[Lexda]

I apologize for the newbish thread, but I'm fairly new at this.Recently I got a budget of $600 to build a computer. I don't know much about building computers besides that it's usually cheaper than buying a stock one. So, does anybody know any good builds for under $600? I should be able to get away with not purchasing Speakers, a mouse, and a keyboard. I can go skimpy on the hard drive space too, as I can cannibalize a 40 gig one off a computer I already have (that's where the other components are coming from, too). But other than that, I need to buy everything.As for uses, it's mainly going to be a gaming computer, though it will obviously need to be proficient at other basic functions too (it's to be the general family computer). As a starting benchmark, it needs to be able to play Medieval II: Total War fairly well, though the top end, 10,000 man battles aren't a requirement.Once again I apologize for the probable lack of information here, but does anybody have any ideas?

[TRAJIK]

No need to apologize, we all learn the different thingsI went to wikipedia for you and here is what the requirements are...1500 MHz Processor512 MB RAM9 GB Hard disk space128 MB Graphics cardWindows 2K/ME/XP(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MedievalII:Total_War)So, therefore perhaps you should search for these parts that each cost hundreds. If you live in U.S., check out the www.newegg.com or www.tigerdirect.com and if you live in Can, check out www.tigerdirect.ca and search for parts that makes your money happy.p.s. and if you want to run the game more smoothier and extra performance, you might as well want to purchase the parts above the requirements.

[shatnerstoupe]

I've put together a sample components list for you, all off newegg. Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz $193Intel BLKD946GZISSL LGA 775 Intel 946GZ Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $82.99PNY VCG7600SXPB GeForce 7600GS 256MB $89.99SAMSUNG DVD Burner $32.99 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s $74.99Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC ATX 430W Power Supply $39.99Total $513.95A system like this should play most games on the market today reasonably and is very upgradeable. A 40 gigabyte hard drive won't cut it any more, try cannibalizing a case and a CRT monitor for Goodwill or community computer center. If this system doesn't cut it for you, my suggestion is to go the best of the recently outdated technology or get the best of the new technology that's affordable.

[AuroraDizon]

Be weary of Tigerdirect and onerebate's rebate scams. There are several threads on this board from people who have gotten scammed.

[benjamin89]

I would have to agree with shatnerstoupe for the most part. His list is a good one, although I would upgrade the graphics card a little, and get an ATX motherboard, not an mATX. To compensate for that, I would downgrade the hard dive to a 160GB. Also shatnerstoupe forgot to add RAM to his system, hence the $100 dollar difference in price between his suggestion and mine:Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 1.86Ghz $191.00EVGA nForce4 SLI NVIDIA Socket 775 ATX Motherboard $109.99Corsair TWINX 1024MB Dual-Channel DDR2 (two sticks) $106EVGA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB GDDR3 $99.99 w/rebate $109.99 regHitachi Deskstar 7K160 160GB $44.99NEC ND3550 DVD+- Burner $29.99Coolmax CX1-400B 400-Watt Power Supply $29.99Total $607Prices taken from Tiger Direct, Rebate expires 01/31/07My friend recently bought a PC similar to this, (except with a 2.13 Ghz Core 2 Duo E6400) and it is able to run M2TW at Medium graphics without any lag.