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effel   06-27-2008 at 06:33:18 AM

I'm trying to do a gaming computer build for a friend. He told me his budget is $1500, but for all the needs he has in a computer, I just don't see outfitting a computer with that much hardware, in fact, if I told him the this build cost that much money, he'd still be impressed be with performance. He isn't the brightest guy, but I'm sure his parents would appreciate getting a few hundred dollars back, to spend as they see fit.

So I haven't selected a case yet, because I want him to pick out something he likes, in terms of appearance, from there I'll do my best to approve of its features and cooling.

As for the motherboard, I've looked at the offerings from Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, and Biostar. I figure the P45 chipsets with an e8400 is a solid core for the system. Since he isn't the greatest with computer hardware, the Biostar(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138118) bios settings for preconfigured overclocking should work great. In combination with this Xigmatech heatsink (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003) I figure attaining high clock speeds will be extremely easy for him.

After rebate, $50 for 2x1gb of Corsair Ram @ 1066 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145043) should be great for his needs, though I'm having trouble deciding whether suggesting 64-bit Vista, over the 32bit. Adding on another set of the ram for the 64bit wouldn't be a problem I'm sure.

Because he's using a lower resolution monitor (19" ), I don't see much of a point getting anything more powerful than a 4850 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102747). And with that motherboard, he can crossfire in the future with the 4850s.

As for the rest of the components, I picked out a 500GB Seagate Barracuda with 32mb cache(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288) I picked out a Lite-on DVD burner, and a 550w Power Supply from Seasonic (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151027)

Any other suggestions?

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brich37   06-27-2008 at 06:39:23 AM
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Probably won't need the dominator if not planning on overclocking or anything, and if you plan on using vista why not get 2x2gb? Can also be found fairly cheap and will make the overall experience much better...

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pcgamer12   06-27-2008 at 06:49:44 AM
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2GB is fine. 4GB recommended. Get a 4850. Do get PC6400 RAM instead of the PC8500 RAM. PC6400 is DDR2-800, PC8500 is DDR2-1066. Do get a Western Digital 6400AAKS. Plenty of speed and capacity at a decent price. To save cash, get a Gigabyte P35 DS3L since he won't be needing Crossfire. Look at 4870 as well.

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dirtmountain   06-27-2008 at 07:01:16 AM
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Don't let him randomly pick out a case. Give him a choice of 2 or 3 or you may end up with some misbegotten monstrosity to build it in. Say Antec 900 and the Coolermaster 690 or 590

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effel   06-27-2008 at 07:07:04 AM
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I appreciate the recommendations, however, some of you guys don't have much basis for your suggestions. The Biostar supports nearly 1 touch overclocking, and that motherboard will likely reach 2000fsb, which would be perfect for ddr2-1066. After looking at the WD harddrive, its 5 bucks more for 140gb which is nice, yet half the cache. I'll have to think about that one more. Don't get me wrong, that gigabyte board is nice, but the Biostar supports newer technologies better, and the 4870 might be way more than he needs.

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BigBurn   06-27-2008 at 07:13:59 AM
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The WD even with only half the cache is faster than the one you took. Here is a review with some benchmark: http://www.extremetech.com/article [...] 238,00.asp

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pcgamer12   06-27-2008 at 07:14:24 AM
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Just OC for him.. lazy much? Gigabyte P35 DS3L is auto OC. Set the speed (fsb x multiplier) and it will set voltages and fan speed for you. 100% stable.

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pcgamer12   06-27-2008 at 07:15:16 AM
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Cache doesn't mean crap VelociRaptor (fastest HHD) has 16mb cache. WHAT??? WHAT???!!!

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effel   06-27-2008 at 07:26:06 AM
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I'm not physically building the machine -for- him, nor did I specify whether or not the WD is slower than the Seagate. I'm going to let him pick out cases on newegg he likes, and guide him in the right direction from there.

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pcgamer12   06-27-2008 at 07:27:36 AM
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Does he want the building experience or are you afraid of frying his parts?

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pcgamer12   06-27-2008 at 07:30:30 AM
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If my bud Kevin can put the budget up for a PC. I'd build it for him and let him watch. He watched me build mines, 7 hours too including stability checks. He helped a bit and he ended up playing Company of Heroes which came with my 8800GT (XFX FTW!) to do a "stability check" for hours. We pretty much hung out doing it. It's fun.

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effel   06-27-2008 at 07:33:49 AM
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He's excited for his for first build. Every other friend that's been through the process of, me picking out parts, and them putting the rig together has turned out great. Besides, Alabama is quite far from California


Message edited by effel on 06-27-2008 at 07:34:56 AM
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pcgamer12   06-27-2008 at 07:39:26 AM
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Seriously, the WD6400AAKS will do him proud. It gets 92-93MB/sec read/write. That is damn good performance. My WD1600AAJS gets over 60MB/sec.

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effel   06-27-2008 at 07:41:11 AM
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I read the review that was posted, and I'm still considering it. This isn't something that has to be done tonight...

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effel   06-27-2008 at 11:48:22 PM
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Bump. Any more suggestions?

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