So I think I've spent too much money on my car lately (one of my hobbies)... And it's been awhile since I gotten back to my other hobby, building computers. So therefore, I'm kinda looking into rebuilding my computer now.

I'm currently running some Intel Core2duo that's rated at like 1.8 GHz (overclocked to 2.xx). It's been nearly 3 years since my last major overhaul and its starting to feel its age. I think a lot of my old parts can transfer over to my new "project computer" (at least temporarily).

My budget is under $800
items I already have:
-case
-2GB of RAM (looking to expand to 4GB) I believe it's DDR2 SDRAM so I think it'll be compatible with most new motherboards
-PSU
-Graphics card Nvidia 7800(PCI-e)
-HDD
-DVD burner

Things I want to upgrade:
-CPU, want to go quadcore
-More powerful motherboard
-2 more GB of ram to run 4 GB
-Perhaps a better video card

So can any computer builders out there recommend me some parts? I'm not looking for the uber powerful, highend CPU or the holygrail of videocards. I mainly want best bang for the buck with performance and reliability. I tend to get out of touch with the latest and greatest hardware.. So any recommendations would be great!

 

I just did a quick search through Fry's.... computer parts are SUPER cheap nowadays!

4GB of memory alone costs under $75!!! I remember "back in the day" when memory would cost like $120+ per GB or 512 MB for that matter

There are hardly any motherboards that cost over $200 surprisingly

And most of the intel chips are in the high $200 range and only one or two break over $300! I remember when the highest end Intel P4 costs over $1000

It's awesome to see Moore's law working in front of my eyes!

 

Pick up one of these off CL. You can get a real nice one for $800. And buying a used Mac is not a problem like buying a used PC.

 

^^ bump.

 

lol... this is almost as bad as buying a Dell.. J/K! or am i?

Building computers is a hobby, so I'm not looking to buy a built computer or any "brand name" computer

 

i think microcenter has a q9550 for like 160 bux nowadays

 

i built computers since i was pretty young, then worked at apple for 5 years. the ONLY difference between the two is that american children work on your apple when its broken and not on your PC when its broken.

its really personal preference. my bias still steers me towards apple because of the UNIX based operating system. its runs wayyyy more smooth. i have windows 7 corporate RC and it still does not compare to OSX by my checklist.

but buying a mac is a good recomendation off CL, however if you want a PC i would go to newegg.com and buy a barebone PC and just get it running first, then upgrade things as you go. you dig?

 

I'd like to avoid this thread from becoming a Apple vs. PC. Just for the record, I'm not looking into going Apple Mac$ anytime in the near future. And if I wanted to use OSX, I'd go with Solaris or Ubuntu

I just need some parts recommended as stated in the OP

 

Sounds like something I'd be interested in doing myself.

My last computer I built had dual 10k RPM Raptors, running stripe method of encoding. Pretty fast.

I still like AMD > Intel for processors (as I'm more interested in video/gaming) end of things. Nvidia/ATI for the graphics card, I try not to spend less than 300-400 on the card, nowadays a lot of people are running dual v-cards, again it depends on what you want to do... and yes more RAM the better. 4G sounds like fun =D

 

I am still running my almost 3 year old homebuilt AMD/Nvidia package I put together with parts from Fry's, Central Computer and newegg.com. I can still kick the crap out of most players playing CS 1.6 and or Combat Arms. I am not into games as much anymore but it is fun to beat on noobs with my skill hacks on either game.

I have never like and or will never lime Intel. I'd go AMD all the way, and MAC well they can just umm go away and I would not miss it

-Gio

 

Ubuntu FTW! Currently running that on my Compaq Laptop.



thread subscribed. Wanna build a custom tower/media server for my PS3

 

Haha yeah I used to always be pro amd and even ran an amd 64 as my first "gaming machine".. However amd kinda lost the cpu battle in recent years and its becoming more and more apparent to run intel for more powerful computing

Omg computer gc's are super cheap now... you can buy 2 gc and run sli for about 400 now!

ubuntu is great! Linux can take a **** on osx bsd lol

 

if you want to see a real upgrade, go with the new i5 or i7 CPU's from Intel, ram is super cheap too!

 

kind of OT but are those new i5 or i7 processors taht much better than like a q9450?

 

You can build a pretty powerful gaming machine for cheep if you know what parts to get. Example mine (that will kick the SNOT out of any mac pile of ****)

ASUS RAMPAGE FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3
2(two) XFX HD-489A-ZDFC Radeon HD 4890 in crossfire
2(two) Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5 set up in RAID

Total cost is under $1200

Now I overclocked the snot out of the CPU, shoved the ram up as high as I dared. I run air cooling on everything, and maintain a comfortable level with the fans at 80% during heavy play. Currently running Windows 7 RC1 64x and I love it!