Hey, I wanna buy a new desktop PC for a family computer. I want basic video game playability [SC2 on medium settings is really the only necessary thing] with speaker support, etc. The main things i want are 1. cheapness [under 500, if possible] and a decent hdd. I dont mind if its a bundle or indy parts. Thankss

That might be hard. I advise getting Ex or someone to build you something viable for $500, or you can try buying a refurbished computer. You might have to buy the video card separately. Good luck.

Does the price range include a monitor? If not, we can probably do it fine. In any case, I would try reviewing this thread for useful suggestions.

Start with the following, do a search on newegg for them.
400-500W PSU (corsair, seasonic, PC-P&C, antec)
Cheap as hell case
Cheap as hell dual channel RAM (2 GB is fine)
Cheap as hell HDD. 1 TB drives are out at $65, that's about the best deal you can get.
Cheap as hell optical drive.
Cheap as hell Monitor of the size you want.

Once you have all these add up your total. If you include monitor, you're looking at around $250-$350 right there. That leaves you with $150-$250 for the 3 main components:
Motherboard - Anything works, some work better, but it's mostly moot. Look for what you want in terms of layout and audio.
CPU - You get what you pay for with severe diminishing returns. The cheapest CPU you can find is the best bang for your buck. AMD > Intel at low specs, and has a future, whereas Intel has no budget build with a future (you can run AMD's worst processor and best processor on the same socket). Dual core a must.
GFX - ATi is probably better here too, but I'd go for the smallest fab process. Any ATi card of *x00 where x is 8 or greater, and * is anything including nothing will run it fine. The 2-5000 series can probably run it fine at 6 or greater. Look at cost for a comparison. For nVidia, anything better than 8600 (includes 7800). That said, I'd probably go for the 4630 or something.

I can do this for ya, but please note the stuff you will be getting for free (case, monitor, optical drive, etc...).

You have a very strange sense of "cheap as hell". I can get by with a LOT less than 1TB of space, and it will cost me plenty less than $65.

SC2 wont be out anytime soon, so try to increase your pc budget for a more fine-tuned pc. CPU and GFX is very important if you want to play SC2 smoothly.

Since when are Blizzard games hardware intensive?

I will help you on the same condition I give to everyone else: If you're not going to listen, you shouldn't have asked (IE Oh Ex said this ones good but this one is pretty so fuck that.), and I'm not here to compete with your 'Friend who knows computers'. I don't mind questions, I don't mind explaining my choices, but don't insult my intelligence.

With that said, I need to know the following:
Monitor/mouse/keyboard/speakers?
Special requests? (Bluray/burner/mediacard reader/case color and LED color preferences)

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Sep 21 2009, 7:42 am by Excalibur.

But since when did it hurt to have a better computer inside a timeframe thats undecided and that the time frame is a variable that can change anytime Blizzard pleases?
Last time I heard, SC2 isn't even in closed beta.

$35 for 80 GB
$40 for 160 GB
$45 for 250 GB
$50 for 500 GB
$65 for 1 TB.
No, it won't. you can buy 2 80 GB HDDs for the same price as 1 TB drive. You can get by with less, obviously, but there's little point when having more hard drive space is so useful, and the TB drives are much faster than anything else.

I don't download tons of porn/movies/etc. Therefore, I would happily save $20 to get a 250GB hard drive. If price is someone's main concern, you do absolutely just fine with 250GB. I have never needed much more than 100-150GB of space total, even when running multiple operating systems.

I can get monitors and drives for free, off my old computer. And I DO want 1tb of drive space, and I might be able to rip some other of my own components. And of course I'll listen Ex.

$567.03 w/tax and shipping based on my zipcode.

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024
Before anyone flips out, my problem is with the Antec 300/600/900/1200 cases, the Sonata III does not count. Also, it comes bundled with an excellent PSU for a great price. A good case and an Earthwatts PSU for this price is not something you pass up. Really had to dig for it too, one of my best finds.

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
The famed Western Digital Caviar Black, 640GB model. These drives are screaming fast. There is no other, accept no substitutions....Seagate WHO man?

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102824
HD4850. I'd like to have bumped you up to a 4870 1GB but I already went over the 500$ and that'd be another 50-60$.

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166
G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 1066, with only 5 latency. Pretty good stuff even if the heatsink color is hellish. Oh well your case doesn't have a window so you won't have to look at it.

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372
Its a Gigabyte UDxx. You're pretty much guaranteed a good board with any of the series, and this is no exception. Which brings me to....

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116074
Coupled with the Gigabyte board this baby should get to 3.0GHz no problem, though you may want to invest in a heavier cooler if you plan on taking it to 3.3GHz and above. It can probably do 3.6-3.8GHz within safe 24/7 voltages but will most likely need a better than stock cooler. I would've liked you bumped you up to the E6300 45nm, but it was 10$ more I think.

So right now its great. If I brought it up to like 610$, it'd be perfect.

Let me know if you need anything changed/upped/downed.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Sep 21 2009, 8:29 pm by Excalibur.

You have an expensive taste in cases

Go big or go home. As far as I'm concerned mATX motherboards and anything below Mid Tower in cases doesn't exist.

You used to love coolermaster - what happened to that?

CM doesn't come with a free antec psu.

Lian Li is the king of cases. CM and Antec cases have a bit of ricer in them, though, and plastic.

I love CM immensely and no matter how much I hate Antec, a good deal is a good deal.