trial
Measures approximately 14-1/4"H x 7-1/4"W x 16-1/2"D
UL listed; 2-year Limited Manufacturer's Warranty
Made in USA

And this one:
2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor
22" diagonal widescreen LCD monitor
4GB DDR2 memory
1TB SATA hard drive
22X DVD+/-RW optical drive
Realtek RTL8201CP, 100/10 network interface
Integrated GeForce 7050 GPU/NVIDIA CineFX 3.0 graphics
Eight-channel high-definition audio codec
ZT 104-key keyboard and optical mouse
Front panel 19-in-1 memory card reader
Six USB 2.0 ports
Two PS/2 ports
VGA, COM, parallel, RJ-45, audio ports
PCI Express 16x slot
PCI Express x1 slot
Two PCI slots
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium, 64-bit
MS Office Pro 60-day trial
Norton Internet Security 2009 90-day trial
ZT Systems Recovery Solutions software
Measures approximately 14-1/4"H x 7-1/4"W x 16"D
UL listed; 2-year Limited Manufacturer's Warranty
Made in USA

Do both of these look like good buys? Which one would you guys recommend?

[LT Harrison=ORA=]

thanks guys. i found a better packaged deal, and was wondering if you guys could look it over for me.

Specs:
2.7GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor 7750
GeForce 7025/nForce 630a chipset
19" diagonal LCD monitor
2GB DDR2 memory
320GB 7200 RPM SATA hard drive
DVD /-RW drive
Integrated programmable Shader 3.0 DirectX 9 graphics processor
Six-channel high-definition audio
Two premium speakers
10/100 LAN
Desktop keyboard
Optical mouse
19-in-1 memory card reader
Six USB 2.0 ports
Two PS/2 ports
VGA port
COM port
RJ-45 port
Six channel audio input/output
PCI slots
Genuine Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, 32-bit
Norton Internet Security 2009, 90-day trial
Measures approximately 14-1/4"H x 7-1/4"W x 16-1/2"D
UL listed; 2-year Limited Manufacturer's Warranty
Made in USA

And this one:
2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor
22" diagonal widescreen LCD monitor
4GB DDR2 memory
1TB SATA hard drive
22X DVD+/-RW optical drive
Realtek RTL8201CP, 100/10 network interface
Integrated GeForce 7050 GPU/NVIDIA CineFX 3.0 graphics
Eight-channel high-definition audio codec
ZT 104-key keyboard and optical mouse
Front panel 19-in-1 memory card reader
Six USB 2.0 ports
Two PS/2 ports
VGA, COM, parallel, RJ-45, audio ports
PCI Express 16x slot
PCI Express x1 slot
Two PCI slots
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium, 64-bit
MS Office Pro 60-day trial
Norton Internet Security 2009 90-day trial
ZT Systems Recovery Solutions software
Measures approximately 14-1/4"H x 7-1/4"W x 16"D
UL listed; 2-year Limited Manufacturer's Warranty
Made in USA

Do both of these look like good buys? Which one would you guys recommend?

I get worried when I see the word "Integrated" especially with video. If thats the case step away from both of those... beter yet, post a link so we can see them if ya don't mind. Whats the purpose of this computer? And whats your budget?

Great low cost pre-built computers link here!

[flem615]

oh im getting a new graphics card for it. my purpose is gaming, specifically PR and Arma 2. if thats the only problem you see there, will getting a new graphics card rid the problem? im going to get either the NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT or the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT. as for the link, id rather not as of yet. if i find that everything is ok, i want to make sure that i can get one, without someone grabbing the last one in stock. sorry, but im a bit paranoid lol. if its crucial ill post a link, but as for now, lets leave it. it IS a legit website and computer manufacturer. i checked. My budget is low. 600$ is to high for me right now.

Thanks again for all your help!

[LT Harrison=ORA=]

oh im getting a new graphics card for it. my purpose is gaming, specifically PR and Arma 2. if thats the only problem you see there, will getting a new graphics card rid the problem? im going to get either the NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT or the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT. as for the link, id rather not as of yet. if i find that everything is ok, i want to make sure that i can get one, without someone grabbing the last one in stock. sorry, but im a bit paranoid lol. if its crucial ill post a link, but as for now, lets leave it. it IS a legit website and computer manufacturer. i checked.

Thanks again for all your help!

Carefull with price points, sometimes you can get a pre-built system with bare minimum RAM and upgrade it yourself alot cheaper. Same goes for graphics cards.

As for the card, the 8800 is the better of the 2... ARMA2 is way graphics demanding!!! The thing to look at with graphics cards is "processing cores" not clock speeds. Just about all cards in a series will clock the same but you cant add cores.

