Build for Bro

[Primus462]

My brother asked me to build him a PC. He has a budget of $1500. He will do some gaming, but other than that will just be surfing the net. I figure I have a budget of about $1200 if you take out the cost of the monitor/keyboard/mouse. The last PC I built (mine) was when AMD was on top. I thought about going with something similar to Tom's Low-Cost PC build, but was wondering about going with Intel instead of AMD. What are your thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[groo]

nvidia's hybrid SLI might save some elecricity for him, its AMD only at the time. I personaly like micro ATX, also pretty much AMD only.

might want to consider something like this
http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529668033.php

 

[lucuis]

Most definitely go Intel over AMD. Like you said Intel is on top and Price/Performance is atm unbeatable.

As for a ~1200 Build...

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail 119.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16811129021

ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail 149.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16813131196

EVGA 512-P3-N845-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) KO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail 254.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16814130337

SILVERSTONE DECATHLON DA650 650W ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V - Retail 156.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16817256021

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail 199.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16819115037

OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail 93.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16820227248

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM 69.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16822136074

SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM 26.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16827151153

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail 90.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16829102006

ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler - Retail 49.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16835887011

SUBTOTAL : $1,213.90

You can obviously tweak things to get better deals. But so far that machine is quite a beast, with excellent OC potential.

 

[groo]

if he isn't building his own, he isn't going to OC it, so cheaper case, PSU, and stock cooler. skip the sound card, and don't forget the OS and a 22" LCD

 

[lucuis]

Ok so if he isn't oveclocking he won't need the aftermarket cooler, the stock will do fine. Even with a light OC the stock cooler is fine. Most people can get the E8400 to 3.6ghz with a voltage bump.

I'd personally go with any case the provides good cable management, most cases like that aren't cheap. IE Antec P182, Antec 900

Never skimp on the PSU, especially modular ones. There's a decent Corsair 520w modualr PSU 129.99. But it has 3 rails instead of one uber one.

Skip the sound card?? never!

OS right, how could i forget 99.99.

So minus the Afertmarket Cooler, and adding the OS it'd come to $1,263.90 If he chose the cheaper PSU subtract $27 for a total of $1236.90

Acer AL2216Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP support 300 cd/m2 700:1 - Retail 229.99 Bringing it up to 1,493.89 or 1466.89 with the other PSU
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16824009094

Depending the the quality of Keyboard/Mouse he gets will depends on how much overbudget he'll be. Then he'll have to decide on where to skimp.

Options are:

Cheaper Case at the cost of cable management.

Cheaper Mobo, ASUS P5K series recommended.

Graphics card would be the last thing i downgrade. Same with the processor since one model lower is only $10 cheaper. However if worst comes to worst in terms of budget...

Can step down to a slightly cheaper Sound Card at the cost of game performance.

And of course he could go with a 20" monitor for a fair price drop.

 

[sabot00]

most mobo's have excellent sound, skip the sound card unless he's a sound engineer or music enthusiast

 

[lucuis]

Aftermarket sound cards offload processes from the processor increasing performance in games. I know a lot of onboard sound is good in terms of quality, but they are slow at doing their job.

Anywho it's the OP's call.

 

[groo]

good cable managment is a pain in the ass!
I've got a mini P180, micro version of the 182.
good cases are for those that open them up, not someone like "Bro"

on board sound is more than enough for most, brings up the point, decent speakers. figure $50+ if not plugged into a stereo. much more important than a sound card

antec earthwatts 500 should be more than enough. I know its an unpopular opinion, but some "came with the case" are good enough (make sure is full sized ATX in case it isn't). no sense going modular, its one more juntion to fail, and there is always room to shove extra wires

 

[lucuis]

Yeah good cable management is a pain, but it's more then worth it.

Good cases with good cable management features help maintain good airflow which is important even for stock systems.

He didn't mention speakers so i assumed he had some.

Actually 400 brand name PSU "should" be able to power that system, even still i wouldn' take the chance.

Going modular helps putting the thing together, easier, and cleaner. But true enough it's not needed.

This what my computer looks like in a P182 Case with a 750w Silverstone Decathlon Modular PSU. And it's still got room for improvement.

 

[Primus462]

Thanks for all the input! Wow! This gives me a good starting point! I am continuing to do some research.

One more question, it seems that Intel is always introducing new chipsets. Does this mean that it might be hard to upgrade processors in the future without having to buy a new mobo, too?

 

[groo]

all current sockets are on barrowed time.

Intel is looking to use on chip memory controlers, and AMD is looking to switch to DDR3, only the very first chips will be backward compatible to AM2+

you can maximise future upgradability by getting an AM2+ or an intel that can handle the 45nm cpus.

But in all honesty, there will be better chipset feature out then too, and motherboards are relativly cheap for all that they do.

 

[Primus462]

Thanks. I was just thinking how I built my AMD system two years ago, yet I could go out today and theoretically buy a Phenom to put in it. That's top of the line for AMD, of course.

Thanks for the input!