I'm building a new PC. I'd like to know people's opinions on the best

processor and motherboard to get. I'd like to go 64-bit, and use a 64

bit version of Windows. Preferably, Windows 7. And a SATA

based motherboard. Or one that supports both IDE and SATA would be even better maybe. I want

something fast and responsive and powerful. I'll be using this computer mainly for

personal use. Not a huge gamer, but I want it to be pretty capable of

gaming if I choose to do any. It will be used mostly for your basic

internet browsing, email, word processing, downloading, dvd burning. I

don't do anything hardcore, but I want a fast, powerful system. I'm a techie :P  and more than likly I won't be into anything hardcore, like I said. But i want it to be capable.

I'm also looking toward an Intel processor more than AMD. personally I'm not a fan of AMD processors and I find them more sluggish than Intel. What do you think? Intel VS AMD?

I'd also prefer to purchase a processor/motherboard combo. If I can't , that's fine. But I'd like to buy as a combo and sometimes its cheaper that way. i want something nice and fast and powerful but I'd be good if I could get a combo for about 200 bucks...is what I wouldn't mind dishing out for it. I'm a poor student! lol. Suggestions, opinions and anything else appreciated ASAP!! Want to get started building this system right away! Thanks!

Okay, since you're going to be using it for personal use. I'm suggesting that a Core i5 dual-core should suit you for what you need. The graphics card, I think it should be a ATI Radeon HD 5770 or a ATI Radeon HD 5830, both are fine in my case but I suggest the 5830 as it got a 256-bit memory bus and it can help if you got a high resolution monitor and if you want to use anti-aliasing. For the RAM, I probably suggest 4GB's of DDR3 1066, It'll do for your needs.

About the motherboard, most motherboards out there support IDE and SATA so you have nothing to worry about. I don't know what motherboard to suggest but there are many types of motherboards out there that can fit your needs, depending on if you want to use ATX or MicroATX. You can look on computer shopping sites like NewEgg for motherboards you might like, you might also want to look at the specs and read the reviews on them. I don't know anything about chipsets but you may want to do some research or ask some people on forums (especially this one). Trust me, a motherboard is an essential part of the computer and one you don't want to screw up. I have heard that Gigabyte, ASUS and MSI are good brands.

Shopping sites like NewEgg also offer CPU/Motherboard combo's, you just need to look and find the best one for you. Personally I buy my CPU and Motherboard separately but that's just the way I shop. Anyways, good luck on the system you're building.

For starters, there is nothing wrong with AMD stuff. They may not have the performance crown today, but they still got some great processors. For your purposes and especially your budget, I would recommend you give AMD another chance. Maybe your past experience with AMD was just on a super low-end AMD platform. Both companies puts out processors across a whole range of price and performance. AMD will give you the best bang for your buck, especially on a tight budget because the processors and motherboards are a good deal cheaper to a comparable Intel one.

For the video card, I would not recommend the 5830. Although it is a nice card, the price point is set a bit too high. If you can't catch a great deal, then go for it. I think a 5770 would be better. But the thing is, it is still somewhat expensive for a person who just wants to have it sitting there in case he ever wants to game. Really evaluate your budget, uses, games that you think you will play, and monitor resolution. Let us know and we can pick another card if need be.

You may be able to find a nice cpu/motherboard combo. Fry's had some nice ones in the past few weeks. But for what I see now on Newegg.com, I like this pairing (non-combo deal):

AMD Athlon II X4 630 = $99

Asus M4a79XTD EVO = $104.99 (with an additional $10 mail-in rebate)

You should also look into online stores that won't charge tax where you live. For me as a California resident, good places are Amazon and TigerDirect. Also, TigerDirect has some pretty nice Bing Cash Back. It is somewhat like a mail-in rebate in that you get your money later instead of instant savings. My friend got around 12% Bing Cash Back on his Sapphire 5870 from TigerDirect.

Here is a very hot AMD cpu combo/mobo combo at microcenter, go for the X4 630

http://f.microcentermail.com//asbs/servlet/WebContView?C=16187133&R=1468555205&K=yE87&BrCs=498&BrCg=16187133&BrRc=1468555205

However, if I were you I'd wait ~10 days for the new AMD parts to drop, it may push prices down.

You'll also need to budget for a case, power supply, hard drive, cd-rom drive, and ram.

for under 200 AMD all the way

thanks for the comments!

Yeah, I'm actually not too fond of AMD at all though. I think I'd rather toss up more money for an Intel if thats what it takes. With regard to the video card... I'd like a decent one but doesn't have to be super. Not a huge gamer. The most gaming I would be doing would include online games like WoW or Runescape probably something like that so... I suppose I could always upgrade if I needed to. And with regard to the 4 GB of ram.. I'm actually gonna go higher I think.

Hey all,

What do you think of this board?

It supports up to 16 GB of RAM which is what I was looking for and supports both SATA and IDE I believe as well as supports a 64-but processor I believe. 

Its the: GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3P

here's an ebay link to where I was looking:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/NEW-GIGABYTE-GA-P55A-UD3P-MOTHERBOARD-GB-LAN-PCIE-USB_W0QQitemZ250614268743QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotherboards?hash=item3a59c64347

or this one..

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128425&cm_re=gigabyte_motherboard-_-13-128-425-_-Product

I think this one may be better for the price than the ebay listing.

id go for the Newegg one... Just wondering why you want/need 16gb of memory?

If you must go with Intel, then that is fine. But you will be paying plenty more. About $200 for the processor.

Stick with 4GB of RAM for now. You can upgrade to 8GB later if you feel like you really need it. But right now,  you will not even fully utilize 4GB from basic computing (e-mail, MS Word, Internet browsing, etc.).

Well I would rather Intel, but I know AMD is cheaper. I just find Intel's performance better, personally.

I've been browsing on Newegg.ca for processors and there are some Intel ones there for less than 200. Wondering if any of you guys would be so kind as to give a browse and give me some opinions on the best bang for the buck with Intel in the 0-200 dollar range.

With regard to the RAM, 16 GBS ...well, I just want lots of memory and great performance. I could go with 4 or 8 to start and upgrade later if I want to i guess.

the sub 200 intel CPU's will be part of the core 2 line. they will run on the lga775 socket which is no longer used by intel. For the same price for the AMD chip you can get a Phenom II X4 955 on the AM3 socket which AMD still uses for it current cpu's. the Phenom is much faster than the Core 2 quads for the same price

the sub 200 intel CPU's will be part of the core 2 line. they will run on the lga775 socket which is no longer used by intel. For the same price for the AMD chip you can get a Phenom II X4 955 on the AM3 socket which AMD still uses for it current cpu's. the Phenom is much faster than the Core 2 quads for the same price

Apparently you're forgetting about the Core i3.

If you really need a processor in the sub 200 range then the Core i3 will suffice for you. Or if you ever decide to change your mind and go with AMD then Der Meister's suggestion will work, depending on if you want Quad Cores or not. Or... You can get an AMD dual-core processor, which is in the price range of $50-100.

Thanks for the comments.

Hmm...  what do you al lthink of this combo from Newegg?

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.361258

I really liked the Gigabyte board from one of my previous Newegg postings though.

But what do you think about the board and processor in this link?

sorry about all the posts guys..

but I think I've decided on the Gigabyte mobo... along with this case+power supply combo on ebay.

I think its a pretty good deal, considering it comes with a 550W power supply. I'm just wondering if the Gigabyte board will fit okay into this case?

Here is the link to the motherboard, and the second link is to the case and power supply. Tell me what you think!

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128425&cm_re=gigabyte_motherboard-_-13-128-425-_-Product

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260590912570&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT