$520 Build For Friend

[Eccentric]

Well, my friend was in need of a system around $520 including all of the rebates and stuff while not exceeding a $600 initial price. He wants the system for some occasional general gaming and he's not really planning on overclocking the CPU that much. So here is the list of parts I thought he should get. Can you guys please critique this build for me? Thanks.

Processor: AMD 5400+ X2 BE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103289
Motherboard: MSI KA780G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130210
CPU/MB Combo ~ $132
RAM: Mushkin 2 x 2 GB DDR2 800 ($58)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250 GB ($55)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262
Graphics Card: XFX nVidia 9800 GT ($130)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150316
PSU: Corsair 650TX ($90)
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-650w-tx-series-80-plus-certified-power-supply-corsair-tx-cmpsu/q/loc/101/206178324.html
DVD Drive: Lite-On Black ($22)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106228
Case: Cooler Master 690 ($74)
CPU Fan: Arctic Cooler Freezer 64 Pro ($27)
Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5 ($6)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

Subtotal ~$594
After Rebates ~ $524

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

How about this to save a little money and bump him to a 4850 for the video card??

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015

Antec 650 watt. 69 bucks with free shipping I think. Rest isn't looking bad for a budget. A lot of guys might say go intel. I still like AMD myself. But may want to look into intel and see what the guys here have to say.


Also, does he need a windows license?

 

[Eccentric]

Thanks for the reply but the Corsair one I posted also costs $69 after rebate. I know the Intels would perform better once overclocked but their motherboards are generally more expensive.

Oh and yes, he has a Windows XP cd.

 

[dirtmountain]

I would probably go with the coolermaster 690 with the included 550w power supply at $100 + shipping.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119142
That should save about $30 you could apply to an upgraded 640GB hard drive or a HD4850 graphic card. I'd also go with a SATA burner instead of the IDE one. If he's not overclocking a 64x2 6000+ might make more sense, just use the stock cooler, same motherboard is only about $17 more in a combo deal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103272

 

[Cheesevillage]

I would base a super cheap gamer off a low end c2d and a nice motherboard. Two gigs of ddr2 will cost less and would allow the jump from AMD to intel.

Get a known good overclocker of a mobo and go with it. Or not. You can set it and forget it. The stock cooler is apparently fine to 2.8Ghz. Going with stock intel cooling will save your friend $33 compared to your initial build whether or not he intends to or end up OCing. In other words: an aftermarket cooler or even thermal paste is unnecessary.


Also, I agree with the case/PSU combo opinion. Huge money saver on budget builds. $90 on a PSU is way too much for this budget.

Strive to spend the most on videocard (compared to CPU) for any type of gaming machine with a budget.


Good luck man.