Computer pros! I need your help?

Question

I am looking to spend about $300 to custom build my own computer. I already have a hard drive, I need tons of space for web design (memory and space). Any suggestions? I already did some searching (google, PCworld, etc.) on the net for some top picks, but what are yours?

I am looking to use this money for a desktop. I need to be able to multi task seamlessly, and run multiple applications with ease and speed. I currently use Paint.net, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and others all at the same time.

I am positive there is a solution for my budget. Help please!

Answer 1

For what you say you want to do, i recommend a combination of ASUS motherboard (no savings here, choose the best you can afford) with at least 1GB of RAM and at least a Sempron 3100+ processor. I'm positive you'll find these parts for $300

Answer 2

First of all IT CAN BE DONE... (but do you really want to ?)

OK... I am going to assume that you have, in additon to the stated hard drive, the following:

1) A decent monitor
2) A copy of Windows XPpro SP2
3) The abilty to assemble & configure the system.

Regardless of the motherboard and processor chosen you will need at least 1-gig of RAM to handle the multi-tasking.

You will need a CD-RW to load the OS and to make backups.

You will need a case with a power supply minimum of 400 watts.

And then as robust a processor and motherboard as you can afford.

MiniTower case and 450watt P/S : $ 30
CD-RW/DVD combo drive : $ 33
1gig DDR Ram $ 110

Now you will need a motherboard and processor :

To stay in budget I recommend the

MSI K8MM-V Motherboard $ 99
w/AMD 2800 Sempron 754P Processor
and Fan

This is an all-in-one board with integrated graphics, sound
and Network.

This totals $272 which allows almost enough to ship it..

go to http://www.askacs.com/ to check prices.

I would not recommend this for the novice user/builder...

You CAN buy for $359 (Free Shipping) ... the Dell Dimension E521..

It includes Windows Vista, 512 meg RAM(add $60 for 1gig), AMD Sempron 3400, NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Integrated Graphics GPU,16X DVD ROM Drive, 80GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™

So sell the Hard Drive you have in hand and add that money to the $300 you already have and Order the DELL.


Good Luck

Answer 3

What you need is good RAM so that your system does not slow down when running some of these applications at the same time.

You can go for 256 or 512 or even higher RAM depending on the price. However, 256 is still more than good enough to run all these applications, however make sure you keep your system clean and virus-free as otherwise it will slow down.

Answer 4

i really don't think you can pull that off for 300 bucks. first you need a case cheap cases are 30 to 50 dollars, unless you use your old one. also you may have to buy a power supply if your cheap case doesn't come with one. they are anywhere from 15 to 50 bucks and you get what you pay for. a good dual core cpu, which you'll need for the "seamless mulitasking", the cheapest are 100bucks but they are the slowest. midrange is about 200. then you need a good amount of ram for multitasking. are you using ddr or ddr2? you need at least one gig. even the value ram kits are almost 100bucks. then you need a motherboard. you can get a cheapy with onboard video for 50 to 100bucks but you get what you pay for in this department. then you need keyboard, mouse and whatever accessories your needing. honestly to build a good multitasking machine you'll be happy with your looking at about 500 dollars.

Answer 5

Honestly, it sounds to me like all you need is an extra hard drive and a memory card. I use The GIMP instead of PhotoShop bnecause its free, but mainly what it seems to me you need is as much memory as your computer can hold and lots of drive space. Unless your current computer has had it you don't need a new one.

Answer 6

seems fantastic.. why follow 22inch widescreen liquid crystal reveal? why not enhance it to 37 samsung liquid crystal reveal television. Scalable link Interface (SLI) is a sort call for a multi-GPU answer progressed by way of Nvidia for linking 2 or extra video enjoying cards at the same time to produce a single output. SLI is an utility of parallel processing for workstation snap shots, meant to improve the processing power accessible for snap shots.

Answer 7

The best solution for multi-tasking is one of Intel's Core 2 Duo processors. Unfortunately, your budget doesn't seem to allow that. It would be helpful if you would post which components you will be salvaging previous computer(s), because with such a low budget anything you don't have to buy is in your favor.

Answer 8

Get a motherbord - a must
make sure it has good memory and fast processor