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 Post subject: How much money do I need?
PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 3:07 pm 
8086
8086

Joined: Thu Jun 14, 2012 2:50 pm
Posts: 1
Hey guys, so I've been saving up some money to build a powerful computer to use during college. I'm studying abroad for a year so I don't plan on buying any parts now I just want to make sure I have a good budget so that I can build a powerful computer when I come back and before I start college.
Right now I have $1250 to work with but I'm hoping to have at least a little more when I'm ready to build but worst comes to worst I can did into my bank account. I'm just trying to figure out how much money I need so I can be prepared. I've listed the parts I want to buy and how much I plan to spend but I'm sure I'm overspending on some and maybe under spending on others. I'm hoping to get some feedback on where to focus my money or things I should change with how I'm going about this.

Case: 150
16GB Ram - 100 [I know everyone says 8GB enough but if I can get it then I want to be safe]
128GB SSD - 135
2TB HD - 150
Processor - 300
Motherboard - 300
Video Card - 200
Power Supply - 100
Fan - 75 [I want to get a couple]
DVD Drive - 50 [I think this can be closer to 30 but whatever.]
Screen - 150
Keyboard - 100
Mouse - 50
Speakers - 30

Total - 1890

Now to me that seems like way too much. I've seen other people saying how they want to build gaming pc for 700 - 1000 so I'm clearly overspending somewhere. Although I have built one computer, I'm nowhere near an expert to have any idea what I'm doing.

All feedback appreciated.


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 Post subject: Re: How much money do I need?
PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 10:26 pm 
Northwood
Northwood

Joined: Sun Jun 18, 2006 7:37 pm
Posts: 3000
Where you're possibly overspending...

Memory - I'm going to be those people who say get 8GB. If you need another 8GB, then you can get another 8GB. But you won't need more than 8GB until you find something like a 64-bit CAD or media editing program that drinks RAM like a drunk sailor.

Motherboard - Look at all those features and ask yourself are they really that useful. You can get a $150 board with all the I/O as a $300 board (well, perhaps not three GPUs or something). You don't get the bells and whistles, but you have to ask yourself if they're really useful to you.

Fan - You don't need $75 in fans. A $150 case sounds like it's already built with cooling in mind, and with all the fans you could need. Unless you're replacing fans for something a lot more quiet or with more CFM.

Keyboard - A $20 keyboard is just as good as a $100 if we take out all that tactile feedback shenanigans. But to be honest, I don't have a preference for what kind of switches it uses (except those godawful roll-up keyboards). Like everything else, ask yourself, is any of what this comes with actually of any use to you? This is probably something you want to see if a brick-and-mortar store has a display model, so you can try it out yourself.


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 Post subject: Re: How much money do I need?
PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:46 am 
Clawhammer
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Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2005 6:22 pm
Posts: 4406
Location: In the closet
You're right on target for a high-end system. But my question to you is do you need one? Not many college kids do. If it were me, I take the cash and get myself an Ivy Bridge ultrabook and never look back or feel the weight on my back. When you hear a desktop build for less than a $1K it all too often computes to the fact that video performance, storage and memory overhead is sub-par. No SSD and one 1TB drive holding the boot OS, to boot. Also those budget builds typically don't include new peripherals, speakers or lcd. You could shave and safely budget the following...

Case: 100
8GB Ram - 45
128GB SSD - 0
1TB HD - 80
Processor - 200
Motherboard - 175
Video Card - 0 (use Ivy Bridge)
Power Supply - 75
Fan - 0
DVD Drive - 20
Screen - 0 (repurpose)
Keyboard - 0 (repurpose)
Mouse - 0 (repurpose)
Speakers - 0 (repurpose)

Total - 695


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