Yet Another "Build me a computer"

I'm tired of having a crappy computer that can hardly run Minecraft, let alone any of the newer games or even be able to use Photoshop well. So, I lay myself at the mercy of the Lounge and humbly request a computer be put together for me so that I can update my now defunct software.

There are a couple... Limiters to my request, though. First off is budget, I would like to stay under $500 if possible, though I highly doubt it is so I can suffer up to $1000. The seconds is that I will not be buying everything at once, it'll probably be a piece or two per paycheck, meaning every two weeks. Because of this, I will ask for any updated recommendations before I make a purchase because I know how fast the market can change.

Another thing to note is that I do not need an OS recommendation, if I can't figure that part out on my own, I probably shouldn't be attempting to build a computer.

That's about it. There is no rush on anything, I have plenty of time for this, planning on making it my summer project.

And yeah, thanks and all that good stuff that people usually put at the end.

A few questions before I crank a build out: Do we factor the OS into the cost? Do you require monitor, keyboard, speakers, etc or just the tower?

EDIT 2: Mega-Ballin'.

Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000
$189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115074

ASUS 24X DVD Burner
$18.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827135204

ZALMAN Z9 Plus Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811235027

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
$46.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231428

Samsung by Seagate Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ/ST500DM005 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
$79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822152181

EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130625

BIOSTAR TZ77B LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813138352

XFX Core Edition PRO550W (P1-550S-XXB9) 550W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
$74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817207013

Total: $715.92 (not including shipping)

It's over your $500 limit but within the longer period $1000-limit. This would definitely give you a pretty powerful mid range build. Will run most current gen games maxed out no problem. I will try to come up with a smaller budget build to fit that $500 limit tomorrow probably.

Build 2:

Intel Pentium E6600 Wolfdale 3.06GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor
$74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819116347

ASUS 24X DVD Burner
$18.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827135204

ZALMAN Z9 Plus Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811235027

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory
$39.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231308

Samsung by Seagate Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ/ST500DM005 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
$79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822152181

GIGABYTE GV-N450D3-1GI GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814125397

ASUS P5G41T-M LX PLUS LGA 775 Intel G41 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
$59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131794

XFX Core Edition PRO550W (P1-550S-XXB9) 550W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
$74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817207013

Total: $523.92 (not including shipping)

Intel re-labeled their remaining Core 2 line of CPUs to just "Pentium" chips to make them sound shittier than they actually are. Even though this is a Pentium chip, it's actually one of the very high end Core 2 Duo CPUs of back in the day, so it still rocks for gaming. The only problem with this build is that it's not very upgradeable because it's based on an outdated chipset. You will have to buy a whole new motherboard if you plan on upgrading the rest of your parts in the future.

Thanks for this, lookin' good! Honestly, I would say this is probably the build I will end up going with, I don't want to shortchange myself in the future by going for a cheaper build and then having to re-buy more than it's worth.

To answer your question, OS factorization isn't needed, I already have that on hand whenever I need it. Monitor I also have, 22" LCD Hitachi TV with PC inputs for both audio and video, removing the need for speakers, unless you can find a really good pair that would work awesomely. As for keyboard and mouse, it depends. Working at RadioShack, I can get most of the stuff we carry for about 50% off but it isn't higher end stuff. I don't need a Razer mouse or keyboard but I don't know if I should get a higher end one to suit the build. So I guess what I'm saying is if you want to give me some recommendations for them, go for it, but I'll have to decide on the peripherals later, unless you highly recommend me going with them.

Well played, Phil.

He priced out pretty much the same thing I would have.

Aside from the Nvidia card, I have to agree it's a pretty good build.

Speaking of video cards, I need to replace my two three-old 4870's I still have in there.

ATI/AMD is usually behind in HW performance and prices are the same... I really wanted to get an ATI/AMD built system this time but nvidia / intel offerings are just better most of the time.

I don't want to be insulting or start any kind of ATI vs Nvidia crap, i'm just stating what I've observed over the past few years.

Just out of curiosity, is this MOBO SLI compatible? For expansion purposes in the future. I can't find it being listed as such anywhere but I have also been known to miss the obvious so...

Just out of curiosity, is this MOBO SLI compatible? For expansion purposes in the future. I can't find it being listed as such anywhere but I have also been known to miss the obvious so...

Edit, nevermind it seems that board does NOT support SLI.

Strange, all intel chipets since P55/X58 can support SLI. Maybe you could with a hack, but probably not worth the effort to you.

It seems that only the more expensive boards are licensed for SLI. Which is retarded because any P65/ Z68, Z75/Z77 board could support SLI. Hell even the P45 was hacked for SLI.

If you decide to go without SLI, I would recommend getting a newer board to better support the new lines of CPU's coming out soon. Z77 board same price as that Z68.

BIOSTAR TZ77B LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813138352

Just out of curiosity, is this MOBO SLI compatible? For expansion purposes in the future. I can't find it being listed as such anywhere but I have also been known to miss the obvious so...

Edit, nevermind it seems that board does NOT support SLI.

Strange, all intel chipets since P55/X58 can support SLI. Maybe you could with a hack, but probably not worth the effort to you.

It seems that only the more expensive boards are licensed for SLI. Which is retarded because any P65/ Z68, Z75/Z77 board could support SLI. Hell even the P45 was hacked for SLI.

If you decide to go without SLI, I would recommend getting a newer board to better support the new lines of CPU's coming out soon. Z77 board same price as that Z68.

BIOSTAR TZ77B LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813138352

Any recommendation on a board with SLI capabilities? I think it would be something I should invest in for the future. Want to future proof myself as much as possible while staying relatively close to my budget.

@llbg2, if you REALLY want SLI in the future that's fine, but I really think just waiting for the next generation is the best option unless you're planning to SLI in 3-6 months. Usually every year or two the same priced GPU roughly double in performance.

SLI can be its own bundle of headaches if you don't know what you're doing.

This one supports SLI, and its only $130.
GIGABYTE GA-Z77MX-D3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128542

I updated my old post with the new motherboard that MM10X linked since it is actually slightly cheaper but has slightly better specs. I also added a second build that stays more in line with the $500 budget.

I personally wouldn't recommend SLI mainly because of the heat and power consumption versus the performance you get out of it, and also because it only affects games that support it. Generally speaking, you can almost always just buy a single solid mid range GPU and still be able to max most games out with 60+ FPS, so I've never understood the point of SLI unless you're just interested in making your penis look bigger than it actually is. If you're looking for a bit more performance that's going to last then go with a GTX 560 GPU, but don't bother with SLI IMO.

Ever heard of 2560x1600? Some people can actually afford it.

I repeat,

I repeat,

Obviously you've never gamed on one of these large displays.

I've only tried a 27" before, but it IS quite a lot nicer than a smaller 22 or 24.
Even 1920x1080 a lot of medium to high end video cards can struggle in newer games.