[flem615]

ok, will do on the graphics card. thanks for that pointer too, i almost bought the 9500. so lets say i buy one of the computers that i listed the specs for above, and replace the video card with the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT. i should be (in theory) problem free right? the integrated part should be no big deal? also will the video card plug into the motherboard or some PCI slots? the one im getting says it a bus slot, PCI one. from the specs does this look possible? or do i need to get one that connects to the motherboard?

Specs for NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT i plan on getting:
Product Description
The ideal combination of power, performance, and price, XLR8 GeForce 8800 GT 512MB PCIE 2.0 offers GeForce 8 Series architecture, SLI -Ready, 112 stream processors, and a 256-bit frame buffer for awesome DirectX 10 gameplay at ultra fast frame rates.


Processor / Memory
Video Memory Installed: 512 MB
Graphics Processor / Vendor: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
RAMDAC Clock Speed: 400 MHz
Memory Clock Speed: 600 MHz
Clock Speed: 600 MHz


Expansion / Connectivity
Interfaces: 2 x DVI-I (dual link) - 29 pin combined DVI, 1 x HDTV output
Compatible Slots: 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16


Video Output
Video Output Type: Graphics adapter
TV Interface: HDTV out
Max Resolution (external): 2560 x 1600
Video Interface Type: PCI Express 2.0 x16


Software / System Requirements
System Requirement: Microsoft Windows 2000
OS Required: Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Vista

Again tell me if it is not compatible (off the bat) with the computer specs i listed above.
Thanks again LT. Harrison for all your help. i honestly dont understand all these numbers and stuff, and i really appreciate you helping me out with this.

[MonkeySoldier]

Have you bought anything so far? I put together a pc for you on Newegg for 600,93$ in total, but I don't know what you if you bought anything.

[LT Harrison=ORA=]

Well, I would stay away from an onboard video motherboard altogether. Without seeing, I would be afraid of lack of upgradability, which is what I look for in main components like powersupplys and motherboards. By that I mean all you need to do to upgrade is swap out processors, graphics cards, memory, ect when you decide to upgrade. Motherboards are a very important component, I wouldn't skimp there. If you get a good mobo, later, if you decide, you can swap it out for a GTX295 when prices drop. Otherwise, with a lessor mobo, you will bottleneck the throughput of the processor/graphics.

Are you against building it yourself? Lack of skill is no problem nowdays. Plenty of websites, youtube vids, ect to help. Best advise I can give is research parts, find out what people are saying about the components you're lookin at. Once you build your 1st one you will be suprised at how easy it is. Hardest part is picking parts out of the sea of **** out right now.

[flem615]

Is the graphics card on the motherboard on the computer? I don't want to build one because I just need a good gaming computer to hold me over for roughly 2 years. Then I'll have no need for a comp.

This is my plan. Get the computer I've listed, add the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT. And be good to go.
Will that work out ok from what you can tell from the specs? I can list them again if need be

[LT Harrison=ORA=]

The thing is, 8800GTs are good cards still, but outdated already. If the computer you listed above is $499 or less including the 8800GT, go for it. If its more... well then u can build a much better one and be a lot happier. 2 years from now, every new component you buy now will be outdated anyway. The last set of specs you listed is a low level, budget system. Will you be happy with that?

Whats your budget? Whats the most you want to pay?

[LT Harrison=ORA=]

Take a look at this:

QuadCore Q9550 = $220
EVGA 750i mobo = $120
4gb RAM 800mhz = $57
WD 1TB HDD = $95
EVGA 9800GT Superclocked = $110
X-Fi Xtreme Audio card = $45
Case -w- 500w Power supply = $60

New entry level gaming computer = $707
Now... you would have a decent computer, very overclockable, and obsolete in 2 years, lol.

This would be great for games, excellent for music, huge improvement over what you had listed, but not sure if you want to spen that.

[VoXiNaTiOn]

9800GT =~ 8800GT


nVidia like to re-badge cards and shoot themselves in the foot a lot, although they still produce nice cards.


Also, if you plan to OC then avoid nForce chipsets, only the 790i's are decent ish for clocking, with some 780i's being alright. You'll get a lot higher FSB with a P45 board like a P5Q Turbo. If you want SLI though, the 750i FTW is perfect.

Sound card is not necessary unless you are an audiophile, but I've found that having one makes audio sound so much more lush, but onboard will do fine for most tasks.

[MonkeySoldier]

If you want to, you could replace the graphics card with a nVidia one, or you could get a Phenom II 955, or get a 1TB HDD + (optional) different graphics card.

[Tofurkeymeister]

If you want to, you could replace the graphics card with a nVidia one, or you could get a Phenom II 955, or get a 1TB HDD + (optional) different graphics card.

I concur (agree).