New Build, $600 budget

[duncan7]

I've been asked by a friend to put together a $600-ish machine for his family. They want to do some editing of Mini-DV footage, so they need 1394/firewire, and he's got elementary-school aged kids, who'll want to do whatever such kids want to do. Not a gaming system, though, and no OC to start with. His wife's freaked out by Vista, so I'll build it with XP or XP/64. They'd like a little expandability (though they're realistic, for this price) which is why I went with this MB.

Here's what I'm thinking:

MB: BIOSTAR TForce TP45D2-A7 LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7200
RAM: OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2N10662GK
GPU: POWERCOLOR AX3650 512MD3-P Radeon HD 3650 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
CASE/PSU: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKA1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Real Power Pro 550W Power Supply
HDD: Western Digital Caviar GP WD5000AACS 500GB 5400 to 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
DVD: ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T
1394: Rosewill 2+1 Port Firewire/1394a Low-Profile PCI Card (Cable Bundle) Model RC-501 - Retail

This setup comes in just south of $600 at Newegg. Any price/performance mistakes I've made here?

 

[IH8U]

I'd go with 4GB of DDR2 800 instead, especially if you are going with XP 64.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144073
$64 Geil Black Dragon series 2x 2GB DDR2 800 (has LED's but that won't matter)(5-5-5-15)

P.S. When running an Intel system there is no need to go with DDR2 1066, DDR2 800 with good timings is going to do better, especially if there is no OC.

Edit, Save a little by getting a 4670: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102792
$80 (outpaces the 9600GSO, for less, and needs no extra power)(Sapphire)

 

[Proximon]

The PSU can't be trusted.

You can usually get an Antec Sonata case for around 100 bucks that comes with a decent EA500W PSU.

Also, you do not need 1066Mhz memory. You actually only need 667Mhz, but generally the 800Mhz are the best deals.

 

[aevm]

RC-690 with 550W PSU: 110+19 shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119142

Sonata III with 500W PSU: 90+22 shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024

Since this is not a gaming machine, the Sonata may be a better choice. The RC-690 cools better and can fit huge graphics cards, so I usually recommend that one, but here it's not important.

This would be even better:
Antec 300, $50, free shipping, + 550VX, $60, free shipping
http://www.buy.com/retail/usersearc...e&qu=Antec+Three+Hundred&qxt=home&display=col
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-vx-...-atx12v-eps12v-power/q/loc/101/205852646.html


Upgrade the hard disk to WD6400AAKS, it's a lot faster and you notice it when editing videos if they are large.

+1 for HD 4670.

Spend $13 more on RAM and get 4GB of DDR2-800 instead of 2GB of overclocking RAM.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227269
Actually, it's only $5 more because it's a combo with that BioStar MB and saves you $8 that way.

This burner costs a bit less:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171&Tpk=Sh-S223F

I'd get Vista Home Premium 64-bit. The wife will adapt eventually, and it's better for the kids to grow up learning the new interface than the old one. Also, XP-64 can be a big incompatible pain some times, and XP-32 won't see all 4GB of RAM.

If you can stretch the budget to a quad do it, it's better in video editing (if the software is smart). It's also going to last longer.
$190 Q6600 (retail) is better than $120 E7200, especially without overclocking.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

 

[Onus]

As mentioned, that PSU isn't great, but may be sufficient for this build. Still, one of the alternatives provided by aevm would be a better choice. I also agree on the HD4670.
For no-muss, no-fuss, get DDR2-800 RAM that will run at the JEDEC standard 1.8V. This Mushkin is $56 after MIR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146692.
For the optical drive, get a Retail version which will include the software, including the decoder that the family will need in order to watch movies.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106264, or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106265 if you want Lightscribe.

 

[megamanx00]

I'd probably go more with something like this.

GIGABYTE GA-MA770-DS3 $88.96 with shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128081

AMD Phenom 8750 $129.99 Free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103252

SAPPHIRE 100255L Radeon HD 4670 512MB $88.24 with shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102792

APEVIA X-Dreamer II Black 420W $91.36 with shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144026

OCZ Vista Upgrade 4GB (2 x 2GB) $64.99 free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227195

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R LightScribe Black SATA Model iHAS220-08 - Retail 29.99 Free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106265

WD5000AAJS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s – OEM 69.99 Free Shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136178

Which would give you a total of 563.52 with shipping The board has firewire. This will give you double the RAM and a better video card than your suggested build. Since you will be doing video editing the triple core CPU will probably serve you better depending on which app you use. The power supply in the case is fine for this build, but it will need to be upgraded should you desire a more powerful card. If your interested in crossfire you can go with the

GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-DS4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128075

for $40.42 more.

 

[Onus]

Apevia PSUs are nasty. I owned an Apevia case (X-QPACK2) and although the design was great, the execution and quality control were so bad I ended up junking it as well (its included PSU had gone straight into the grabbage without ever tasting A/C).

 

[ahslan]

^LOL...I used my x-qpack psu for 3 years on my old gaming rig...it did however eventually die while moving...fortunately a friend of mine kept his psu from his x-qpack (since he didnt trust it) and gave it to me...in the end I ended up selling the rig in order to fund my current rig...must admit, i do miss that sexy x-qpack case...

 

[megamanx00]

I've built a couple of systems on the X-Dreamer II and I never really had a problem. I chose the X-Dreamer for my build rather than the X-Dreamer II since the glowing front face, while cool, was a little distracting for me. Unfortunatly the X-Dreamer is more difficult to work with than the X-Dreamer II, hence from now on I'll just disconnect the blue front LEDs of an X-Dreamer II if they say they don't like the glowing front ^_^. The PSU in the X-Dreamer II is also a little better than the X-Dreamer, but I don't mind since I swapped it out for my Fortron and put that PSU in my old Athlon 3000+ build

 

[duncan7]

Great advice, particularly on the case choice. Thanks, guys!