blah. New system.

[Johanthegnarler]

Yea.. someone asked me to build them a computer at work.. and the last few months i've been so uninterested in computer hardware *lack of anything neat coming out* that i haven't paid any attention to crap. I know that the core 2 duo's are supposed to be sweet and whatnot.. so i guess i'll build him one of those garbage systems. Sorry for being so negative .. i just see no reason to build a system right now.

He has a 1100ish budget just for the tower.. he does not want anything to do with overclocking.. and needs everything. I'm not making any money off of this.. just trying to help him out a lil'.. so since i'm so busy with school right now i'm hoping you guys will just tell me the cookie cutter system thats been around lately.

His main goal is World of Warcraft... i'm sure he'll want some other games soon as well, but when you try to build a computer around dx10 right now.. its not really hitting near his budget, heh. He needs everything being case Dvd Drive.. Hard Drive.. I can build him a nice AMD system for this price, but can't seem to get it right for the Core 2 Duo.. because in my opinion all the boards look like junk.. as well as it seems the thing is picky about memory, but i'm so rusty i don't know if this is right.

So.. Descent case that he can use for his next system.. power supply that he can use for his next system.. video card that should last him for awhile.
An ok CPU E6400?.. 2 gb of memory that he can hopefully use for his next system... The first real build is always the worst.. because you have nothing you can use from your old computer.. but i hope to keep him around 1100 possibly 1200 if i can tell him how sweet it will be.

I'm sorry for being really negative about this.. and even more sorry i'm coming here to basically have this done for me, but i really have ran out of time thanks to school and work. I just can't get a descent system together with my limited knowledge of Intel Core 2 Duo technology.

thanks in advance to anyone who can help me out on this one! <3

 

[HotFoot]

Well, just to get the ball rolling on this, why don't we start a list. I'm not an expert in all things computer components, so as people make new suggestions, I'll edit this list until we find a good system compromise for your friend.

Bill of Materials (Prices from Newegg)

Budget: $1100

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5, $49.99
PSU: OCZ GameXStream ATX12V 600W, $114.99
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s, $74.99
DVD: LG 18X DVD±R Model GSAH22N, $29.99
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-965P-S3, $109.99
CPU: Intel E6400, $222
RAM: pqi 2x1GB DDR2 667 $188.99
Video: eVGA GeForce 8800GTS 640MB, $399.99
Sound: Creative Audigy SE 7.1, $27.99
CPU Cooler: Stock, since no OC, $0 (incl. with CPU)

Cost so far: $1218.92

Notes:

I would have recommended getting DDR2-533 RAM, since your friend will have nothing to do with overclocking. The Core 2 running at stock speeds will hardly see a performance boost from moving up to 667 RAM. However, the difference in price is about $3 from what I found, and 667 RAM has a slightly better chance of being useful in a future build.

I changed the video to the 8800 GTS based on your friend's preference. Also, I added in a power supply from OCZ, which bumped the price up $60.

 

[Johanthegnarler]

Thanks a ton for replying.

I talked to him a little more and he's willing to spend a tad more.. he is definitely getting the 8800gts.

I would like to get him an OCZ PSU or Antec (although i've had some bad experiences with them).

Both have 130$ish 600ish W PSU's and are great companies..
I also picked out the same motherboard, but with my limited knowledge of intel boards right now... and peoples common knowledge on the "internets" .. i dunno if its a good board.

With those things in mind that would bump it up to 1350ish.. but i'm still looking.

 

[HotFoot]

Everything I've read about that board is very positive. I believe it may have solid capacitors, which should give the board a longevity edge. I don't believe it supports RAID functions, but I may be wrong about that. I don't tend to think RAID is useful for the home user in any case.

^^^ I've updated the post above with the parts/price tally. ^^^

 

[HotFoot]

One thing I haven't included in the price yet is software. To use any DX10 features, you'll need to get a copy of Windows Vista. I don't believe DX10 functions will be made available for WinXP.

 

[apt403]

Everything I've read about that board is very positive. I believe it may have solid capacitors, which should give the board a longevity edge.

The DS3 has solid state capacitors, the S3 has electrolytic capacitors, they wont last as long, but unless your friend is going to be using the mobo for like 4-5 years it'll be fine.

The build looks like its ready to go, i would have used an Enermax psu myself, but thats because i like Enermax psu's.

 

[HotFoot]

Are there other features that differentiate the DS3 from the S3? I've been planning on getting myself the S3 sometime in the next couple months as an upgrade to my ASUS P5LD2 (unfortunately I have an early revision of the board that doesn't support C2D). The DS3 is a CAN$35 premium, but I could be persuaded to go that route if it's worth while.

From the product website, it seems to me the only differences are the solid capacitors and the RAID function on the southbridge.

 

[Featherstone]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119077

This case would save you $50.


Also this one is sweet...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811156187

 

[HotFoot]

I agree. I like the Lian, but it might not be worth the extra $50 to the one who's footing the bill. I'll put your case suggestion into the list above.

 

[Johanthegnarler]

Thanks again for the help. I had a good talk with him, and that is a good system.

What i think is going to happen..
He's going to spend good money on a case 130ish ( found one he likes and is a great case).. that ocz gamextream is a good psu.. thats the one i use.. so he's gonna grab that one ..

The reason why PSU.. Case and Memory is important.. because those are the only things besides drives that will be able to carry over. A good case will last a few builds.. the case he wants has 3 120mm fans.. great air flow inside the case.. 1mm thick aluminum.. so he should be good.

We talked about the video card.. and since World of warcraft is the main game for at least a year.. we are gonna stick with the 1950xt. By the time .. he wants a new card with dx10.. a 250 dollar card will be better than the 8800gts. Windows Vista is no where near the top of his list for at least a year.. so he doesn't care about dx10.

My concern about the memory is.. PQI.. i duno about all that but if you think so.. i'll go for it. The memory issue was the main thing i was worried about.. i dunno really how picky the gigabyte board is.. but i also want to know if people feel like going ddr2 800 will be more future proof.. i mean in a year and a half to two years.... will he be able to use that memory in a system.. or is ddr3 going to be out? I haven't been reading on roadmaps or anything like that.. so if he spends the extra 50-60 on the memory now.. can he use it in his next system?

Once again i really thank you guys for the help.. hopefully we can get some more input on the memory issue.

 

[HotFoot]

DDR3 is supposed to start trickling onto the market either later this year or early 2008. However, I expect DDR2 to be the norm until at least the beginning of 2009. It's a tough call on the memory. Upgrading 6 months or a year down the road, but never looking to overclock, should mean that DDR2 667 memory will do fine, since the next generation of chipsets are going to be 1333 MHz FSB. Going to DDR2 800 makes sense if you want to overclock or if you plan on using an AMD system.