Well my newest PC i plan on getting is This barebones kit from Tigerdirect.com Its 400 dollars after mail in rebate.

Specs:
8GB DDR3 ram 4GBX2
2TB HDD
3. something GHz 6core AMD
Sata DVD drive
6 Sata port Mobo. can support up to 16GB of ram.
Sweet case that holds 3X 120MM fans, with perfect slods for hardware modding and lighting.
supports raid 1, 0 and 10


comes fully equipped. Its so cheap because i have to assemble it, but that is easy. Should take an hour or 2 at most. What do you all think?

You already have mouse, keyboard, and a display, Aes? Also, I noticed this: "Currently Out Of Stock!".

Yea it just went out of stock, hoping it will come back. if not I will spend 30 dollars and go the next level up. And yes, i have all the perphirals needed.

Barebone kits are pretty pointless, and that CPU is already on the old side.

Oh, and that case isn't all that good. Not bad, but it isn't a "sweet case"

What exactly are you looking to do with the computer? Gaming? Multithreaded stuff (video encoding, etc..)? Just web browser?

Mostly just a college computer. Programming papers mild gaming. I have a low budget. As in. It's pushing it to pay for that. The case is better than my current default old dell case. And I only have a pentimento 4 CPU ATM.

For a general college computer you'll really probably want a laptop, not a desktop.

Your P4 should be running fine for all the stuff you just described, is it not?

yea but if I get too much into multitasking, it dies and just laggs too much. I do too much at once all the time. Also I hate laptops, if something goes wrong you cant just fix it. You cant upgrade, you just replace it. Desktops you can upgrade one piece at a time for the most part. and I can fix anything wrong with it on my own. Just my personal opinion.

Laptops are mobile, can go to lectures and take notes, and don't take up precious, precious dorm room space.



In theory, yes, in practice, no. For example, you can't upgrade anything in your current computer.



No, not really. "fix" just means "replace broken parts" - and you can absolutely do that with laptops as well.

Anyway, I would suggest this:
MSI A75A-G55: $100
G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB): $40
AMD A8-3870K: $120

That covers mobo, RAM, CPU, and GPU (the A8-3870K has a Radeon 6550 on die - which is pretty speedy)

ok thanks. and I am not too worried about dorm space, my college has HUGE dorms, and desks built right in for computers. but I do see your point.

I will look into those parts you said. I do have a current case, that has 4 fans built into the clear siding, and its all backlit. Standard mobo should fit it. So case is not a big deal.

I have a few 160/250GGB drives, so storage is not a huge deal, depending on the number of sata ports on that mobo.

How much would a good PSU for that set up cost me?

Edit, Looked over the parts, would work really good. and its 150 dollars cheaper than my barebones. I will look around for a PSU to fit that. (And all my extra fans..

You should probably get at least a 500Watt supply for that, I'd think, to be on the safe side and for the sake of future-proofing.

ok, 500W. so far newegg is hating me with PSUs. (I dont really know that much about PSUs either.. )

Edit: Will This PSU Power that mobo/cpu fully? Pretty sure the 3X4pin perpherials are the standard 4 pin power the old IDE type drives used right? I have 2 fans that use that power, so that would work nicely.

Yes, the 3x 4-pin peripherals are the 4-pin Molex connectors. That seems a bit cheap for a 600W PSU, and it's an off-brand, but I'm pleasantly surprised to see that the reviews are fairly positive.

ok so that is good to go with then?

Yup, Silverstone makes decent units. Personally I'm a fan of Corsair's, though, like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

is 24 pin and 20+4pin the same? What does that mobo need ,I could not find it.

24 pin is a single 24-pin header, 12 pins long and 2 pins wide. 20+4 is two separate headers, one 10x2, one 2x2.

ok, so the mobo looks like its just a single port, so 24 pin. The PSU that Kllrnohj showed me was 20+4pin. Will it still work?

It has the extra +4 - take a look at the corner of the board near the ports and the CPU socket. It's a black square connector, fairly large-pitch.

ah ok. So i will go with that PSU Then I think. more than enough connectors than I will ever need.

hmm. not to be a pain, but the long black power port on the mobo, is 24pins. I counted it. its 12X2, unless i totally misunderstood..

never put a computer together from scratch before..

Wrong.

20+4 refers to a main power connector with 20 pins and a connected +4 which extends it to the full 24. This is entirely different from the P4 CPU connection. It'll work.