New System for wife

[Senninha]

It is finally time for my wife to get a new computer. She has been using an old PII 350 with 128MB Ram for the past 4 years and more recently she has been using my computer (Athlon 3200, 1 GB Ram, 6800 GT). She plays some games but nothing that is graphics intensive (a lot of downloaded games like Bejeweled, Zuma, etc). She uses the internet, uses MS Office, burns some cds, looks at digital photos. I want her new computer to last a few years.

I bought my computer last year from Cyberpower and have had no complaints with it. It is still going strong, playing games like HL2 and COD2 with no problems. I could build it myself but I just don't want the hassle. I priced this system out and it comes with free shipping and 5 percent off. No monitor is included but we are going to get a LCD from Newegg. We have no plans for overclocking and do not plan on upgrading to Vista anytime soon.

Please take a look at this build and tell me if it sounds reasonable. She wants to stay right around $1000 for the price.

X-Cruiser Mid-Tower 420W Case W/ WINDOW, MultiMeter Display & Control

STANDARD CASE POWER SUPPLY

(Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6300 CPU @ 1.86GHz 1066FSB 2x1MB L2 Cache EM64T

INTEL LGA775 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK + 3 EXTRA CASE FANS

(Quad-Core Supports) Intel DP965LT P965 Chipset LGA775 Supports Core 2 Duo CPU FSB1066 DDR2/800 Mainboard w/GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394&7.1Audio

or should we go with this motherboard that is $68 more.

(Quad-Core Supports) MSI 975X Platinum I975X CrossFire Chipset LGA775 Supports Core 2 Duo CPU FSB1066 DDR2/800 Mainboard w/GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394,&7.1Audio

1GB (2x512MB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory Corsair XMS2 Xtreme Memory w/ Heat Spreader

NVIDIA GEFORCE 7600GT 256MB DDR2 PCI-EXPRESS x16

250GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD

LG 16X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER

SONY 16X DVD-ROM

HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

Logitech S100 2.0 Stereo Speaker Set

PS2 Microsoft® (BLACK) MULTIMEDIA KEYBOARD

Microsoft® IntelliMouse® Optical 1.1A USB & PS/2 Compactible

INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer

Professional Wiring for All WIRINGs Inside The System Chasis with High Performance Thermal Compound on CPU

Round Cable Upgrade for Hard Drive, Optical Drive & Floppy Drive

1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE

Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition w/ Service Pack 2 & $49 Upgrade for Windows Vista™ Home Basic

STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS 24/7 LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Price: $1082.00 - 5% off = 1027.90

If we go with the other motherboard then $1150 - 5% off = 1092.50

 

[skyguy]

If you're not overclocking (which is a SHAME considering you have everything you need right there to OC the 6300 by ALOT), then don't bother with the more expensive mobo. Stay on your original budget and you'll do fine with those parts. Looks like a good setup........except the PSU might be lacking. Hard to know without specs.

 

[Senninha]

Skyguy, thanks for the super quick response.

I don't know much about overclocking and what the benefits are to it. I don't want to break anything.

We can upgrade the PSU to NZXT PF-500 500Watt Power Supply for $49 I just thought that the 420W that comes with the case would be sufficient.

 

[yourmothersanastronaut]

It's best not to use the PSUs that come with the case, unless you buy an Antec case/PSU combo. Aspire may make OK cases, but their PSUs are...lacking.

Haven't had a lot of experience with NZXT PSUs. Since your system won't put a huge amount of stress on it, I'd say take that over the Aspire. It's best not to cheap out on the PSU, because if the PSU fails chances are good it'll take the rest of your machine with it.

If Cyberpower offers a Lightscribe DVD burner, you might want to look into that. Your wife may like being able to burn a label onto the DVD itself. Samsung makes one OEM for less than $40, I'm sure Cyberpower will offer a similar price if they have one.

Other than that, looks good. Go with the cheaper motherboard, you won't notice a difference in performance, and since you're not overclocking you won't see an improvement there either.

 

[skyguy]

Honestly, it's hard to break these Intel chips, they run like a Humvee on steroids LOL.

The parts you've spec'd are GREAT. Actually, way better than what you really need them for. So you can downgrade the mobo and RAM if you're not overclocking and save some good money. With that savings, I'd seriously recommend a GOOD PSU. Spend at least $100, no joke. You won't regret it. That extra $60 represents a very small fraction of your total build cost, but is a VITAL component. Rarely has anyone here had a CPU blow from overclocking, but many have had a PSU crap out a system. No joke.

I'd recommend Thermaltake, OCZ, Corsair, or Seasonic for a PSU. 500w should do fine. It's not necessarily the wattage that you should be primarily concerned about, it's the amperage being pushed on the rails. A cheap 450w PSU is nowhere near as good as a 450w Seasonic. It's like comparing a Chevy to a Ferrari, even though both have 4 wheels LOL.....no contest.

Get a good PSU, and you'll have a GREAT system on your hands.....your wife will give you extra favors for it LOL

 

[grant_77]

What I do with my little sister, or my gf is buy a new hd, and give them my old computer, your old computer thats a year old is probably perfect for her, put a new hd in it for her. Then take the money for that c2d 63, or 6400 and build urself a nice gaming rig, sounds like you will use it alot more than she does, and the o'c is begging to be used.

 

[1Tanker]

What I do with my little sister, or my gf is buy a new hd, and give them my old computer, your old computer thats a year old is probably perfect for her, put a new hd in it for her. Then take the money for that c2d 63, or 6400 and build urself a nice gaming rig, sounds like you will use it alot more than she does, and the o'c is begging to be used.

This is true. It would suck.....a lot, for your wife to have a computer that will smoke yours...and her only playing bejewelled.